3 weeks with a 3G, thoughts and opinions...

[mc82]

Ok, so I'm 3 weeks into the 3g on my 450 Pro and thought I give some of my thoughts up to this point.

Note – Ive been flying ~3yrs and this was my first experience with FBL and the 450pro. I previously had a 450 SEv2, sold it and built the 450 pro with a custom setup –

Align 450 Pro, Scorpion 2221-6 Motor, CC Phoenix ICE 50A, 3G v1 (Sensor is rock solid strapped down), Spektrum 6100E, Align 410M Cyclic Servos, Futaba 9257 Tail Servo, Edge CF FLB Blades and for the time being Futaba GY520 Gyro for the tail.

So – first off… if you don’t like to tinker – DON’T go Flybarless yet. From my reading, the 3G is the first attempt in this market to go plug-n-play and it simply is not. Probably less work then the Skookum or Mikado but it’s new, it's software (which by nature has bugs) and it WILL take tinkering. Thankfully, that’s what I love about heli’s so it fits right in with me.

When I first spun it up – it flew, albeit VERY jump and jittery but was stable enough to get back down. I was NOT using the GY520 on the tail at this point. Had the gains set at around ~40% for both and start dialing down to smooth out. This helped but even more so was just getting some dual rates and expo set on the Transmitter – which btw I’ve never used before because I didn’t like the feel of expo. To control this beast – you must use it, the control factor on the flybarless is through the roof Be patient, if this is you first FBL – deciphering the jumps and jitters to elevator, aileron and tail gains is not an easy thing. Takes a bit to figure out what is affecting what. But – you will get there is you’re patient and don’t push the envelope until you trust what you’re flying.

After a few weeks I still couldn’t get the tail where I wanted it. Best I could get is a very slight twitch, but when I’d punch the throttle I get the tail kick out from the torque and low gain. Couldn’t get rid of it so I figured I’d try my GY520 on there to see how it would feel….. I have to say, it was HUGE. The tail is a rock now with 0 kick out and twitch but what I didn’t expect is it allowed me to really isolate the other two gains. Without the tail factor – I’ve been able to perfect my Ail and Elev gains which I bumped back up a bit. It is a BLAST to fly and I can go hands off and watch it purr in a hover.

So – I love it, my bird is a solid extremely nimble power machine. Tail issues and all – which Align will eventually fix as I believe the 3G sensor can handle it and even if they do - I love the feel and pyro rate of the GY520 so I may never take it off. Quite frankly with the cheap price everyone is running away from the electronics here ($160 for 3G electrics) it’s a no brainer in my mind. And now with upgrade and cable for the 3G we may get a better tail behavior – BUT PLEASE REMEMBER, this is software – it WILL have bugs and issues and updates do not solve all the issues and WILL introduce more…. Get ready to tinker and tinker and tinker some more

Settings at this point that are pretty tame –
3G Settings
Elevator Gain : ~35%
Aileron Gain : ~45%
Transmitter
Dual Rate / Expo
Aileron : 90%/45%
Elevator : 90%/35%

- Matt

FYI - the GY520 fits beautifully on the 450 pro right behind the 3G sensor - here's a pic -

[heliman001]

Had a few weeks with 3g on my 700 now and loving it
I have set up three 3g systems now and all have worked well.
I think the 3g manual is the problem.
A simple addition of....Use a new model memory to set up your 3g...in my
opinion would solve 90% of the issues.
Also recommending use of a swash leveller would go a long way.
Lastly put in the gp750/780 gyro mounting pads, they are much bigger and
allow the sensor to sit nice and level in the middle.
Baz

[DenDog220]

Hello Matt..

When I first got my 3G for birthday, the loose wire caused me 5 crashes in 2 weeks.

The problem was found and solved with shoe goo, but the tail still wagged a bit.

After using a GY520 to cure the wagging tail problem on my 3G 450 Pro like you do... I now really love my setup!

[504Rone]

I have the 3g v2 on my 700e....no problems, no tail kicks and I left everything stock. It was plug n play for me. It's awesome!

[edge]

So for reliable tail you need another gyro. I guess that makes the 3G really a 2G! :-)