Einfliegen und anpassen der Parameter

Einstellung des Heckkreisels über den Fernsteuersender

Über den Zusatzkanal an Ihrer Fernsteuerung lässt sich die Empfindlichkeit (Wirkstärke) des Heckkreisels einstellen. Je weiter der Steuerausschlag des Kanals von der Mittenposition entfernt wird, umso höher ist die Heckkreiselempfindlichkeit von MICROBEAST PLUS. Abhängig von der Richtung in die Sie den Zusatzkanal verstellen, wird der Betriebsmodus des Heckreisels ausgewählt. Die Farbe der Status LED zeigt Ihnen bei Betriebsbereitschaft des MICROBEAST PLUS an, welcher Modus gerade aktiv ist. Violett entspricht dem Normal-Modus und im HeadingLock-Modus ist die Status LED blau. Zusätzlich zeigt MICROBEAST PLUS bei Veränderung der Empfindlichkeit sowie unittelbar nach der Initialisierung anhand der Menü LEDs für ca. 10 Sekunden die momentane Höhe der Empfindlichkeit an. Hierdurch bekommen Sie einen Anhaltswert für die tatsächliche Höhe der Empfindlichkeit, da die Prozentwerte je nach verwendeter Fernsteuerung variieren können. Ist die Empfindlichkeit in einem der beiden Modi nahezu 0%, wird dies durch die Menü LED neben A angezeigt. 100% Empfindlichkeit werden durch LED N signalisiert.

Zum Erfliegen der optimalen Heckkreiselempfindlichkeit empfiehlt es sich, mit geringer Empfindlichkeit zu beginnen und diese schrittweise zu erhöhen: Anfangs wird sich das Steuergefühl des Hecks sehr schwammig anfühlen, es kann ausbrechen und das Heck wird nicht sauber auf den Punkt abstoppen. Je höher die Empfindlichkeit ist, umso präziser wird das Abstoppen und das Festhalten bei Drehmomentschwankungen. Ist die Empfindlichkeit zu hoch wird das Heck beim Abstoppen schnell nachpendeln oder sich im schnellen Vorwärts- oder Rückwärtsflug aufschwingen. Reduzieren Sie in diesem Fall die Empfindlichkeit sofort wieder! Für den Erstflug empfehlen wir mit einer Kreiselempfindlichkeit nicht höher als G (bei kleinen Helis D) im HeadingLock-Modus zu beginnen.

• Ein Betrieb ohne den Empfindlichkeitskanal ist nicht möglich. Beachten Sie ausserdem, dass das Servo bei stark reduzierter Empfindlichkeit (nahe Punkt A) nur sehr geringe Ausschläge machen wird, weil der Kreisel deaktiviert ist. Fliegen Sie niemals mit deaktiviertem Heckkreisel!

Menu-LED	N	M	L	K	J	I	H	G	F	E	D	C	B	A		B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N
Wirkstärke	100%	96%	88%	80%	72%	64%	56%	48%	40%	32%	24%	16%	8%	0%		8%	16%	24%	32%	40%	48%	56%	64%	72%	80%	88%	96%	100%
Zusatzkanal	-100	-96	-88	-80	-72	-64	-56	-48	-40	-32	-24	-16	-8	0		8	16	24	32	40	48	56	64	72	80	88	96	100
Betriebsmodus	Normal-Modus														HeadingLock-Modus

Im Normal-Modus wirkt der Heckkreisel von MICROBEAST PLUS nur als Dämpfung, die plötzliche Drehungen verursacht durch äussere Einflüsse abbremst. Langsame, konstante Drehbewegungen werden nicht ausgeglichen. Damit das Heck im Schwebeflug aufgrund des Drehmoments vom Hauptrotor nicht driftet, ist eine perfekte mechanische Einstellung des Heckrotors unerlässlich (vgl. hierzu Setupmenü Einstellpunkt D). Im Schnellflug wird das Heck durch den Fahrtwind ausgerichtet. So können Kurven sehr dynamisch geflogen werden und der Pilot muss das Heck dabei nicht ständig aussteuern. Ein Nachteil des Normal-Modus ist, dass selbst bei perfekter mechanischer Einstellung das Heck im Schwebeflug z. B. aufgrund von Seitenwind immer leicht driften wird.

