Taranis Radio Setup of Horizon's BNF Mk XIV 1.2 M Spitfire with ARA636A Rx
06-18-2016, 06:30 AM
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Thread Starter
Taranis Radio Setup of Horizon's BNF Mk XIV 1.2 M Spitfire with ARA636A Rx
I apologize in advance if this sounds like a commercial, but I submitted this as a review to Horizon because I was very happy with my purchase. Using a Taranis Radio to open up the realm of BNF aircraft is interesting to some people but due to the Open Source programming, it can be difficult. Yet the task was completed and I had a lot of fun flying this "off the shelf" flyer. Below is my review. The setup was just like the little Cub S using 80% of the 1500us servo throw to match Spektrum's Tx. However, I configured Channel 7 with inputs at 100% to assign a switch per the SAFE binding and switch assignment technique shown in the manual. The ARA636A Rx is in reality an 8 channel Rx even though it has only 6 connections. I hope this helps others and opens up BNF to more Taranis Tx users.
"I returned to the hobby after being out of it for about 20 years. I bought a Taranis radioand I enjoy the challenge of programming it and its flexibility. The Orange RFmodule allows me to turn it into a Spectrum radio and I hoped it would open up the realm of all the Bind N Fly airplanes. However, I wasn’t sure. I bought the small BNF warplanes and by using the forums, got them flying well with the SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]RX technology. I wanted to try a larger SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] plane and the Mk XIV 1.2 M Spitfire seemed appealing so I bought it. I like to build, but summer is for flying. The plane arrived and literally the mechanical assembly is less than an hour. What? Seven screws attach some clevis; charge a battery, a littlegluing? No big deal! The fact that the flaps and gear were on channels 5 and 6 threw me off a bit.
The little planes used channels 5 and 6 for changing flight modes and assigning the panic switch. I spent a lot of time searching every forum on how to configure the Taranis and stillI was clueless. So I finally called Horizon Product Support, and after a quick discussion, I was informed that the ARA636A was truly an 8 channel RX eventhough it only had 6 ports. That meant that once I bound the TX in SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]mode, I could activate, for example, a channel 7 input and use the Joystick technique shown in the manual. That was the key information needed to solve the problem because the plane was bound ok with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP], but I couldn’t assign an on-off switch. What I also found out was that 5 toggles of the chosen switch it wasn’t enough. I kept flipping the switch a few more times while holding the joysticks in position and finally the on-off switch was assigned. It was obvious. Excellent technical guidance from a Product Support representative! The SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] function now engages/disengages well on the bench and when on, it is smooth. I set the flaps on a slider with a two second slow up and down response. The word should get out how easy, in hindsight, this all could have been. I’m sure a DX Spectrum TX would have worked sooner, but I just don’t want to buy extra radios. So my congratulations to the development team at E-flight and Horizon for their fine support insolving this set-up problem.
Now, I need to go out to the field for a test flight. If the plane flies anything like thelittle BNF SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] planes, I know I’ll be happy with the purchase.
Update: All week the winds were 12+ mph. I flew today when winds were finally 6-9 mph and variable. I decided to start with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] on. I took off and the plane climbed flawlessly. It became apparent that it was flying like it was on rails. It didn’t seem to need any trim, perhaps a click down due to the steady climb-out. What wind there was could hardly be noticed. The plane flew great. Cautiously, I kept the gear down and after about4 minutes I tried a flaps-downlanding. She floated in and touched down with a roll-out in about 10 feet. I gave the TX to a friend so he could try it. Again a flawless flight and a walking speed landing. The plane wouldn’t roll while flying with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]engaged. I decided to turn it off during the second flight. My hi-rates had the plane responding sharply and it was very aerobatic, yet always in control. I turned on SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] and again the flying was tamed. After a 7 minute flight cell checker said I had consumed 38% of a 3200 mah 3s E-flite battery.It recharged 980 mah. My second flight was about the same, only 30% down. I reset my timer to 9 minutes and will try again later. I’d really recommend the larger battery. I’m sure 9-10 minuteflights will be the norm.
