Eagle Tree Systems Guardian 2D/3D Inertial Stabilizer.

Observed a club member at our field the other day and he had a gyro stabilizer in his model. Came home and did a little research on them and came up with the above named product.

Just wondering if any of you folks are using them or have tried them in your aircraft ? And if so, what are your opinions of this system ?

I tried one of the 18.00 (yes that's 18 dollars!) HK 3 axis stabilizers on one of my EPP foam 3D trainers. I have 2 3D trainers (both Techone, a 42" Yak and a 47" Swift), so I ended up buying a second one. I should mention that these 2 planes are thrashed mercilessly. They very often come home badly broken (as in tail hanging by control rods and/or nose hanging by motor wires). Being EPP though, repairs generally only take 1/2 hour or so. After 40-50 (or more) battery packs through them since installing the stabilizers, some thoughts:

They do not fly the plane by themselves. You still need to fly the plane. They do not need to be turned off to play with 3D type stuff, though you can, from an aux. switch on the transmitter. I leave mine turned on full time and run on high rates full time. (surface throws 45 degrees or so either direction, rudder banging against elevator both directions) They allow you to use more control surface throw, and more expo. Way more than what I had been using, and way more control now. Do I feel like I'm cheating? Heck NO! Have they improved my flying? Without a doubt. In my flying, what I'm doing with these trainers is pretty challenging (especially for this 62 years young's reflexes). They reduce my workload by maybe 30%, giving me some extra time to think about what I'm doing, where the plane is at, and what I want to do next.

The ones I used can be turned on and off in flight, have adjustable gains that I haven't found to too necessary to mess with constantly once set up on the bench. If gains are too high, they can/will have your plane shaking like an excited puppy! They come with no directions of any kind. If you've been dealing with HK for any length of time you know you can find info on line regarding them. They'll refer you to a YouTube video that I'll describe as OK at best. They're sensitive to which way is right side up when mounting! How you mount it will require you to use your head a little when it comes too what channel is what and if it needs to be reversed or not! That makes setup a little challenging, not rookie friendly. The other thing of note is there is only one aileron channel. Doesn't sound good but it works great.

Would I use on of these on one of my gassers? No, I don't think so. In my case the gassers are flown 3 mistakes high (usually), and are not flown in a manner that might utilize the craziness I'm using the stabilizer's for. A rookie flyer looking for some help keeping that Cub pointed down the runway on his take off run? Wings level on short approach on a windy day? Your call. I'm sure not going to condemn somebody for pushing their envelope as I am mine? -Al

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...elta_AUX_.html

and if you decide to try that one, you're going to need some jumpers from it to your receiver. Might as well get these while you're at it. They're pretty short but they'll work. Given my 'druthers, and a couple extra bucks in my pocket, I'd get them an inch longer.

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...0pcs_set_.html

-Al

Last thought - I'm going to predict that these stabilizers, or something close to them, will be a standard feature found on most receivers some day - soon!

Hay GrandPooba,
What a handle... : )

I installed an Eagle Tree Guardian into a VQ A26K. It was a trip to set up and to rig to my Tx. You don't just throw the Guardian into a model...some thought must be given to where your going to mount it and you must be very carful how you plug everything in. I just finished modifying my aircraft to mount the Guardian into the airframe and she is ready to fly. The model does fly and have a couple of dozen flights on it without the Guardian installed. The Eagle Tree Guardian is not the Hobby King orange case unit, but a bit more of an advanced unit. You can set the unit up on your computer with a free down load for your computer on their web site. There are excellent instructions, for the "complete idiot" on RCGroups (this information really helped me out) and I do suggest you down load these instructions and print them out. After you read the Guardians and the RCGroups information, you will be able to get your Guardian installed and working properly.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=354219

A gentleman by the name of Rick Wardrop did a whole essay on the Eagle Tree Guardian, and he makes the instructions clear and easy to adopt into your aircraft. He also gives you good information on how to set up your Transmitter, no matter what type of Tx you are using.


I have two of the units now and I'm installing the second unit into a Gee Bee R3 20cc gas model.


Read the instructions that Eagle Tree gives you...then read Rick's information and if your still confused...send an e-mail to Eagle Tree and they will answer you in a day or two with the fix.

Soft Landings Always,
Bobby of Maui

Thank you for your input. Yours is the kind of information that I am looking for, before I make the $$$$ investment.

Might want to mention that I am considering putting them into a Hanger 9 Christen Eagle powered by an OS GT 22. Also, into a Great Planes Revolver 70 powered with a DLE-20. Thinking it might be really nice to have a gyro, at least in the Christen Eagle.

A few of the HK ones in use here with no problems Takes the wind out of your sails on a windy day. Great for the fledgling fliers on a windy day where they would be going home otherwise. Proper playing with the gain and your 3D planes fly just the same as without the gyro, but when when you let go of the controls, it flies on a rail. Grat new tool.

Never thought I had use for a gyro - just something fighting my inputs - but then I got one of the little Beast 3D biplanes with the AS3X stabilization. If the gyros work like that does - counteracting non-stick input fluxuations - there may be some use for them in fixed wing aircraft. It's amazing how well that little model handles wind and itself.

Charlie, that's why I hesitate to call them gyros? Stabilizer is a much better description of what it's actually doing? Also, at least regarding these cheapies I'm using, I'm left with no impression it's fighting my inputs when flying. It's like it knows where level is at, but if I'm telling it to do something differently, that overides what it thinks it needs to do?

There are some differences between these things from what I understand. A more expensive one might have a 'hands off' mode/feature that will level the plane/copter if you take your hands/fingers off the sticks. That's a feature I hope to never need again (and would not pay extra to get!) - but something that might be attractive to somebody else? -Al