AP2000i

[MorenoEnNYC]

Hello Guys,

Let me start out by saying I think you all are awesome...well most of you ;o)

Ok be easy on me! I'm new to the heli world, been flying for about 6 months and I just got my T-rex 600 built last week and now practicing hovering. I purchased the AP2000i system and want to use it as a failsafe for learning how to fly then ultimately use as a stabilization device for AP. Any advice on setup for this device for newbie learning to flying would be greatly appreciated. I'm using the DX-7 tx.

Thanks guys!

[crewchief]

Hi Moreno,
I recently installed the AP-2000i on my T-Rex 600, so the experience is pretty fresh in my mind. I also am using the DX7. First, I wouldn't use the stabilizer when learning to fly. You might flip it on if you're so disoriented you know a crash is inevitable, but otherwise you'll be getting a completely distorted view of the heli's response to your inputs, and you won't get to be a very good pilot. If you have to use it to save yourself fairly often, it's just a matter of time before the laws of statistics and probability catch up with you. A much better approach is flying with a buddy box in the hands of a pro. You'll learn really fast and it's a lot of fun.

I've got the gyro sensitivity hooked up to Aux2, so I use the Gear switch to turn on the AP-2000i after I get above the thermal clutter. I've found that 50% control is perfect for me, and the heli is very stable in a high hover. Even so, sometimes it "sees" something like a hot parking lot across the street and rears up like a scared horse. It's not unusual to use 3/4 stick to get it to calm down, but other than that it's pretty normal. At 80% control, it actually tried to fly away with full reverse stick once.

It was a wise thing to have the bird built professionally, so you know it's flying right. The 600 is incredibly stable in a hover, but KEEP IT ON A VERY SHORT LEASH! Once you let it start getting into forward flight, things can get very exciting very fast. Don't put any arbitrary time constraints on yourself. Remember that the FAA says that when you build a kit helicopter you have to hover it for 20 hours first. I think I hovered for about 6 hours before I tried my first pirouette on the 600, and I was already proficient with other helis. I was just nervous about all that money out there!

The stabilizer is a necessary piece of equipment for AP because by the time you can make out movement in a high hover, it's already affected your shots. But it's just a tool, and shouldn't be used as a crutch.

[MorenoEnNYC]

Thaank you very much Chief! Man you are heaven sent! OK now I'm having all sorts of issues getting the AP2000i connected to my AR7000. I followed the manual and Webber's quickstart guide to no avail. Could you please walk me through your setup starting with connecting the jumpers to and from the AR7000 and AP2000i?? Man that would help me a great deal being that we have identical setups. At this point any help with regards to plugging what into what would be a great help.

Many thanks again CC

[MorenoEnNYC]

Ok, I figured it all out...pretty darn simple once you really understand the connections and reversing etc. But now my dilemma is when ever I cycle my RX (AR7000) off and on, I get the rapid flashing LED on the RX waiting for the bind process...so now I'm forced to bind my TX to my RX every time I cycle my RX off/on. Is there anyway around this???

[Efliernz]

Your two receivers on the AR7000 will take a few seconds to lock once your TX is on but you should only need to bind (with the bind-plug) once.

[MarkWebber]

Yes, as far as your rx is concerned the AP2000i is just another servo. If you're having to rebind with the plug each time there is some other issue.

[MorenoEnNYC]

Got it! Silly me, I had something plugged into the RX power socket that I shouldn't have. It's all good now. A bit of fine tuning and I'll be ready to test it all out. Will post a follow up.

Thanks for your help guys...very excited!

[jeff2215]

I would be careful using the AP2000i as a beginner. I too am a beginner and feel fairly comfortable flying around and hovering. After getting some help setting up my AP2000i, I took my Raptor Titan up and slowly applied gain to activate the AP2000i. Once you do that you have to trim the heli out which can be tricky. Then the big mistake I made was shutting the AP2000i gain off completley which put my heli back to being out of trim. I was able to recover from the first out of control experience but the second time bit me and my heli crashed into a dirt hill. Not much damage from what I can tell, just some broken blades and head pieces. Gives me a chance to do some upgrades. Just becareful going from autopilot mode back to standard mode.

[Tonystott]

Silly question, but why did you shut off the AP2000?

[crewchief]

Silly question, but why did you shut off the AP2000?
Tony,
Sometimes you can land OK with it on, but I can give you a concrete example of what can happen. This afternoon I found an inconspicuous place to launch near a park I wanted to shoot. It was on a sidewalk, under the shade of a tree, and next to the blacktop road. I took off w/ the AP2000i off, then switched it on at about 40' altitude and flew the mission. Upon landing I forgot to turn it off and when it started to approach the sidewalk landing spot it reached a point where it would not come any closer, even with full stick. This of course was because the grass and shaded sidewalk were cool, and the road was very hot. The resulting behavior of the system trying to stay level using heat differentials results in it trying to avoid anything warmer than its surroundings, including roads, hot engine blocks, sunbaked walls, and to a lesser degree, people.

One important note on turning the AP2000i off in flight, to add to what Jeff2215 said. It would have been a disaster if I'd just flipped the device off in the above scenario. Instead, I flew the heli up into a higher hover, CENTERED THE CYCLIC STICK, and THEN turned it off. Never turn it off when you're not centered! It can be very dangerous, especially when close to the ground or when there are people anywhere around. Besides the possible radical jump it can make, you have to be mentally prepared to go from extremely coarse cyclic movement back to finesse mode when you flip that switch!

[jeff2215]

I turned it off to test how the heli would respond with it off in addition, I wasn't noticing much autopilot response with it on so I was flipping back and forth to see if there was a difference in how it flew with it on and off. Having the sticks centered wouldn't of helped me because when I turned it off, the ailerons were out of trim causing the heli to tip to the left badly. I tried to flip on back on but it was too late and I was more concerned about not causing a big crash. I guess my question is, do most people have a difference in how the heli is trimmed with it on and off? When you turn it off to land, I assume you don't trim the heli, but just give it proper stick to land it?

[crewchief]

I set the GRtI and GRtD both to 10% and it really helps to make the transition into and out of stabilization a lot more graceful. You can turn on the receiver and watch the AP2000i main screen to see how fast the device goes to preselected percentage. It takes about 2 seconds for it to phase in and phase out when I flip the Gear switch. As I said before, I use 50% authority.

Jeff, your question about trim - first you have to get it high enough to be clear of thermal clutter before you switch on or off. I usually do it around 40' off the ground. Also, try the settings for GRtI and GRtD I described. They wouldn't work for stunt pilots, but that's not our case. You should be in trim when you come out of stabilization. If you have to set a lot of roll trim to keep it in a high steady hover with stabilization activated, either the sensor is crooked or you need to set the level calibration. Also, don't use too high a percentage of authority at first.

[MarkWebber]

Setting the sensor position for the best untrimmed stabilization will minimize the amount of trim needed. This is best done in a wide open area. Not necessary if using the calibration feature, of course.