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'''Please note that AttitudeControl is an optional feature. It is only available on devices with MICROBEAST PLUS ProEdition firmware installed.'''<br />

Please note that AttitudeControl is an optional feature. '''It is only available on devices with MICROBEAST PLUS ProEdition firmware installed.''' You can buy this optional update from the [https://www.freakware.de/en/beastx/software-updates-w19629 freakware Webshop] and flash the ProEdition firmware to your device using the StudioX Software/App.<br />

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= What is AttitudeControl and how to use it =

= What is AttitudeControl and how to use it =

Basically what AttitudeControl does is leveling your helicopter by the flip of a switch or press of a button. There are different options on how the helicopter will be leveled which can be selected in PARAMETER MENU.

Basically what AttitudeControl does is leveling your helicopter by the flip of a switch or press of a button. There are different options on how the helicopter will be leveled which can be selected in PARAMETER MENU.<br />

== Leveling modes ==

== Leveling modes ==

:This basically does the same as the rescue mode but difference is that it will also level the helicopter in inverted position. Here the system detects which position is closer to reach and directly levels the helicopter without making a turn around. This can be used when you want to train and learn aerobatic maneuvers, like inverted hovering, flips or ticotcs. As you can override the AttitudeControl by adding some cyclic stick input even you could let AttitudeControl activated for a longer time, so the system guides you like a helping hand. I.e. when you make a front flip you only have to concentrate on giving correct collective pitch input. The elevator does not have to be as precise, as the exact leveling when reaching inverted hovering position is done by attitude control, even the system will pull the helicopter into level position, once it is tilted more than 90 degrees to the front. Please note the system will not level the heli into on or the other direction when it is in vertical position. This makes it more comfortable to fly around and perform loopings or knife edge flying while 3D Mode is active!<br />

:This basically does the same as the rescue mode but difference is that it will also level the helicopter in inverted position. Here the system detects which position is closer to reach and directly levels the helicopter without making a turn around. This can be used when you want to train and learn aerobatic maneuvers, like inverted hovering, flips or ticotcs. As you can override the AttitudeControl by adding some cyclic stick input even you could let AttitudeControl activated for a longer time, so the system guides you like a helping hand. I.e. when you make a front flip you only have to concentrate on giving correct collective pitch input. The elevator does not have to be as precise, as the exact leveling when reaching inverted hovering position is done by attitude control, even the system will pull the helicopter into level position, once it is tilted more than 90 degrees to the front. Please note the system will not level the heli into on or the other direction when it is in vertical position. This makes it more comfortable to fly around and perform loopings or knife edge flying while 3D Mode is active!<br />

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Besides the general choice from theses 5 Modes (Angular Mode, Bailout rescue, Bailout rescue with Pitch, 3D - Mode, 3D - Mode with Pitch) you can adjust more options with the StudioX Software or StudioXm App. For example you can add some boost pitch for a short amount of time so the helicopter gains height quickly, or you can lock the stick inputs. These options are described later in detail. Also note that when using Bankswitching (Flight mode switching) you can set different Attitude modes and options for each flight mode and tweak the system to your likings even more.<br />

Besides the general choice from theses 5 Modes (Angular Mode, Bailout rescue, Bailout rescue with Pitch, 3D - Mode, 3D - Mode with Pitch) you can adjust more options with the StudioX Software or StudioXm App. For example you can add some boost pitch for a short amount of time so the helicopter gains height quickly, or you can lock the thrust stick input. These options are described later in detail. Also note that when using Bankswitching (Flight mode switching) you can set different Attitude modes and options for each flight mode and tweak the system to your likings even more.<br />

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== Activating AttitudeControl in flight ==

== Activating AttitudeControl in flight ==

'''Usually we use a separate free channel on the transmitter to activate/deactivate the AttitudeControl during operation.''' When this channel is moved into one direction, the AttitudeControl is off, when you switch it into the other direction the AttitudeControl will be activated and your helicopter will be leveled when you release the sticks for aileron and elevator. Here the amount of deflection determines how strong the system reacts and how hard it tries to keep the helicopter in level position (and in consequence how hard it is to control the heli against). So what you need on transmitter side as a switch that controls the AttitudeControl channel (which channel number this is you setup when doing the receiver and function assignments in RECEIVER MENU!). When the switch is in OFF Position the channel is moved into one direction, i.e. to -100% throw. Now when you flip the switch in order to activate the AttitudeControl, the channel is moved into the other direction, i.e. to +50%. In this case the AttitudeControl will activate with a gain of 50%. The amount of gain/channel deflection must be tuned to your liking later when flying, 50 is usually a good starting point. If you don't want so hard reaction of the system, i.e. when you want to fly while the 3D mode is active for a longer time, you will lower the gain to maybe 30. If you want very quick and instand turn around you may raise the value to 60. Just don't go too high from the beginning as this can cause a very hard and abrupt reaction of the system, maybe harder than your helicopter likes!<br />

