Transmitter Purchase and Wind Flying

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Chris, demand for the Taranis transmitter is very high, the effect of this is that they are quite hard to find. If you see one in stock at a supplier grab it.

If you want to have a play at programming before you get it, download Companion9X

In "settings" :-

1) set firmware to openTX for FrSky Taranis.
2) set your stick mode (Mode 1 is Throttle right stick, elevator left stick. Mode 2 is Throttle left stick, elevator right stick)
3) set the default channel order (Aileron, Elevator, Throttle, Rudder is used by Futaba users. Throttle, Aileron, Elevator, Rudder is used by JR and Spektrum users).

You can then have a good look around the programming pages, use templates, and simulate the transmitter to see how the programming has worked.

There are a good number of on line help resources. A good quick start guide for the Tx is here.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

There is one in the classifieds on here at the moment.

BEB

PS Sorry to disappoint Chris - but I have no connection with FrSky, or any distributor! What I say I say for love!

[Chris Anthony]

Thanks for the links and further info Chris. I've had a brief look through the manual but the software I could not quite make sense of, it might become clearer once I link up the TX to it.

So my Taranis is on order and should be here on Wednesday.

Can anyone offer me some advice on suitable RX selection. I now have an IC model, with 4x 45g "standard" servos to be powered. I aim to have a 5-cell 6V NiMH battery to power my RX in the next day or so.

1. Am I limited to only FrSky RX options?

2. What else other than number of channels is going to be a factor in my choice of RX?

3. Is the range my gear can operate at dictated by the TX or the RX, or the combination?

Chris

[Geoff S]

Posted by Chris Anthony on 31/03/2014 14:44:35:

Thanks for the links and further info Chris. I've had a brief look through the manual but the software I could not quite make sense of, it might become clearer once I link up the TX to it.

So my Taranis is on order and should be here on Wednesday.

Can anyone offer me some advice on suitable RX selection. I now have an IC model, with 4x 45g "standard" servos to be powered. I aim to have a 5-cell 6V NiMH battery to power my RX in the next day or so.

1. Am I limited to only FrSky RX options?

2. What else other than number of channels is going to be a factor in my choice of RX?

3. Is the range my gear can operate at dictated by the TX or the RX, or the combination?

Chris

1: Yes, you are but there's a good range and they're all very 'affordable'. You can fit any JR compatible plug-in transmitter module to use other makes of receiver. I have both Spektrum (actually an Orange clone) and one for FlySky but only use them for indoor models like V911 helis and Bind 'n' Fly Blade helis and Parkzone Vapor.

2: Basically telemetry or not. I bought an 8 channel receiver with telemetry (D8R II Plus) last week from a UK supplier for £22.19. The only trouble I have is getting my head round the typre numbers I use a few 4 channel receivers which have a slightly shorter range (1km versus 1.5km) on medium sized models (Riot, Sonata E glider) which haven't gone out of range yet.

3: The output from all transmitters in the UK (and I think Europe) is the same at 100mW so tyhe only limit is the sensitivity of the receivers. Some FrSky receivers are supplied with long range antennae as an alternative. I think thei're intended for FPV when the model can be flown at the limits of direct vision - though I'm not sure if that's strictly legal.

HTH

Geoff

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 24/03/2014 21:16:38:

5. Is it true that it is very flexible? Yes - very. Because you can set almost anything to anything you can do things I suspect almost no ones ever thought of! Now you might say "Ah but are they useful things?" Well consider this one. I have a large Piper Cub, its always suffered from adverse yaw - it turns its nose out in the corners. There will be a combination of aileron differential and aileron-rudder mix that will basically cure this. But it's going to take an awful lot of flights to explore all the possible combinations and find the one that's best! With Taranis, due to a clever programming aid called a Global variables, I can set the aileron differential to one rotary knob and the rudder mix to another. Result - I can alter them both independently in the air. And I could even do that if this was a 4 servo glider wing with flaperons. And it isn't difficult to do. Now maybe I could do that with my Futaba - but I can't think how I could link a mix of 4 channels to one controller and control the whole mix from one knob? If someone can work it out - great. But I bet its a damn sight easier on the Taranis!

