Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Helicopters / October 2007

If you are going to do any 3D now OR latter  then 0 pitch mid stick

Its not a case of being popula   but a case of you will need 0 at mid stick
or you will not get full -pitch when inverted

Hi RoRo,

That's mainly because back then, we were using analog (non-computerized)
radio systems and you really didn't have much choice.  It was the standard
of the day based on what they knew about model helicopters.  We've learned a
LOT since then and the radio systems have improved a LOT more than that so
we've got LOT more options!  :-)

Actually, HH gyros didn't have anything to do with it.  The first person I
know of that did a mirrored collective setup (I could be wrong about this,
he's just the first one "I" know of) is Mike Mass (sp?).  He set the model
up for this mechanically with a standard non-computer radio and rigged a
switch that would deactivate the throttle control at whatever position the
throttle happened to be in by breaking the circuit.  He'd then have to live
with whatever rotor rpm excursions the system would make when he was cycling
between upright and inverted flight.  It was a much more interesting time
back then.

Which is, I think, what many folks do.  I learned in the "hover at half
stick" erra and I still prefer that for simple flying around.  I set the
model up with a mirrored collective (0 degrees at half stick) mechanically
and then use the computer radio to get the -5, +5, +10 pitch curves that I
was used to getting with a 100% mechanical setup before the computer radios
came along.  Then it's just the flip of a switch to have the mirrored
collective.

As for relying on the governor 100% for rpm control, that works great as
long as the governor keeps working.  It's always a good idea to set some
kind of rudimentary throttle curve on all your flight modes, just in case
the governor decides to take a dump.  I know that's rare but it doesn't take
long to set the throttle curves to something close (and that's all they have
to be) and it could save you an expensive model "if" the governor ever
decides to head south for the winter.  ;-)

So far, I've always set them up to hover at mid stick.  We mechanically set
the machine up for the mirrored collective as stated above and then just use
the radio programming to set it up.  However, there's nothing wrong with
letting them learn with 0 degrees at half stick.  All it means is that
they'll be hovering at 3/4 stick.  It might also make the collective a
little more touchy because the pitch curve is more compressed than it would
otherwise be.  The "important" part, in my opinion, is that the minimum
collective shouldn't be more than a -1 to -2 degrees.  I'm talking a "brand
new" pilot who's never flown before.  Give them a machine with an
available -10 degrees and you'll be picking up the pieces in short order.
As they gain experience, you can bring the blades further into the negative
range.  Now that I describe that, I'm not sure I like the idea of a model
that only has 1 to 2 degrees of collective movement from full down to half
stick.  That just doesn't sound natural to me.  So, I think I'll continue to
set them up with a half stick hover.  With our computer radios, it's not a
big deal either way.

FWIW!  :-)

Fly Safe,
Steve R.