MegaTech R/C Real World Helicopter Series Bedienungsanleitung PDF herunterladen (Seite 52)

The Co-Pilot is a two-axis, four-sensor

control-stabilization system that plugs

into your RC system. It has no moving

parts and uses infrared (IR) heat sensors to

control the model's roll and pitch. The

system has two components: a sensor

head that you attach to the underside of

your model and a controller unit that you

install inside your model like a receiver. A

thin ribbon cable connects the two. Two

wire leads are connected to the controller;

one has a push-button switch, and the

other ends with a servo-lead connector.

You use the switch when you calibrate the

unit before each flight session, and the

servo lead can be plugged into an unused

radio channel in your receiver for in-flight

on/off function.

The Co-pilot comes with a well-

illustrated instruction booklet that shows

various installations. The instructions show

in detail how to install the unit in a normal

fixed-wing airplane, in a flying wing and in

a helicopter. Here's how it works.

The sensor head has four

IR heat sensors that face left,

right, forward and aft. The

sensors read how much IR

heat is present in the four

directions. The controller

unit evaluates the IR heat

information and adjusts the

controls to keep the IR heat

values equal for all four sen-

sors for normal straight-and-

level flight. Infrared heat is a

much better source for con-

trol input than visible light

because IR heat isn't affected

as much by cloud cover.

The controller is plugged into the RC

receiver system between the receiver and

the servos. Once it has been calibrated,

the unit need not be calibrated again

unless the weather changes drastically.

Above: the controller unit is smaller than a stan-

dard receiver and is plugged into the radio sys-

tem between the servos and the receiver.

Right: the FMA Co-Pilot sensor head is held in

place on the belly of the model with a piece of

hook-and-loop fastener. Note the ribbon wire

leading inside the model to the controller unit.

Below: with the model standing on its nose, sim-

ply press the calibration switch; the controller

unit does the rest. Note

that the sensor head on

the model's belly is fac-

ing away from me dur-

ing the procedure.

Since the unit

works by reading

the differences in IR

heat levels rather

than in light inten-

sity, it works equal-

ly well in bright

sunlight or overcast

conditions. The

unit will also work

at night, though the inability to see your

model is a limiting factor.

It takes only a few minutes to install

the units; you'll need to cut a small open-

ing in the bottom of the fuselage so you

can pass the ribbon wire through to con-

nect the sensor head to the controller.

This takes only about 2 minutes.

CALIBRATING THE UNIT

Before the first flight of the day, you'll have

to calibrate the unit to read the ambient IR

heat; this is a two-step procedure. First,

place the model's nose on the ground with

its tail sticking straight up and the sensor

head facing away from you. Turn on the

transmitter and receiver and then press the

push-button IR calibration switch. The con-

trol surfaces will then quickly deflect several

times; the number of deflections tells you

High-performance applications

by Rick Bell

I wanted to see how the FMA Co-Pitot performed in a model other than a trainer,

so I installed it in a Hangar 9 Advance 40. On the day I flew it, the weather was

partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-50s, and the wind was about 7- to

13mph. I set up the unit to control the elevators and ailerons to allow me to

turn it off during the flight if something went wrong. I connected the remote

sensitivity lead to the retract gear switch.

Cautiously, I took off with the unit turned off. At a safe altitude, I turned it

on, let go of the sticks and waited to see what would happen: the plane contin-

ued to fly straight and level. I could see the wind rock the wings, but the unit

always returned them to level-pretty cool! With more confidence in the system,

I turned the plane around for another pass and could feel the unit "fighting" my

control inputs.

On the next pass, I rolled the plane into knife-edge flight and, again, let go

of the sticks. As before, the plane returned to level flight—this was getting inter-

esting! On the next pass, I rolled the plane inverted and let go of the sticks; the

plane immediately corkscrewed back to upright and level flight. I did this several

more times, and the plane always returned to upright and level flight without

any input from me. Don't do this at low altitude! When the plane is inverted, the

unit applies up-elevator, and the plane does a split-S back to straight and level.

I think ft would be better if instead the unit rolled the plane upright without

elevator input.

I was quite impressed during landing approaches; as the speed decreased,

the plane settled nicely, and the nose and the wings remained level. I needed

to use throttle only to make the approach to the runway and rudder to compen-

sate for the crosswind; the Co-Piiot made landings really easy.

The Co-Pilot works as advertised. Whether you use it in a high-performance

model or in a .40-size trainer, Co-Pilot removes much of the risk, and this, con-

sequently greatly enhances the RC experience.

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