Co-Pilot II - How To, Made Simple!

[nightflyr]

The following has been repeated more times than I can remember...

So to make life easy .........here it is in plain simple English

Once you have your helicopter assembled and test flown and with it trimmed and good for flight.
Here are the steps to install the Co-Pilot II on to your helicopter

1) Depending on the size class helicopter you are installing on....you may or may not need servo extensions to complete the install.

********Please pay attention to the distances between the sensors and avionics computer and if required, purchase the correct length extensions******* .

2) Mounting the main sensor on to ( but not necessarily the only location) the boom.
Typically with the output lead facing towards the boom block and secure it firmly using the included mounting supplies that come with the Co-Pilot II.

Typical Main Sensor mounting on a 450 class...



Main sensor mounting on 600 class (non-boom mounted)....



Main sensor mounting on 650 Stretch (non-boom mounted)....



Main sensor mount 700LE...




3) Locate the vertical sensor ( if you are using it) so that it has a clear view of the sky and ground.
Take note of the direction arrow










4) Find a convenient location for the IRNet router on the helicopter and secure it.

Now that wasn't too painful I hope ....

Ok Now for the part that seems to send shivers down the spines of mortal men

To hook up the Co-Pilot II Avionics computer.
A couple of things to make note of..so pay attention...

A) You will note one end of the computer has 5 lead outputs labeled RCV 1,2,3,4 and On/Off and the other end has plug in ports labeled SVO1,2,3,4 ,MAIN ,VERT, IRNET, ACCY.
Any and all plug in connections into the Co-Pilot II Avionic computer will have the negative (black wire) facing upwards to the label of the computer.

B) Unless you have some extreme setup, the lead lengths out of the avionic computer should be enough, if not you may need to add extensions, but I have never found the need to do so.

Now on to the blood chilling task

1) You want to remove ANY one of the 3 cyclic servo leads from your receiver and plug it into SVO1 of the CPII computer.

2) Now find the lead output of the computer marked RCV1..got it? good! ..Now you want to insert it in to the slot where you removed the servo lead from your receiver . Take note of the polarity of your receiver ( which is... negative..top or bottom)

3) Repeat the previous steps for the second of the cyclic servo's, but using SVO2 and RCV2

4) Repeat again for the third cyclic servo, But using SVO3 and RCV3

This now completes the cyclic hook up of the Co-Pilot II..(Has your mere mortal body stop quivering )

Now install the main sensor lead into the marked slot of the avionic computer and do the same for the vertical sensor and IRNet module.
TAKE NOTE THAT YOU ARE PLUGGING INTO THE CORRECT SLOT PLEASE!! ALSO REMEMBER NEGATIVE (BLACK WIRE) IS UP>>TOWARDS THE LABEL

Now if you have a 6 channel receiver and would like the option of turning the CPII On and Off here's how you do it ..

1) Locate your gyro gain lead (single wire out of your gyro) on your receiver( should be the gear port of your receiver) and remove it.

2) Insert the gain lead into SVO4 slot of the CPII computer ( the wire should be at the bottom when plugging in.
3) Find the On/Off lead out of the CPII computer and plug that back into the port you removed the gain lead from the receiver

Now you need to go into your radio and change the gear/gyro setup..for DX6i set gear to gear and set the end points to +100% / - 100% , I believe this is actually 100 and 0 ...haven't played with a DX6i fora long time

Now the GEAR switch will turn the CPII on and off once programmed in quick setup, and you will also set your gain through the 4th channel of the CPII, this will be during the Quick setup..and the gain you input is 'ACTUAL" gain somewhere between 25%- 37% is a good range to work in, this can be adjusted in the preferences menu, scroll through till you get to gyro .

Now your all wondering ..."what about the last lead marked RCV4????" ..
Well I'm glad you asked...DO NOTHING WITH IT!!! on a 3 servo cyclic. tie it up nice and neat and forget about it.

That's it folks if this was done right..all you need to do is quick setup with the programmer and you are done!!!
:dance

One other note worthy item..
During setup, when asked to move your flight control stick, try to do this within a second or 2 too slow of a response and the CPII will not get an correct reading of the max travel of your radio.

