mrfourtysevenman

My Feedback: (2)

the other day i was flying and noticed i could get my plane to land vertically. you pull up all the way (no throttle)and as it drops out of the sky you need proper aeileron input to keep it flat.
if you set up failsafe to turn throttle off, full up elevator,1/2 or 2/3 spoilerons in the wing, your plane just might be able to parachute flat out of the sky in case of an emergency.
if anybody knows what im talking about please post.

TruBlu02

Sounds like you are talking about setting the plane up to and elevator maneuver all the way to the ground. Its a cool idea but from my experience in 3D flying elevators are cool maneuvers but they are highly unstable. Transitioning into that configuration tends to destabilize the plane and could make it tumble. Normally this is no real issue because you can balance it out with some rudder and throttle inputs. There may be a way to program it to enter a elevator if TX comm is lost but that is outside of my realm of knowledge.

krayzc-RCU

My Feedback: (31)

woks great if the plane is in the correct position when or if it went into fail say but of course i would be inverted or knife edge when those settings took place...

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

yes, usually you have to manually enter the "elevator"

if those settings took place during a fast turn, you are going to end up with some rough results.
Most aircraft do not settle into a good elevator, they require precise, constant inputs.

mrfourtysevenman

My Feedback: (2)

what i suggest is putting a gyro (perhaps that 12 dollar hobbyking one) in on the aeilerons

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

and an elevator one, and rudder to keep the spin under control, of course without power input the controls are not functioning well at all during a stall/elevator, it goes in anyways.. thought and $$ wasted.

ameyam

Dont you think prevention is better than cure? Why need the failsafe in the first place? Keep your equipment in order and you wont need the failsafe

Ameyam

378

My Feedback: (4)

What I would do is I would rig the failsafe to kill the engine and deploy a large parachute from the cockpit. The plane would then just float down unharmed.

So you're telling me recievers don't randomly die, that there's no such thing as radio interference, that nobody ever turns their transmitter on when on your channel and that batteries don't randomly fail for no reason? Because if so I want to move to your dimension.


I run three failsafes on my cars. I have an electronic one that jams the brakes on should it lose signal or the reciever batts get too low, and in case the batteries come physically disconnected, I also have a rubber band that will pull the throttle shut and apply a little brakes as well. Lastly I have a return spring on the carb itself should the linkage become disconnected. I don't run these measures because I have piss-poor electronics, I run them because everything breaks once in a while and I don't want my TC3 hurtling into a tree at 40MPH. Have I ever genuinely needed them? No. I use the electronic failsafe as a parking brake most of the time. But it's nice to know that if my transmitter conks out or the reciever batteries pop out my car won't go flying off into the sunset and obliterate itself.


I would run a failsafe on an aircraft if I had one as well, because again I don't want my models to die in a fire because of a random failure out of anyone's control.

rcflip

You do realize that you need voltage to operate a servo to activate your servo to apply brakes.

378

My Feedback: (4)

...Reading fail. You conveniently missed where I spelled out the mechanical failsafe I have in case I lose all electrical power. But here, lemme quote it for you, since you can't seem to be bothered to find it for yourself.

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

Failsafe is good to dial in on any aircraft. Depends on what you fly, sport/scale/3D/jets, each would have different settings to minimize damage.

if you think your plane can elevator on its own, go up high and turn your radio off [X(]

rcflip

Nah man i did read it, read it all!!! but a rubber band is not going to apply brakes and if your battery goes your other two failsafes are not going to work.

Your one touchy dude aint ya!! hahahaha, very funny.

Return springs are ok, but i have seen runaways where they did not pull the throttle shut, test yours does it work, some do some do not.

Lastly and the reason for my post, I just wanted to point out an electric device is not the be all and end all because I have seen people put electronic crap on there car thinking they will never have a runaway and neglect other areas which I believe are more important.

rcflip

378, you do realise a parachute on a plane is going to add a tonne of weight!!!