Wir empfehlen stets den HeadingLock-Modus zu verwenden. Hier wird das Heck vom Kreiselsystem aktiv ausgesteuert. Über den Hecksteuerknüppel gibt der Pilot nur Befehle an den Kreisel, wie schnell das Heck drehen soll. Steht der Steuerknüppel demnach in der Mitte so wird der Heckkreisel dafür sorgen, dass das Heck die Position hält, völlig unabhängig von äusseren Einflüssen. Dies vereinfacht die Kontrolle wesentlich. Im Schwebeflug kann sich der Anfänger voll auf die Steuerung von Roll, Nick und Pitch konzentrieren und der fortgeschrittene Pilot kann 3D - Flugmanöver wie das Rückwärtsfliegen relativ einfach durchführen.

Adjusting the dials

To adjust the dials please only use the supplied plastic BEASTX adjustment tool to prevent damage to the dials!

Dial 1: Cyclic gain
The swash gyro gain (cyclic gain) can be set by dial 1 from 50% up to 150%. Turn dial 1 clockwise to increase the gain. The factory setting is horizontal which corresponds to 100% swashplate gain. For your first flights we suggest not changing this setting. However, when using very small helicopters (such as 250 or 450 size), reduce the cyclic gain by 3 marks (=75% gain) as with such small helicopters the control loop tends to overcompensate more easily.

In general the higher the gain the harder the helicopter will stop after cyclic moves and the helicopter will fly more stable and exact in the air. If the gain is too high, the helicopter will tend to oscillate at high frequency especially on the elevator axis. Due to their low mass, this behavior will occur sooner on small helicopters, so typically these do not need as much gain as large helicopters.

If the gain is too low the helicopter does not stop precisely and overshoots the more or less after a cyclic movement. Additionally it feels unstable and sluggish in fast forward flight and when hovering. In general low gain will allow the helicopter to have more life of its own and so it will not react to stick inputs as precise and immediate as the pilot expects it.


Dial 2: Cyclic feed forward
This part mixes some amount of stick input directly to the servos, bypassing the control loop. If correctly adjusted, this relieves the control loop which will work more efficiently by only having to make residual corrections. Factory setting of the dial is horizontal which provides a good setup in most cases. Turn dial 2 clockwise to increase the cyclic feed forward. This will cause more cyclic stick input going directly to aileron and elevator on the swashplate. Decreasing the direct stick feed forward will do the opposite.

If the cyclic feed forward is too high the stick input will over control the cyclic input. Eventually the control loop needs then to steer back and compensate the unwanted cyclic movement. Even though you get the impression to have a more direct and immediate control over the servos with high feed forwared values, unwanted side effects may appear, like pitch backs on cyclic stops and imprecise fast forward flight that show the control loop not working properly.

If the direct cyclic feed forward is too low, the helicopter will feel softer, slower and less direct. The optimal point depends of many factors like blades, servos, head speed, size and mass of the helicopter. Ideally you can increase the feed forward just as high as possible without any side effects happening. So you get a quite natural stick feeling and on the other hand the control loop is supported as good as possible. At delivery the dial is in the middle which should be a good starting point for most helicopters. Before adjusting the cyclic feed forward you should try to find the optimal maximum cyclic gain first (dial 1). Then adjust the cyclic feed forward and after that, you may have to adjust the cyclic gain once again, as both parameters interact to each other.

The cyclic feed forward does not affect the maximum rate of rotation! If the helicopter turns too slow, you should check the settings of the swashplate limiter in Setup menu point L, change the control behavior at Parameter menu point B or increase the servo travels or “Dual Rate“ setup of your transmitter.

Also to get a quicker and more aggressive response, increase the control behavior at Parameter menu point B (reducing expo and increasing the maximum rotation rate) and increase the cyclic response at Parameter menu point G. It is not recommended to increase the feed forward in this case, although it may produce a quicker servo movement and more direct stick feel at first glance. As described above this value is part of the control loop and you will get side effects as the control loop will not perform optimally, if you do not adjust this part as intended.