A note about overall gain .....

Originally Posted by Joey.S
Hi Guys,

I have the cp2 installed on a pg gasser with a x9303 radio. I have the 3 position switch setup to work with the cp2. What i'm trying to do is set switch pos 2 and 3 on the switch to have different gains for the cp2 but i can not seem to do it.

When i programe the cp2 it sees the 3 switch positions as i move the switch but it says (100% - Level flight). I would like to change the 100% so i have different gains.
What i'm i missing here???

BTW inverted is switched off.

Thanks
Joe
Hi,

It can be done be changing your end point adjustment for the switch or knob you are using to control CPII on/off. Use the hand help programmer when doing this and you can watch the % change when you raise or lower the end point adjustment.

For anyone who will need a video reference ......

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNyE2Ezlbts[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Sp34VHlkI[/ame]

And to cover all the bases here's a FAQ section...

CO-PILOT II FLIGHT STABILIZATION SYSTEM

Weather Calibration Advice

A suggestion, if you are getting a bad weather calibration during preflight check, instead of setting the aircraft on the ground where the vertical sensor only sees a very small area of the ground, hold the aircraft 3 or 4 feet off the ground and at an angel, approximately 30 degrees or less to the horizon. This allows the vertical sensor to see a much larger sampling of the earth. Note the temperature difference at this attitude. You may see an increase earth/sky temperature differential. I find that anytime the temperature differential is 8 degrees or more, CoPilot II works 100%.

I'm using Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (or 32-bit). Do I have to have the FUIM2/FUIM3 connected to the USB device before connecting it to my computer? I ask because I keep getting "no driver found for your device."

1) Leave the FUIM2/FUIM3 disconnected from the CPII and from your PC's USB port. 2) Launch the Co-Pilot II application. 3) Click the download USB driver link from the application window. 4) Pick the correct driver from the web page. If your device is FUIM2, use the Driver for Win Vista x32 or x64 bit. If it's the FUIM3, there's only one driver. 5) Follow the on screen instructions. If you have attempted to load the driver before, what might happen is an uninstall first. If you see that the program wants to uninstall the driver, let it. Then go back to the website and install it again. 6) Now launch the CPII application again. 7) Plug the USB end of the interface into your USB port at this time. Win7 should tell you the driver is loaded now. 8) Plug the other end of the cable into the CPII computer's ACCY port and apply power. 9) Click the firmware you wish to install, then choose Update Firmware.

What servos do I connect to the avionics computer for flight stabilization?

You need to connect the pitch (elevator) and roll (aileron) servos for flight stabilization. For 3D airplane flight modes, you will also need to connect yaw (rudder). For CCPM helicopters, you will also connect collective servo.

For aircraft:

Aileron (1 or 2 channel input)
Elevator (1 or 2 channel input)
Rudder (for 3D mode - must have available input)

Old time aircraft

Rudder
Elevator

For Helicopter:

non CCPM
Cyclic roll (aileron)
Cyclic pitch (elevator)

CCPM
Cyclic roll (aileron)
Cyclic pitch (elevator)
Collective

What is the proper direction to connect servo leads to the avionics computer?

All servo leads, including the CP II sensors and IR router, connect with the black (ground) lead towards the CP II label.

Do the channels on my receiver match up to the inputs on the avionics computer?

No. The servo inputs on the avionics computer are totally independent from the channels on your receiver. Just make sure you connect the servos mentioned in the FAQ "What servos to I connect to the avionics computer for flight stabilization?" above. The order that the servos plug into the avionics computer does not matter. The computer learns the control settings during setup. Just make sure the input numbers match the output numbers; e.g., if you use RCV1 for Elevator, plug the elevator servo into SVO1, etc. Never connect throttle through the CPII avionic computer.

Do I have to connect my gyro control to the avionics computer?

No. The gyro control (1 wire servo lead normally connected to channel 5) is only connected to the avionics computer when you want to free up a channel.

Does it matter which way the vertical sensor is mounted?

