Gyro settings

[Leslie Crane 1]

I have invested in a A3Pro 6 axis gyro but am baffled by what the instructions omit!! They say remove all mixes before attaching the gyro, ok no problem. What they do not say is what do you do with settings for expo, differential, trims already input,etc. Do you leave these alone or set everything to neutral and adjust after the gyro has been fitted. I should point out I am a real technophobe so need spoon feeding! Les Crane

[Denis Watkins]

Leslie,

With any mix set, the gyro would try to operate those surfaces constantly to keep level, defeating its use

The gyro will have no clue of your expo, as that is just the delay in movement on your sticks that you set for your comfort

Any gyro

Requires that the model is set up and trimmed to fly without it, as it can be switched off

So trim for flight, then use the gyro at low settings to start off

Be sure you still have failsafe, and gyro off switch enabled

 

Edited By Denis Watkins on 14/03/2019 22:17:49

[Simon Chaddock]

As Denis says you have to leave alone any setting that is required for straight and level flight so it will still fly with the gyro switched off and make absolutely sure the stability is working in the right direction to counter any motion upset. Negative stability tends to result in a crash in double quick time.

On the first flight I actually switched the gyro off until I was at a safe height and only then switched it on being instantly ready to switch if off again and safe in the knowledge I could still land the plane.

As the gyro rates were only set mid range nothing really happened except it flew very straight and level with no input from me!

After a few flights adjusting the gyro rates to give the level of stability I was happy with it can be left on all the time but beware getting lulled into a false sense of security and end up flying in conditions that really are beyond the plane's capability.

Edited By Simon Chaddock on 14/03/2019 23:26:52

[Attilio Rausse]

i think the mixing it refers to is for delta wing or vtail. if your plane is normal wing then use mixes, trims, expo as normal just remember that after any trim changes, you must let the stabiliser know the new centre position of the servo, this is detailed in the instructions.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by Attilio Rausse on 15/03/2019 11:37:39:

i think the mixing it refers to is for delta wing or vtail. if your plane is normal wing then use mixes, trims, expo as normal just remember that after any trim changes, you must let the stabiliser know the new centre position of the servo, this is detailed in the instructions.

The gyro has one input for aileron control, so if you have aileron differential active then it will see a greater roll instruction in one direction than the other. Similarly if you have a flapperon/spoileron mix the gyro will see that as an instruction to bank the aircraft. Similarly if you have a flap/elevator mix then applying flaps will send an instruction via the elevator channel to the gyro to pitch the aircraft up or down, usually nose down as the typical flap/elevator mix is to mix in some down elevator.

If you want flapperons, aileron differential etc then pick a gyro/flight stabiliser that allows those to be programmed in the gyro.

Quite few years ago I had an aerobatic plane that I fitted a gyro to, the plane flew best on about 1/2 rates without the gyro, switch the gyro in and it was like piloting a supertanker, I had to use flight phases to have full rates when in gyro modes.

[Attilio Rausse]

Frank i have the a3s2 and a3 s3 and can say that whatever you send from the transmitter it will obey without question, so if a mix has outputs on multiple channels thats fine, it only acts when the aeroplane pitches, rolls or yaws without the corresponding transmitter output that it applies correction. However it needs to know the centre position of the servo, so if you apply trim you must let the FS know this as per instructions. You had me thinking about the aileron differential but with only one aileron channel the differential would have to be mechanical so no problem there. Also can't have flapperons or spoilerons with only one aileron channel.

Edited By Attilio Rausse on 15/03/2019 16:59:14