E mail from FMA. (Hard Deck )

[ROGER G]

Just received a e mail from FMA today 8/29 at 10:10 in the morning. Hard Deck should ship mid Sept. . They gave a link to the instruction manual, very interesting ! Now I know why it was so hard to perfect. The instructions on installing the STATIC port on a Heli is the most interesting. I forgot that the Heli might be out of control in any attitude coming down to the
Hard Deck ! Very ingenious !! Well done FMA !

[sutty]

Yes, the little flow follower is a nice innovation, but the piping looks just a tad fiddly. I guess we are all modelers, and as such I'm sure we'll all cope admirably. I'll have to get another delivery system for my CA though, or I'll over do it. Might apply it with a pin or something.

Manual seems pretty clear, but I will know more when reading it in conjunction with the on screen help, whilst actually doing the set-up.

Can hardly wait now.

Cheers

Sutty

[SKYQUEST]

I go the same letter at 2pm here (est.)
I am syked!

[bullfroggs]

hello. i would like to know if this flow follower is needed? can't the tube just be installed and run down the tail boom supports? this does look a little weird to say the least.

[Tim Marks]

Originally Posted by bullfroggs

hello. i would like to know if this flow follower is needed? can't the tube just be installed and run down the tail boom supports? this does look a little weird to say the least.

Hi:

The static streamer is absolutely required for heli applications. Without it, errors reading static pressure will result in up to 100 ft altitude errors. The aircraft will crash. In order to accomplish it, you would also have to lie to the IRNet programmer and tell is you are not using the Static Streamer.

[bullfroggs]

thanks tim. read the manual on the hard deck today and when i get mine it will be installed. since we are on this subject, does everyone who ordered the hard deck, will they all be getting an email as to the update on the hard deck availability? thank you

[Tim Marks]

Originally Posted by bullfroggs

thanks tim. read the manual on the hard deck today and when i get mine it will be installed. since we are on this subject, does everyone who ordered the hard deck, will they all be getting an email as to the update on the hard deck availability? thank you

Hi:

Most everyone who purchased the Hard Deck should be on the mailing list, which means they would have received the same email campaign that went out yesterday under the category "Marketing". As a safeguard, we also sent it out again to just customers who purchased Hard Deck under the email category "Product Updates". So the only way they might not get it is if they have rejected all forms of email communication from Revolectrix using the opt out feature. Not much we can do about that!

[capekod heli]

installed hard deck on my 700 ... love it worked perfectly untill the cone came off (after making sure ca was applied per instruction)...lost in a huge field ... any suggestions as to what i can use to replace it

[Tim Marks]

Originally Posted by capekod heli

installed hard deck on my 700 ... love it worked perfectly untill the cone came off (after making sure ca was applied per instruction)...lost in a huge field ... any suggestions as to what i can use to replace it

Hi:

So, good news and bad news! Really good to know everything worked as advertised for you until the mishap. I'm passing along your inquiry and either I or someone else will communicate with you via PM to see what we can do for you.

In the mean time, I just wanted to caution you not to attempt to use the system again until the static streamer assembly has been repaired and is in working order again.

This is the first we have heard of this issue, even after years of beta testing; however, the product is new to the market. Rest assured, we'll help you remedy the situation with due haste.

Thank you for your support!

[capekod heli]

thanks tim
i have to mention that i have used fma product for sometime now. and they are incredible!
love the company and support as well.

[n6nev]

I did some goggling on Static Port, and found that some airplanes have the Static Port and Pitot Tube in the same housing and it wired for heat to defeat iceing. In the Cockpit is a manual valve that can change the static port source to the Cockpit, if the deiceing doe's not work, and the pitot/static becomes nonoperative. So I have room in my frame about 3 x1.5 inches, so I made a wee cockpit out of cardboard , and put the static port inside. and it works just fine..... I dont completely trust this , as it not proven, I wanted to see it it would fuction and it does........

[sutty]

Of course this is what we modellers do, try things and experiment, but on this they have been exceptionally clear. The only reliable method they found was with the static streamer, and without it you could easily get a pressure error that could lead to failure to deploy in time. As they put it, we have done thousands of tests so that you don't have to. Trust us on this.