Yes! The vertical sensor must be mounted with the arrow pointing towards the sky.

How do Flight Modes work and how do I set up and use the 3D modes?

Basically, how the system can be set up depends on what kind of switches or AUX knobs or sliders you have.

2 way switches, sliders and knobs can handle the following:

OFF
Flight Mode 1

3 way switches can handle the following:

OFF
Flight Mode 1
Flight Mode 2

A standard installation for a 2 position control might be:

OFF
Level Flight

If you want to setup 3D modes, then it might look like this:

OFF
Inverted Flight

For a heli, there is only one supported 3D mode which is inverted. For an airplane, the system supports the following 3D modes:

Inverted Flight
Vertical Hover
Knife Edge Right Wing Down
Knife Edge Left Wing Down

We intentionally make it more difficult to set up the 3D modes. You have to actually read the Reference manual to get the 3D password. Once you know it, you enter it during Quick Setup from the CPII main menu, and all the 3D Flight Modes are available to you. All 3D Flight Modes required the Vertical Sensor to be installed. If you answer no to the 3D password question, then you only see OFF and Level Flight Mode as the program options. Once you enter the password 1 time during Quick Setup, then you will always have access to the 3D modes during Flight Mode Setup (switch assignments) from within Preferences menu. To clarify, the Flight Mode Setup menus are duplicated in 2 places. The first time you set them up on your AUX control, you will do it during Quick Setup. From that point forward, you no longer use Quick Setup again unless you need to change aircraft, radio, sensor installation, etc. Quick Setup walks you through Sensor Setup first, followed by Flight Mode Setup. You may want to change Flight Mode Setup regularly, so we allow you to redo that part of setup from Preferences as well instead of making you walk through the entire Quick Setup process again and again. Why would you want to change Flight Mode Setup regularly? Suppose you want to start off with just OFF and Level Flight. Then later, you might want to set up OFF and Inverted. Or if you have a 3 way switch, you might want to set up OFF, Level Flight, and Inverted all on the same switch. Go to Preferences over and over to make changes to your Flight Mode Setup. Preferences is also where you will go when you want to adjust things like Gain settings, Set Angles (which is essentially trim when the CPII is turned ON), Stick Priority, Gyro output control on SVO4, etc.

How you intend to use CPII is flexible and it's up to the individual's preference. If no AUX control is set up, then CPII will always be ON and set up for Level Flight Mode. If you have an AUX control, then one setting is mandatory OFF. Many people will use the AUX control as a panic button. When you lose control, flip the switch. CPII is capable of stabilizing your aircraft from any attitude to level flight in split seconds. Some people will tend to want to keep CPII on all the time. Flying is much more natural feeling with CPII than previous versions of Co-Pilot, so it should not be a problem to do aerobatic flying when CPII is always ON. The key is adjusting Gains and Stick Priority to what you like.

Now, 3D modes are more tricky than the others which is why we make them harder to access. Here's how it works. Let's say you have a 2 way switch programmed for OFF and Inverted Flight. You can take off with CPII in the OFF position or you can take off with it in the ON position. CPII will not arm inverted mode until the aircraft is in the correct attitude AND then the Flight Mode switch is moved from OFF to Inverted. So, if you take off with CPII ON in this scenario, CPII will perform Level Flight mode. Keep reading and you'll understand why. Now, when you're ready to go inverted, switch idle up ON. Switch CPII control OFF. Invert the aircraft, then switch CPII ON. As long as the measured angles satisfy the computer that the aircraft is properly inverted, when the switch is flipped ON, it will hold inverted flight with little effort from the pilot. The only tricky part to this is that it might take some trial and error to set the Angles properly. This is because when the aircraft is inverted, it may require different trim settings than when it is flying right-side up. This is why we give you the ability to Set Angles individually for each of the various Flight Modes from within Preferences. If you go inverted, then flip with switch and the aircraft wants to fall out of inverted (due to trim issues), you will land, use the IRNet programmer to adjust the angles for inverted, and try again. Once the angles are adjusted properly for a specific installation, they will remain fairly well adjusted over time.

