Orange 3 Axis Stabilizer

[starcad]

Wow, quite a heavy wind today, a lot more than the 5-10 predicted. More like 25- 30 and gusts to 40. Flew twice, first flight I forgot I had changed the Expo and Dual rates. Fun flight. Second flight with -35% expo and 65% dual rates again dialed back in was uneventful. Kind of like flying in a no wind condition. Landings (3) were quite incredible just line up on the runway and let go of the sticks. Only minor corrections as this thing kept the wings level and the heading down the runway. Glide slope is neat watching it just power in and then add a touch of elevator to flair. It does take a bit of getting used to this way of flying as I'm not on the sticks like I'm used to. Great day as I was flying and everyone else was in a bull session.

[Panther]

Sounds promising. I thought mine would be here this week but no parcels on a Friday usually, so hopefully early next week.

Did you tell them you had one fitted? Any comments from them?

[starcad]

Hahaha! I didn't bother to tell them. Now they all think I'm one to the best fliers in the club.

[Panther]

I have been doing a lot of aerial video lately and using my Radian but it has been too windy to get really good vids. I am hoping one in my glider will help. I know it would be better with ailerons, but just a bit more stability would make all the difference. The other one I am going to put in my T28 Trojan. Sounds like a good idea not to tell anyone. :-)
What were you flying?

[matiac]

When I originally began using gyros in planes, notably the Detrum GY48V Headlock Gyro for Helis, I used it for Ailerons on an FMS 750mm P47, and it was a whole other plane...tamed it RIGHT down for take off, and any interferance with the planes pitch, made a "handful" plane a joy to fly, now if I can get a slightly warmer day to try out this Orange I have in it now, as well as my bigger 1400mm Jug, should be even better...to where putting a camera on it would be feasible...

[Panther]

I have a JR Gyro that I had on my T Rex and put it in my little PC9 on ailerons and it works real well. That is why I decided to get some more of the Orange ones.
Makes flying a joy.

[starcad]

Originally Posted by Panther

I have been doing a lot of aerial video lately and using my Radian but it has been too windy to get really good vids. I am hoping one in my glider will help. I know it would be better with ailerons, but just a bit more stability would make all the difference. The other one I am going to put in my T28 Trojan. Sounds like a good idea not to tell anyone. :-)
What were you flying?

Panther, when you do it, start with just rudder and set very low and work the sensitivity up from there. I next went with elevator and did the same start low and work it up 'til I felt comfortable. Finally I incorporated the ailerons the same way. Also flying with these installed is a little different than you may be used to. If you put it in a position it will stay in that position until you move it to a different position. In other words if you bank without rudder it will stay in that bank until you bring it back level. The same with a climb or dive, just remember you need to fly the plane and not let your radio do the flying.

I like just watching the plane in the wind as I know it is getting beat to death, but it is stable in the position and attitude I put it in. Hope that helps.

Guy

[matiac]

And I stand corrected, I meant to say yaw instead of pitch...pitch is up-down movement, yaw is roll. Sorry for that...

[dahawk]

Matiac,
Don't mean to burst your bubble but yaw is not roll. Yaw is yaw generated by the side force against the rudder axis. Roll, besides tasting good with butter, is a function of the air displacement on the ailerons. When left aileron rises and right aileron lowers, the plane rolls to the left. Let's roll !

- Hawk

[starcad]

I thought this was kinda corny but when I saw the control surfaces moving I liked it. Please not trying to insult of belittle just though this was cute.

http://howthingsfly.si.edu/flight-dy...-pitch-and-yaw

[Beemerider]

I like it! Makes it very clear to my old brain.

[matiac]

Originally Posted by dahawk

Matiac,
Don't mean to burst your bubble but yaw is not roll. Yaw is yaw generated by the side force against the rudder axis. Roll, besides tasting good with butter, is a function of the air displacement on the ailerons. When left aileron rises and right aileron lowers, the plane rolls to the left. Let's roll !

- Hawk

Ah, I had it back-erds...ROLL is what I'm attempting to control more than anything with this FMS rig...without some sort of stabilization it has a nasty tendency to violently roll to the left on take-off, making for some rather frustrating flying, especially when I see all these videos of guys with the same plane having no trouble whatsoever, and this particular plane is the second in a row that's done it, and yes, all control surfaces are neutral after power-up, but still has that roll tendency...but NO MORE!!

