General stick sensitivity

[treff]

Hi all. Well had my first quick flight with the new helicopter, sorry no video yet because it started to rain cats and dogs so it was really a quick run up and a few seconds flight to check things out. What I did notice was that this helicopter is very sensitive on the sticks. I all ready have 30% rates on elevator, pitch and rudder. Is there any thing else I can do to soften out the movement or is it just a case of getting used to the throws. My big fault is the panic when the heli moves towards an object and I drop the throttle of course the heli slams into the ground. I suppose it is practice, practice until improvement happens. I also must find more room other than our very small back yard. Can I reduce the swash mix to get a softer lift off? Thanks.

 

[Slobberdog]

Hi Treff, you say 30% is that d/r or expo, if its expo put your d/r to 70% and keep your expo at 30%, also I would say that your rudder should have no d/r or expo so set them to 100% and 0% respectively.

Hope this helps you, how did your first hover on this bird feel

 

[Lee]

So your Expo is at 30%? You can also reduce your dual rates to say 70%
What is your Pitch curve set to? If you a dropping the stick and its slamming into the ground, try increasing your pitch curve below midstick by a few % to reduce the neg pitch. You only need about -2º at low stick in normal mode.

 

[treff]

Thanks Slobberdog and Lee for info and suggestions. A very different helicopter from the first one. Extremely sensitive but positive at the same time. My setting are those Tony suggested in his video. I think the head speed is a lot faster than the first heli but not experienced enough to say for sure. I was only a quick hop before the rain hammered down and the wind began to gust. There seems to be a very narrow band on the throttle from lifting off to climbing at a fast rate to dropping lift. Just a matter of getting used to it. Next flight I hope to find somewhere flat. I need to find that balance in the hover then I can concentrate on direction. It's all a bit of a panic at the moment but great fun

 

[Derek]

It would be interesting to know what size helicopter you are working with, as well as your Pitch and Throttle Curves. You say, "There seems to be a very narrow band on the throttle from lifting off to climbing at a fast rate to dropping lift." I'd be curious to know.

 

[treff]

Hi mountaindewdude thanks for the reply. The helicopter is HK 450 gt pro2 and the set up is pitch 45,47,50,75,100 and throttle is 0, 25,50,75,100. I am using 30% expo and 70% on aileron and elevator and 30% expo on rudder thats because my thumbs shake LOL The heli was airbourne at approx 55% throttle and I was struggling to get the thing down. The wind had picked up and was quite gusty and it was raining so my first flight came to an end. I could not find a balanced hover the helicopter was either going up or coming down but it could have been conditions. Anyway the bird lives for another day.

 

[Derek]

I think you are going to run into troubles like I did. With your pitch curve changing at every point (above mid stick) and your throttle curve changing at every point, I think finding a "balanced hover" will be very difficult. Maybe try a flatter throttle curve. I have the Trex 500 and my Pitch Curve is very similar to yours but my throttle curve, in normal mode, is 0,35,75,75,75. This way my throttle will never change, above mid stick, and I control the lift with my pitch curve, which is linear. Now, I'm not saying that my throttle and pitch curves will work for your 450, but it's something to think about. Good luck buddy!!!

 

[Lee]

As Derek said. Change the throttle curve to give you a constant speed above mid stick. 75% is a good start. You can even drop it down further to 65% to calm the heli even more. If you drop it down too much, the head speed won't be enough to hold the heli stable, and it will start to wobble.

 

[treff]

Great info from mountaindewdude76 and Lee thanks both thats exactly what I was looking for. I will split the difference and try 70, 70, 70 above midstick. I'm sure that will work out much better for a stable hover. Cheers to both.

 

[Slobberdog]

You might want to bring your pitch curve to maybe, 48,50,52.5,75,100, should limit the quick drop when you come slightly below mid stick, worked for me on the old 450 I had.

 

[corsair_pilot]

Thanks for that Treff, I did get mine up, and bounced it. I do like the idea of calming the throttle curve, and should help me with doing more control just on the pitch side of the heli.
Once again thanks for all the input from the guys here.
Sorry Treff I keep hyjacking your posts, we're just both running with the same heli

 

[Derek]

The info that I gave you is exactly what Tony and Lee told me, many months ago. I was running a linear pitch and throttle curve. I was struggling severely. After changing my throttle curve to a flat number above mid stick and only raising and lowering the 500 with the pitch, it was like flying a completely different heli. Good luck buddy!!!

 

[treff]

Thanks to all the guys here. Great info again. I see on Slobberdog's mail you suggest some figures that confuse me. How do you do the 52.5 input. I saw that on Tony's set up but I can only do whole numbers on the DX8 so would appreciate your thoughts. Just have to wait here for some better weather before the next round with the heli. corsair_pilot don't worry about hijacking threads we are all learning and I really appreciate your input. Thanks again to mountaindewdude76 for that brilliant info. Looking forwards to putting all this into practice. Cheers

 

[Tony]

You can't do teh 52.5 on the DX8. On the Tx that I was using, it was on a Dx6i. The only way to do it with teh DX8 is by mixing the switches. Like using the RT switch to adjust your gyro gain.

 

[treff]

Thanks for that Tony. I was getting confused LOL I input nearest whole number. Just waiting for a little good weather here. The helicopter is charged and ready to go. Thanks for all info on the setup. Now onto the next build..........................just in case LOL. Cheers

 

[corsair_pilot]

Hey Treff do you have the learning kit?
If you don't, may I strongly recommend getting some, or making some.
I'm planning on doing the same.... yes I had mine up, and came down a little hard

 

[Tony]

Hey Treff, are you putting in throttle or pitch curves? The only time I can think of using a half number is on the pitch curves where I put 45 47.5 50 75 100. On the newer versions, I suggest 46 48 50 75 100. Not much difference in pitch, but if you want more negative pitch, you can go 44 47 50 75 100.

 

[treff]

Thanks again Tony. I'm set to go now. I have even put 4 pads under the skids and taped them on each corner just to take the sting out of my "landings" The good thing about doing this is that it also gets the tail a little higher of the floor so go all round. Cheers.

 

[corsair_pilot]

Hey Treff, can you show pics of your pads? I would like to see them. I might be able to copy them

 

[treff]

See the anti bounce device LOL Every Little helps They are only rough but they should take out the sting of the impact. I think the insulation you can buy for pipes would probably be neater but this should work and also get the tail out of the grass,