Not knowing a lot about Gyros and their terminology's, I ask the group for their experience. I want to put a Gyro on OMP 540 for the rudder. I seen a gyro in action this past weekend and now I really want one. The owner of the plane I seen said his was $200.00 CAD at http://www.greathobbies.com/ but I didn't get which model it was.

The gyro worked great for hovering. I am just getting into the hovering and have got into a few really nice ones so far but It's really easy to screw-up working all the axis plus the throttle. Our field is rock and not very forgiving. I really don't want to sacrifice a few planes learning so I figure the gyro would be an asset. My plan is that once I get the rest of it mastered then I can then learn the rudder part of it and eventually take the gyro out (at least thats what I'll tell everyone!! ) GYRO...HELL NO!

Any suggestions or help would be great. By the way I am using an Futaba 6XAS.

Thanks
Don

With that airplane you shouldnt need it. There arnt a lot of people that use gyros b/c at the higher level of competition they are illegal.

I didn't ask if I needed it or not. And I don't care about compititions. I was asking for advice on them, not a lecture on why not to use them. I just don't want to wreck any planes learning...did you read my post or not?

By the, I didn't think much of them or much of a use for them until seeing one in action.

Thanks
Don

You can use any gyro, even the cheapest heli (NOT HEADING HOLD).
The fact that you are using it on the rudder only, it does not even have to be switchable from your trans. If you use one on the elevator, get one that can be turned on and off from your trans.

Be sure you set it up so the gyro counteracts the yaw movement start off with about 50% gain.

Jemo, thank you sincerely for your intelligent post. I do appreciate what YOU had to say.
Cheers
Don

That was kind of a Nasty reply to Southern-touch9 [sm=punching.gif]

If you are asking for our experience then it will be that gyros are not needed, IF your airplane is setup properly. I have the OMP edge and in the sweet spot it will almost hold itself for a few seconds, here is what to look for.

1. 1.5 - 2.0 deg right thrust
2. Make sure the ailerons are in line with the wing chord
3. Move the CG as far back as you are comfortable
4. Use a propeller that is as long and flat as your engine will allow (experiment)
5. Build it light, light, light.
6. The 6XAS is a great radio, use the exponetial feature (I set mine at about -60 to -75 on the elevator)
7. Fly as close to you as you are comfortable, it lets you see subtle changes and react.

And lastly if you are flying over rocks then you might want to check out this plane. It's the SPA3DT and you can get plans at www.spadtothebone.com. It is a GREAT machine to learn harriers with, as well as hovering.

So seriously gyros are not needed and I don't know anyone that does. If you do decide to go with one please post your experience I would be interested to hear about that.

Dapped, there are several out there and tower hobbies sells one (GYA350) that's on-off switchable, but don't try to hover in the heading lock mode or you'll get some surprises. When I began learning 3D few years ago, I installed a gyro on a profile plane. I eventually installed it in my OMP GS540 and FF540 to see just how hands off they would hover. The OMP Edges are so stable in hover that you can only see a tiny bit of difference, and not enough to justify spending over $100.00 on it (IMO). The upside is that when you get done with them, you can sell them. Using a gyro to learn hovering doesn't mean you aren't "manly" like some suggest, so get one if you want. I kept decreasing the sensitivity / gain until I eventually didn't need them anymore. Where I live, finding a person to teach 3D is like finding a snipe (ever been snipe hunting?) so I had to teach myself.

John Wells

mmmmmk....waste your money

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to order the Futaba GYA350.
Cheers
Don

DAPPED you must be dappy (english term equivalent to jerk) to want a gyro especially as so many talented and experienced flyers have ADVISED yo not to. It is like removing the stabilisers of a childs bike and adding some electronic counter balancing system ! Yes the young child willbe able to ride straight away but will take much,much longer to ride without the gizmo than with stabilizers!! There is also a safety issue when you eventually take the gyro off (you probably never will take them off as it sounds like you and all others using them are CHEATS) because you will have an unrealistic appreciation of your skill. People who wont listen are fools.

You can get stabilizers for hovering?

What are they? Hoverizers?

I'm actually thinking about gyros to assist in the stability of an Osprey type plane.... this would be interesting if it wasn't for all the petty bickering