Skookum team pilots setups......HOT!! GOT EVEN HOTTER!!

[anthony1]

thank you for taking the time to help so many people , Alvin, i for one truly appreciate the time you have taken to put this mini guide together , it explains almost everything that i have questions about , well done mate

[CHIEF-X]

great great idea alvin/georgi ive been waiting for something like this for a long long time. and yes i do believe this is the best thread ever i think it should be stickyed or someone should make a tuneing guide thread so people get this info sooner rather than later when they are desparately searching threads after a crash or something.

not that its ever happened to me

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by chiefs_nut_58

great great idea alvin/georgi ive been waiting for something like this for a long long time. and yes i do believe this is the best thread ever i think it should be stickyed or someone should make a tuneing guide thread so people get this info sooner rather than later when they are desparately searching threads after a crash or something.

not that its ever happened to me

=] Chief thanks! it is secured in the sticky section, I voted it 5 stars,

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by alvinchai

Hi everyone, I often check Facebook and will be faster for me to answer any questions

=] Alvin, thanks again, this is now a sticky for all users. the beers are on all of us! don't drown!! georgi UK.

[hock]

Thanks alot for the info, Alvin. Do you leave the DR and expo settings as default on your TX when you tune the control rates on the Sk540?

[CHIEF-X]

i am not being picky by any means but could we get a little tail troubleshooting and gain explaination also. referring to getting rid of tail kicks, wags, and relashionships between gains in the radio and in the 540 setup software? and also as hock said a quick explaination of dr & expo relashionships to control rates in the software.

[alvinchai]

Originally Posted by hock

Thanks alot for the info, Alvin. Do you leave the DR and expo settings as default on your TX when you tune the control rates on the Sk540?

Yes my dual rates are at default 100% and I only adjust the Control Rates in the setup software.

You can use the expo in your TX if you like, on some models I'm using 15%-20% expo just to smooth things out a bit.

[alvinchai]

Originally Posted by chiefs_nut_58

i am not being picky by any means but could we get a little tail troubleshooting and gain explaination also. referring to getting rid of tail kicks, wags, and relashionships between gains in the radio and in the 540 setup software? and also as hock said a quick explaination of dr & expo relashionships to control rates in the software.

No worries I think I can answer better if you can give me some specific examples, the question is pretty broad and I don't know where to start

[alvinchai]

Just some notes with regards to TX settings, the only things I adjust on my TX are (I'm using a JR9303)
- GEAR channel for overall cyclic gain (gain value adjusted thru end points) and switching between Cyclic 1 and Cyclic 2
- AUX 2 channel for overall tail gain (thru end points) and switching between Tail 1 and 2
- Aileron and elevator expo (if needed to smooth my cyclics out)
- Throttle curve
- Pitch curve
- Throttle hold
- And if using Skookum governor, throttle end points to set up the esc or throttle servo

The rest of the values are set as default and all other tuning are done in the setup software.

[thefrog]

Originally Posted by alvinchai

Yes my dual rates are at default 100% and I only adjust the Control Rates in the setup software.

You can use the expo in your TX if you like, on some models I'm using 15%-20% expo just to smooth things out a bit.

For me this is the most important statement I've read in a very long time (besides the excellent setup advice so far - thank you). I've really been struggling lately as a local 'pro' pilot was telling how bad it was that I was flying with expo. I took his advice, removed the expo and my flying went to s$^t. So I'm back to running a bit of expo to smooth the model out a bit and I'm much more confortable again.

[heathy]

Originally Posted by thefrog

For me this is the most important statement I've read in a very long time (besides the excellent setup advice so far - thank you). I've really been struggling lately as a local 'pro' pilot was telling how bad it was that I was flying with expo. I took his advice, removed the expo and my flying went to s$^t. So I'm back to running a bit of expo to smooth the model out a bit and I'm much more confortable again.

I had the opposite when the guy that owns our club said when watching me fly last year put some expo on your ail & elev. I ended up at 30 which smoothed things out no end.

[hock]

Thanks alot for the sharing, Alvin. Ok dr at 100% & some expo. How about the cyclic accel & stick deadbands in relation to the expo in your TX, for example on the X7 or X5? For collective pitch 13 degrees and cyclic pitch 10 degrees. Do you sometimes adjust these values too?

[RiazP]

Originally Posted by thefrog

For me this is the most important statement I've read in a very long time (besides the excellent setup advice so far - thank you). I've really been struggling lately as a local 'pro' pilot was telling how bad it was that I was flying with expo. I took his advice, removed the expo and my flying went to s$^t. So I'm back to running a bit of expo to smooth the model out a bit and I'm much more confortable again.

Maybe you should try my stunt 1 curve next, -5.5, 5.5, 12, works a treat for non 3d, I promise that along with the expo you will look more like a pro...

