Rates, right or what?

[Aero120]

Hi,

Just wanted to float an idea, mainly that aren't we missing the point with dual rates? Okay, so when I learnt to fly on a Futaba M series, dual rates were well in the future, but why reduce your control authority to land?? As far as I can conclude every full size flight system from the Vulcan of the 1950s to the Eurofighter of today has some form of computerised flight system control that reduces control with increasing airspeed. However it seems that rates on Rc are chosen to reduce control throws when landing, but isn't this just when you need most control movement at low airspeed. Surely it should be the other way round?

[winchweight]

No, not at all.

If you have the greater throws on landing, the tendency is overcontrol and induce PIO (pilot induced oscillations).

Ideally you want smaller, gentler movements, hence the rates.

But I don't use mine this way either. I have dual rates set to give me sedate control whilst I get confidence in a model and the flying conditions. When ready, off they come!

[Paul Adams]

I have used rates in the past, but have only found two uses for them, Training and 3D flying. When training I set my transmitter to use greater throws than the person I am training using a buddy box. As such if the trainee gets the model in a attitude where I have to interject, I have greater throws to recover the model whilst the trainee has reduced throws allowing them to learn to fly without over reacting. In 3D the 3D controls are extreme, so I set them up to have a normal/aerobatic setting and a 3D setting.