378

My Feedback: (4)

If anything the band is a bit too strong. The servo actually has to fight it just to open the carb. If I suddenly jump from idle to WOT it's at least a second and a half before the carb is actually fully open. When I turn the reciever off at full throttle the band pulls on the servo so hard momentum alone pulls the servo horn far enough into the brakes that the car won't roll down a 10º incline. That may not be enough to lock the tires but it will slow the car down and it will minimize damage should it still hit something.



If a parachute adds so much weight to the plane that it won't fly right the plane is too small to need a parachute in the first place. I can't imagine a couple ounces of fabric and some high-strength fishing line is going to add so much weight to a 3D plane as to render it unflyable. You lose way more than that in fuel weight during a flight.


Not that I would personally own a 3D plane. Bit much for what I'd do, which amounts to randomly buzzing the neighbor's cattle and dodging power lines.

rcflip

No actually the parachute adds a tonne of weight, I have seen people make planes which fall apart in flight, the fusalage runs out of room to stuff the chute and the plane is rather heavy.

Rocketman612

My Feedback: (85)

About six or seven years ago at a fly-in a fella was doing a demo with a 35% plane and it went into failsafe with the programming you describe. the plane did settle down nicely with minimal damage to the rudder. He was doing waterfalls and flat spins when this happened. I never got a chance to ask how he did the programming. I agree that depending on what the plane is doing at the time it enters failsafe may give a different outcome. It has been done with success at least once.

Pete

378

My Feedback: (4)

What are they making the chutes out of, lead? A couple square feet of fabric and some high-strength lines is not a ton of weight.

mrfourtysevenman

My Feedback: (2)

funny thing happened to me. i was flying my 3d hawk (35 dollar hobbyking foamie) and was testing the range on my 7 dollar chinese spektrum receiver. it never went to failsafe (which i did not have programmed like above) but i pointed her down and when i pulled up the plane pulled up but... the battery didnt. lol. the battery ripped off and disconnected. but i had already sent the "pull up" signal to the plane. it landed itself softly in the cement. WIN.

rcflip

More than enough weight to make flying the plane a lead sled!!!

djmp69

Gadgets and programming are always cool, just to take advantage of what technology has to offer, and proper care and maintenance of your craft and equipment can never be stressed enough, especially when dealing with our babies. HOWEVER, there are those times when freak things just happen. That's when technology CAN come in handy. But, what about the times when the margin is too small? Technology can, at times, more get you into trouble than help, and DOHthere goes your money and hard work, when stick time, reflexes, and experience are the difference between a little repair vs a rebuild or new bird.

For example, I recently erased the programming that coupled elevator and rudder for knife edges. Iwas using it so much it made me uncomfortable ANDmade certain maneuvers difficult to do with precision. I did the homework and found that with simple CG tweaking and practice I could get the same result. That result being my knifes are straighter, truer, and I am more in control of my plane than relying on a program to do it for me. True it helped when Iwas learning how to do the maneuver, but Irealized that if I wanted to perfect the move, I needed to know the how and why. Plus I didnt want to constantly be thinking about if the switch was in the right place during flight vs landing. And landing is never routine, thank mama nature for that! Think about itYou're crabbing or inverted 20ft up. A freak gust of wind hits your plane and your engine quits at the same time. Or worse, you're landing, some idiot runs across the field, and you have to abort. Trouble is, on your climbout, your engine quits for whatever reason. What's going to be easier? Remembering or figuring out the right switch for failsafe and having milliseconds to make sure you hit the right one OR, "instinct" kicking in and landing the plane because of your practice and experience?

I would say sure, if you paid for it, might as well utilise it. Get the most out of your gadgets. BUT MOSTIMPORTANTLY, take the time to learn and understand what the gadget/program is doing, and how you can get your mind and hands to do the same thing without the gadget/program. Doing so will only make you a better pilot.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Just point the nose straight down and apply full throttle. You only need to do this once and landings are no longer a problem.