Subject:
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Re: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 21 Aug 2002 19:40:24 GMT
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Viewed:
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1094 times
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net> wrote:
> I'm not convinced.
>
> My father built and flew these contraptions and even with gyro's, they
> are extremely unforgiving flying machines.
Well, this is new technology. It's the kind of stuff if you used, your dad
would tell you "son, back in the day, we flew helis with only ONE gyro, and
it was mechanical, and helicopters were a lot harder to fly back then."
The gyros the original poster was talking about are just replacements for
the mechanical gyros that used to be used in RC helis. Since they are much
smaller, you can afford more of them, and so you can use them not only to
control the tail rotor speed to counteract the main rotor's torque and
stabilize yaw, but you can use them to stabilize pitch and roll also.
PLUS, the original poster was not even talking about your standard RC heli.
The "Draganflyer" is a specialized hovering toy (albeit expensive) with
special control circuitry to make it VERY easy to fly.
Now, aside from that, there is technology for standard RC helis (and
planes) that I posted a link to. It is the FMA Co-Pilot
(www.fmadirect.com), and it is not a gyro but a set of IR sensors that
detect an absolute reference -- the horizon. For helis, you still use an
ordinary heli gyro for yaw. (The device also works for planes, which is
cool too. Everybody should start with a plane before a heli anyways.) So
this device. It watches the horizon and two signals from the receiver, and
when you center the pitch/yaw control sticks, the device kicks in and
automatically levels the heli or plane for you. As far as I understand
from reviews of the device, it works like a charm.
Admittedly the Co-Pilot still does not make an RC heli something your two
year old could fly. No. And you will still crash, I agree. And flying an
RC heli will always be expensive too. But the main thing is that it brings
the learning curve WAY down, for both planes and helis.
Now, if only I had the $$$... :)
-Kekoa
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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| [This is *WAY* off-topic - but it can't go un-answered] (...) I'm not convinced. My father built and flew these contraptions and even with gyro's, they are extremely unforgiving flying machines. The big problem with RC helicopters is that you *will* (...) (22 years ago, 21-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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