GM1
Elite Veteran
Location: Tallahassee, Florida US
| Vol IIIYou have all the pitch curves set to match what you think the motor will pull, so let's think about cyclics. There are two very diverse points of view here. One camp runs a very low cyclic rate so no matter how far you move the stick, you cannot upset the model very much. The other runs a lot of cyclic and just flies the snot out of it.
Personally, I find I like to run fairly low cyclic rates as the model gets small smooth corrections, BUT you have to be VERY in tune with the model since , if you get behind in your control inputs, you have very little cyclic power to bring it back. I found that, initially, I needed a little more cyclic than say Wayne or Cliff as they were staying ahead of the model and anticipating what it was going to need whereas I was strictly reacting to what it did. As I spent hours practicing, I began to notice the model doing the same thing at the same time every time and I could anticipate a little better so I could turn the cyclic rates down and still have full control.
Currently, in hover, I am running about 2 1/2 degrees of cyclic in both pitch and roll with about 30% expo. Something I do differently than some of the other guys, I DO run dual rates. Mine are ON low rate all the time EXCEPT when the wind is blowing hard. I turn it off then and get about a 10% increase in control. Wayne doesn't need that since he is so good at anticpating what the model is going to do but, even though I am better than I used to be, I can still get behind in the wind.
In idle ups, I run about +/- 5 degrees of cyclic. You can run +/- 6 as the model will do that without binding but I find that as I increase cyclic rates, the model starts to do stupid stuff like yaw when you give a hard roll command. If I keep the rates lower, I have much less of that to deal with.
NOTE: This is what I do and I do NOT recommend this for anyone else. I run 4 idle ups. In Idle 1 I do the two rolls and roll reversal. My roll rate is adjusted for two rolls in about 6 seconds, fairly slow, pitch rate is VERY soft since I don't want to wiggle the elevator in the middle of the maneuver and rudder is very low also. Rates are so low in this condition, it's hard to actually fly around as there is not a lot of control here.
Idle 2 is for two loops, I have very low roll and rudder rates and moderate elevator cyclic as that is where I am working the hardest, to make it smooth and round. Idle 3 is where I do all of my flying around and all the rest of my manuevers except for three. It has a moderately high roll rate, moderate elevator rate and enough rudder rate to do a clean 540 stall turn. I am in this condition about 75-80% of the time. I run Idle 4 to do the push over, cobra roll, and pullup with inverted pirouette. This condition has a LOT of elevator with a lot of expo, less rudder for a slow 4 second pirouette, and less negative pitch as I want to get near bottom stick so I do not climb like a bandit in the inverted pirouette, which is my normal tendency.
I also run a CRUISE condition, to set up for my autos. Model is trimmed for level flight with moderate cyclic but only 1700 rpm so when I go negative on the auto entry, the motor doesn't try to overrev so hard. It makes the entry a lot smoother. I think I'm the only one that does that as I've never heard of anyone else doing it but it makes the autos easier for me so I use it.
In throttle hold I run moderate cyclics with a moderate rudder. I find, if I have too much rudder available, I tend to suck all the power out of the head with it and can run out of head speed. With a lower rudder rate, I can still do what I need and have a lot more rotor inertia left at the bottom to land the model.
NOTE: Everyone does this a little differently and this is what I do. I do not recommend this as the ultimate setup and post it only for information and discussion. I know Wayne and Cliff both do this considerably differently from me. Obviously their way WORKS, since they have both been on the world team multiple times and the best I could ever do was second alternate, but I now fly better using this than any way I have done before.
End III
Gordie
On a dog sled team, if you're not the lead dog, the view never changes. |
