Servo travel w/Hitec Eclipse in crow mode help needed

[Regzzz]

Hi all, I'm new at the Computer radio side (just rcvd this Hitec Eclipse 7 QPMC) and I've gone through most of the manual and there is one thing I'm having problems with. I'll try to describe it as best I can, hope I make sence! :rolleyes:

I got Spirit Elite 2m, hasnt flown yet, still building it (it's the kit). and I'm doing some surfaces test before installing everything.


So I set the radio for Glider mode, 4 wing servos, set the EPA on all the servos so that the travel on the ailerons and flaps are to the max avail for the actaul movement (example: set left and right aileron up travel to the max that the actual aileron would physicaly move ie: 50 degrees) I activated the crow function so I get 85 degrees down on flaps and 35 degrees up on ailerons. set the trotle stick to gradualy move the Crow... and it works good.

Now my prob is that once I've pushed the trotle stick all the way up (full crow for me) and all the surfaces are in there crow position, if I use the ailerons stick (left or right) the aileron servos moves (as they should, right?) but the travel up on the ailerons servos goes beyond the set EPA and actually forces the surfaces beyond the 50 degrees that I set and I'm worried i'll drain batt or damage linkage and/or surface mounts ect...


So am I missing something here? Is this the way it supposed to be? please help me undersatnd (I tought the EPA would prevent the servos from going past the settings that I put them at...)

Any help, link or documentation on this would be really appreciated.


(ps: I've read lots of the threads in this forum and there is a lot of good info, thanks to all that participate, it is a good bank of info.)


Reg :confused:

[mlee8249]

Hi Reg,

I'm afraid that's pretty normal. When you set the EPA, the set points are relative to the centerpoint of the servo. You have changed the centerpoint when the aileron moves up in CROW mode, so the aileron overthrows the original EPA. But, try this out for a minute.

Have you flown this plane yet? If not, you may not need all of the aileron up you have programmed. CROW is used to get the plane to increase the sink rate as well as slow it down dramatically for a precision landing approach. Many planes do not need much, if any, up aileron. Try using just the flaps, and if the plane has too much float and won't come down, only then should you add up aileron to the mix. Right now, I have a plane that comes down waayyy too fast and so I am actually adding down aileron to the CROW...go figure.

mlee8249

[Regzzz]

Hi mlee8249.

Thanks for the reply. I have not flow the plane yet, but now I understand a little bit more of the EPA and crow. I'll sure try you're ideas mentioned, and also since I havent flown it yet, I might not need all that initial travel of the ailerons, thus giving me more room for a bit of ailerons travel during Crow if I actually need them.

Thanks again. (can't wait to get it up there)

Reg

[Kestrel]

Good advice given. I just finished setting up a new 4 wing servo model and had to reduce the up ail. in crow in order to keep some reserve travel for roll response when landing. If needed, you can use the elevator to trim the pitch.

Most important........ test your crow set up shortly after launch while still at good altitude to allow for recovery if necessary. DON'T wait until final approach to try it for the first time!

[kipp geisler]

Reg, I have owned two of these radios over the past 2.5 years and I have programmed about 15 full house gliders in all. Just when I thought I had experienced every frustration possible with it now I hear yours. I do beleive you can get what you want with enough programming work. I have gotten all of my crow issues to work just as I want them and I don't experience your problem. Here's some thoughts: I agree you don't need very much up aileron, but you should get it if you want it. Slowing the plane down is not the only reason to raise the aileron. I'm very puzzled as to why you want the flaps down when the throttle stick is up? I don't know if that has anything to do with your problem but that to me goes against everything I know to be true in my world. One tip that has helped me with problems very similar you yours is to start over (I know this is a big pain) but the set up process in the manual will work if you follow it right to the letter. This means the sequence has to be followed as well. You should start with a blank page... ALL Settings back to default. The EPA must be 100% on all servos to start. This is why I'm concerned about the "goffy-footing" with the throttle stick. The vr1 knob should be as centered as possible with respect to the flaps' travel and NEVER have radical reductions in the EPA's as that will create all kinds of problems. Remember the crow settings have positive and negative numbers so be careful not to reverse sevos if this conflicts with the programing ou've done up to this point, and things need to move in the right direction or your full wing cambering will not work right. I don't like the DFLT feature. It's more trouble than it's worth. Lastly, there is a setup step in the crow mode that adjusts the engagement points of the flap stick (for both up and down) Well I know I could find the solution if I were there and could spend the time but we don't have that luxury so I can only guess at solutuions. Good luck. Let us know how it goes....And for extra credit, anyone who figures out how to get full wing cambering from a single switch (rather to the vr1 knob) you're better than I. That's the holy Grail with this radio.

[becsta]

Regzz,

As I'm going through the same setup w/ respect to crow (but I've finished my Spirit Elite and had some test flights, and I use a different radio (a Multiplex Royal Evo)), I'd like to add some comments.

You'll probably need to add a _touch_ of down elevator to the crow mix. I had initially added about 15% or so of down elevator, and the SE wanted to dive hard, not slow down and look like landing.

I also find it strange that you are pushing the throttle stick UP for crow deployment. The usual direction is to have the throttle all the way up for NO FLAPS/NO CROW, and you pull the throttle stick down for proportional flaps/crow. Not a biggie, but if you hand the sticks to someone else to fly, they will likely get confused.

On my Spirit Elite, I've had to offset the control horns on the ailerons and flaps, for the required surface throws. Set the servo to neutral electrically, and then switch off the receiver. This'll freeze the servo in its' neutral position. Attach the control horn in an offset position (ie not square) to the servo. IIRC, my flap servo control horns are offset towards the trailing edge, and the ailerons are offset towards the leading edge.

Finally, when you read through the trim flight instructions, you will need to give the glider a hard toss, not a soft toss. My plane wanted someone to run and throw it high and hard in order to get any height for trim flight. Putting it up on the winch is ok too, though soft pedalling is the key, not stomping on it.

When I built my wings, I stuffed up the polyhedral, and ended up building in about half an inch more of polyhedral than what's on the plan, and one wing had a slight bow in it (both of them because the build table was bowed (discovered after one wing was completely built)). Notwithstanding that, the glider flew beautifully, and straight as an arrow.

Enjoy.

Cheers,
- Becsta

[Regzzz]

Thank for all the info guys, (sorry for the long reply, been out of action for a while...) I'll review the info given. I havent finished the Elite yet... It'l prob be a while since I'm moving at the end of the month... Rest assured that I'll post my results and findings.

Thanks again guys.

Reg

[flyingdogtwo]

....And for extra credit, anyone who figures out how to get full wing cambering from a single switch (rather to the vr1 knob) you're better than I. That's the holy Grail with this radio.

Do a search under my name/Eclipse 7 programing for 4 servo glider wing. It will explain how-to. But you still have to use "two switches". Least not those dreaded VR1 & VR2 knobs