diff --git a/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_receiver.cpp b/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_receiver.cpp
index 39b626b4d2..cf683eaa10 100644
--- a/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_receiver.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_receiver.cpp
@@ -2093,8 +2093,10 @@ MavlinkReceiver::handle_message_manual_control(mavlink_message_t *msg)
 
 	if (math::isInRange((int)mavlink_manual_control.y, -1000, 1000)) { manual_control_setpoint.roll = mavlink_manual_control.y / 1000.f; }
 
-	// For backwards compatibility at the moment interpret throttle in range [0,1000]
-	if (math::isInRange((int)mavlink_manual_control.z, 0, 1000)) { manual_control_setpoint.throttle = ((mavlink_manual_control.z / 1000.f) * 2.f) - 1.f; }
+	// For backwards compatibility we need to interpret throttle in range [0,1000]
+	// Convert from [0, 1000] to internal range [-1, 1]
+	// (([0, 1000] / 1000 * 2) - 1 = [-1, 1]
+	if (math::isInRange((int)mavlink_manual_control.z, 0, 1000)) { manual_control_setpoint.throttle = (mavlink_manual_control.z / 500.f) - 1.f; }
 
 	if (math::isInRange((int)mavlink_manual_control.r, -1000, 1000)) { manual_control_setpoint.yaw = mavlink_manual_control.r / 1000.f; }