I am setting up my Cularis, my first full-function glider. There are 2 TX modes on my Futaba.... flaps on same channel (Y connector) or flaps on individual channels. Any advice? I have 9 channels and I need at least 1, preferably 2, for my pan/tilt camera. The Futaba manual says in the second mode, the flaps can be programmed to act in concert with the ailerons ... doubt I will need such a thing. I do need butterfly though.

You have rudder, elevator, throttle, aileron1, aileron2, flap1, flap 2, so thats only 7 which might give you what you need including the camera.

What radio are you using?

T9CHP

They recommend using Ch 3 for the "air brake" (whatever that is) so throttle has to go someplace else, leaving only 1 spare channel.

You really dont have a spare channel then, the 9C, even in pcm mode, the 9th channel is only a toggle switch, you cant set end points or mixing or anything else.

Y harness the Flaps.

I got it all to work with some notable problems:

1. I can't get the airbrake on any control other than the throttle stick. This is going to cause a problem when I think I am hitting the throttle while in fact I am hitting the airbrake! I can get the ESC, plugged into CH3, on the D slider
2. I can't get the specified throws on the flaps and the elevator.
3. I can't figure out how to set up the AIL->FLAP mix so that the flaps travel half as much as the ails, which in turn have 2x the up throw vs. down. The setup screen is too obtuse.
4. The flaps are not controllable in isolation, only as part of a mix!??

(I have set up using the GLID2 framework, with flaps on separate channels)

Now a hardware problem. Multiplex and Castle say their BEC won't support 6 servos ... thermal overload problem. So I have to use a third battery (already have a second one, 12V for video), or a separate BEC. Given that the flaps are very seldom used (only for butterfly and a slow/speed mix), and the fact that I will be flying straight and level most of the time, is this "thermal overload" problem for real?

R/E/A/A/F/F = 6 channels
Throttle = 7 channels

Using a PPM receiver you have 8 proportional channels so you have one left.

For use as a camera platform I would use the aerobatic profile rather than glider profile, leaving your throttle on the stick. You are probalbynot going to need the glider mixes if you are really flying it more as a camera platform than a TD glider. It will still glide but you won't have some of the camber settings that TDglider pilots use. But you probably won't care.

Using a PCM receiver you also have Ch 9.Ch 9 is on/off.If you just need camera on/off or shutter trip, then Ch 9 could serve that purpose nicely and you still have variable throttle. Again, if you use the aerobatic profile you can keepthe throttleon the stick and put flaps on a side slider. You don't needbutterfly, use flap to elevator mix for landing mix. Put it on the left slider.

If you are more interested in the Cularis as a camera platform than as a competition glider, then you should be just fine, however there is nothing wrong with putting the flaps on a Y cable and freeing up achannel so you can fly using an 8 channel PPM receiver. You could Y the ailerons tooif you need anotherextra channel.

I fly a 9C super.

Well I persisted and finally got a setup on my 9C I think will work ok.

I left the TX in glider2 setup, with 6 individually controlled servos plus ESC. Since my 2 and 4 servos will connect to the OSD, I can use one of those slots on the RX to run power from the BEC. That still leaves me with one extra channel (8) on PPM, that can be used for a pan servo. I left the butterfly mix on the left stick, and assigned the throttle to the D slider (left slider). The 9th RX channel is PPM out to the OSD.

For mixes, I went with

Thermal Setup (slight flap droop, tiny bit of elev down)
Start (takeoff under power) Setup (flaps and ails full down, elev partial down)
Power-elev mix (elev slight down as full power comes on)
Elev-> flap mix (partial flaps down as elevator is raised)
Butterfly (flaps full down, ails full up, elev partial down)


I didn't use the "speed" mix for it's intended use in the setup as I am FPVing and will be flying endurance not speed. I put the thermal mix on that function. The thermal and startup offsets are on a 3 way switch with neutral in the middle.

There was only one thing that I still couldn't figure out. My Cularis manual refers to a travel setting of aileron up travel (10mm) which they call "Flap". In addition, they spec 20mm up, 10mm down for the ails. Not sure what they are referring to here ... they have a separate list of travel throws under the heading "Flaps" (speed up 3mm, thermic down 4mm). When would you want both your ails up 10mm? (Other than butterfly which they spec separately as ails up 15mm, flaps down 30mm, ele down 8mm).

Hoping this will suffice. We will see.

Thanks to all for input. From the reading I did, for the benefit of the next guy going down this learning curve, you have to choose aerobatic setup to have a traditional throttle on the left stick. You can't do some of the glider stuff (eg thermal trim) under that setup but that's not essential.

I believe those aileron up and down figures are teh maximum recommended travel for the surfaces for normal flying.  Having more up than down is called aileron differental and it is intended to reduce adverse Yaw when using the ailerons.

The down aileron will lift the wing but also creates drag on that side so it pulls the wing away from the intended turn, creating adverse yaw.  This is true for all aircraft but is more pronounced on gliders due to their long wings and lower flying speeds without power.

Thanks aea. When, if ever, do you use rudder on a full house glider apart from straightening her out on a cross wind landing situation?

Still don't know what Cularis is referring to in their setup section when the refer to Aileron "Flap" travel of 10mm up.

Actually you use the rudder a lot on a glider. If you turn with the rudder and give a little opposite aileron to keep the wings level in a thermal, then the wing is presenting more lifting area to the thermal.

I use the rudder a LOT when flying my gliders. Just as full scale pilots use the rudder to coordinate the turn, so glider pilots do the same. Since gliders are assumed to be flying without motor, making the smoothest, most efficent turns is vital to energy conservation. I often lead with the rudder as I go into a thermal turn.

And, ofcourse the rudder can be vital to accurate landings when fying in TD contests where the goal is to put the nose of the plane on the 100 point mark, about 1 square inch.

The rudder is your friend. Don't ignore it.

USING THE RUDDER IN THERMAL FLYING
http://www.polecataero.com/handlaunc...thermal-flying

Well new problems today. In order to control my OSD, I had to free up ch 5. So I Y harnessed the flaps and put them on Ch6 and changed my glider setup to Glider 1. But now I can't get the flaps to move in the same direction ... they move in opposite directions in all the mixes and there is no way to reverse one of them electronically. I am beginning to think that the guy who put this glider together (I bought it half built) should have reversed the physical installation of the one flap servo. I hope I am wrong, because the wing was cut to fit the servo in its current position. HELP!!

(Using Futaba 9C super radio)

If you're going to run the flaps on one channel the only choice you really have is a reversing Y harness.

When installing flap servos, you have to make a choice. 

If they will be on separate channels, then you install them so that they are mounted opposite each other. This makes for more uniform motion.  That is the way yours are mounted.

If you are going to Y them then you face them in the same direction so they move in the same direction.

If you have them mounted so they are in opposite directions and you decide to Y them then you need a reversing Y cable.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XAFN1&P=ML
or
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XAFN2&P=ML

Thanks again AEA, you are a wealth of information.