Intro to Flight modes
By Andrew Griffith
At their most simple degree, flight modes are a set of settings that may be turned on with the flip of a change or switches to regulate how a mannequin behaves in a selected flight situation. These settings embody however should not restricted to things like management charges, exponential, trim (however not sub-trim, which is world), throttle curves, and offset place of management surfaces. Even that may be a simplistic view as a result of flight modes could be prioritized and/or nested.
Flight Modes for Gliders
Glider pilots love flight modes as a result of they permit us to configure the wing camber and elevator trim exactly for particular flying circumstances. Image a glider with flaps and ailerons on the wings. You’ll be able to have a flight mode that units the elevator trim a bit up, the flaps a bit down, and the ailerons impartial and name that “launch mode.” Flip the change to launch and your settings are optimized for a winch or high-start launch. On the finish of the launch, flip the change and maximize raise with thermal mode, wherein the elevator is centered, the flaps are down a couple of levels, and the ailerons are each down a couple of levels, altering the camber of all the wing. This maximizes the power of the glider to fly slowly and discover or work raise.
Let’s say that the raise is terrible, and it is advisable to velocity out of the sink and off to a different space of the sky to search for raise. Flip the change into velocity mode and the ailerons neutralize, the flaps reflex upwards a couple of levels, and the elevator trims down a bit; the glider will scram to some place else the place you’ll be able to return to thermal mode, decelerate, and begin your seek for raise anew. When the inevitable occurs and it’s time to land, choose touchdown mode and the flaps lengthen, the ailerons reflex upward for crow combine or butterfly braking mode so you’ll be able to exactly management your descent and nail that precision touchdown.
Motorized gliders make even higher use of flight modes. Your launch mode has the throttle stick controlling throttle, the down-elevator trim often required when a glider beneath energy and every other settings you need to optimize. But if you’re in touchdown mode, the throttle stick reverts to what most glider pilots use it for: adjusting touchdown spoilers, or the crow combine for precision landings.
Scale gliders are splendid candidates for flight modes. They usually have a number of aileron servos per wing together with flaps and spoilers that may be set for wing camber and trim relying on the part of flight.
What’s in a reputation?
Regardless of having comparable performance, completely different radio manufacturers have their very own terminology for flight modes. Right here’s a fast rundown.
Futaba: Flight circumstances
Graupner: Q.Hyperlink (fast hyperlinks)
Jeti: Flight modes
PowerBox: Flight modes
Spektrum: Flight Modes
My Graupner MZ-24 calls flight modes “Q.Hyperlinks” however the performance is identical.
Flight Modes for Helicopters
Helicopters have 4 fundamental flight modes: regular, idle-up 1, idle-up 2, and throttle maintain. Every mode has a curve managed by the throttle stick that units the primary blade pitch and throttle response to the stick place. Idle-up modes permit you to add throttle from half stick and under on the similar time the blade pitch goes damaging, so you’ll be able to hover and do aerobatics inverted. Conversely when throttle maintain is activated, the throttle is pushed to idle whereas the primary blade pitch continues to be managed by the throttle stick permitting you to autorotate the mannequin for enjoyable or to take away torque so you’ll be able to land safely if there’s a tail-rotor failure.
Helicopters use flight modes to steadiness the primary blade pitch and throttle factors to regulate the rotor velocity in addition to shut the motor off in emergencies or auto rotations whereas sustaining management of the blade pitch.
Flight Modes for Sport and Scale Plane
One of the crucial fundamental makes use of of flight modes entails configuring elevator compensation for flaps on a fixed-wing plane. This is applicable to jets, scale, and different flap-equipped sport plane.
You begin by creating three flight modes, utilizing the flap change to regulate the flight mode. Then set your elevator trim from widespread to single flight mode. In flight, you’ll be able to then modify the elevator trim for the right amount of up- or down-elevator as required to trim out every of the three flap positions. In case your radio permits you set the transition time between flight modes, and most of them do, set the transition time to the match the velocity of your servos. (Observe: Spektrum radios use a slick flap menu that matches the flap velocity to the elevator trim, so the usage of flight modes on this specific case will end result within the trim coming in instantly and never matching the velocity of the flap deployment.)
Extra capabilities could be added to every flight mode by tying in settings akin to management charges and expo. I regularly add gyro acquire to the touchdown flight mode as a result of a gyro can use extra acquire when an plane slows down for touchdown. This may be expanded to incorporate such options as touchdown lights and equipment akin to velocity brakes or slats. The extra difficult the plane, the extra alternatives to simplify pilot workload by grouping these capabilities right into a flight mode that may be known as upon on the flip of a change.
A Spektrum DX20 has a desk the place you’ll be able to visualize what flight mode is lively with every change place. On this case, SWB controls the row and SWG controls the column for 9 complete flight modes. A really highly effective system!
Flight Modes for Aerobatics
Regardless of the relative simplicity of their plane, IMAC and competitors aerobatic pilots make in depth use of flight modes. No offense in fact to IMAC planes; I simply imply that this kind of aircraft usually has fastened touchdown gear, no flaps, and no gyro, they’ll in any other case be extraordinarily complicated machines!
When you get the a number of servos per floor working correctly, you can begin establishing your flight modes. Management charges, exponential, trim, and throttle curves can all be exactly optimized for the maneuver being carried out, akin to having max charges obtainable for snap roll model maneuvers or extra sedate charges for gradual precision aerobatics. A throttle curve with a excessive idle and good low and mid-range throttle response can make sure you don’t have an in-flight lifeless stick, however when switched to touchdown mode the throttle idles down usually.
The extra superior radio programs not solely offer you extra channels however if you dig into the specs, in addition they enhance the obtainable options, and that is usually seen within the variety of obtainable flight modes that may be created.
IMAC and aerobatic pilots use flight modes to set charges and expo for every maneuver or section of their routines.
Nesting vs. Prioritized
As talked about, flight modes could be nested or prioritized. An instance of nesting is utilizing a pair of three-position switches to activate your flight modes. Change A in place 1 and three are completely different flight modes, however the center place prompts change B, which has positions 1, 2, and three lively for 3 completely different flight modes however none are lively until change A is centered. A terrific instance of precedence is seen in helicopters the place throttle maintain mode overrides all different flight modes, so whether or not you’re in regular or one of many idle-up modes, if you hit maintain the throttle all the time goes to idle (or motor off for electrical) and the primary blade pitch is managed by the pitch curve set for maintain mode.
This Skymaster F-18 Hornet makes use of the flight mode setup on the PowerBox Core radio to activate a number of flight modes, together with a touchdown mode that makes use of the elevators as ailerons for elevated low-speed roll management together with a velocity brake and gyro management.
Wrap-up
Don’t be afraid to experiment with flight mode settings, however all the time create a backup of your mannequin file earlier than tinkering with settings you could be unfamiliar with. That method for those who ever must revert again to what works, will probably be simple. Begin by incorporating charges and expo. Add options as you get comfy, and for those who don’t like one thing, begin over. Fairly quickly you’ll marvel the way you ever obtained alongside with out flight modes!
