Radio Modes

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Phil Winks]

You Know the thing about having the trims on to their associated sticks is quite possibly a brilliant idea on occasions I've needed so much trim I've had to land to sort it where as if I could get it straight on trims wen I do land all the info I need to mechanically adjust the trim out is stored in the tx for me so next flight has it sorted instead of guessing and taking 2 or 3 flights to get to the point where a near 0 trim is achieved

PS hope you all had a decent day flying Sunday. I was in Norfolk and it was toooooooo windy for the little leccy I took and no hills so my only slope friendly airframe had been left at home  however my brothers wife fed us well and his beer stocks are now severely depleted  so not such a bad weekend after all

[Boots]

Thanks Timbo

                         after many dicussions at the field I now know  what mode. I just checked my old MacGregor digimac III to confirm this

I am relearning after a 10 year break............I was not very good then

 

so I am mode 1 when flying 3ch and mode 3  when flying 4 ch, seems logical to me, dare i ask if anyone agrees

[Stephen Grigg]

This thread has fascinated me because Im left handed and fly mode 2 Ihad no confidence taking off because I was unable to steer on the ground without over steering.Another newbie who took off very well showed me how he took off.I couldnt unerstand how he controlled the model on the ground because he gave full throttle and let go of the stick.He flies with aileron/rudder mixand steers with the right thumb.He set my TX the same and my take offs are now totally acceptable.With my Seagull 40,I havent taken off yet,because my instructor says if I use that mix the model will rollover on take off and crash.He wants me to take off and steer with my left hand.I have 35% rudder.Am I now off thread or can I have some opinions,Ill wait to be moderated

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Peter Wood]

1. Mode2

2. Cambridgeshire

3. SE Berkshire

4. Self taught

[Myron Beaumont]

Peter

I rather think you're on the wrong thread

[Tony Bennett]

the transmitter i just bought from gc is mode 4.

 

throttle and ailerons left stick

 

rudder and elevator right stick.

 

or i have plugged the servo's in wrong.

Edited By tony bennett on 23/02/2011 09:50:51

[Pete B]

Swap the rudder and aileron servos....?

 

Pete

[Tony Bennett]

i plan to.

[JayTee]

I'm also a re-learner Christian and left handed,but it looks like mode 2 for me.Like Tim mackey says,"wharever siuts you (personally) best.

[Stuart Z]

Found this interesting thread. I'm looking at re-starting and going through the various checks and sorting out. I used to fly in the nineties and always flew Mode 1. Not keen on changing over when I restart. I used to fly anything from Super 60s right up to F3A joker and Calypso. Always liked the ability to have rudder and ailerons on separate sticks as it felt "balanced" to me. I used to train some of the more senior members - now in the senior bracket myself.

Is Mode 1 still in use in clubs now? It's sounding like everyone is going Mode 2 now.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yes Mode 1 is alive and well. I am a mode 2 flyer personally - in my view any so-called advantages of any one mode over another are largely in the eye of the beholder - ie you like what you are used to!

You say you like rudder and aileron on separate sticks? They have to be as they are both lateral controls! I guess you meant elevator and aileron on separate sticks?

BEB

[Stuart Z]

Well spotted, brain is a bit slower now. Yes I used to hold the left thumb at the base of the left stick (elevator) on long inverted passes at the same time having lateral control on the right stick. I only liked aileron and elevator on 1 stick when I was sitting in full size gliders. Hoping that when I start looking for a model club I can get help in Mode 1. Not happening for a while yet though.

Edited By Stuart Z on 16/08/2015 18:56:19

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

A lot depends on where you live Stuart. Modes tend to lie in areas for the obvious reason that if, say, mode 1 is popular in an area then beginners there tend to learn mode 1 - and so mode 1 perpetuates. The same is true of mode 2 of course in other areas.

We did a survey on here a few years ago that suggested that mode 1 was strongly concentrated around what might be generally considered the Midlands whilst in the south and the north west mode 2 was more common.

I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you for two reasons

1. If you have flown before you will be amazed how quickly it comes back. Honestly, most people's experince is that half a dozen flights and its like you have never been away!

2. If you would feel happier with the comfort of a buddy lead iniially then modern Tx's can buddy without being so phazed by the whole mode 1/mode 2 thing anyway!

BEB

[Stuart Z]

Thanks that's good to know!

[kc]

It's not desirable to change Mode, however it might be desirable to fly the same Mode as the rest of your club. . If you fly the opposite Mode to everyone else nobody can grab your model if you get something in your eye etc, etc, Also they won't offer you a chance to try their model. Might be a factor when you look for a club to join.

Note that it's easy now to change a Tx to Mode 1 and still have all the rate switches working correctly. Mostly a matter of changing the ratchet over and then a menu change too.

I am a. Mode 1 flyer in a Mode 2 club!

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Foxfan]

I would have assumed the Mode 2 method as the throttle on a real kite is on the left, at least those I've flown were and I did that long before I flew the one model aircraft I have flown on my own and that didn't even have a throttle!

