what is the difference between a mode 1 radio and a mode 2 radio

most of us Yanks fly mode 2....you want to fly the mode that is most prominent where you are.....I am assuming that the Canadains fly mode 2 as well...but that is a guess on my part

Vallier Racing, I'm glad you asked. Mode 1 owners are generally better fliers, give more to charity, have less visits to psychiatrists, buy less Viagra and live twice as long as mode 2 fliers.

Have a nice day.

WestCoastFlyer,

I must admit I'm a little dissappointed in you!

You have broken the first rule of the Mode 1 flyer's code.

You should NEVER EVER let Mode 2 flyers know the benefits of flying Mode 1 - you should always lead Mode 2 flyers into thinking their mode is the best. This will allow them to be happy, even thought they are at a disadvantage, and allow Mode 1 flyers to always have the advantage and be better flyers.

I understand that it is a fact that there are many more crashes with Mode 2 flyers in North America than on Mode 1 (however, this may be a skewed statistic since there are many more Mode 2 flyers in North America - but lets keep that a secret).
=============================================
Hopefully, if you get this far, you know I'm just stirring the pot and having fun. I really don't care what mode you fly, or if you are a good or bad flyer, just come out to the field and have fun!

My advice would be to go to your local field and see what the people are flying there - they will be the people who will be helping you, and you should fly the same mode as them, otherwise they will not be able to help you.

Fly4Fun,

Wayne

Westcoast/Wayne ...... is it also true that mode one flyers are more prone to grand delusions and wild flights of fancy??

The advantage of Mode 1 is that it makes manoevres like rolling harriers, rolling circles or any rolling manoevre easier to learn because the primary controls are linked to one stick; rudder and elevator.

MOde 2 pilots who can pull of these manoevre are much more skillful pilots and probably missed their calling as lead guitarist for a major band somewhere. Why more skillful? Because the primary controls for the rolling manoevres are decoupled and it requires far superior left hand right  hand co-ordination.

For right handed people decoupled mode 2 is preferable. For left handed people, decoupled Mode 3 is preferable.

If you prefer the controls for rolling coupled then Mode 4 is actually easier for right handed people and mode 1 easier for left handed people.
So for the majority of people Mode 1 is essentially 2 wrongs.

Delusional, me? Haha yeah could be.

Seriously, I'm glad I fly Mode 1. Even when I started around twenty five years ago most people here in the U.S. flew Mode 2. I've had to personally modify all my radios to Mode 1, but it's pretty easy. Mode 1 does however mean I'm less likely to instruct someone new because I think people should probably fly what most others fly. If you fly Mode 2 don't hand me your radio if you get disoriented because I'll instantly crash your airplane.

Obviously I'm not trying to start an argument regarding Mode 1 vs Mode 2 but I actually do believe Mode 1 is better. First of all, you've got "bank and crank," roll the airplane with right stick ailerons and crank the turn with the left stick elevators. Bank and crank, very comfortable and precise. A contest winning Mode 1 friend tells me entering a knife edge is smoother Mode 1 and he can tell which mode a person flies in contests by watching their airplane.

Ba Hum Bug! Single Stick is the way real flyers fly.

Bruce

Nah, just a bit of harmless fun WestCoastFlyer - fly with whatever makes you more comfortable I say.

PERSONALLY, I fly mode 2 as I started with heli's, and for ME, it makes more sense when you take into account exactly how a heli flies re it's flight characteristics, and keeping cyclic input under one control stick.
IF i had started with a plane, I feel (like most plane guys here in NZ) that I would have gone mode 1, as again it looks to be more practical with regards to how the plane reacts and what your/i would be trying to achieve.

Personal opinions only, nothing more, others may disagree, but again that would just be their personal opinions - Ie, there is no right or wrong answer to the mode1 vs mode2 debate, it's all about your own choice!!!.

Yes I agree. I was having fun with that post. When people ask me what they should buy to get started I tell them Mode 2. And also obviously, once you learn a particular Mode it's not like a debate would cause a change because at that point your muscle memory has learned a Mode and it wouldn't make sense to change. But Mode 1 is better lol.

I fly Mode 2, but I wish I had learned Mode 1 CAUSE it is hard to hand-launch with mode 2 as you have no control over the elevator if launching the model with the right hand! If you're left handed, than Mode 2 is the way to go.

On the other hand, mode 2 is the standard for US and Canada... so it's a toss up[:@]

FYI if you learn one way, it's VERY hard to switch to other modes

If you are right handed and your plane spends all of it's time torque rolling, then mode four would seem to be the best for this.
Likewise if you are left handed mode 1.

But if you want ease of learning, and right handed controls that are closer to what you would see in a real plane, then mode 2 is favored.

e.g.

Pushing and Pulling a full size plane's "control wheel" lowers and raises the elevator, while turning the wheel moves the ailerons... just like the right stick in mode 2.
The rudder is controlled by your feet as it is less frequently used once in the air, so mode 2 mimics this with the left hand left/right stick movement. etc.

