Blade mcpx settings for a pleb!

[Peteski]

is it worth me dropping stunt down to 80% whilst I find my feet?

Most definitely, if not less. The lower head speed will tame it down quite a bit for you. The BL has a pretty high power/weight ratio and 100% head speed will make it pretty fierce. If you run 100% throttle with the full neg/pos pitch range it will feel very sensitive indeed on the sticks compared to what you are used to. You also want your dual rates tamed down with a decent amount of expo too. Something like 60% D/R and 40% expo. Again at full rates it will be super sensitive even at low head speeds.

You can actually make these helis fairly docile with the right settings and then slowly creep up as you get more confident. I found John Salt's guide to micro setup invaluable when starting out:-

RC Helicopter Tips & Setup eBook

[Peteski]

Normal mode has collective pitch too! A typical pitch and throttle curve for normal mode will be something like this :

Throttle : 0,35,70,70,70
Pitch : 30,40,50,75,100

Which means that the left stick increases power from 0 to 70% and at the same time, changes pitch from slightly negative (50% is zero pitch), then beyond mid-stick it goes positive.

^This would be a good starting point and with those settings you wouldn't need to flick into stunt mode until you could fly it confidently in this normal mode.

[Bluenose75]

^This would be a good starting point and with those settings you wouldn't need to flick into stunt mode until you could fly it confidently in this normal mode.

Sorry for been a bit slow, when you say normal mode your spinning it up with the left stick, and the further up I go the more positive collective is applied but as I bring the stick down the speed drops and so will the heli ab it like a fixed pitch? So me negative pitch in normal mode?

[tomatwalden]

Sorry for been a bit slow, when you say normal mode your spinning it up with the left stick, and the further up I go the more positive collective is applied but as I bring the stick down the speed drops and so will the heli ab it like a fixed pitch? So me negative pitch in normal mode?

OK, so here's the crucial bit of info. The terms "normal mode" and "idle up", or "sport mode" actually MEAN NOTHING!

In reality, most computerised radios allow you to have different settings pre-programmed for a given model. These can be called "flight mode 1, flight mode 2, flight mode 3" etc. Historically, people have called flight mode 1 "normal mode" and flight modes 2,3,4,etc. as idle-up(s) (there can be as many as the transmitter supports - The DX8 for example has three flight modes - four if you count "throttle hold"). The special mode "throttle hold" is just another flight mode that typically only allows one value (no curve) for the throttle - this is typically set to cut the motor, or give it very little power.

In actual fact, you can program any mode to be what you want! (with the exception of throttle hold).

Typically however, most beginners program flight mode 1 to be something easy - often called "normal mode". In this type of configuration, the throttle curve (TC) and pitch curve (PC) are often set to be such that the left stick SIMULTANEOUSLY increases motor power AND collective pitch. The amount of maximum power is normally topped out somewhere low, and the pitch usually bottoms out with only minor negative pitch (to avoid people panicking, and slamming the left stick down, resulting in a power-dive into the ground!). So, a TYPICAL flight mode 1 / normal mode setting will be :-

TC : 0,35,70,70,70 (ie. raising the left stick increases power to 70% beyond midstick)
PC : 30,40,50,75,100 (ie. raising the left stick also increases collective pitch from about -6deg to +12deg)

However, once beyond the beginner phase, most fly using settings called "idle up". In this configuration, the motor speed is fixed and the left stick only controls collective pitch. This is obviously required for inverted flight. Typical "flight mode 2 / idle up" settings would be :-

TC : 90,90,90,90,90 (ie. left stick always results in 90% power regardless of position)
PC : 0,25,50,75.100 (ie. left stick gives -12deg to +12deg collective pitch (roughly!))

So in summary ... normal and idle-up/sport mode are just terms to describe TYPICAL settings for flight modes 1 and 2. Each flight mode may have any variation of both PITCH and THROTTLE curves, but the ones given above are typical.

Hope this helps!

T

[Euclid]

- Set your throttle hold switch to fix the blades to zero pitch. There's no need for pitch control once you kill the throttle, and it stops you getting boom strikes.

Very interesting and helpful thread, I'm leaning loads. The above has confused me however, surely pitch control is still important even with the motor killed to enable a smooth autorotation return to Earth. Or is that just for larger machines with a little (lot) more inertia?

[myxiplx]

I never ran a normal mode on my mCPX BL, I just had a flat 80% curve when I started, and a 100% curve once I needed more power.

They're very stable on the ground, you can put collective to mid-stick and spool it up to 80% and it'll sit there until you're ready to takeoff. I wouldn't worry about a normal mode, you really don't need it on a mCPX BL.

[myxiplx]

Very interesting and helpful thread, I'm leaning loads. The above has confused me however, surely pitch control is still important even with the motor killed to enable a smooth autorotation return to Earth. Or is that just for larger machines with a little (lot) more inertia?

You got it, you need much more inertia in the blades to autorotate. You can just about do it on a 250, but not at all on the BL, so the best thing to do is just minimise damage in a crash. The BL is light enough that it'll survive some pretty big impacts with no damage, so you don't actually need to auto down at all. Setting the blades to zero pitch bleeds off speed fairly quickly, and it prevents them doing more damage on impact.

My BL managed to fall 30 feet inverted onto concrete, and just bounced with no damage. While you're learning if you can fly over grass you'll generally get away with no damage if you hit throttle hold before the impact.

[Euclid]

Thanks myxiplx, I hate to say it but I might just be starting to demystify this hobby :-)

[Bluenose75]

OK, so here's the crucial bit of info. The terms "normal mode" and "idle up", or "sport mode" actually MEAN NOTHING!