I think I'll be happy with Mode 2. To my surprise, I got on really well on a free simulator on computer with just keyboard buttons. Couldn't get the Tx connection to work.

Fascinating what leads to preferences on something that is completely subjective and ultimately unimportant. Gotta be a thesis somewhere for a Sociology student there.

Cheers,

MrTin

[ron evans]

The late lamented Peter Russell some years ago did a piece in his S&L column on TX modes. He wrote that although he could fly both mode 1 and 2, he prefered mode 1 particularly for aerobatics, as there was less chance of unwanted interaction with the two primary controls separated.

I would tend to agree with him on that point, but being a mode 1 man I would wouldn't I, and I'm sure there have been many aerobatic champions who flew mode 2.

People have said mode 2 is more like the full size, but P.R. was a pilot ( ex Fleet Air Arm I think ), and he wrote that mode 2 was nothing like flying full size.

Oh well if mode 1 was good enough for the Wright brothers, it's good enough for me.

[kc]

It's much more important to fly the same mode as your club.

Earlier this year I was at the field with one of my clubmates- known him for 6 years - when his mobile phone rang whilst he was flying ........." I am expecting an important call. Take it will you" he said. When he got his phone out his pocket I expected him to hand me the phone for me to answer but instead he answered the phone himself whilst thrusting the Tx into my hands. He knew I was a competant flyer so it should be no problem but in his haste he didn't remember that I dont fly his mode the - the club mode! No chance to discuss the situation so I just about managed to keep the plane in the air on the wrong mode for long enough for him to complete the phone call. I very quickly handed the Tx back to him with the model still OK! Lucky.

Flying is an instinctive thing. As a Mode 1 flyer if the model is getting a bit too near the ground my instinct is to push the right stick upwards to open the throttle - if happens to be on Mode2 then I am giving it down elevator and the model is going further downward! So my instinct now is to give a gentle up elevator so I pull the left stick back a bit and of course on Mode 2 that's closing the throttle! Completely wrong thing to do. All instincts are wrong - you suddenly need to operate your brain in a different way. Obviously it can be done but I don't recommend it.

All this would be just the same if you get something in your eye, have a heart problem, sneezing fit, stung by a wasp or whatever. So try to fly in a club that flys your mode. If your club flys a different mode then find out in advance if there are any other flyers on your mode that could take your plane in an emergency.

The other thing about Modes is that it is said that the human brain uses different sides of the brain for left hand and for right hand. Therefore left handed people are thought to be different in some way. However a mode 1 flyer needs to use both hands to control elevator and ailerons. A Mode 2 flier uses mainly the right hand when flying. A fundamental differnce in using ones brain I suppose........Discuss!

[The Wright Stuff]

Well, I started with mode 1, took a break while I went to Uni, and then came back to aeromodelling and swapped to mode 2. Not because I was forced, coerced or persuaded to, but because I wasn't happy with my progress and wanted to try something different. In a way, mode 2 was more aligned with flight sims (not model sims specifically) - computer games.

Personally (and perhaps people may have different views), I didn't find it all that difficult to change. Two or three flights, and I'd got the hang of it. I've met several people who are genuinely dual mode in the sense that they can just switch from flight to flight, without any ill effects. My conclusion is that one shouldn't feel pressured into one mode or the other, but don't be afraid to switch either, if that suits circumstances.

I've met several people who, like myself, have switched from 1 to 2. I've yet to meet anyone who has swapped the other way. I suspect this isn't because mode 2 is superior in any way, but it might be to do with the ease of switching. When I got muddled, I could always just let go of the left stick and 'force' myself to use the right thumb only, which has both primary controls. I suspect a 'panic response' in a mode 2 to mode 1 switch would be harder to condition. Again, I stress this is just my own belief based on my own experience.

[Simon Chaddock]

I find it a bit odd to say that mode 2 is nothing like full size. Its not the mode that's different (aileron and elevator on the same stick) its the fact you are not sitting in the plane.

Model flying is all about pure eye/hand coordination - full size has G forces and horizon effects thrown in as well - so however you have taught your brain to respond then that is best for you.

[The Wright Stuff]

Posted by Simon Chaddock on 17/08/2015 12:52:05:

I find it a bit odd to say that mode 2 is nothing like full size. Its not the mode that's different (aileron and elevator on the same stick) its the fact you are not sitting in the plane.

Model flying is all about pure eye/hand coordination - full size has G forces and horizon effects thrown in as well - so however you have taught your brain to respond then that is best for you.

Yes, I've never really understood that argument, either. A full size plane is so different that I can't imagine it's relevant. There may be a very small advantage specifically when it comes to feeding in coordinated elevator along with aileron on a turn, but this is probably more likely to come from computer game controllers that it is experience in full size aircraft.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

As a hand held thumbs flier using mode 2, I like the fact that I can bat flies away, re-position my sunglasses in changing light, scratch various parts of my anatomy, stick fingers up at hecklers etc. etc. with my left hand, while retaining full control of the model's primary flight surfaces.