Never forget the basics.

[Mike Robey]

Hi All,

I learned something the hard way the other week so this posting is so that hopefully others can learn from my mistake.The more experienced fliers will probably groan at what I did but I live in Australia so I think I am far enough away to be safe from their wrath!

 

Keep in mind as you read this that I have only ever used two transmitters. The first is a DX7 which, has model matching, and more recently a Turnigy 9X which does not.

I was trying to fly a little foamy scratch build called the Fun Bat. Great little hack plane that I just love to fly. I was using the Turnigy transmitter.

Prior to that I had the Turnigy transmitter set to another model. I changed models or so I thought but I was in a rush an didn't look as closely as I should have. You can probably guess where this is going but read on anyway.

 

I powered up the Funbat and her esc sang its normal little song and off I marched to the flight line.

After a normal hand launch at full throttle, model noses down a tad, Mike puts in up elevator, model dips down further Mike increases up elevator, model plunges vertically into the ground at full throttle.

 

Upon reaching the wreckage I noticed everything was still working but that the elevator was working in reverse. Then I noticed the model name on the transmitter display. It wasn't Funbat.

 

I would like to lay the blame on the Turnigy transmitter for not having model matching and for having cheap buttons that sometimes don't react to your presses but the real culprit is me.

 

You see, there I was standing on the flight line. Check the controls for direction of movement I thought. Screw it I have checked that a hundred times before and its always fine was the next thought. Then I launched the plane.

 

One of my hugely sympathetic fellow fliers summed the situation up with the comment:

"A Funbat flown by a dingbat"

Point being I don't blame myself for being ignorant about the model matching. To me that is just lack of experience but if I had checked the controls before launching then there would not have been a problem.

 

Good news is the Funbat is built like a tank so it only took me a few hours to fix her up again and she is back flying as good as new.

 

However I will ALWAYS check my control movements before EVERY launch from now on.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yes Mike a good reminder for us all. As you say, leave aside the wrong model selection, pre-flight checks should have alerted you to the fact that something was wrong.

 

But we've all done it haven't we? We're flying something we've flown a hundred times before. A quick wiggle of the sticks and "Oh that's all right". We sometimes don't really look, we just go through the motions.

 

Anyway glad the damage wasn't too bad and I for one will be taking your reminder to not skimp on those all important pre-flight checks on board. Thanks

 

BEB

[John Privett]

Posted by Michael Robey on 03/11/2011 12:28:54:

 

I would like to lay the blame on the Turnigy transmitter for not having model matching and for having cheap buttons that sometimes don't react to your presses but the real culprit is me.

 

You might alternatively blame Spektrum for patenting Model Match so nobody else could use it...

 

 

Posted by Michael Robey on 03/11/2011 12:28:54:

One of my hugely sympathetic fellow fliers summed the situation up with the comment:

"A Funbat flown by a dingbat"

 

Yep, it seems like "sympathetic fellow flyers" are much the same in Oz as here!

[Stephen Grigg]

Yes Mike easily done,you cannot rush the preparation can you.I did the same thing with my Fun Cub ,realised straight away and its so easy to fly just let it glide in.Watched a mate do the same with a lovely Mustang,he had the ailerons the wrong way round,and he made it to finals and when 4 feet from the ground just compensated the wrong wat and crashed it.

[Romeo Whisky]

Well I simply don't believe anyone who says they have never done this (apart from those who have only ever flown Spektrum). I've done it once (on 35MHz -and of course you are then very careful - until next time)! Thankfully Spektrum came along in time to save me from any subsequent lapse.

 

Spektrum Model-Match is an incredible safety feature, and I don't understand why all the TX manufacturers have not incorporated a similar feature (or have Spektrum done such a fantastic job of wording their patent that the others can't do it, perhaps?). Whatever the reason. it is such a significant feature that nothing would persuade me to switch to another make of transmitter.

 

Of course even model-match does not absolve us from the responsiblity to check that all control surfaces are operating correctly - that is basic airmanship. But then we are all human!

 

 

[buster prop]

It is possible, even with a DX7. I have one or two foamie 'hack' models which don't have a receiver permanently fitted. I think you know what comes next... I swap a receiver around and reverse some controls, but one day I forgot and launched a plane off and promptly rolled it into the ground. I knew immediately what the cause was. In the days of 35MHz I did once see an expert flyer, B cert holder, club instructor as well, crash a plane because he hadn't changed his model number on the transmitter from the last time he flew with another plane. He couldn't have done a pre-flight check. Model match helps but human error can overcome any safety device!

[andy watson]

Easy mistake to make- most people will have at least come close to this.

 

For me model match is the one significat area where Spektrum has the edge on Futaba. As a Futaba user it is one feature I look at enviously. The thing I find strange is how Spektrum managed to patent it. It's not as if it's a high tech concept, just that the receivers only work one at a time. In some ways you could look at that as a restriction, since technically I could fly 2 planes at once in formation (hmm, now there's an idea!). It seems strange that this patent has held firm, whilst at the same time both Spektrum and Futabas entire chipset archietecture has been ransacked by people like orange without a peep.

[Tim Mackey]

Nowt to stop you binding two separate models ( or indeed as many as you like ) to the same model memory and flying in tandem - I do it regularly with indoor Vapors just for fun.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by andy watson on 04/11/2011 10:20:58:

It seems strange that this patent has held firm, whilst at the same time both Spektrum and Futabas entire chipset archietecture has been ransacked by people like orange without a peep.

 

Possibly because Futaba and Spektrum are both companies witha healthy respect for other people's intellectual property?

 

BEB

[andy watson]

OK- so why hasn't Orange "improved" the Futaba receiver by incorporating a model match feature?

 

Just curious- maybe I like model match more than most.

[Mowerman]

Wrong model selected - motor will not start - select correct model motor starts on fullpower, channel reversed.

Result - Helper decides he is glad he didnt have 10" otherwise - circumcision.

Everybody sweating, lesson learned. (we hope)

Edited By Mowerman on 04/11/2011 16:55:20

Edited By Mowerman on 04/11/2011 16:55:49

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by andy watson on 04/11/2011 16:52:02:

OK- so why hasn't Orange "improved" the Futaba receiver by incorporating a model match feature?

 

Just curious- maybe I like model match more than most.

For model match to work the Tx would have to transmit the model number during binding. Tx's with model match have a subset to their unique identification number so when it binds to the Rx the Rx will only bind to the Tx on that model setting, non model match Tx's only have one bind code which is identical for all model memories. It's nothing to do with the Rx's.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by andy watson on 04/11/2011 16:52:02:

OK- so why hasn't Orange "improved" the Futaba receiver by incorporating a model match feature?

 

Just curious- maybe I like model match more than most.

 

Ah, perhaps some people are good at originating stuff and prepared to pay the development overheads - whilst others find it a lot easier to just copy and undercut the price?

 

BEB

[Mike Robey]

Hi All,

 

Well you are all making feel better about the whole thing because clearly I am not unique in making this mistake. Thanks for that. I do feel better about it.

 

One comment though is that we can argue the pros and cons of Spektrum and model matching, the main point is that if I had stuck to procedure and checked my controls the only thing that would have happened was a little head scratching before I finally noticed the wrong model in the transmitter display and corrected it.

 

Point being we have the checks to pick up the unexpected but the irony is that the unexpected doesn't happen too often so we start not bothering.

 

Bottom line is we all need to do our checks. This one is a simple thing that would have taken me 5 seconds.