Take plummeting nose down to earth, so that air was slightly evacuated from your canopy, as it rushed passed the sides and open end. The pressure inside your little box would be lowered, perhaps to such an extent that it thought you were still above the hard deck at 30, 20, 10 feet or less.

Of course we do such things at our own risk, but as the guys from FMA have said so many times, they tried many solutions, over years of testing, and nothing else worked reliably. I bet it works 9 out of 10 times, but that wouldn't be good enough. Even if it worked in time, most of the time, I bet it would operate at variable heights. To reverse my above example, what if you were falling backwards, so the canopy were collecting air, increasing the pressure inside, it would go off too early.

Still don't blame you for experimenting though. It's what a lot of us do.

Cheers

Sutty

[nightflyr]

I would not suggest altering the design as it was tested and proven...

if you decide to go down this route you can not hold anyone accountable except yourself.

[n6nev]

I understand the risk , it was just a test, and now I am back to the factory setup

[SKYQUEST]

Originally Posted by sutty

Of course we do such things at our own risk, but as the guys from FMA have said so many times, they tried many solutions, over years of testing, and nothing else worked reliably. I bet it works 9 out of 10 times, but that wouldn't be good enough.

They were testing this for years? I thought CPII came out only in the end of 2010? Before that was its old predecessor, the 1st co pilot which had no vert. sensor. Maybe this was part of the whole initial plan? Maybe it was the more complex portion of its design as they've held off w/ HD until now. (They have obviously figured it out now thank goodness.)

How do actual commercial aircraft generally construct their baro sensors / altimeter sensors? (Aren't they both one in the same really?) I guess they use some type of static streamers too? Sure haven't seen anything flapping around on the outside of any real aircraft (but they all must to have some creative, fail-safe, general method being it gets colder as you go higher.) I just got my tracker # for mine. I wish I had the HD kit as a pic w/ something next to it to show the size of all the parts included...then i could start getting a visual on how to install my in my gobbler 700.

[sutty]

Just going off what Tim said in one post, we've been testing for years. Anyway 2010 is years, and that would have been in development way before that too, and there was obviously always a plan for additional 'Accessories', as there is a port on the CPII, so yes I guess that would have been a goal from the outset.

Dunno about commercial airliners, but it is unlikely to be reversing at full speed, so a few variables are taken out of the equation. Plus they can spend a little more money on them to get them right. I'm sure it would be very easy to find out by googling it.

Cheers

Sutty

[jdd1]

Originally Posted by SKYQUEST

They were testing this for years? I thought CPII came out only in the end of 2010? Before that was its old predecessor,

CPII became available to the public in April, 2009. The original product, CPD4 was introduced in late 2001.

[SKYQUEST]

Originally Posted by jdd1

CPII became available to the public in April, 2009. The original product, CPD4 was introduced in late 2001.

Ah...I thought it was around there somewhere.
It felt like rc helicopter insurance to me when it came out and still does.
I haven't used anything else except this from FMA, but I think I may start going through their website more thoroughly because obviously they know what they are doing.

[jdd1]

Originally Posted by SKYQUEST

Ah...I thought it was around there somewhere.
It felt like rc helicopter insurance to me when it came out and still does.
I haven't used anything else except this from FMA, but I think I may start going through their website more thoroughly because obviously they know what they are doing.

Hi SkyQuest,

I think you would be pleased with any product they produce. Their PowerLab Battery Workstations (PL8 and PL6) are pretty much the leader in that field these days. They are tops in quality, safety and power. They also support all current and future battery chemistry, as well as being easy to operate, with free updates and are supported by GUI PC Software.

You can take a look at their products at this web address:
http://www.revolectrix.com/CCS_Tour.htm

[ROGER G]

This is odd, very odd. When playing around with the IR controller with the new V2.4 firmware on the CPII, I got this warning message in the ' Preferance ' mode. I wish I wrote it down word for word, but it was close to this: ' Warning ; GPS signal not found ' !!! I have no idea how I got it to appear and was not able to get it back again ! But I swear this is true, and I have not lost my mind! Does anyone know about a future GPS module for the CPII. ????