man I want one of these. anyone wanna buy some blood, or an arm or leg?

Watch the Skookum site for the revised manual.

I've been tweaking the piro settings. Almost perfect in both directions. I drove about 5 hours today home from Tennessee, and my fried brain was too far gone to try much else.

Rick

Monday is still the scheduled release date for the SK720. If you had an early order, your unit should be on the way by Monday.

Sunday, I will start to post what I learned about setup.

Screen shots, etc. The manual is being re-written and the software has been updated several times. I don't want to post incorrect information.

Rick

Do I understand the self leveling right in that if i get in trouble, I center the stick, and the heli goes horizontal level?

second: is the collective tied into the self leveling feature.

Third: if you turn up the self leveling gain, what does this do for a novice flying? in other words, can you feel the heli trying to fly more horizontal as to cruize around?

Originally Posted by Kenneth

Do I understand the self leveling right in that if i get in trouble, I center the stick, and the heli goes horizontal level?

second: is the collective tied into the self leveling feature.

Third: if you turn up the self leveling gain, what does this do for a novice flying? in other words, can you feel the heli trying to fly more horizontal as to cruize around?

Kenneth,

So many questions!

I'm going to answer your questions, but your questions tell me that there is quite a bit that you don't understand. In this discussion, I am assuming that you elected to make all of your gain stettings through the PC software.

Let's assume you have a DX7 Tx. You can program the Gear and AUX2 switches to toggle allternative memory/settings banks in the SK 720. I am used to using the Gear switch for my legacy tail gyro to toggle from HH mode to Rate mode, so I set up my 720 to work the same way. My Gear switch toggles between Tail 1 bank and Tail 2 bank. Tail 2 settings make the tail gyro part of the 720 act in a Rate mode.

My AUX2 switch toggles the banks Cyclic 1 and Cyclic 2. In Cyclic 2, I set the autolevel function (80%). When the rate settings in Cyclic 1 and Cyclic 2 are exactly the same (this is important), I can toggle to the self-leveling/bailout function by switching AUX 2.

In the autolevel mode, the heli acts much like a co-axial. When you center the sticks, the heli returns to a horizontal position. You can fly the heli in this mode, and you can reduce the amount of autolevel gain to meet your preference.

If you are learning to fly, you might want autolevel at 90 to 100%. As you gain skills and confidence, you can reduce that gain gradually until the heli acts like a normal, CP machine.

Now, your specific questions: (I'm sorry this post is so long):

(1) Only if you have the autolevel function set. You can toggle this on and off as you desire.

(2) No. Autolevel is cyclic only (at this time).

(3) No, this does not act like a Blade CX3 where the huge flybar tends to bring the heli back to horizontal despite your best efforts. The heli will move as long as the stick is not centered. The movement stops when the stick comes back to neutral. The main difference is that with a standard CP heli, the heli retains its orientation until you bring it back with the Tx.

I hope I've answered your questions.

Rick

Gotcha thanks for taking the time to write. I have also been following the helifreak threads, but still was trying to understand it in my newbie pilot brain.

Here it is:

http://www.skookumrobotics.com/products/sk720.html

Rick

So the 1st production run is sold out, right? Do you have any timing info for the next run?

Will this be able to be plugged into the new Futaba S. Bus receivers?

Originally Posted by Gadget01

So the 1st production run is sold out, right? Do you have any timing info for the next run?

HeliDirect says their second batch is also sold out. They are saying May 15.

I don't know about other vendors.

Rick

Originally Posted by FrankW

Will this be able to be plugged into the new Futaba S. Bus receivers?

I have no idea.

As the Futaba product was not available to us for testing, there is no way to know.

Rick

OK, you'be been dreaming about the day when your SK 720 is FINALLY delivered. Can't wait to get it in the heli?

Wait. Please.

Check the package. Everything should be there.

Take the SK 720 unit and attach it to your PC using the USB cable. The USB cable will provide the power to the 720. Do not connect an external power supply at this time.

The 720 will look like a USB drive to your PC. If you see a warning about "scan and fix SK720", don't do it.

Run the setup program from your 720 memory.

Do NOT OPEN the case. You will lose the calibration and invalidate any warranty. Really. Don't do it. Thanks.

BEFORE you mount your 720, and BEFORE you connect your servos, tell the 720 what kind of servos you have. Both swash and tail.

Tell the setup software if the servo is digital or analog, and enter the speed.

You will select your tail servo from a dropdown menu.

Click on Send Setup.

Everything about this discussion assumes you have a DX7.

Set up a model in the Tx for your heli

Swash type: 1 Servo/Norm

All servos normal movement (do not reverse anything)

All Travel Adjust 100% for now.

All Subtrims 0

No expo

Set your throttle curve and pitch curve as desired.

If you are flying a 450 or larger, you should use two satellite receivers.

http://www.spektrumrc.com/FAQ/tm.aspx?m=133

Attach the satellites to the 720.

From the Utility option on the top menu, select Bind Sat Rx's on Power Cycle.

Disconnect the 720 from your computer. When you power on, you will bind just like you were using a blind plug. Press the bind /range test button on the back when you power up. When the sat lights stay lit, the unit is bound to your Tx.

Note: the text at the top left is the name of the saved file containing the setup for this heli. Click on Send Setup or Press F1.