Hi Guys,

I am planning to put a gyro ( one for rudder and one for elevator) (Hobby King 401B) on a .46 size plane.

Link for further details on the Gyro:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=10113

Purpose :
To be able to learn 3D.

Just wanted to know if anyone has used this Gyro if yes please share your feedback.

Anyone else who has used a gyro on a Glow plane please share your thought.

I have not used a gyro ever but from what I know is thaty people do use them for 3D but on Rudder alone. 

My brother plays with them from time to time, on rudder and elevator.  Here are some points we have learnt from experience.

1.  If you have extra channels, make the gain of the gyros (including whether they are active or not) controllable using a switch/knob on the radio.  This allows you to handle any weird behavior during the very first set of test flights.

2.  Have a pilot with very good thumbs do the first flight after fitting these, as they can affect the original flight characteristics significantly.  On top of that, things like the gain could be wrong, all of which are better handled by someone who can "handle" such "situations".

3.  Do let the gyros properly initialize.  Allow a few seconds after the power to the gyros is turned on.

hey thanks anwar.... just a quick question is the gyro posted by me above suitable ?

Yes, that is a decent gyro, often used by my brother.  If you find it not behaving well (regardless of gain settings), then do the "sponge mod".

Thanks Anwar, yes I will work on the sponge mod.... I will be capturing all details once I start on the Gyro work, so that all can be benifited.... cheers!

If you like to experiment with gyros, use the cheapest gyro. Check for Esky Gyro in ebay. I use Rate Gyros for planes.

Do the mod, only in case you see a drift. If u fix the gyro in the least vibrations area, then not required.

HK401 supports both rate and HH modes, settable by gain.

Thanks Vinay and defyingravity

I have just received HK401B from HK. Bought 2 pcs. I will be trying it on my Yak 54 (foamy-25 inch) first to stabalize the elevator and Rudder, and then will see if I can use them for 3D. I know it is an overkill on such a small model. But just experimenting and trying to get a feel ... will post my results soon.

Hi Divay,

Just saw a guy doing 3D, prop hang - with the Tx kept on the ground. Have a video also. He also did a knife edge and inverted flight without any input from the Tx.
Unfortunately the technology is very expensive - 799 Euro. It is a 3 axis gyro, like used in a flybarless Heli. He explained to me that for gyro's to work in fixed wings they need to monitor the air speed constantly. The amount of control surface deflection required for a certain correction depends upon your airspeed. The faster the plane the lesser the deflection.

I hope that your experiment with the gyro on fixed wings works. Just use the fastest servo you have on the gyro channel, the results hugely depend upon that.

Regards

Sandy Jain

Hey Saurabh, thanks for pressing the flesh, please do share your thoughts and observations, also pics or video of the gyro installation procedure and settings would be of gr8 help.

Hi Sandy,

Thank you for the info.... 799 Euro ... hmmm... hands off the remote...hmm... automatic plane control .. hmm
sounds like a lot of viewing fun... but I really want to do 3d on my own, I am just going with the Gyro so that I get some help... but eventually someday I am gonna rip the gyro off my plane as the hulk rips his shirt and say I am ready for some action ... I am sure the day is gonna come real soon... I have been working hard on it....

I will keep the airspeed and deflection bit in mind... thankyou..

Hi Divay,

You may have seen this... It may help.

Hey Saurabh,

Thanks for the video, I hadn't seen this one, helped me get basics to what a gyro does... Thank you very much, I appreciate you taking the time out to send the video......

I have been practicing hovering on the Sim... so lets see what I can do...till then I am / was wondering if people could put a gyro on their lives.. to staighten things up

Quote from: saurabhhsrivastavaa on September 24, 2010, 04:16:02 PM
I have just received HK401B from HK. Bought 2 pcs. I will be trying it on my Yak 54 (foamy-25 inch) first to stabalize the elevator and Rudder, and then will see if I can use them for 3D. I know it is an overkill on such a small model. But just experimenting and trying to get a feel ... will post my results soon.

Have you used gyro with aeroplane...? How was experience...?
Details of gyro installation would be appreciated.

Quote from: spitfire on November 03, 2010, 09:24:40 PM
Have you used gyro with aeroplane...? How was experience...?
Details of gyro installation would be appreciated.

Hi,

I had used 2 gyros on my 25 inch Yak 54 Foamy. One for pitch control and the other for yaw. Since on HK 401 you can control the gain through the tx, I had it on Channel 6. I had connected the gain of both the gyros to ch6 and using the flap switch (knob type) I could control the gain.
Actually incase of HK401B, (lets say your travel on CH 6 is from 0 to 100), then 0 to 50 sets the head lock mode and 50-100 corresponds to the gain.
So if you go anything below 50% the gyros switch into the head-lock mode and any input over 50% on the stick (Ch6) adjusts the gain.

Experience on the plane was quite noticable. At full gain, the model was quite stable in air, however because the motor 2805 was not able to provide ample pull, I could not test a prop hang for more than 5-6 seconds. Doing 3D with full gain was much easy. Also, the plane was too small and getting heavy on the wing loading because of the installation of gyros and battery and extra connectors..

I switched into the head lock only while landing and takeoff. once airborne, quickly switched over to normal mode.

What I feel in the end is : Definately, you will see a noticable difference with the gyros at full gain. I would recommend to use them on a bigger model and ensure that you have enough power to weight ratio to make full utilization of the potential of the gyros. HK401B is a pretty decent gyro and the new batch does not need any fix, as suggested...

Let me know if you need any further information.

Cheers !!!

Quote from: saurabhhsrivastavaa on November 03, 2010, 10:23:09 PM
So if you go anything below 50% the gyros switch into the head-lock mode and any input over 50% on the stick (Ch6) adjusts the gain.

Are you sure about this ?  0-49 is rate mode (ie, normal mode), and above 50 is heading hold, FWIK.

Thanks a lot Suarabh for your information...!

I just saw Turnigy TG380 aeroplane gyro http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6755
I dindt get what it is. I want to use gyro in aeroplane. Is there any advantage of using this gyro or is there any difference in using gyro which is made for heli and for aeroplane...?

I think u can go ahead and use the HK 401 B.

Quote from: anwar on November 03, 2010, 10:44:02 PM
Are you sure about this ?  0-49 is rate mode (ie, normal mode), and above 50 is heading hold, FWIK.

Yes Anwar. I am 100% sure on this. you can infact look at the manual as well. will post it once i reach office...

The reason I say this is that I have used them quite extensively on the quad testing etc.  Unless the gain is above 50, the light does not stay lit, and the manual on the HK401B is clear that it is in "heading hold" mode that the light stays lit.

The other point that I am confused about is that "amount" of gain exists whether it is heading hold or normal/rate mode. From your sentence above, it seems like gain is something that can be varied only above 50 (and below 50 there is no concept of gain).  The Futaba GY401 (and the HK401 which is based on the Futaba one), has various rate mode gain values below 50, and various HH mode gains above 50.

I had checked the manual before I posted (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uploads/HK401B_manual.pdf), and it does not seem to say anything about this, other than that the light stay lit when in HH mode.

Yes, You are correct. The gain for rate mode (senstivity) works only from 50 - 100. However, the light gets lit at 50 and from 50 to 0, the HH mode (senstivity) gain is adjusted.

Is that what your understanding was ?

Nope, rate mode is less than 50, and HH is above 50. 

For values above 50, the light stays lit and the various values from 50-100 are the various gains for HH mode.