Past 3 months i have really been pushing the envelope with my quest to perform some smooth 3-d tricks. My question: when it comes to servo travel wher do you all have your servos set at ? I have been toying around with mine, At times using 100% and other times between 100 and 150%. with expo I'm using + 10. I do seem to get quicker loops and rolls when going over 100%. Or am i taking on what could be bad habits for future progression ?

It all depends on the helicopters setup. You want to make sure there is no binding at maximum travels. That means you will need to move the sticks to the corners, at full + and - pitch to check for binding. And that the swash stays level, that may require you to have different travel percentages between servo's. So I usually adjust travel from the swash mix, or pitch curves after setting the travel percentages for full travel, and a level swash.

Some pilots will like less pitch, some more. More will allow quicker movements. But you might need to use better stick control, to prevent bogging, and lessen blade stall.

Thanks for the info Roto Rob. I have no binding with aile-pitch-elev. Stick control: yes a huge diff. between 100% and 150% Its like a new heli every time i change up my servo travel end points. Good to know what im doing is not out of the norm. thanks.

Not sure ?
I set all my heli up for 12-12 , then setup a normal pitch curve , -3 + 10 . When i setup like this i never got binding , i just followed the finless bob video. It really a good setup tool and you will never bind if you follow it . All my settings are 100% across the board . Then if i feel it needs to slow down i set up dual rates and expo to slow it down . in normal , i use 5 degrees of pitch , but have D/R and expo to slow it down . Same with idle up, i have 8 on cyclic , but use D/R and expo to keep it calm. I only have idle up 1 and normal on my helicopters , never needed more than that .

Just keep practicing on the sim till you feel comfortable and don't crash . I started on the sim at 40% speed , now i am at 120% . I still use the slower speed to learn new moves , got a lot still to learn

I have a real flight G4.5 so im limited on what i can and cannot do. Realflight is nice however Hindsight i should have went with phx. So far the only thing im doing outside of easy sport flying is loops, barrel rolls and quick inverts. ( I call them tumbles at this point ) 3 years in and im in no hurry still. I figure this time next year i should be doing some mad tick tocs. baby steps eh.

Originally Posted by Dejavu*Xion

Thanks for the info Roto Rob. I have no binding with aile-pitch-elev. Stick control: yes a huge diff. between 100% and 150% Its like a new heli every time i change up my servo travel end points. Good to know what im doing is not out of the norm. thanks.

More throw should match your pitch range and electronic setup though. More throw is useless when its bogging down the motor more often. Mostly this will be no issue but some helicopters are underpowered for strong 3d.

Originally Posted by PHMX

More throw should match your pitch range and electronic setup though. More throw is useless when its bogging down the motor more often. Mostly this will be no issue but some helicopters are underpowered for strong 3d.

Good point...I could be robbing peter to pay Paul..I'll keep my eyes and ears out for this and see if I can find a happy medium this weekend.

im all fbl so every thing is set at 100% all the time
and i change how the heli flys with the settings in the Vbar since it needs to have a fixed range for the servos to do its thing
and yea pitch and cyclic ranges are set per Vbar and my 6HV which is 11/11 and 8
which is PLENTY for the 6HV
always setup with max rates and use DR to LOWER then if need be on a fly bar heli or youll run it resolution issues
no shame in using expo ether

again on fbl full rates all the time use the settings in the controller to tame it

but always setup aggressive and use the DR and expo / FBL controller to tame it down

As of now everything in my hanger is Fb. Next will be a fbl. Have my eye on the KDS 550 or upcoming goblin 500. When i can compare the two i will make a decision. More then likely I will just go back to my old settings of 100% on servos. D/R 100% and 10% expo.

with a fly bar set up for as much collective and cyclic as you can get with out binding
then use DR and expo to tame it
again flat throttle curve at 100% and liner pitch curve

Yip Yip...have that. Idle up 1 im running flatt 88. And idle up 2 100 flat. ( original dx7 ) What PHMX says make alot of sense, In that if i run 150% end points on servos it could cause main blades to bog. That i dont want to take place on a 450 heli with just a 3s set-up.

well bogging isnt an issue really
you dont want to run high end points after you do your setup since youll lose resuloton in the sticks and you end up with a twichy heli thats hard to fly

dont worry about bogging any thing for now
go in to your swash mix and turn up every thing and check the sticks in the corners with full high and low collective you wont need more then +/-12deg of collective and maybe 10deg of cyclic
leave your DR at 100 and set your expo at 25% and see how that is and adjust expo to taste
with the tail you want to do your setup with end points at 100 100 then set ~10 to 15% expo
and try some piros and see which way is going slower and turn up the slow side or down the fast side WITH END POINTS not DR you can then use the DR to speed up or slow down the over all piro rate

but on every other channel you want your end points at 100 100 only the rudder and throttle channels should have end points any thing else

again set up aggressive and tame so you keep the stick resolution up

Will do..thanks Elios000

Originally Posted by Elios000

well bogging isnt an issue really
you dont want to run high end points after you do your setup since youll lose resuloton in the sticks and you end up with a twichy heli thats hard to fly

With all due respect, but nope, it can totally be an issue ruining the otherwise solid hold of the tail and bogging down a motor. And I am in fact already assuming a perfect mechanical setup before increasing any throws.

I was making more of a general statement really. People tend to make the same silly mistake about increasing the head speed (above a certain point it will really only ever be a total waste of energy) or even adding just a bigger, more powerful motor.

The fact that you can set bigger throws really does not mean it's always the smartest choice. Keep in mind that I never even mentioned the use of DR or EXPO. I personally prefer leaving the digital stuff at 100% and increase or decrease the mechanical stuff. That will always give you the best resolution and gain when it comes to flybarless helis. Even more so when the mechanical setup you choose to go with does not really require any expo. Do keep in mind that using expo usually is a matter of taste and more often than not messes with the 'directness' and control of your stick input.

I'm really not a stick banger at all and definitely prefer more predictable 1:1 ratios when using the sticks. If I want to do a slow piro at half rudder input, I will just have to use less rudder. No big deal.

Of course a lot comes down to taste here, but no one likes a bogging helicopter with a tail that shoots away, because you're simply using too much throw (and pitch, usually). It all comes down to finding a balance, even if you do decide to make your helicopter fly a lot beefier.

bogging is a nitro or gas thing any more
really your RARELY going to be hitting full collective and full cyclic throws unless your really banging the sticks
but +/-12 and 9 isnt going to bog a good e powered heli

and i would challenge any one to bog my 6HV and its setup with nearly as much pitch as you can get on it with out binding

even my 500 i have only bogged twice and that was at the end of a pack