ORIGINAL: aeajr
How many channels do I need?
First it is important to realize that you should be able to fly almost any
plane with a standard four channel radio.
than 4.
Bear this in mind -- a four channel basic radio will be usefull for many years with many models.
ORIGINAL: aeajr
--- However, you can't mix them together in the radio. You have to do it manually. A
coordinated turn requires you to add rudder to the ailerons. When you
deploy flaps you will have to push and hold the elevator forward to keep the
plane from
ballooning up. If you deploy spoilers, then you probably need to pull and
hold some up
elevator or the plane will go into a dive.
These are complex things to handle.
These are also basic flying skills that will remain undeveloped by "dumbing down" the degree of difficulty through the employment of mixing.
The economics of computer radios are undeniably good, but they have disadvantages as well as a host of advantages -- they encourage electronic bandaiding of airframe faults, they suppress airmanship (for example, I fly my KE loops without using mixing) & they discourage the development of design/building skills & problem solving that come from engineering capability into an airframe, instead of dialling up a solution. There are a few things that can't be done without a computer radio, but there are a lot more that can with a bit of thought on the part of the builder -- for example, there are simple mechanical configurations for elevon functions that don't need computer radios.
I'm not against the use of computer radios -- I use them every time I go flying, but I also regularly use non-computer radios & I match the equipment to the needed end use. What I don't do is use the computer radio to "fix" a poorly flying plane, or to perform a difficult flight evolution -- I like to fly the plane myself..