i putting this here becuse i am still new. i can fly by myself and doing well but last night i got the realflight sim. so i fly with a cap with a gyro and i was was hovering like i beeen doing it for years.with out it i can hover for like 3-4 sec. so my ? is what is this magic little box. i looked at jr website and they all say heli version

A gyro is a stabilization device (you can ride a bike because of the gyroscopic action of the wheels) usually appiled to all 3 axis of your aircraft (roll, pitch , and yaw). how its hooked up in an RC aircraft, i just don't know. I imagine it mixes with your contol channels.
However if your new and just want to pratice learn without the crutch..fly with your fingers in the long run you'll be a better pilot

I thought a Gyro was a great sandwich that you get in Greek Resturants!!!!

Ken

Sorry folks, couldn't resist!!!!!!

Ken

You should have tried harder Ken.[:@]

Though it's not my thread, but I wanna know about it. What really gyros are? Are the related to gyroscope?

Mody

yeah gyros = gyroscope...

take the $ you'd spend on a couple of gyros and take your wife out to several NICE dinners....she'll let you buy a nice plane!!

HEY if you got GYROS on your sim by all means play with 'em but gyros just are not for beginers in real life.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Gyro's are a necessity in a helicopter but not, definitely not, in a fixed wing model aircraft. You should learn to fly it without all the crutches. And the gyro is not a crutch, it's an advanced flight tool that should only be used by really experienced flyers.

And, yeah, that is some sort of sandwich too!!

I can just see it now.. RCKen flying his next plane with a sandwich packed inside that big brown plastic bag he keeps right behind the servo tray...

Gyros are used to automatically (hopefully) correct for UNCOMMANDED changes in attitude/direction about whichever axis they are aligned. In heli's they are used with the tail rotor. Jets occasionally use them for nose steering but they are NOT connected to the rudder usually. Some have their gain controlable from the transmitter and/or can be turned on/off from the TX. Used improperly they can cause detrimental effects. Connected backwards=hang on for a ride.

I've used gyros in my 3D birds. I only use it on the rudder, but others use them on the rudder and elevator. It helps somewhat in a hover by keeping the plane in what ever position it was in when the last command was given. On the ground, it helps keep the aircraft straight on takeoff (that helps since all of my 3d planes have 0 degree engine thrust). In the air it's supposed to help with maneuvers like knofe edges, hovers, harriers etc. The biggest drawback that I've seen is adjusting the sensitivity. They tend to make difficult maneuvers seem a bit easier, but if you're just flying around the house, you have to keep one step ahead. (unless you can turn the gyro off from the TX) Say for instance you have a gyro on the rudder and you go into a turn with the nose a bit low. Without any input to the rudder, the gyro is going to try to correct the heading to bring the nose back up. If you're a "Yank and Bank" kind of guy like me, it can get hairy real fast, especially in something with a huge rudder like a U Can Do.

Ha, good one, but it's pronounced "Yee-Ro", not "Jy-Ro".

I've heard of guys using them on 3D planes too. I saw a video of Bill Hempel hovering a plane that definitely indicated he uses them on some of his planes (he took his hands off the sticks with the plane in a hover, and the control surfaces were still moving to keep the aircraft stable). In addition to the jet guys using them for steering, some RC car guys use them for steering as well... a novice can "drift" pretty easily with one, and when driving on bumpy dirt tracks, it keeps the car pretty straight. Futaba made a dual axis gyro for airplanes, but I don't see it listed anymore on Tower's website... the Futaba GYA352...

But it's still spelled Gyro - Come on Ken, Lunch is on me (Mmmmmm Gyros)

But getting back to the subject...

A "Gyro" has nothing to do with gyroscopic forces - at least, not anymore. When they were originally designed back in the 30's or 40's (Or sooner, I'm not going to look it up) They used gyroscopes to hold their positions.

Most Gyros nowadays are Piezoelectric. They bounce two electronic signals around a circle (in opposite directions) to a sensor. As the unit rotates, the sensor detects the variance in frequency and sends a signal to counteract.

This happens much faster that you or I could react to the change - which is why you should always use super fast servos when using a gyro

Thanks Ken.. Now I'm hungry....

Sooner. 1852.

Airplane compasses and torpedoes used gyroscopes in WWI.

Does it belong in the steering/control systems of a model - no (IMHO). The dihedral of a trainer does the same for roll and the throttle can trim a properly balanced model for horizontal pitch. You actually need three gyroscopes to control the yaw, pitch and roll.

A gyroscope will not keep you airborne, but will resist orientation changes - even if those are needed corrections. A gyroscope initialized with the aircraft's nose pointed into the ground at a 20º angle will happily keep the model heading into the ground at a 20º angle.

Without even knowing it bicycles used gyroscopes for stability since the day they were invented. They were called wheels. When the wheels turn a gyroscopic effect is generated which helps keep a bicycle upright.
The basic shape and configuration of a typical bicycle has hardly changed since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885.

The earliest known gyroscope was made by Johann Bohnenberger in 1817.

thanks for all the info guys. after reading all of the posts up here i dont plan on getting to this level of flying yet. but one thing everyone is talking about putting this on the rudder in the sim it's on the elevator is this becuse it's a sim ( i have the great planes one 3.5). and not to change the subject but if you had to choose beteen the yak or cap or any other 3d plane what would it be???

and yes gyro's are good in a wrap to

I would go with a Yak

Piezo gyros went out with the walkie talkie sized cell phones Mike.

Nowadays they are SMM (silicon micro mount) well the good ones are anyways. You can buy the piezos 2 at a time at the dollar store.

Ha! I set a heli-geek trap and you fell into it

Ken: did you get the genuine cucumber sauce with a few onions on the gyro

Damn, I gotta get out to the mall for lunch this week. I'm getting hungry for one of them now

we have a mr. gyro very close to use and he really piles on the meat. Along with that good greek salad

I can tell by that smile on your face that you did in-fact the the real McCoy