Alpha 6 Heading Gain -- Anomaly Or PE?
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Alpha 6 Heading Gain -- Anomaly Or PE?
I've had this Alpha 6 for a while now, and after some time and extensive experimenting, I've found it to be a very useful tool. One thing I found out however, is that the rudder always kicks to the the left in heading gain mode. I am now realizing that this is what was causing the severe oscillations early on in my initial flights with the unit.
I noticed this anomaly when hanging on the prop mostly. At first, I could tell that something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. In normal flight, I would pop on the HG mode, and the plane would start oscillating violently, more so the faster I was going. I chalked it up to normal oscillation, and I just had to figure out the correct gain settings for my plane. After I actually learned how to use the Alpha 6, thanks to Andy and Cody at tech support, I thought I'd figured out the problem, as I'd gotten the plane to fly well in both heading and rate gain modes. I simply dialed down the overall setting in the TX, everything settled down.
Now I can fly this thing. Except when in heading gain. I noticed that I could hover the plane better without the A6 engaged than with it. Ok, no problem, except that I noticed that the A6 WAS INDEED working. The AILE and ELEVs were holding just fine, but the RUDD had very little effect (so it seemed), and the plane would always fall off. So on a really calm day, I took the plane up higher so I could take a look. Went into a hover, flipped on the heading hold, and noticed that the plane nosed over to the left. Not crazy, but noticeable enough. I saw the ELEV and AILE trying to hold roll and pitch, but the plane would not just hold yaw vertically. Had to turn off the A6 and fly manually to recover. No problem. Tried it a few more times until I finally saw the problem.
Whenever I would activate heading gain, the RUDD would suddenly kick to the left. Never to the right. To further test, I tried again, this time in level flight. Sure enough, the plane held pitch and roll, but started rudder turning to the left slightly, and I noticed a barely perceptible rocking (I assume this was the A6 trying to keep the plane level, overcoming the effects of the now skewed RUDD). In rate gain mode, or even with the A6 turned off, the plane flies straight with no deviation with hands off the TX. No changes in altitude, roll, or yaw.
Just to make sure, took the plane straight up, started the hover, flipped on the heading gain, sure enough, the RUDD kicked to the left. Again, not severe, but enough that if I wanted to stay in the hover, I had to work the RUDD. That's fine, but in other maneuvers, this anomaly could prove disastrous, not to mention, I just want to know the root of the problem. Never right RUDD, always left.
In Rate Gain, I had to make no changes, the plane flies rock solid, at the factory settings. Not even the slightest hint of oscillation or deviation, all attitudes.
Is there something I've missed, some setting I need to change, any ideas what would cause this?
Post edit:
My setup is as follows:
DX9
AR9020
Hitec 5645mgs all
The plane calls for dual rudder servos, which I have on a Y.
Initially I thought the problem might be that since the RUDD servos are getting the special signal from the A6, that any trim values are over ridden and they are centering, deviating from any offset, before trying to hold heading. But if that's the case, that seems a bit off. My AILE have dual servos on Y per surface, and they don't fight like that...
I noticed this anomaly when hanging on the prop mostly. At first, I could tell that something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. In normal flight, I would pop on the HG mode, and the plane would start oscillating violently, more so the faster I was going. I chalked it up to normal oscillation, and I just had to figure out the correct gain settings for my plane. After I actually learned how to use the Alpha 6, thanks to Andy and Cody at tech support, I thought I'd figured out the problem, as I'd gotten the plane to fly well in both heading and rate gain modes. I simply dialed down the overall setting in the TX, everything settled down.
Now I can fly this thing. Except when in heading gain. I noticed that I could hover the plane better without the A6 engaged than with it. Ok, no problem, except that I noticed that the A6 WAS INDEED working. The AILE and ELEVs were holding just fine, but the RUDD had very little effect (so it seemed), and the plane would always fall off. So on a really calm day, I took the plane up higher so I could take a look. Went into a hover, flipped on the heading hold, and noticed that the plane nosed over to the left. Not crazy, but noticeable enough. I saw the ELEV and AILE trying to hold roll and pitch, but the plane would not just hold yaw vertically. Had to turn off the A6 and fly manually to recover. No problem. Tried it a few more times until I finally saw the problem.
Whenever I would activate heading gain, the RUDD would suddenly kick to the left. Never to the right. To further test, I tried again, this time in level flight. Sure enough, the plane held pitch and roll, but started rudder turning to the left slightly, and I noticed a barely perceptible rocking (I assume this was the A6 trying to keep the plane level, overcoming the effects of the now skewed RUDD). In rate gain mode, or even with the A6 turned off, the plane flies straight with no deviation with hands off the TX. No changes in altitude, roll, or yaw.
Just to make sure, took the plane straight up, started the hover, flipped on the heading gain, sure enough, the RUDD kicked to the left. Again, not severe, but enough that if I wanted to stay in the hover, I had to work the RUDD. That's fine, but in other maneuvers, this anomaly could prove disastrous, not to mention, I just want to know the root of the problem. Never right RUDD, always left.
In Rate Gain, I had to make no changes, the plane flies rock solid, at the factory settings. Not even the slightest hint of oscillation or deviation, all attitudes.
Is there something I've missed, some setting I need to change, any ideas what would cause this?
Post edit:
My setup is as follows:
DX9
AR9020
Hitec 5645mgs all
The plane calls for dual rudder servos, which I have on a Y.
Initially I thought the problem might be that since the RUDD servos are getting the special signal from the A6, that any trim values are over ridden and they are centering, deviating from any offset, before trying to hold heading. But if that's the case, that seems a bit off. My AILE have dual servos on Y per surface, and they don't fight like that...
Last edited by djmp69; 12-21-2016 at 10:59 AM.