Drogue Chute
 

I am fitting a drogue chute to my skymaster F4 and am trying to program a failsafe switch on my 14mz. I would like the release to only work when the flaps are down/wheels down/engine idle. I can get it to work off 1 of these but not all. Any body got any ideas?

Ian.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

get the controller from Dan Gills, it's got a wheel RPM sensor so it knows you're on the runway before it'll allow the chute to pop.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Sounds like KC has the right advice .. but to answer your original question, you can use the logic mixes on the 14MZ, they can mix with AND and OR conditions, which should be what you are looking for. It can handle multiple inputs to "OR" or "AND" together. The documentation is on the 14MZ download site along with the next-to-most-recent SW update.

I use it to handle changes in nosewheel steering mix with throttle and flap ... and got the idea to use the logic mixes from 747DRVR...

Also, reading between the lines, did you intend to pop the chute in the air if failsafe happens??? I know a fullscale F4 driver who used the chute to recover from a spin in combat in Vietnam...

Dave

RE: Drogue Chute
 

It's a nice system. Frank Alvarez has it on his J-35 Draken.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Do yourself a favor and make a release that is "Y" through your trottle. That way if it should come out in flight and you have any throttle setting above idle it will be set free. We had the safe system on our B-58 and it worked great. Then when you are taxing you can bump the trottle and the chute is gone.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Dave,
No, the failsafe is to make sure it does not deploy in flight.
Thanks for surgestion of logic switchs.
Ian.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Squat switchon the gear. You can arm the chute in flight and it will deploy as soon as you get WOW. You'll look like a pro.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

I just mixed mine to ensure it only popped with gear down. I also put it on a switch nowhere near any other function.

Personally, I reckon if you popped the chute in flight, something would snap resulting in the chute departing the model before it caused the model to crash??

RE: Drogue Chute
 

I had a Details 4 scale chute deploy in flight on my F-100 and the chute popped right off. Never found the chute :( I now use the Details 4 Scale AutoChute II system and it works great! I would recommend it to anyone.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Patrick, I'm assuming this is 1/7 scale...or thereabouts? Would you be kind enough to post a little more information and pictures on how the chute is stored and triggered? Dan's site lists the parts as, "Package includes 4 slot scale parachute with hardware, molded fiberglass chute housing, molded carbon fiber doors with tube hinges and closure blocks. Chute is available separately." But I couldn't see much more than that. I've been pleased with the stuff I've used from them in the past and am interested in this component.

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Sean,

If you go to the Skymaster F-4 section at www.detail4scale.com, you will find the installation instructions for the SM F-4. It shows the step by step for the entire system. The F-4 chute system uses a special servo holder that holds both the trigger servo and a micro push button valve; when the valve is depressed by the servo, the plunger fires ejecting the chute. The rear chute door is hinged as on the rear F-4 and held in place by a pair of rare earth magnets. The plunger at 70-80psi has more than enough force to overcome the pull of the magnets when fired, thus opening the door and ejecting the chute. There is a great video on the SM F-4 page of our site that shows the actual ejection on landing. The large SM F-4 is roughly 1/8th scale and the 16" bellowed slotted chute is sized for the aircraft. The chutes are effective enough that most landing require no brakes to slow the aircraft as you'll see on the video. The AUtochute II is a chute deployment system with 5 built in safetys and the best part is that the system doesn't require the use of ANY additional channels from the radio. It uses 4 inputs, brake, flaps and throttle for the first safety set and then a wheel sensor to insure the aircraft is on the ground before firing the chute. Once programmed, the Autochute II does everything automatically for you. You just land the plane; no buttons or switched to press so you can keep your eyes and mind on the landing. If all the safety parameters are met, the chute fires at touchdown wheel spin-up. I hope this will answer most of your questions.

Dan

RE: Drogue Chute
 

Dan, thanks for the very comprehensive answer. That helped a lot. I was thinking of adding this feature to a 1/7 scale Avonds F-104. I'll contact you via email to discuss further as I think the housing will be slightly different, but the concept the same.