For those who have been enjoying the Radian with the RTF DX5e I am sure you have seen there is a new Radian Pro out that has flaps and ailerons. If you want to add that one to the fleet, here is how you would set it up on your DX5e radio.
SETTING UP A RADIAN PRO ON THE DX5e AND THE AR500 RECEIVER Your DX5e absolutely has all the controls needed to use all the features of the Radian pro.  You won't be able to do the fancy surface mixing that at the expensive radios can do but you can absolutely fly the Pro on the DX5e and the AR500. And, if you set it up as I suggest you will be able to do more than you might have thought. I will be laying out controls based on Mode 2, the most commonly configuration used in North America. Mode 1 or 3 would place things differently but the effect is the same. Pitch and roll - right stick yaw and speed - left stick ELEVATOR stays on right stick as pitch goes on the right stick. AILERONS - AR500 has a built in "Y" cable so it has two aileron channels. You can just plug in the ailerons in the aileron channels assuming that they are set-up facing opposite each other, which is what I would expect. You will control these from the right stick which is where primary roll control always goes regardless of what surfaces you have. *Rudder - moves to the left stick. This is true of every plane that has ailerons. Rudder now becomes your yaw control which goes on the left stick. You now have finer control of the Radian Pro than you had of the Radian because Yaw and Roll are no longer coupled. Throttle and Flaps - Where to put them on the DX5e?:popcorn: Well, that depends on you and your intent. If you are more of a power plane pilot, then you put the throttle on the left stick and the flaps on the switch. The flaps will need a Y cable which may be included with the Pro. That means you use the throttle a lot and the flaps are only used as brakes just before you land. Nothing wrong with this, but this is not the way I would set it up. If you are more of a glider pilot then you put the throttle on the switch and the flaps on the left stick. I am more of a glider pilot so that is what I would do. To me flaps are more than brakes, they help me reshape the wing in the air to control speed and glide path. I want fine control of the flaps. I only use the motor to climb so it is on or off in 30 seconds typically. I really don't need fine control on the throttle so I would put that throttle on the switch. In fact many high end competition e-glider pilots with expensive radios and planes put their throttle on a switch. Power on/power off is all you need. With the flaps on the left stick I have fine control of the flaps and that means I can use them for full glide path control as well as braking. Flaps would be neutral with the stick all the way forward. If you think of this as a speed control, flaps neutral is my high speed position for them. Left stick pulled all the way back is my low speed or stopping position. That is the standard way to set them up on a glider. If I find lift, I can apply a very small amount of flaps to increase the undercamber shape to the wing in a thermal and to climb more quickly. That means I would pull the left stick slightly toward me, back, to bring the flaps down a couple of mm or about 1/4". On my Futaba 9C sailplane radio I have this on a switch, but using the DX5e I would just move the left stick a little. If I am up high and want to get down I can ease in more flaps to help me bring the plane down steeply without gaining a lot of speed. I might not put them full on, depending on my goals, my distance from the field, etc. I have fine control so I use it. As I am coming in for a landing I can ease the flaps in and out as needed to control the glide path for a precision landing. Remember I am a glider pilot so the idea of using the motor on approach is not part of my flying style. I might even be able to work out a way to raise the flaps slightly for a reflex position to enhance penetration into the wind. I would set up some kind of mechanical stop on the throttle. Perhaps a piece of wood stock that is taped on the radio. When it is flipped toward me it would stop the stick from going all the way forward. I would adjust the flaps so that tis would be flap neutral. When I want reflex, I flip this block out of the way allowing the stick to move all the way forward. This would be set up to have the flaps raised up 1-2 mm. Now I have reflex for wind penetration or high speed glide out of sink. Believe me, glider pilots were doing this kind of stuff long before there were computer radios. As you can see a DX5e and the AR500 can be used to fly the Radian pro and you will have advanced controls as compared to the orignal Radian. You won't have crow, you won't have full trailing edge camber control and you won't have flap to elevator mixing. FLAP TO ELEVATOR MIXING - As you apply flaps you increase the lift of the wing. If you have a computer radio that can provide automatic flap to elevator mixing then you mix in some down elevator as you apply flaps. Even basic computer radios like the DX6i have this mix. Otherwise the nose of the Radian Pro will "balloon" up and the plane will tend to stall. Without this mix set you have to do this with your right stick manually. If you are flying the DX5e or other standard radio without mixes you will need to learn to apply some down elevator whenever you apply the flaps. If you don't you may find yourself crashing a lot. This is true whether you have the flaps on the switch or the left stick. It is a learned process and after a while it becomes automatic. But this is one reason people like computer radios. They do this for you. So, as far as the flaps go, I am just not sure if you will need a Y or a reversing Y on the flaps as I don't know what is included. The manual does not say and I can't find a photo of the bottom of the plane to see how the servos are faced.
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