At least sim it

[thefrog]

Originally Posted by RiazP

works a treat for non 3d,

What's non 3D?

[alvinchai]

Originally Posted by hock

Thanks alot for the sharing, Alvin. Ok dr at 100% & some expo. How about the cyclic accel & stick deadbands in relation to the expo in your TX, for example on the X7 or X5? For collective pitch 13 degrees and cyclic pitch 10 degrees. Do you sometimes adjust these values too?

Just to quickly recap,

EXPO
- So the Expo in the TX basically lets us adjust how sensitive or non-sensitive we want the center sticks to be.


CYCLIC ACCEL
- Cyclic Accel - Cyclic Accel is the acceleration of your cyclic. It does not affect the sensitivity or range of the cyclic. Imagine the Control Rate is the top speed of a car, and Cyclic Acceleration is how fast the car can accelerate to that speed.
- So the higher the Cyclic Accel, the faster the cyclic moves.


STICK DEADBAND
- Stick Deadband does not effect the cyclic sensitivity and range as well. Basically it creates a dead zone in the center of the stick. So if you move your sticks within the deadband (let's say 2%) the servo will not move.
- Deadband helps remove any unwanted small movement in your sticks when you fly and also make sure the heli stays stills when you leave the sticks center. This is because the stick pods in our radio can drift with temperature and it can sometime make the servos jittery in the center, which can effect the heli, so setting deadband will help.
- Also some digital servos really buzz when left in neutral, deadband will help remove it.
- I usually set my deadband from 0% - 2%, and leave it as is.

[hock]

Alvin, thank you very much for your clarification. It's clearer now.

[Luvmyhelis]

Originally Posted by thefrog

For me this is the most important statement I've read in a very long time (besides the excellent setup advice so far - thank you). I've really been struggling lately as a local 'pro' pilot was telling how bad it was that I was flying with expo. I took his advice, removed the expo and my flying went to s$^t. So I'm back to running a bit of expo to smooth the model out a bit and I'm much more confortable again.

I think alot of this depends not only on the pilot, but also what servos, Tx, heli, and style of flight a guy uses. I flew forever without any expo. Expo made my helis feel sluggish. I also ran neg expo for a while. But when I tried it at +10 it really smoothed out my flights on one my hyperactive 450s.

I have seen pro's try and tell guys to do it differently compared to their own disposition. To me if you need it? Use it! It doesn't make a guy a worse pilot. It just tailors your system to work for you. If your fingers and TX work better with no expo. Don't use it. If you need or like it? Use it. Needing it doesn't reflect on flight skills to me. But on other factors.

I was recently at a fly in and had a guy I respect telling a few new pilots to tighten up their sticks in their TX's and toss in some expo. They all spent the day crashing. After loosening up their gymbals, and adding even more expo. The next weekend they all had a much much better time. He liked flying with stiff gymbals. But it made it harder for the guys he was trying to teach.

When I help out new guys. I watch them. Watch their hands. Their finger movements and style of movement. Where their flight skills are. Not only this, but what kind of flight they are into. ( Not all of us are 3d guys) This tells me more on how to setup their tx's than anything.

Love the part about gymbal or stick neutral. Good info!

[aisella]

Hi Alvin,
do you have two different setups for freestyle and set manoeuvres?
If yes, what's the difference?

Thanks for your help.
Alex

[alvinchai]

I use the same cyclic settings for both freestyle and set manoeuvre.

However for tail, I set my Tail 2 with slower rotation rate for doing set manoeuvre, all other setting are the same.

[jcflyer]

Originally Posted by Luvmyhelis

I think alot of this depends not only on the pilot, but also what servos, Tx, heli, and style of flight a guy uses. I flew forever without any expo. Expo made my helis feel sluggish. I also ran neg expo for a while. But when I tried it at +10 it really smoothed out my flights on one my hyperactive 450s.

I have seen pro's try and tell guys to do it differently compared to their own disposition. To me if you need it? Use it! It doesn't make a guy a worse pilot. It just tailors your system to work for you. If your fingers and TX work better with no expo. Don't use it. If you need or like it? Use it. Needing it doesn't reflect on flight skills to me. But on other factors.

I was recently at a fly in and had a guy I respect telling a few new pilots to tighten up their sticks in their TX's and toss in some expo. They all spent the day crashing. After loosening up their gymbals, and adding even more expo. The next weekend they all had a much much better time. He liked flying with stiff gymbals. But it made it harder for the guys he was trying to teach.

When I help out new guys. I watch them. Watch their hands. Their finger movements and style of movement. Where their flight skills are. Not only this, but what kind of flight they are into. ( Not all of us are 3d guys) This tells me more on how to setup their tx's than anything.

Love the part about gymbal or stick neutral. Good info!

Agreed I have flown with expo almost since day one, I can fly without it but I find my flying so much smoother with it so I use it. It doesn't change the way I fly or anything else it just feels better.