Now, what happens when the aircraft is not properly trimmed during inverted, or perhaps it is adjusted properly, but you want to go back to level flight while flying? When the aircraft falls out, or if you roll it out of inverted, then it will do one of two things. It can be set up to turn CPII OFF, or it can be set up to switch from Inverted to Level Flight mode. This is an option you set from within Preferences. In all cases, the vertical sensor is required for 3D Flight Mode setup. This being the case, the aircraft will always roll out of inverted mode during recovery to level flight if CPII is programmed to recover to level flight. So, we recommend you recover to Level Flight Mode when practicing Inverted, and this is the default setting. This is the safest way to go because if you fall out (or terminate) inverted, the only thing you need to remember is to switch Idle on to OFF. CPII will do the rest to bring the aircraft to a safe attitude.

What is the difference between Auto Trim and Set Angles menus and what is a good strategy for trimming the model with CPII installed?

1) Auto trim is expressed in degrees. Default value is 6 degrees. If using Auto trim, trim the model out with CPII switched OFF. Then turn CPII ON and re-trim the model again for level flight. When you turn CPII OFF again, trim should not change. If it does, increase the Auto trim value. If it still does not hold same trim with CPII ON vs. OFF, then you will need to either alter the install angle of the main sensor (tilt it slightly), or use set angles to trim CPII.

2) What Auto trim does is maintain CPII slightly ON even when it is switched OFF. That's why we term it for beginners. Advanced pilots sometimes do not like the fact that CPII has any control over the heli when it is switched OFF.

3) If you want CPII to have no control over the heli when switched OFF, then turn Auto trim to zero.

4) Now you will need to trim CPII for level flight when it is ON independently of when it is OFF. Some people tilt the main sensor to achieve level flight in this case. Some people use the Set Angles menus. Both methods achieve the same results. One does it mechanically, the other does it electrically.

5) Auto trim and Set Angles do similar things. They can be used independently or in conjunction. It's all just a way of adjusting the trim of the model. The difference is, Auto Trim will affect level even with CPII OFF. Set Angles only applies when CPII is ON.

6) The IR "cones", or viewing angles are 120 degress in diameter. If you block a portion of the cone with other installed components, it may affect the trim of the model. It's usually not possible to get 100% clear view of sensors. So compensating using higher Auto Trim value, or Set Angles is appropriate. If the sensor view is blocked by a component that could emit heat in varying degrees (like a muffler, or a black fin that could be heated up by the sun, or a digital servo that heats up as you fly), then it will be more difficult to achieve proper trim because the trim could change continually.

I'm now using the CPII from FMA and I SLOWLY want to take more control and reduce the CPII help until I'm flying like one of the real "bad boys". Do I slowly reduce gain and increase stick priority? (or do I have this reversed)?

If you have a proportionaly AUX control, you can set the CPII up so you can vary the sensitivity from the TX. This is not the same thing as reducing the gains. Gain controls the gain of the op amps in the sensors. Higher sensitivity means the servo travel is increased during stabilization (using the gains that are set up using the programmer). This is a common misconception and actually, the results are similar. Either reducing gains or reducing sensitivity will cause a longer recovery time during stabilization. Stick priority also works differently from either Set Gains or adjusting sensitivity. Stick priority lowers the gain of the system as you move the stick further from neutral. A lower percent setting means the gain is turned down less; therefore the pilot feels like he has less control over the model and the CPII has more. Conversely, a higher percentage means the gain is turned down more the further the stick is moved from neutral. This gives the pilot seemingly more control over the aircraft.

We recommend:

1) If you are not getting any oscillation and you are actually looking for more control over the heli, then leave gains where they are.

2) Increase the percentage on stick priority. Experienced fliers tend to use higher figures like 150%.

3) If possible, set the CPII remote up on an AUX channel so that you can vary the sensitivity in the air. If this is not possible, then you may accomplish a similar objective by reducing the gains when you land and using the IRNet programmer.

4) You can also achieve no CPII interaction when CPII is switched OFF by reducing the Auto Trim function to zero. But when you do this, then the model will probably no longer be trimmed when CPII is ON. Use Set Angles menus to trim the heli when CPII is ON. To set Auto Trim to zero, you don't have to re-do setup. Go to preferences.

