Mpx 3030

Hi All,

I have been modelling and flying aircrafts for some time, specifically, I am very much engaged in 7-cell glider competitions. However, recently temptation reared it's head and I purchased a JR Venture CP Helicopter.

The package deal included an Eclipse 7 Radio which appears to have some very advanced functionalities. Having said that, I am very much attached to my 3030 and it appears this transmitter may be quite capable of being used to control my Heli.

I wonder if any of you had any experience good or bad in configuring this TX for Heli flight.

Thank you kindly for responding to this posting.

Best Regards
Ari :)

[darren_uk]

Hi Ari,

I don't know about any other radio other than my trusty JR XP642.

But I can give you my opinion about using any existing radio with a helicopter.

Helicopter controls are:
- Cyclic
- Rudder
- Collective
- Throttle

On a helicopter radio, there will be two sticks. Cyclic will be on the stick that springs back to the centre. The other three controls are on the other stick that only springs back to the centre in the left/right direction.

On my radio, cyclic is on the right, rudder and collective/throttle is on the left.

Cylic:
Left and Right, which is the same as ailerons on fixed wing
Forward and Back, which is the same as elevator on fixed wing.
These would be operated from the same stick on your transmitter, jus the same as with a fixed wing and your glider.

A helicopter in forward flight is, to all intents and purposes, identical to a fixed wing. Basic control is from the cyclic (aileron/elevator). The difference is that every flight begins and ends with a hover, which is where the Rudder, Collective and Throttle come in.

Rudder:
Yaw left and right. Not used in forward flight except to trim out the forward flight profile. The natural weather-vaning effect of the helicopter will suffice. The rudder comes into play at low airspeeds and hovering. When learning to fly the helicopter, to reduce orientation problems, the tail is kept towards you (so that the helicopter will mimic the direction you push the cyclic in). A gyro is used to keep the tail of the helicopter stable, however the pilot can control where the nose of the helicopter points through the use of the rudder.

Collective/Throttle.
Otherwise known as Pitch.
This is controlled by moving the left-hand stick up and down. It doesn't have a spring to return it to centre, and remains where it was last put.
This is what moves the helicopter up/down. In a fixed wing, to climb the angle of attack of the blades is increased to ascend, by pulling the nose up. In a helicopter, the rotating wings generate more lift by collectively increasing their angle of attack. Thus more lift is created, and the helicopter rises from the ground. More lift requires more power, therefore there is a correlation between more collective and more throttle. This is handled by the radio's electronics (hence the terms pitch-curve and throttle-curve).

Additionally, once you've advanced to forward flight, the throttle will tend to be happiest staying in the once place (keeping constant power to the rotating wings) - you wouldn't want this to change in a decent. This is where something called "Idle Up" comes in - the throttle is kept at a relative constant whilst the collective control on your radio only controls the collective pitch of the blades. When you wish to come back to a hover and land, you turn off "Idle Up" so that when you lower the collective, both pitch and throttle are reduced as the machine settles back on the ground and you'll want the engine to tick over at idle (thus disengaging itself from the rotors allowing the blades to spin down).
(There's some good answers about Idle Up and Throttle Hold on http://www.helifever.com/forums/show...s=&threadid=76
where someone asked what Idle Up is - my original reply above was "the throttle is kept at a constant" - I now know that's wrong hence I changed it to "the throttle is kept at a *relative* constant".)


If your radio can handle the two collective/throttle servos from the same control, then you should be able to use your existing radio. This will suffice to get you started (you'll be hovering a lot initially before getting into forward flight). You might find that you'll outgrow your glider radio when you become more proficient, and need the features of the other radio. You don't need Idle Up at this stage (I don't use it and I'm just getting into forward flight, but I'm considering it now).