What do the terms "Idle up" mean?

[Mart61]

Once again thanks for all the input.

matty - you speak of "flick it into idle up". Is this something done using a switch on a DX6i, or is this merely a term used to imply the use of the particular curves?

p.s. any bigger shots of the babes on your avatars?

[chemicalbro]

yeah martin it means flicking a switch.... the 3 position switch.
down would be Norm.. middle is idle up 1 and top is idle up 2 which physically tells the TX to select the desired pitch/throttle curves.


it is also worth noting that I know a few guys who fly nitro and use straight line throttle curves on idle up 2 at 100% all the way and let the governor deal with the throttle.
personally i don't like this because if the governor were to fail you're stuck on full throttle.

[Brian Gifford]

Martin, it is a switch on the Tx. I think it might be called "Stunt" in the manual.

Nope - just checked - mine says flight mode.

[Mart61]

Many thanks guys - as you see I have much to learn!

[mattydred]

do a google image search - heli babe pics or heli girl pics

[DAZZ]

On my nitro's I fly

100 85 65 85 100 in idle up

On my batteries I fly

100 90 85 90 100

Just my 2p's worth

[SparkleBee]

Forgive my ignorance guys, but why are electric helis set up with a 'flatter line', and generally higher % throttle curve than i/c helis?!

[tourerjim]

I think with elec heli's best way is whatever idle up is set at normal mode should be, so if you have idle up set to say thr 90,90,90,90,90 pitch 0,25,50,75,100 then norm mode should be tho 0,90,90,90,90 pitch depending on your experiance you could have many different combinations some as follows 40,45,50,75,100 - 35,43,50,75,100 - 25,37,50,75,100 - 25,25,50,75,100 its a matter of playing around until you find whats comfortable for your sytle of fly.
Im sure others would have some good suggestions depending on your experiance.
I've never played around with 'thro hold' other than setting it as a safety switch to prevent accidental spooling up.

[Mart61]

Martin, it is a switch on the Tx. I think it might be called "Stunt" in the manual.

Nope - just checked - mine says flight mode.

Think I need to read the book. Which switch is best used to "flick" the flight modes? It's just that, if I use the Gear/Flight Mode switch, will I not lose the gyro gain selection? Similarly, if I use the Mix/Throttle Hold switch, will I not lose throttle hold?

I'm confused.

Can't see any 3-way swithces on the DX6i...

[Farmer Giles]

I don't have a DX6i but on my Futaba it's one of the toggle switches on top and it's just says 'normal' or 'idle' and there are 2 sets of throttle and pitch curves you can set in the TX.

I've just switched to flying idle up on my 500 (after a few goes on Phoenix) and as already said it's more consistant on the height as your not changing the throttle and pitch together, just pitch.

I have my 'normal' throttle at 0 50 75 75 75 and my 'idle up' throttle at 90 90 90 90 90. both pitch curves are 0 25 50 75 100. So when I fly I spool up to mid stick in 'normal' which is 0 deg pitch and 75% throttle I then switch to 'idle' using the toggle switch on top of the TX and the throttle increases to 90% but still on 0 deg pitch and now it will stay at 90% throttle wherever I put the left stick so I now have full neg and pos pitch range. Landing is set it on the ground using the pitch only then switch back to 'normal' mode to bring the throttle down to 0 again.

HTH

Martyn

[Andy from Sandy]

Forgive my ignorance guys, but why are electric helis set up with a 'flatter line', and generally higher % throttle curve than i/c helis?!

An IC engine needs very little throttle to maintain headspeed once the head has been unloaded. If the throttle is left open when the blades are at zero pitch the engine will overspeed. As the load increases more fuel is required to keep the engine rpm up. Hence the V or U shaped throttle curve.

This effect can be seen in a BMW or other vehicle that has one of those mpg gauges. With cruise control active you can see the mpg changing as the car goes up and down the hills. This is the throttle being open and closed in response to the load.

An electric motor will not overspeed. You can set the throttle curve to 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 and it will work as required. Once the engine is running flat out it is flat out.

[Andy from Sandy]

The original question asked What do the terms "Idle up" mean?

Here is an extract from an artical written by Colin Mill:
The name comes from the facility on early basic heli transmitters in which a switch on the set allowed the minimum throttle opening (with the throttle stick at the idle position) to be increased - hence the name 'Idle Up'.

The full article is here:
http://www.w3mh.co.uk/articles/html/csm3_4.htm

[Brian Gifford]

Can't see any 3-way swithces on the DX6i...

Martin, no 3-way switch on a DX6i - only normal or idle up (or stunt)

The DX7 has a 3-way switch, normal - idleup1 - idleup2


the switches are programmable - you can have different d/r and expo rates, and gyro all from one switch - or you can put them on separate switches. If you want, PM me. I'm very anally retentive, always read the manuals cover to cover before switching on. (RTFM)

Hope that helps?

[Mart61]

Thanks once again guys. I'll drop you a PM tomoz Brian.

[Brian Gifford]

An IC engine needs very little throttle to maintain headspeed once the head has been unloaded. If the throttle is left open when the blades are at zero pitch the engine will overspeed. As the load increases more fuel is required to keep the engine rpm up. Hence the V or U shaped throttle curve.

This effect can be seen in a BMW or other vehicle that has one of those mpg gauges. With cruise control active you can see the mpg changing as the car goes up and down the hills. This is the throttle being open and closed in response to the load.

An electric motor will not overspeed. You can set the throttle curve to 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 and it will work as required. Once the engine is running flat out it is flat out.

Thanks, Andy. Very clear explanation.