How does Emergency Recovery (ER) work and should I turn if ON or OFF?

When ER is set to ON in Preferences menu, the following will occur:

ER activates when the following criteria are met:

1) The CPII is set up for Level Flight Mode on the Remote.

2) The aircraft is pitched away from level by 20 degrees or more; in either pitch or roll axes. (Inverted is considered more than 20 degrees away from level).

3) The Remote is changed from a low setting (nearly 0%) up to 100%; e.g., if Level Flight Mode is set up on a toggle switch and is moved from OFF to ON. In other words, ER is only activated by the changing the Remote setting from OFF to Level Flight Mode ON as in a panic situation.

What happens?

1) Gain is increased by a factor of 2x to bring the aircraft to Level faster.

2) The ability for the pilot to over-ride stabilization is greatly reduced. CPII ignores pilot input by 75% when ER is activated. Therefore any attempt by the pilot to over-ride stabilization is mostly ignored.

3) The duration of ER is 2 seconds.

When should I use ER and why is it defaulted to OFF?

ER is designed to enhance performance in a panic situation. However, the most basic instructions we provide to customers when initiating stabilization is to center the control sticks; particularly in a panic situation. This action becomes ingrained in the pilot quickly and is already a normal reaction as one reaches for the Remote switch as it is. In normal operation, the CPII is already capable of leveling an aircraft from any attitude in less than one second, depending on gain settings. Therefore, in normal applications, setting ER to ON is generally not necessary or preferred, as many customers would rather have the capacity to over-ride the system if they so choose. Nevertheless, the use of ER is generally non-problematic and it is up to the individual to decide whether or not to use it.

Contrary to previously released information, ER has the same basic utility whether used in a fixed-wing aircraft or a helicopter. There is no reason to believe that ER is preferred in one type of aircraft over another. Statements to this effect were the result of early testing of ER during the beta program, long before ER was thoroughly tested and perfected. Engineers were initially hesitant to recommend ER in heli’s because the feature over-rides pilot input. Subsequent testing has indicated that the duration of 2 seconds for ER has no adverse effect on pilot control and certain beta testers do prefer ER recovery to normal recovery.

Additional Information:

In subsequent CPII releases, we hope to support a feature termed hard deck. Imagine an aircraft, out of control, and heading towards earth. Pilot is completely at a loss to recover. Hard deck will represent a minimum altitude at which Level Flight Mode will be activated, regardless of Remote setting. ER will become mandatory to swift and un-constrained recovery of the model in this scenario which is the main reason why the feature is already available in the CPII firmware.

Are the LED's on the IR Router suppose to light up?

No

One of the LED's on the IR router is shorter then the other 3?

This is normal. There are 3 LED's for transmitting. These are the tall "blue" domes. There is one IR receiver which is mounted internally on the PCB and sees through the 4th hole in the top of the router case.

Can the IRnet programmer be used on another set of a CPII IRnet router?

Yes, you only need one programmer if you have multiple systems. We will eventually carry the sensors, avionics computers, and routers to purchase separately.

How do I turn the IRNet programer OFF?

It turns off by itself.


I will proof read this and edit if I missed anything

I hope they make this a STICKY!!

[icerat4]

Yes please someone sticky this quick ..please... Good job night as always

[nightflyr]

Thx!

[A.Delaney]

Yes a fantastic job.

[jpe9]

Oui trés bon travail, maintenant la suite pour la programmation.
JP
Yes trés good job, supporting suite for programming

[nightflyr]

BUMP..completed!!!!

[icerat4]

Ok whos the guy to get to stickie this great write up

[Finless]

Stuck by request!

Bob

[icerat4]

Thank you..Night is a great asset here to all..Once again thanks and keep up the great help night...

[bald_noggin]

Well done Nightflyr

[tribe3]

!!!

[teb1963]

Thanks Night, What are you gonna do with all your spare time now.

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by teb1963

Thanks Night, What are you gonna do with all your spare time now.