Not that new,the Multiplex Royal Pro/Evo has had digi adjusters which do exactly this since it was introduced in 2002, but you are correct the ability to be able to adjust and set mixes in flight makes setting up a model much easier.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

With respect Frank I didn't say that it was new. I said it was not only do-able but easy to do on a Taranis and that I couldn't do it on a Futaba. And all that on a Tx that costs £149. Remind me, how much is Mpx Royal Evo? £450-ish? Mmmmm

BEB

[Paul Marsh]

With regard to wind, you need to fly in it to understand it,but you need to learn to fly first!

I was flying a Harmony Twin engined plane yesterday, taking off and landing with the wind 90 degrees cross to the runway. Had 3 flights and it just comes naturally, even a tricky plane to set up and slippery to get down, still managed to do perfect landings with no bother, with no damage. Just came in slightly quicker to keep those wings and control surfaces working and as long as you've got air in your wings, then it'l be fine, but it takes years to know the "jazz", and expecting to read about it and doing it would be presumptuous.

As for tx's if you want to fly Park Zone BNF models, you really need a Spektrum radio, but otherwise any reliable transmitter will do - but do your homework on available receivers for each make,

[Max50]

Paul with regard to wind flying.

I'm flying my WOT4 MkIII at the moment, and was wondering; people say a larger plane is easier to fly; so would a WOT4 XL handle strong wind better than the MkIII, and be smoother to fly in it, or should i just keep practicing with my MkIII in higher wind strengths.

I normally fly in winds up to 15mph with stronger gusts, but anything more and i don't fly.

I can see you had a WOT4 XL, and was wondering wether to buy one, as there's a lot of wind at my flying site.

[Rich too]

Hi Max,

You generally want a heavy model for flying in stronger winds, with a heavier wing loading. I've got an old Hi Boy trainer that flies like a brick in little or no wind, but in windy conditions it flies great....

Just keep pushing yourself and given the experience you'll be flying in almost any conditions...

Rich

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Not an easy question to answer Max

there are a lot of reasons why some models handle wind better than others.

wing section, wing loading (weight of model) drag, speed....allsorts of stuff

a big slow biplane would not like it blowy, but a small nippy chuck about that weighed a bit would be o.k.

slope soarers add ballast to the glider to cope with windier conditions, so if you have a model that is a bit heavy, comes in like a bullet, that would probably be a good choice for a windy day.

as you fly more in windy conditions your ability increases, so for me i'd buy the planes I liked, but choose which to take when its blowy.

 

looks like me and Rich agree

Edited By john stones 1 on 01/04/2014 08:57:09

[Rich too]

Posted by john stones 1 on 01/04/2014 08:56:07:

Not an easy question to answer Max

there are a lot of reasons why some models handle wind better than others.

wing section, wing loading (weight of model) drag, speed....allsorts of stuff

a big slow biplane would not like it blowy, but a small nippy chuck about that weighed a bit would be o.k.

slope soarers add ballast to the glider to cope with windier conditions, so if you have a model that is a bit heavy, comes in like a bullet, that would probably be a good choice for a windy day.

as you fly more in windy conditions your ability increases, so for me i'd buy the planes I liked, but choose which to take when its blowy.

looks like me and Rich agree

Edited By john stones 1 on 01/04/2014 08:57:09

Indeed

As a side note, it is worth building up your experience to fly in windy conditions, because if you only fly when its calm in this country you'll hardly get any flying done!!

Rich

[avtur]

Posted by Max50 on 01/04/2014 08:19:06:

I can see you had a WOT4 XL, and was wondering wether to buy one, as there's a lot of wind at my flying site.

I'm not sure a large model is the answer to this problem ...

[Bob Cotsford]

When flying in windy conditions the main requirement for a beginner is to keep the model upwind of you at all times. Once it gets downwind panic sets in as you struggle to get back to the field. Lightly loaded models can fly in a wind, it's just that expectations need to be reduced as a learner may be limited to just flying backwards and forwards across the wind. One good point is that smaller, lighter models bounce better when things go wrong whereas something like a Wot XL will really make a mess.

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 01/04/2014 09:54:57

[Max50]

Thanks rich and john. With only flying solo for 1year, still learning on plane choice and conditions and wing loading .A club member said his Super Chipmunk with a higher wing loading was a good wind flyer at 63inch span , so maybe i'll just push on with my MkIII . Was flying my Super Air in gusting conditions and was knocked about a bit; I think because I was not pushing on, so reverted back to my MkIII but kept the speed up, and was a lot better.

