tacx

My Feedback: (1)

Hi All,
Kind of new at this (flying just one season). I'm going to 2.4GHz on my three glow planes. Just wondering what everyones opinion is as to setting the failsafe to HOLD last command, or to the PRESET stick positions? I'm thinking I want failsafe to go to my PRESET positions. My thoughts are that each plane will react differently with low throttle and different failsafe positions. Would like to get different opinions. AND,I ASSUME THERE WILL BE ALLOT!!!! THANKS

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

It is really a personal preference. Most Failsafe Events are very short, timewise. Do you want the aircraft to Hold it's position with Throttle going to Idle, or do you want it to go into Level flight with perhaps a slight Bank and ensure that Flaps and Retracts are Up?

pilotpete2

The one thing most will agree on is that the throttle should be fully closed in a FS event, fortunately all the name brand 2.4Ghz systems offer this important protection at all levels of their systems. Beyond the throttle it depends on the system you will be using and very often is dependent on the model receiver being used.
As Rich said most FS events will be short, maybe so short you even won't notice one except for the engine going to idle momentarily. OK, maybe that 's wishful thinking
With sport and aerobatic models I prefer to use last good hold, even if the receiver will let set for something else, my reasoning is that as long as I don't fly towards the pit area, then a power off uncontrolled descent to Terra Firma will not endanger folks in the pit area. With a sailplane, powered or unpowered I think the ability to set it to enter a gentle turn with some up elevator to keep the speed down is a great idea, better than letting it fly off to parts unknown.[&o]
Good luck with the move to 2.4Ghz, I'm sure you'll not want to look back[8D]
Pete

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

I'm going to give you the perspective from a rotorhead point of view.....

The most important part anybody needs to understand, is that during a failsafe, your priority is not to preserve the aircraft. The priority is to minimize damage on the ground.

Us rotorheads set the pitch of the helicopter blades to zero (0) and the engine to idle or even kill. the rest of the surfaces can stay hold or could go to neutral (preffered). With these settings, a helicopter will loose energy really quick and minimize damage below. Also, if the aircraft went into failsafe during a maneuver, by going to neutral, it will hopefully stop the maneuver after one or two gyrations and minimize kinetic energy. All of this is also hoping that you regain control after the failsafe occurence.

Rafael

AWorrest

My Feedback: (5)

On a powered plane if failsafe is available it should be used. It must be set properly to either idle for an IC engine or kill for an electric. Since JR/Spektrum 2.4 receivers have permanent built-in failsafe, if the throttle failsafe is not set properly, the results can be worst than having no failsafe. Imagine what can happen on the ground if the failsafe was set at WOT and the transmitter was turned-off before the receiver.

For a high performance aircraft neither hold nor preset failsafe will bring a plane down safely if the interference duration is long enough. Once in the air, the purpose of failsafe is to alert the pilot of interference and to minimize the damage on the ground if the plane crashes. I agree with others that interference is more likely to be short and intermittent. For this reason I prefer the hold mode as it is less disorienting than preset.

A sailplane is a different situation. For those I prefer no failsafe at all. If you are familiar with your plane and alert, you will quickly recognize when you get hit. I would prefer to make use of every possible moment to regain control. Smart failsafe should not be used in conjunction with the GLID mode on the 9303. In this setup, the one preset channel, channel #1, is the left aileron. If the glider is motorized, the motor will be on a hold channel. The only safe setup is to use Preset failsafe.

Allan