[dahawk]

Looks pretty breezy today so I thought I'd test my Bluelight BL-3GRC stabalization gyro today in my PZ-T-28. DC Detector has been a huge help. The Software that comes with this gyro is amazing.

[Panther]

had several flights now with gyros in each of my 3 planes. They all work very well with the exception being rudder (Yaw) on my Trojan. It tended to overcorrect and if I back off the gain the rudder sits off to one side for some reason. So I disconnected rudder and it behaves as expected. For the price they are pretty good units but certainly not in the league of JR or BL or Eagletree. The best part is they are super steady on take off and you really only have to concentrate on elevator. No jerking into the air like you see on some utube videos. lol I am happy and just need a windy day now to really test / appreciate them.

[flypaper 2]

Check and see if you have some trim or subtrim set in the rudder. If so, see if you can set it mechanically and bring the trimmers back. One of the big assets is the rudder gyro keeping it straight on take off.

Gord.

[Panther]

There is no trim set at all. It is all zero. There is no differential set at all. If I change it mechanically then I can no longer adjust the gain pot as I would have to adjust the linkage everytime I adjust the gain pot. I believe the gain pot is faulty. I don't need rudder gyro as it runs dead straight anyway and I don't have a problem with using rudder to hold it straight if there is wind. The other V2 works fine. At least I can compare it to the other one.

[matiac]

Loooooong time since I've posted in my own thread, but time to dust it off, as tomorrow morning I'm FINALLY going to get some decent weather, as well as time, to put up the 750mm P47 (FMS) and put 'er through the wringer with the Orange installed, and if this planes ANYTHING AT ALL like my Son's P.Z. U.M. Spitfire (with the AS3X) this thing should fly like a trainer, because I gotta tell ya, that little P.Z. is a breeze to fly, even in a breeze! So I'll post results, and maybe even a video after tomorrow's activities...stay tuned...

[LPatrick]

Have had the Orange 3 for some time, but cannot put it to use as there are two types of servo lead plugs on the stabilizer and one set will not allow the standard servo lead plug to work. Where do i find a solution?

[flypaper 2]

What is the technical difference with these servo plugs??

Gord.

[Rodneh]

While you did not say, I assume that one of your connectors is Futaba as it is the only modern connector that will not insert in most receivers/ 3axis items as it has a small tab on the side. You can shave this tab off however and plug the connector into most all receivers.

[flypaper 2]

Was what I was thinking too but these have the notch cut out for the Fut. servos.

Gord.

[fhhuber]

Originally Posted by matiac

Ah, I had it back-erds...ROLL is what I'm attempting to control more than anything with this FMS rig...without some sort of stabilization it has a nasty tendency to violently roll to the left on take-off, making for some rather frustrating flying, especially when I see all these videos of guys with the same plane having no trouble whatsoever, and this particular plane is the second in a row that's done it, and yes, all control surfaces are neutral after power-up, but still has that roll tendency...but NO MORE!!

Try... 1 to 2 turns each aileron clevice pushing (pulling) the ailerons both up.

With several designs you can THINK the ailerons are properly centered when they are actually slightly down.

Your issue sounds suspiciously like a "tip-stall" which any gyro could aggravate rather than help. At low airspeed the downward moving aileron can cause that wing to stall and drop rather than making it go up.

[LPatrick]

The Futaba "tabs" have been removed. The leads fit into one side of the Orange (cannot remember whether is is the in or out), but not the other. The pin spacing on the Orange is different; the problem pins are further apart than the standard.

[flypaper 2]

What kind/brand of servos are you using??

PS. May have found the problem. In checking mine out, one of mine had some pins misaligned. I bent them over till they fit the servo plug and they worked fine then. No need to cut off the servo tabs. I did this with an original Fut servo. Doesn't really matter though, other than you can plug them in backwards like the JR servos. Doesn't hurt anything, other than they won't work.

Gord.

[ronhawker]

Anyone compared to the AS3X module that is listed for $120?