I've gone to a soft throttle approach with my powerful airplanes.
Some helicopter ESCs use a "soft start" to protect the gears from too much power too fast on initial start. I noticed a different, but similar issue on my hopped up 4, 5 and 6 cell brushless aircraft: ESC timing gets ahead of motor spool-up time due to the high mass and subsequent momentum of the larger bells, props, and spinner assemblies, often causing the motor to choke back to a hard idle reset.
I discovered the simple trick of setting a servo speed delay between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds on the high side of the throttle curve cured every one of these ills. There is actually no slowing of throttle response, since the physical momentum of the motor prevents it from spinning up any faster, regardless. This idea simply matches the ESC timing to reality for reliable throttle operation.
I'm not sure why I've never seen this discussed before, I suppose most people don't like to push performance like I tend to enjoy. I find it invaluable. No more ESC slipping and choking when I need power the most!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Z8RC Open Discussion
Feedback | Suggestions | Questions
Please note, reader comments do not appear immediately after hitting submit.
Please note, reader comments do not appear immediately after hitting submit.
I like to fly:
Top 10 This Week
-
Two new Gee Bees are available at about the same fly-away price, it's time to compare the E-Flite UMX Gee Bee R-2 BNF (EFGBR2) to the ne...
-
Get ready for some hard WWI 3D action. Some ask, “Why?” I ask, “Why not?” PZ Albatros with Rimfire 15, 11x3.8 SF prop, HK Flight Stab...
-
Those who have read my blog article understand that testing an aircraft engine on a test stand in isolation never yields any information. ...
-
Page views I would like to thank those who visit Z8RC for a 10-fold increase in readership during a brief year of existence. Thank yo...
-
Walking out of an arts and crafts store, I couldn't resist this simple 50" Air Hog foam glider, sold in a bag for $6. http://www....
-
As I test fly, and quickly iterate the GP Yak-55M, one need that became very apparent was a wheel brake solution to operate this big boy out...
-
UPDATE: Also see: Half of DX8 users report "unresolved" problems UPDATE: Also see: Head to Head: Aurora 9 vs Spektrum DX8 ...
-
Update 2: The wind was blowing hard but I managed to get enough flying in to repeatedly juice the tail under full power. The P-51 motor ab...
-
Addendum: As a result of my review, Horizon lowered the price of the UMX Beast to $99, earning it a B+ Z8RC overall rating. Horizon deserv...
-
Update: After several more trips tot he field, I am upping the Mosquito's overall grade to A . Update: Added a discussion of slow flig...
Top 10 This Month
-
Update 3: See also: http://z8rc.blogspot.com/2012/01/blade-mcp-x-100-tail-blow-out-fix.html Update 2: mCP X with Z8RC truss upgraded to A...
-
The Hobby King P-38 did very well in my recent review - but that's even more reason to upgrade the airplane. The MAS 9x7x3-blade pus...
-
Completed model including guide wires, painted prop and 9 cylinder radial. Update 11: Paint and landing gear mods. I added two 2 mm c...
-
The E-flight UMX Extra 300 is a very lightweight half foam/half mylar offering in the indoor 3D arena (or to a much lesser extent and no win...
-
I picked up this cool 42" Dynam 72 MHz Hog for less than $120, a few bucks cheaper than the PnP version. Nothing my 2.4 GHz Rx spares ...
-
The Blade SR's twitchy tail takes getting used to, but the errors generally offset in a hover. The SR is a Collective Pitch lead-in tr...
-
With the latest surge in foam plane popularity, most serious hobbyists own at least one. The beauty of foam is the speed at which a decent ...
-
BlitzRCWorks G4 Quad Charger / Thunder T6 Multi Charger Update: My Common Sense RC 250W PSU has two sets of outputs (see photo below). ...
-
UPDATE 5: Added landing gear with a steerable nose. See Z8RC Mods, below. UPDATE 4: Added a rudder and thrust vectoring. See Z8RC Mods,...
-
Continuing and ending my mini-series on how to land, this article focuses on flying a good traffic pattern: the military Overhead. The Ove...
Z8RC Resources
A Practical RC Simulator Comparison
AMA Under the Microscope (& Part 2)
Balancing a ducted fan or prop perfectly
Balsa or Foam?
Blade mCP X 100% Vibration Fix
Choosing the Right Motor
FAA Guarantees Your Right to Fly RC in the USA
Fixing those broken UM wheel pants
How to Land from The Overhead Pattern
Online RC Discount Codes
Soft Throttle
Understanding CG
Z8RC Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Database
Z8RC Manufacturer Rankings