'''Usually we use a separate free channel on the transmitter to activate/deactivate the AttitudeControl during operation.''' When this channel is moved into one direction, the AttitudeControl is off, when you switch it into the other direction the AttitudeControl will be activated and your helicopter will be leveled when you release the sticks for aileron and elevator. Here the amount of deflection determines how strong the system reacts and how hard it tries to keep the helicopter in level position (and in consequence how hard it is to control the heli against). So what you need on transmitter side as a switch that controls the AttitudeControl channel (which channel number this is you setup when doing the receiver and function assignments in RECEIVER MENU!). When the switch is in OFF Position the channel is moved into one direction, i.e. to -100% throw. Now when you flip the switch in order to activate the AttitudeControl, the channel is moved into the other direction, i.e. to +50%. In this case the AttitudeControl will activate with a gain of 50%. The amount of gain/channel deflection must be tuned to your liking later when flying, 50 is usually a good starting point. If you don't want so hard reaction of the system, i.e. when you want to fly while the 3D mode is active for a longer time, you will lower the gain to maybe 30. If you want very quick and instand turn around you may raise the value to 60. Just don't go too high from the beginning as this can cause a very hard and abrupt reaction of the system, maybe harder than your helicopter likes!<br />

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'''As an alternative to using a separate channel for activating the AttitudeControl you can also the gyro gain channel, i.e. when you only have a 6-channel transmitter or when using a receiver with standard wiring (here we simply can't connect an additional channel physically).''' The activation of AttitudeControl will work quite similar as described above for the separate switch channel, moving the channel into one direction will activate the AttitudeControl and the amount of deflection of the channel determines the stabilization gain, when moving the gyro channel into the other direction the leveling is disabled. But additionaly here the gyro gain channel also still adjusts the gyro gain. Precisely this happens when the channel is moved in the direction where the leveling is disabled. Here the amount of deflection adjusts the gyro gain and sets the gyro into heading lock mode. So for example you would assign a switch to the gyro gain channel and adjust the throw into one direction to let's say -50% and in the other direction to +60%, resulting in a gyro gain of 50% and a stabilization gain of 60%. By flipping the switch you can activate/deactivate the AttitudeControl instead of toggling the tail gyro between "Normal-Rate" and "HeadingLock" mode. The gyro gain value of -50% will be saved internally when switching into positive direction.<br />

 

'''As an alternative to using a separate channel for activating the AttitudeControl you can also use the gyro gain channel, i.e. when you only have a 6-channel transmitter or when using a receiver with standard wiring (here we simply can't connect an additional channel physically).''' The activation of AttitudeControl will work quite similar as described above for the separate switch channel. Moving the channel into one direction will activate the AttitudeControl and the amount of deflection of the channel determines the stabilization gain, when moving the gyro channel into the other direction the leveling is disabled. But additionaly here the gyro gain channel also still adjusts the gyro gain. Precisely this happens when the channel is moved in the direction where the leveling is disabled. Here the amount of deflection adjusts the gyro gain and sets the gyro into heading lock mode. So for example you would assign a switch to the gyro gain channel and adjust the throw into one direction to let's say -50% and in the other direction to +60%, resulting in a gyro gain of 50% and a stabilization gain of 60%. By flipping the switch you can activate/deactivate the AttitudeControl instead of toggling the tail gyro between "Normal-Rate" and "HeadingLock" mode. The gyro gain value of -50% will be saved internally when switching into positive direction.<br />

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'''As a third alternative you can use the bank switching feasture and set the attitude gains fixed for each flight mode.''' In this case the AttitudeControl will be active as long as the flight mode is selected. So you could use one bank/flight mode for hovering and sports flying, one flight mode for 3D aerobatics and a third one with angular mode. Gain adjustments and parameter settings are all done in the StudioX software or StudioXm app and you can switch between modes using a simple 3-position switch. In this respect also note that you can even combine flightmodes with a separate rescue switch channel! So you could have one mode where AttitudeControl is always on, i.e. when using angular mode and then you have your other to flightmodes/banks for unstabilized flying but in which you can pull the rescue bailout at any time.<br />

{{WARNING_QUOTE|When using AttitudeControl with combined switch channel make sure AttitudeControl is at least deactivated once before take off. Otherwise the tail gyro gain would be minimal as the system would not have been able to determine your tail gain adjustment after initialization.<br />

[[File:Warning.png|sub|18px]] Also note that in this mode it is absolutely necessary to use a switch that changes the control directions directly and without intermediate steps. In particular, do not use a slider on the transmitter! Otherwise, when you activate AttitudeControl the tail gyro sensitivity would be decreased to 0% before the system turns on the AttitudeControl. So you would have 0% of tail gyro gain when AttitudeControl is active.}}<br />

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{{WARNING_QUOTE|When using AttitudeControl with combined switch channel make sure AttitudeControl is at least deactivated once before take off. Otherwise the tail gyro gain would be minimal as the system would not have been able to determine your tail gain adjustment after initialization.<br />