The bottomline is that I was able to program my Taranis and successfully bind and set up all the features of this plane correctly. The gear worked as expected. I set ups low moving flaps and I was able to switch SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] on and off in flight. I used the Orange RF module to fly the Cub S, so I noticed I had to re-bind to the Spitfire at the field. Not sure if that is needed each time I change RX’s, but if so, that’s a minor inconvenience. Overall I can say these larger SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] electrics fly great. I’m very happy with this purchase. Make sure you check the CG. The manual was spot on."
"I returned to the hobby after being out of it for about 20 years. I bought a Taranis radioand I enjoy the challenge of programming it and its flexibility. The Orange RFmodule allows me to turn it into a Spectrum radio and I hoped it would open up the realm of all the Bind N Fly airplanes. However, I wasn’t sure. I bought the small BNF warplanes and by using the forums, got them flying well with the SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]RX technology. I wanted to try a larger SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] plane and the Mk XIV 1.2 M Spitfire seemed appealing so I bought it. I like to build, but summer is for flying. The plane arrived and literally the mechanical assembly is less than an hour. What? Seven screws attach some clevis; charge a battery, a littlegluing? No big deal! The fact that the flaps and gear were on channels 5 and 6 threw me off a bit.
The little planes used channels 5 and 6 for changing flight modes and assigning the panic switch. I spent a lot of time searching every forum on how to configure the Taranis and stillI was clueless. So I finally called Horizon Product Support, and after a quick discussion, I was informed that the ARA636A was truly an 8 channel RX eventhough it only had 6 ports. That meant that once I bound the TX in SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]mode, I could activate, for example, a channel 7 input and use the Joystick technique shown in the manual. That was the key information needed to solve the problem because the plane was bound ok with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP], but I couldn’t assign an on-off switch. What I also found out was that 5 toggles of the chosen switch it wasn’t enough. I kept flipping the switch a few more times while holding the joysticks in position and finally the on-off switch was assigned. It was obvious. Excellent technical guidance from a Product Support representative! The SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] function now engages/disengages well on the bench and when on, it is smooth. I set the flaps on a slider with a two second slow up and down response. The word should get out how easy, in hindsight, this all could have been. I’m sure a DX Spectrum TX would have worked sooner, but I just don’t want to buy extra radios. So my congratulations to the development team at E-flight and Horizon for their fine support insolving this set-up problem.
Now, I need to go out to the field for a test flight. If the plane flies anything like thelittle BNF SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] planes, I know I’ll be happy with the purchase.
Update: All week the winds were 12+ mph. I flew today when winds were finally 6-9 mph and variable. I decided to start with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] on. I took off and the plane climbed flawlessly. It became apparent that it was flying like it was on rails. It didn’t seem to need any trim, perhaps a click down due to the steady climb-out. What wind there was could hardly be noticed. The plane flew great. Cautiously, I kept the gear down and after about4 minutes I tried a flaps-downlanding. She floated in and touched down with a roll-out in about 10 feet. I gave the TX to a friend so he could try it. Again a flawless flight and a walking speed landing. The plane wouldn’t roll while flying with SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP]engaged. I decided to turn it off during the second flight. My hi-rates had the plane responding sharply and it was very aerobatic, yet always in control. I turned on SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] and again the flying was tamed. After a 7 minute flight cell checker said I had consumed 38% of a 3200 mah 3s E-flite battery.It recharged 980 mah. My second flight was about the same, only 30% down. I reset my timer to 9 minutes and will try again later. I’d really recommend the larger battery. I’m sure 9-10 minuteflights will be the norm.
The bottomline is that I was able to program my Taranis and successfully bind and set up all the features of this plane correctly. The gear worked as expected. I set ups low moving flaps and I was able to switch SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] on and off in flight. I used the Orange RF module to fly the Cub S, so I noticed I had to re-bind to the Spitfire at the field. Not sure if that is needed each time I change RX’s, but if so, that’s a minor inconvenience. Overall I can say these larger SAFE[SUP]©[/SUP] electrics fly great. I’m very happy with this purchase. Make sure you check the CG. The manual was spot on."
Last edited by szempruw; 06-18-2016 at 07:03 AM.
