Topic: Electric glider / hotliner and Futaba set ups

Hi all,

I appreciate this is a can of worms but i'm after some ideas of whether there is anything approaching a standard.

Up until now I have only had 2 servo wing electric gliders and I have set them up pretty much as bog standard power planes with the throttle on the left stick and the 3 position switch on the left controlling flapperons, spoilerons and standard ailerons.

I'm about to receive my first 4 servo wing shortly and I know that crow is usually assigned to the left stick, but where and how do you set yours up???

Sorry, got cut off mid post.

Basically what I'm after is a quick run through of switch assignments and setups for a 4 servo winged electric glider. 60" bird in my case.

Crow on left stick, full crow at stick full down??
Motor on/off which switch would you recommend? Set the esc to soft start?
Is it worth having speed and camber phases on the three position switch??


Cheers for any tips??

I am a Multiplex man myself so can't really help, but I am surprised you have not had a few replies yet from Futaba users.
I will point your request out to my F5B friends as they nearly all use Futaba.

Its all personal preference really and what you are used to.
I fly mode 2 so to have all my switches and crow on the left side for my left hand to operate.
I use a sprung on/off switch at top left of Tx for motor, and have speed and thermal flight modes on a 3 position switch also on left hand side.
I have my crow on a left hand slider - full back = full crow. I don't use throttle stick for crow because I use that as throttle on my non-glider planes, but most people do use the throttle stick. As I said - all personal preference really.

Dick

My usual "hotliner/e-soarer" setup switches between "launch mode" (throttle stick gives normal throttle action but with a curve that gets to full throttle at 40% stick, brakes inhibitted, down trim for vertical climb, coupled aileron and rudder on both sticks), "glide mode" (less down trim for fast cruise, throttle stick connected to nothing, throttle servo locked at zero, no aileron-rudder mixing) and "landing mode" (neutral elevator trim, upper half of throttle stick travel operates the throttle, lower half operates brakes, rudder mixing on the aileron stick). In addition I can apply dabs of brake using a stick-top button in flight phases.

If I want to use flaps/camber-change as well then this has its neutral setting on a centre slider, is inhibitted in launch phase and is put on the throttle stick (but with a 30% dead band between "up" and "down" flap) in glide phase. I tune the travel settings in glide phase so that full back throttle gets me a "loiter/scratch" setting while full forward throttle stick gives me "cross-country cruise or dash through through sink" setting.

On a couple of models I have also put some specific settings on switches as well, but that's probably just window dressing.

PDR

Cheers Chaps,

Some good points to mull over.
I'm not 100% what I can and can't do with my FF9 compared t oyour mulitplex sets.

I like PDR's landing mode idea ( if doable with a Futaba)  and I also like Dick's idea of using a sprung loaded switch for the throttle which should allow for easy blipping of the power.

I'm similar to you Dick in that I fly standard power and Heli models on mode 2 and it  would be good to keep similar functions in similar places. My sprung loaded switch at the momment is usually for snap roll at high throttle or a throttle cut at low throttle, slightly different to the use Dick suggests.

Lots of manual reading and idea formulation needed.

My Bird 60 arrived today so it's all real now,  I just need to get it setup and flown !!

Found this thread, while doing more research.

seems to do what I would like.

http://www.rcmf.co.uk/4um/index.php/topic,54474.0.html

The only downside is that you either have throttle or crow! I'm sure it wouldn't happen that often but I could see a scenario where  I was in a landing phase and I suddenly needed to power up and go around ( we share our field with livestock for example) .

Just need the time to do some programming!

Found this thread, while doing more research.

seems to do what I would like.

http://www.rcmf.co.uk/4um/index.php/topic,54474.0.html

The only downside is that you either have throttle or crow! I'm sure it wouldn't happen that often but I could see a scenario where  I was in a landing phase and I suddenly needed to power up and go around ( we share our field with livestock for example) .

Just need the time to do some programming!

As far as I can see the best thing is to set the throttle stick up in landing mode so that centred is motor off, no brakes. Back towards you puts the brakes out, forward throttles up. You don't really need a full stick travel resolution for either of those things

Hi Yoyo,

I think you are probably right. It's just whether my ff9 is that clever!

Hi Yoyo,

I think you are probably right. It's just whether my ff9 is that clever!

No idea, it's one make I haven't collected.

I've actually got more transmitters than flyable planes at the moment 

Phil, put your throttle on a switch and just use the throttle stick for CROW. I'm assuming you have a servo slow function on your FF9 which you can assign?

As far as I can see the best thing is to set the throttle stick up in landing mode so that centred is motor off, no brakes. Back towards you puts the brakes out, forward throttles up. You don't really need a full stick travel resolution for either of those things

That's what my setup does in "landing" phase, but with a chunk of dead zone between the two.

PDR

Phil, put your throttle on a switch and just use the throttle stick for CROW. I'm assuming you have a servo slow function on your FF9 which you can assign?

That's the next best thing if you can't fit it all on the throttle stick.

If you do need to power up and go around during a landing, in my limited experience you want ALL the power so a switch is fine.

Although with an e-glider it feels like throttle on a switch is fine anyway at all times. It would be on my ickle underpowered thing anyway.