'''A third alternative is to use the bank switching feature and set the attitude gains fixed for each flight mode.''' In this case the AttitudeControl will be active as long as the flight mode is selected and the Attitude gain is greater than 0%. So you could use one bank/flight mode for hovering and sports flying, one flight mode for 3D aerobatics and a third one with angular mode and 50% gain for rescue bailout or hover training. You can switch between modes using a simple 3-position switch.<br />

Please note that due to the complexity of this feature configuring and enabling bank switching is only possible with the StudioX software or StudioXm app!<br />

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==Functional test of AttitudeControl==

==Functional test of AttitudeControl==

When activating AttitudeControl you should be able to see an immediate impact on the swashplate control: If the heli is tilted to one side, MICROBEAST PLUS permanently steers the swashplate opposed to the inclination. In the region around horizontal position the swashplate will always stay nearly horizontal to the ground. The system constantly tries to bring the helicopter back to the horizontal position as long as the helicopter is oblique.<br />

When activating AttitudeControl you should be able to see an immediate impact on the swashplate control: If the heli is tilted to one side, MICROBEAST PLUS permanently steers the swashplate opposed to the inclination. In the region around horizontal position the swashplate will always stay nearly horizontal to the ground (note: by default the the heli will be rolled by 4 degrees to the right, this is to compensate the tail rotor thrust when hovering!). The system constantly tries to bring the helicopter back to the horizontal position as long as the helicopter is oblique.<br />

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Briefly press the button store the setting. In case you've chosen a mode with (collective) pitch control, briefly pressing the button at point L will lead to menu point M. Otherwise menu point M will be skipped und the system will exit PARAMETER MENU.<br />

Briefly press the button store the setting. In case you've chosen a mode with (collective) pitch control, briefly pressing the button at point L will lead to menu point M. Otherwise menu point M will be skipped und the system will exit PARAMETER MENU.<br />

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At PARAMETER MENU point M the collective pitch will move to the set hovering position. As described above this will be used when the system rotates the heli and to keep the heli in hovering position (when using an AttitudeControl mode with pitch). Ideally the pitch angle is exactly as large as it is necessary to maintain a stationary hovering flight without ascending or descending. Typically this is somewhere in the range between 5 and 6 degrees.<br >

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At PARAMETER MENU point M the collective pitch will move to the set hovering position. As described above this will be used to keep the heli in hovering position (when using an AttitudeControl mode with pitch). Ideally the pitch angle is exactly as large as it is necessary to maintain a stationary hovering flight without ascending or descending. Typically this is somewhere in the range between 5 and 6 degrees.<br />

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By moving the rudder stick left or right you can descrease or increase the hovering pitch. The color of the Status-LED indicates the range where the pitch is in between at the moment. This range is specified as percentage of maximum positive/negative pitch.<br />

By moving the rudder stick left or right you can descrease or increase the hovering pitch. The color of the Status-LED indicates the range where the pitch is in between at the moment. This range is specified as percentage of maximum positive/negative pitch.<br />

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{{WARNING_QUOTE|If the maximum positive/negative pitch is changed at SETUP MENU point K in consequence also the hovering pitch will change! So after adjusting the maximum pitch also check and readjust the hovering pitch here at menu point M.<br />

{{QUOTE|* Please note that during operation you can always add more pitch by giving thrust stick input. The pitch you adjust here is only the minimum amount of pitch. So practically in case this is not enough pitch to keep the heli in the air you will always have the option to override the pitch input for safety reason.

* When using the "3D - Mode with pitch" make sure that the maximum pitch range is symmetrical, i.e. the maximum positive and negative pitch are of same size. Otherwise the hovering pitch will differ in normal and inverted flight as the AttitudeControl pitch is calculated from each maximum pitch setting! The setting affects both directions, separate adjustment of the hovering pitch angles is not provided.

[[File:Warning.png|18px|sub]] When using the "3D - Mode with pitch" make sure that the maximum pitch range is symmetrical, i.e. the maximum positive and negative pitch are of same size. Otherwise the hovering pitch will differ in normal and inverted flight as the AttitudeControl pitch is calculated from each maximum pitch setting! The setting affects both directions, separate adjustment of the hovering pitch angles is not provided.}}<br />

* When tilting the helicopter the amount of pitch will change and you may not see the set amount of hovering pitch. This is because the system uses an internal algorithm that controls the pitch during rotation, trying to roll the helicopter with as less horizontal and vertical movement as possible. Anyhow, this algorithm bases on the assumption that you've set the hovering pitch as good as possible. But, for examply, when you've set more pitch in order to achieve the helicopter gaining height when AttitudeControl is active, this may not cause the helicopter to turn on spot properly.}}<br />

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=Setup with StudioX=

=Setup with StudioX=

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=Setup with StudioXm=

* When using the "3D - Mode with pitch" make sure that the maximum pitch range is symmetrical, i.e. the maximum positive and negative pitch are of same size. Otherwise the hovering pitch will differ in normal and inverted flight as the AttitudeControl pitch is calculated from each maximum pitch setting! The setting affects both directions, separate adjustment of the hovering pitch angles is not provided.

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