In reality, most computerised radios allow you to have different settings pre-programmed for a given model. These can be called "flight mode 1, flight mode 2, flight mode 3" etc. Historically, people have called flight mode 1 "normal mode" and flight modes 2,3,4,etc. as idle-up(s) (there can be as many as the transmitter supports - The DX8 for example has three flight modes - four if you count "throttle hold"). The special mode "throttle hold" is just another flight mode that typically only allows one value (no curve) for the throttle - this is typically set to cut the motor, or give it very little power.

In actual fact, you can program any mode to be what you want! (with the exception of throttle hold).

Typically however, most beginners program flight mode 1 to be something easy - often called "normal mode". In this type of configuration, the throttle curve (TC) and pitch curve (PC) are often set to be such that the left stick SIMULTANEOUSLY increases motor power AND collective pitch. The amount of maximum power is normally topped out somewhere low, and the pitch usually bottoms out with only minor negative pitch (to avoid people panicking, and slamming the left stick down, resulting in a power-dive into the ground!). So, a TYPICAL flight mode 1 / normal mode setting will be :-

TC : 0,35,70,70,70 (ie. raising the left stick increases power to 70% beyond midstick)
PC : 30,40,50,75,100 (ie. raising the left stick also increases collective pitch from about -6deg to +12deg)

However, once beyond the beginner phase, most fly using settings called "idle up". In this configuration, the motor speed is fixed and the left stick only controls collective pitch. This is obviously required for inverted flight. Typical "flight mode 2 / idle up" settings would be :-

TC : 90,90,90,90,90 (ie. left stick always results in 90% power regardless of position)
PC : 0,25,50,75.100 (ie. left stick gives -12deg to +12deg collective pitch (roughly!))

So in summary ... normal and idle-up/sport mode are just terms to describe TYPICAL settings for flight modes 1 and 2. Each flight mode may have any variation of both PITCH and THROTTLE curves, but the ones given above are typical.

Hope this helps!

T

thats a brilliant reply! Think I will stick with idle up just lower it to 75% otherwise it will behave a bit like my 200srx in normal mode

[Bluenose75]

Thanks myxiplx, I hate to say it but I might just be starting to demystify this hobby :-)

Agreed! Some great advice I think I need to get some time on the sim as well

[tomatwalden]

thats a brilliant reply! Think I will stick with idle up just lower it to 75% otherwise it will behave a bit like my 200srx in normal mode

You're probably best sticking with a "flight mode 1 / normal mode" configuration in the beginning. It will work fine until you start doing inverted flight!

The reason is that most people who start with fixed-pitch helicopters have a default reaction to "drop the throttle" in a panic situation. On a fixed pitch, this works since it just cuts the motor. If you're flying collective pitch however in an "idle-up" flight mode, slamming the left stick down will just drive the heli into the ground quickly under full power! :-O

The trick is to learn to hit the "throttle hold" switch in a panic. Once your instinct is to hit TH in a panic (rather than dropping the left stick) - flying in a flight mode with an "idle up" throttle curve is the way to go!

[myxiplx]

You're probably best sticking with a "flight mode 1 / normal mode" configuration in the beginning. It will work fine until you start doing inverted flight!

The reason is that most people who start with fixed-pitch helicopters have a default reaction to "drop the throttle" in a panic situation. On a fixed pitch, this works since it just cuts the motor. If you're flying collective pitch however in an "idle-up" flight mode, slamming the left stick down will just drive the heli into the ground quickly under full power! :-O

The trick is to learn to hit the "throttle hold" switch in a panic. Once your instinct is to hit TH in a panic (rather than dropping the left stick) - flying in a flight mode with an "idle up" throttle curve is the way to go!

Very good advice! We sometimes forget about this, and almost everyone starts with that instinct to drop the 'throttle' stick in a panic.

This is actually something I recommend setting up even in the simulator. Have a throttle hold switch in the sim, and get into the habit of hitting it before any crash. You need to practice so it's an instinctive reflex, it'll save you a *lot* of money over the years!

[Peteski]

- Set your throttle hold switch to fix the blades to zero pitch. There's no need for pitch control once you kill the throttle, and it stops you getting boom strikes.

That's a great tip for micros. Also gives you a good reference to check for crash damage i.e. flick into TH, fold the blades back and check they are still in line. If there is any pitch, you instantly know something has moved. I always use TH for landing, just hover a couple of inches off the ground, hit TH and it sets down nicely without power in case of a tip-over, which happens quite a lot when landing these little micros on grass or uneven ground. A landing mat is a good idea to avoid this.

Another benefit/use of "normal" mode is that you can approach your landing with reduced power, so less chance of damage if it doesn't go well. If you are landing with a flat 100% throttle curve, you are under full power until you hit TH.

[Peteski]

thats a brilliant reply! Think I will stick with idle up just lower it to 75% otherwise it will behave a bit like my 200srx in normal mode

If you set your throttle curve to 0/35/70/70/70 as Tom suggested it will still be predominantly pitch sensitive as you effectively have a flat 70% throttle for most of the time while in the air, power only reduces when you are well below half stick. But it protects you from slamming it into the ground under power with an instinctive panic throttle drop! The reduced negative pitch range will also help at first. You only need more negative pitch when flying in high wind or inverted/3D.

As Tom explained, the key point is that throttle and pitch curves work together simultaneously on the collective stick.

[Bluenose75]

How do you set your pitch to 0 on throttle hold?