As you see , still learning, but I thought I would ask about the XL.

[Max50]

Thanks Bob , it just gets rid of that nagging doubt that there could be something that helps better. Great;  i'll stick with my MkIII and press on with my flying.

Not worried about downwind flying, I now just get more  speed up going downwind and power through that bottom turn into wind .I think my Super Air was knocked about due to not enough speed on the start of an upwind turn. Not low enough to tip stall, but enough to be thrown from a right bank turn, over to a left bank,  which got me a little worried, and messed up my landing, thinking I had aileron problems.

In normal conditions ,I do fly the Super Air OK, and is the normal plane I fly with.  

Edited By Max50 on 01/04/2014 10:39:27

Edited By Max50 on 01/04/2014 10:41:23

[Geoff S]

My 'go to' model in windy conditions is my lightly loaded Limbo Dancer. I'm not a great fan of flying in strong winds but the Limbo is fun to fly backwards and I know, if I crash it I could build another quite quickly and relatively cheaply.

Perhaps it's the lack of worry that makes it easy for me to fly the Limbo in wind. I'm convinced that, once the basics have become second nature, a lot of the confidence, or lack of it, is between the ears rather than in the hand/eye co-ordination. I think that's often why youngsters fly so well - they know dad will mend it if they break it

Geoff

[Max50]

I have got a Weston Cougar 2000 but I haven't flown it in very windy conditions. Strange thing is,i don't fly it much.

I started my confidence building on aerobatics with the cougar, but it seems to stay at home and not used, although fly's great. It was the first model I test flown myself.

[Chris Anthony]

Thanks for the info guys. I ended up getting an FrSKY V8R4 just cos it seemed to be going for a reasonable price. 8-channels with telemetry.

Paul, when you say I need a Spektrum TX for any Parkzone BNF models, does that mean I can't use my FrSKY gear in them? I was eyeing up their Spitfire model for something a few months down the line.. I'll be gutted if this is true?!

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Chris I'm afraid that as far as I know, the V8R4 Rx doesn't have telemetry, and it's a 4Ch Rx. .

There is good news though, there are ways to add Spektrum transmit capability to a Taranis in the future if you need to.

[Chris Anthony]

Chris, well spotted! My bad, it's a D8R-II PLUS that I have bought. I copied the wrong code from my eBay watch list haha. As you can tell, the RX names are just random numbers to me at the moment!

That is good to know any how. I'll remember that for when I get round to looking at Parkzones with more seriousness.

Thanks

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

A good receiver that one, note that if you want any telemetry sensors for it, they have to be the "hub system" type.

Have a look at next months RCM&E for some telemetry info, and more On sale on 11th April.

[Bob Cotsford]

but you will be able to monitor receiver supply by default with the D8R and if you add a voltage sensor FBVS-01 to the A2 input you can monitor your LiPo voltage as well. These don't need the hub.

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

FAS40 or FAS100 don't require the hub either and you can then daisy chain a FLVS-02 (or two).
Vario doesn't need a hub either but they do need to be "hub type" and not S.Port ones.

The Hub is needed if you wish to connect multiple sensors of course.

Just to add to the complication, the S.Port Vario also has a Hub type connection, and can be used as a translator to connect say a hub type FAS100 to an S.Port telemetry system!

[Bob Cotsford]

Chris - now you'll just confuse the poor lad!

It certainly confuses me the variety of FrSky stuff you can lash together. That's why I stick to the simple stuff - A1 and A2 voltages, with maybe a vario for variety.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

I've just bought the FrSky SPort high precision vario - I took it out the package, thought "Mmm, this looks complex all these leads and funny connectors - a bit different from the other SPort sensors".

Read the instructions - which for FrSky are positively verbose, a whole side of A4! Wade through all the connecting options for different receivers - eventually get to the X8R near the bottom of the page and it just says "connect it to the SPort with a lead". How disappointing - I was quite looking forward to a multi-lead, birds nest, extravaganza!

What is the point? Well I suppose the point is for future purchases Chris you might want to consider the "X-series" FrSky receivers, especially if you want to use telemetry. A couple of quid more true - but much simpler, fewer wires and you don't have to buy (or find space for) a hub if you want multiple sensors on the same model.

BEB

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 02/04/2014 15:01:30