GoldOlds1

Being new to rc electric I would like to know If I should be worried about expo on my trainer?

con244

Hi GoldOlds1, I think that expo is a real good thing to use especially when you are a beginner. It can help smooth out your flight so that if you move the sticks to fast or too much you will only get a down tuned response. I am still only a novice and on some days I have tried flying without expo and the flight is very eratic compared to when the expo is on. I would stick with it until you feel comfortable with the controls and then gradually reduce the amout of expo. BTW I started withabout a 70% expo on rudder and elevator.
Cheers
Con

Xpress

If you've got a computer radio, then yes, use it

~50% is plenty.

GoldOlds1

[sm=thumbs_up.gif] Thank you Con244 for your input will try your advice on my next trip to the field....but not today, winds @ 35 mph...GoldOlds[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Sir Raleigh

Just make sure when you set up expo that the throws around center stick movement are LESS with expo turned on and not MORE. Depending on your radio it could either be minus (-) or plus (+) expo.

To test this, move the stick just a little to one side and turn expo on and off. When you turn expo on the control surface should jump back toward the center position slightly and when you turn expo off the control surface should jump away from the center position slightly.

Bill

bassmanh

My Feedback: (5)

hi,

link to a good thread about expo= http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9081814/tm.htm



actually if your first learning to fly expo is not the best idea, you should learn to fly the plane and learn what it feels like and how it reacts and not use a crutch right away. or some time down the road you might be flying a plane for someone else and they dont have expo and all of a sudden you have a plane that seem WAY TO TWITCHY and doesnt fly right.

but in all actuallity it is flying the way it should and you just never learned how to fly on the wing as they say. do yourself a favor and learn to fly the plane and play with the radios feature once youve learned to fly.



bassman

Sir Raleigh

bassmanh, you raise a good point, but I'll have to disagree that a new pilot using expo is a bad thing.

New pilots tend to over control their planes until they get a feel for flying and using expo tends to soften that over controlling to a certain extent. Personally I do recommend using expo to a new pilot until he gets more experience and can more easily get him/herself out of trouble when using high rates or non-expo.

YMMV, though.

Bill

bassmanh

My Feedback: (5)

sir,


your right if the student wants to take longer to learn to fly as that greatly lengthens the learning curve they learn to fly WITH expo first THEN relearn what they could have learned right from the start flying without expo and on the wing. also if they are overcontrolling the plane you can always use a bit less throw which makes a big difference for them also.


me i would rather see them learn first and quicker. THEN play with the extras on the radio. just my .02 cents worth.




bassman

Bozarth

My Feedback: (15)

Why wouldn't you use expo in a plane that was too sensitive around neutral? I have learned that expo provides the best of both worlds - soft setting around neutral yet retaining extreme throws for aerobatics and slow flight. Why wouldn't I teach this to someone else, or even more, why would I try to convince them that it would help but not to use it until they were more experienced. I dialed in expo on my son's trainer. Who says the manufacture's set up/geomety is the best, and why be mercy to it? I don't need to teach my son how to drive a manual if all of his cars are going to have paddle shifts on the wheel. Same with using a mouse with my computer versus using the control keys. We could go on.

The phrase "on the wing" is over-used and meaningless.[8D]

Kurt

Sir Raleigh

Reducing the throw by moving the control rod to another hole is just as bad as using dual rates, you loose the maximum throw to get yourself out of trouble in an emergency.

I still suggest using the most throw on control rod setting and expo on the stick.

Of course, this debate can go on forever with no mutual agreement. That's why there's an off/on switch for expo. Try it and if you don't like it, turn if off.

Bill

Bozarth

My Feedback: (15)

Bill is wise.

Kurt

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

If my car has brakes I'm not going to remove the floor boards so I can stick my feet out to stop just so I can apprecaite brakes later on.

If your radio has it, no reason not to use it, though 50 percent is a lot, I'd start between 20 and 30, 20 percent or so will actually yield linear control response and help do away with the natural tendency for the controls to be MORE sensitive around center that a stock setup gives.

Bozarth

My Feedback: (15)

BarracudaHockey - I like your brake analogy!

However, most stock setups ARE linear with no natural tendency for the controls to be more sensitive around center. The sinusoidal movement of the pushrod at the servo produces a linear result at the control surface thanks to the radial movement of the surface around its hinge line. Of course I am assuming the pushrod is set 90 degrees at the servo and at the surface control horn, as most setups try to do. 10% of TX stick movement equals 10% of control surface movement. This is my favorite subject!

Kurt

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

A control surface moves as far as its pushed (or pulled) by the rod.

A servo output is round, when around center the rod moves more with a given stick/servo movement than when the servo wheel is at the extreme of throw.

Hence the control surface will move more with a given stick input around center, than at the extremes of throw.

Bozarth

My Feedback: (15)

Not true. You are not applying trigonometry correct at both ends of the pushrod.

Kurt

snuts

Why not use what your instructor suggests.
-Snuts-