Ask that question out on the forum and see what responses you'll get....

[dyuen888]

nightflyr:
3) Find the On/Off lead out of the CPII computer and plug that back into the port you removed the gain lead from the receiver

"Now you need to go into your radio and change the gear/gyro setup..for DX6i set gear to gear and set the end points to +100% / - 100%"

I got the gain wire figured out and plugged in but got confused on the programming on the TX.
On the DX6i TX = do you mean to set the following?

Gyro Off = 0%
Gyro On = 100%

Thanks for a great post

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by dyuen888

nightflyr:
3) Find the On/Off lead out of the CPII computer and plug that back into the port you removed the gain lead from the receiver

"Now you need to go into your radio and change the gear/gyro setup..for DX6i set gear to gear and set the end points to +100% / - 100%"

I got the gain wire figured out and plugged in but got confused on the programming on the TX.
On the DX6i TX = do you mean to set the following?

Gyro Off = 0%
Gyro On = 100%

Thanks for a great post

You need to go into the DX6i menu and set the gear switch to gear

Should look something like this stock setup...Gear/Gyro you now want Gear/Gear and you to the travel adjustments for gear and set the extreme's to the maximum values allowed.

[dyuen888]

Nightflyr,

Thanks for the quick response...

[nightflyr]

No worries, any other question just give a yell

[trondhindenes]

Hi guys, I'm having a few issues with my CPII that I got the other day. I hope the community can help me figure these out:

I have set up the CPII on my T-rex 600GF as per instructions and pics found here. The main sensor is boom-mounted just in front of the horisontal stabilizer, and the vert sensor sits on the rudder servo, all pretty standard setup.

I have set stick priority to 70%, and gyro gain on the CPII to 41%, all other settings are left alone.

What I'm noticing is that during spool-up the heli will tilt HEAVILY front and left, even if im on level ground with at least 100 meters to any obstacle/tree on all sides. I'm guessing this has to be trimmed out, but what I don't get is how to do this. From what I have read, I can use either auto trim or set angles to level out the bird. When using auto-trim am I supposed to trim the heli using the trim sliders on my transmitter, or by using CPII programming? If so, I guess this is the way to do it:

1. Make sure heli is properly trimmed before installing the CPII
2. Install, go through quick setup
3. With the CPII installed and switched OFF, trim out any necesarry adjustments using the transmitter trim sliders
4. With the CPII turned ON (Set to LEVEL FLIGHT), re-trim using the transmitter so that trim is equal in OFF and ON (LEVEL FLIGHT)

From what I can see, step 4 will be performed whenever flying conditions vary drastically (new flying field, big temp change etc),is this correct?

Any pointers appreciated

regards,
Trond Hindenes
Norway

[nightflyr]

Auto trim is expressed in degrees. Default value is 6 degrees. If using Auto trim, trim the model out with CPII switched OFF. Then turn CPII ON and re-trim the model again for level flight. When you turn CPII OFF again, trim should not change. If it does, increase the Auto trim value. If it still does not hold same trim with CPII ON vs. OFF, then you will need to either alter the install angle of the main sensor (tilt it slightly), or use set angles to trim CPII.

[Woody_99]

After using the CPII for a few weeks, I decided to go back to default on all the settings to make sure everything was setup correctly.
Part of my redo was to install the horizontal sensor on an old horizontal stabilizer that I cut down to just fit under the sensor. Also moved the sensor a bit forward of the blade strike area.

I decided to use two round bubble levels to set the sensor level with the helicopter. First leveled the heli, using the frame near the gyro as a reference point.
Then after mounting the sensor on the tail, I used the adjustment capability of the old fin bracket to make the sensor level with the frame.

All of my trims on the radio and in the CPII are at zero now. No pitch or roll.

I was glad that now everything was set neutral electronically and mechanically, but what I found also is that I have not had to adjust the pitch or roll at all for the various flying sites that I use.

I don't think that just setting everything in the middle of its range would have done this, but it sure works for me. It may have more to do with the placement of the sensor, not sure.

I just wanted to share an installation setup that works great for me, in case it may help anyone else.