Like others here have said, it is probably best to fly the most common mode in your area. I am always the odd man out since I fly mode 1. I learned to fly from my Father. He started out and flew for many years on mode 2, but was convinced by a group of mode 1 guys that their way was better. They were right of course

Among the guys I fly with, I am the only one that doesn't get to share his plane. I have flown most of my buddies planes, but they get the look of dread if I offer up my plane to them.

I prefer the split function of roll and pitch. I think it leads to less unintentional mixing of the two, but that is only really a problem with less experienced pilots. I know plenty of mode 2 guys that can thread a needle with mode 2. I can just thread it twice as easy as they can

One more plug for mode 1 is the fact that you are always using both sticks, so you don't get stuck in that "set the throttle, and then only fly with one stick". Sure made learning how to incorporate rudder into various maneuvers easier since I was already used to using both sticks all the time.

Lastly ....... Mode 1 RULES!!!! [8D]

G'day

I am in Australia where Mode 1 is most common but my current club is a little bastion of Mode 2.

I learned Mode 1 at my original club about 200km away. I also play the piano and flying models is very similar to playing the piano or touch typing. It is a learned reflex. When you are doing any of these things you don't think about which key to press next or which finger to move to press a particular keyboard key, you just do it. Automatically.

So whether you learn to fly Mode 1 or Mode 2 ultimately does not matter at all. What does matter is learning the reflexes necessary to fly your planes and that includes the rudder and throttle.

Back in the dark ages pre buddy cords, I can see that Mode 1 was easier to learn in the initial stages. My instructor would hold the radio and he would control the elevator with the left stick while I did the "steering" using the ailerons. Then we swapped over and I had the left stick and he the right. Eventually I was given the radio and had more or less control of both. But after about three weeks when I was holding the radio, that advantage evaporated.

One difference I noticed between the Mode 1 fliers at my first two clubs and the Mode 2 fliers at my current club is that the Mode 1 fliers did tend to use the throttle and the Mode 2 fliers did not. Many of my Mode 2 friends fly with their left hand simply holding the radio. The left thumb never goes near the stick. They are true "one stick" fliers. This presumably goes back to their original training which was probably not all that good.

Then again, for a long time I did not touch the rudder stick except to keep a plane straight on take off. I was never taught to use the rudder and I am still trying to learn after ten years.

"A little bastion of Mode 2." That strikes me as really funny. Nice writing.

Mike, I agree; RC airplanes are like learning a musical instrument. Also true regarding practicing with the rudder. I force myself to practice rudder only. It's not fun, it's like being forced to practice a musical instrument as a kid, but the results are worthwhile.

G'day West Coast

I gather that the person that started my current club flew Mode 2 and he insisted that ONLY mode 2 was flown by club members. This had an unfortunate side effect. It stopped many people joining and gave the club a really bad name for being unfriendly and insular. He has long since moved on but the stigma has stuck and we have found it hard to get people to come to our events as a result. Sad really.

Fortunately things are changing. People like me who fly Mode 1 have joined and there is now a small group (about 20%) of Mode 1 fliers in the club. Naturally comments are made about the "correctness" of one method or the other but everyone now accepts that it really does not matter which Mode one flies, it just matters that we fly and have fun.

I currently have four JR 2610 radios; when they turn up cheap, I buy them. I have deliberately converted one to Mode 2. This allows me to let Mode 2 members fly my planes. This has helped to soften the barrier between the modes in our club.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

I am left-handed flying Mode 2. I use both sticks constantly. As far as the mixing ail and elev., that can be avoided by putting more spring tension on the gymbals. You can feel the neutral position much easier and avoid mixing. That is also why I use a tray without the handrests. I can't comfortably hold a transmitter and make precise control inputs. Your thumbs don't move in a straight line. They move in a semicircle. Hard to make a straight line elev. input without mixing aileron. The tray and increased spring tension help that plus in hot weather the trans. doesn't get slick with sweat. And then some of us mouth-breathing, knuckle-draggers don't even have an opposed thumb(you know who you are!!) and could benefit from a tray!!!! (To paraphrase an old Bill cosby joke the response to that is: " I don't drag my knuckles and quit talking about my mouth-breathing!!!)

Simple solution ... buy a collective pitch heli ..... you'll never suffer from lazy thumb ever again!!

Secondly ...... "MODE 2 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!" [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

I'll probably end up using Mode 3. 2.4ghz does not have any surface or air designation, so I can and intend on using the same radio for cars and planes. Cars use a spring loaded throttle/brake channel, which on stick radios is the vertical axis on the left stick. Mode 2, standard for planes in the US, puts a ratchet here. I'm too deeply ingrained in the car layout to re-learn that, but since I've never flown before, I can handily learn any layout I want to for the planes, so I'm going to put the ratchet on the right stick and use Mode 3 for aircraft while the elevator and rudder channels are used for cars.

Going to try Mode 1 on the sim now.....

So launch with your left hand, It's not really that hard.

! i tried that... won't do that again any time soon...