Dial 3: Tail gyro response
Turn dial 3 clockwise to increase the tail gyro response. Turning dial 3 counter clockwise will decrease it. Increasing the tail dynamic will lead to harder stopping behavior and more aggressive response to rudder stick inputs. If the response is too high the tail will bounce back shortly after a hard stop and feel spongy when making fast direction changes. If the dynamic is set too low the tail feels dull and stopping might be too soft. Ideally the tail should stop perfectly to the point without making any flapping noises.

Factory setting of the dial 3 is horizontal which provides a good setup in most cases. You have to make sure the maximum possible tail gyro gain has already been determined (see above) before adjusting the tail gyro response. Then after adjusting the tail gyro response you may have to adjust the tail gyro gain once again, as these parameters interact to each other.

Flying

After turning on the receiver power supply wait until MICROBEAST PLUS has fully initialized. This is displayed by a short movement of the swashplate servos. For initialization it is irrelevant whether the helicopter is leveled horizontally! Only important is that it is not moved as long as the calibration of the sensor positions takes place (LEDs lights A - G running). Also the control sticks of the transmitter must not be moved as long as MICROBEAST PLUS calibrates the stick center positions (LEDs H - N). If the initialization is not completed even after several minutes, read the Trouble shooting guide.

Like mentioned above the three dials should be turned to factory setting (centered horizontally), when using in small helicopters for safety reason dials 1 and 2 should be set to slightly below the center position. The tail gain channel should be set so that point G lights up, similar to approx. 50% tail gain adjustment. In micro or mini helicopters experience has shown that the gain must be lower (set to point D or 30%). Select the control behavior at Parameter menu point B to fit your flying style. If you‘re a beginner or unexperienced with flying flybarless helicopters you should highly decrease the maximum rotation rate, so change Parameter menu point B to “normal“ setting.

Before the first take off, make a stick direction check and again make sure that the sensors are correcting to the right direction when you tilt, roll or yaw the helicopter by hand.

It is normal that the swashplate might move back to its original position only slowly after a stick input and that the servos don’t run at the same speed as your sticks. In comparison to a flybared heli you are not directly controlling the servos anymore but controlling rotational rates like for fly-by-wire. The control of the servo is left to the control loop of MICROBEAST PLUS. The system will try to move the heli to the commanded directions and as the heli will not move while standing on the ground, the system may give maximum servo input, even if you do not move the sticks or the heli anymore, as the system will "remember" the command for some amount of time. Thus it is also normal when the tail gyro is operated in HeadingLock mode, that the rudder servo will stay in its end position after a rudder stick input or tail movement and that it does not always react immediately to a stick input. And for the same reason, it is also normal that the rudder servo runs to the endpoints even with small stick inputs.

Just before lift-off make sure that the swashplate is horizontal and that the tail pitch slider is near center. You can shortly switch the tail gyro to Normal-Rate mode, in this mode the rudder servo will center itself if the rudder stick is released. To center the swashplate move the cyclic stick to full deflection once.

Avoid excessive steering during lift-off, otherwise the helicopter may tip over as it can't move as long as it's still standing on the ground (as decribed above the system tries to move the helicopter by applying more and more servo movement)! The best way is to give a fair and direct collective pitch input to lift the helicopter quickly up into the air. This demands some re-education if you have only flown flybared helicopters before.

Once airborne at first you should adjust and try to find the maximum possible amount of tail gyro and cyclic gain (dial 1). Then you may optimize the tail gyro by adjusting Parameter menu point D in case you're operating the tail gyro in HeadingLock mode and adjust the response of the tail gyro using dial 3. Additionally you may need to adjust the Cyclic feed forward (dial 2) and Parameter menu point C. If the helicopter does react very aggressive to stick inputs, change the Control behavior at Parameter menu point B to a lower adjustment and/or reduce stick throws (servo throws) in the transmitter for the specific functions. Likewise increase the stick throws and/or Parameter menu point B, if the reaction is too slow and gentle for you. When the control loop is well adjusted, you can additionally use Parameter menu points G and H to fit your flying style and stick feeling. To support the tail gyro you can activate the Torque precompensation at Parameter menu point F if necessary.