Pitch curves: 5, 7, 9 points, what is benefit of more points?
 

I have been using a radio which only allows 5-point pitch curve. What I would like to know is that for those who have 7 or 9 or more points on their pitch curve, what benefits do you see for having that many?
What percentages do you normally use for Normal and 3D flight on all points?
Does setup become more cumbersome with more points or easier?

Thanks

Pitch curves: 5, 7, 9 points, what is benefit of more points?
 

I fly a Futaba 9Z and it has 13 points on the pitch and throttle curve and 5 points on each of the program mixes. Yes it takes a little longer to do a set up initially, but with the flexibility it offers it is well worth it to me. For example in setting up a throttle curve for hovering, I can fine tune the 5,6,7,8,9 points in the middle to make the engine not vary any with a point or so of pitch change. This is very useful for contest type flying.
That is what the higher end radios with all the points on the curves and mixes was designed primarily for is contest type flying.
David

Pitch curves: 5, 7, 9 points, what is benefit of more points?
 

Contest type flying I think is the key statement here. For most of us "mortals" 5 points will do all you will need. Without the programing headaches. Not that these new fangalled radios are bad. But IMPO some things are not needed for a normal pilot, if settup properly.

Pitch Curves
 

I wish I had more than 5 pt pitch/throttle curve, here's why:

My setup: I like to hover upright at 3/4 stick and inverted at 1/4 stick. To set this up I have hovering set up at 3/4 stick in all modes (normal, Hold, Idleup1, and 2). Throttle curve is the same in all modes (from mid stick to full) except hold. This allows me to flip into any mode without the heli jumping or changing rpm's.

Now, with that said here's the problem....
Headspeed 1850.
My normal throttle curve is 0, 20, 35, 50, 100.
My normal pitch curve is -4 -2 0, 5, 9.
With an old engine my heli struggles to do a climb out from hover. Most of this is due to the pitch coming in before the engine. If I had say a 7pt curve I could set it up like this:
normal throttle 0, 15, 20, 35, 50, 90, 100
normal pitch -4, -3.5, -2, 0, 2.5, 5, 6.5, 9.
This would bring the throttle to 90% at point 8 with the pitch only being increased by 1.5 degrees thereby making the engine "lead" the pitch change and eliminating my bogging on climb outs.

The bottom line is this. For those of us who hover at 3/4 stick so our setup is linear a 5 point curve gives us no adjustment from hover to full stick.

Hope that helps. The old rule is buy the best radio you can afford, maybe even one model better than you can afford. Your radio will be with you (hopefully) through several models and it gets expensive to have to get a new one after you start forward flight. :)

Dwayne

Dwayne
 

Dwayne, you have been very helpful, you brought up a point I had never considered. I know CY uses more than 5 on his Vigor and there must be some reason why. Sure everything can be done with 5, but with more points, the heli can be made to perform a little better and smoother with the proper setup.
Thanks for your time.