Do I need a governor for a gasser?

[litespeed]

I'm new to gasser heli's and just bought a Predator gasser. I'm trying to figure out what all I need to get it up and going. I've been a die-hard electric man to now but wanted a 90 size electric with out doing a conversion and long flight times, so hence the switch to gas!

So, is a governor recommended? I assume it is so what are the logical choices? Futaba GV-1 and ???

I would like to make my first flight actually my first flight and not my last!

Thanks to all,

Tom

[DebianDog]

I would say NO. I have a gov on my Predator gasser but it really runs just as well without it. You have more of a electric throttle curve anyway.

CSM is the other choice ;)

You will also need a Stator Gator if you want to run off the spark plug.

I'm new to gasser heli's and just bought a Predator gasser. I'm trying to figure out what all I need to get it up and going. I've been a die-hard electric man to now but wanted a 90 size electric with out doing a conversion and long flight times, so hence the switch to gas!

So, is a governor recommended? I assume it is so what are the logical choices? Futaba GV-1 and ???

I would like to make my first flight actually my first flight and not my last!

Thanks to all,

Tom

[rbort]

Depends whether you want to fly precision aerobatics or not. With no governor you will NEVER get the throttle curves to account for all situations and give you a constant rotor head rpm during 3D. With a governor its a realtime adjusting unit to keep the rotor speed as constant as possible. If you are a good 3D pilot you will notice the machine flies better and more accurate with a governor than not.

On the other hand if you are going to take off, hover around and putt putt around the sky like a sunday flier then you can probably get by without it. If price is not a factor, get one and have the better flying machine in your hands.

-=>Raja.

[DebianDog]

Thanks Raja. My setup is more AP/Sport.

[ClayK]

Depends whether you want to fly precision aerobatics or not. With no governor you will NEVER get the throttle curves to account for all situations and give you a constant rotor head rpm during 3D. With a governor its a realtime adjusting unit to keep the rotor speed as constant as possible. If you are a good 3D pilot you will notice the machine flies better and more accurate with a governor than not.

On the other hand if you are going to take off, hover around and putt putt around the sky like a sunday flier then you can probably get by without it. If price is not a factor, get one and have the better flying machine in your hands.

-=>Raja.
He had two questions really. The first was "Do I need a governor for a gasser?". The answer to that question is no, you don't. You don't need a governor for any helicopter. The second question was "Is a governor recommended?". The answer to that is yes. That answer, however, is tempered with the statement to get your tuning right first. Constant rotor head speed is NOT a requirement for 3D flight. I've seen plenty of top/good pilots fly a non-governed model just as well as a governed model. Is it a little bit easier and predictable with a governor? Short answer, yes. I've also seen good pilots fly outstanding flights with wood blades so read into that as you will.

I don't want to steer you away from a gasser, but there is a night and day difference between an electric and a gasser. I love my gasser, so don't think that I'm putting them down. There are significant weight differences between a gasser 90 and an electric 90. They fly different since you can "feel" the weight in the air.

With all that being said, look into a Stator Gator pickup and a GV-1. The setup is simple and recommended. There are users out there with CSM, but there have been reports of some issues with that combination. Long and short of it is this, a governor is recommended but not required and prior to engaging the governor you should get your needle settings/tuning right first. You should also have throttle curves as a backup in case the governor fails.

[litespeed]

He had two questions really. The first was "Do I need a governor for a gasser?". The answer to that question is no, you don't. You don't need a governor for any helicopter. The second question was "Is a governor recommended?". The answer to that is yes. That answer, however, is tempered with the statement to get your tuning right first. Constant rotor head speed is NOT a requirement for 3D flight. I've seen plenty of top/good pilots fly a non-governed model just as well as a governed model. Is it a little bit easier and predictable with a governor? Short answer, yes. I've also seen good pilots fly outstanding flights with wood blades so read into that as you will.

I don't want to steer you away from a gasser, but there is a night and day difference between an electric and a gasser. I love my gasser, so don't think that I'm putting them down. There are significant weight differences between a gasser 90 and an electric 90. They fly different since you can "feel" the weight in the air.

With all that being said, look into a Stator Gator pickup and a GV-1. The setup is simple and recommended. There are users out there with CSM, but there have been reports of some issues with that combination. Long and short of it is this, a governor is recommended but not required and prior to engaging the governor you should get your needle settings/tuning right first. You should also have throttle curves as a backup in case the governor fails.

That's what I was thinking. I think I'll prolly get the Stator Gator/GV-1 set up just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all the different views!

Tom

[rbort]

Thanks Raja. My setup is more AP/Sport.

Do you even still have your Predator gasser? I saw you with it last year at MHA but didn't see it fly and then this year I didn't see it at all. I thought you got out of gassers...but certainly like I said before if you are just hovering around doing easy flight or AP you certainly don't need a governor.

-=>Raja.

[DebianDog]

Do you even still have your Predator gasser? I saw you with it last year at MHA but didn't see it fly and then this year I didn't see it at all. I thought you got out of gassers...but certainly like I said before if you are just hovering around doing easy flight or AP you certainly don't need a governor.

-=>Raja.


No I still have it. Ran in to a little clutch issue that required a "specialists" help. I just got it back from Stator Gator a few weeks ago. :thumbup:

[bigrcr]

You do not need a governor at all and there is a very high probability that it will cause you problems when first learning the gas motor. If you do not know the governor system well, and especially if the motor is not set correctly you have a high chance of killing the motor.

With that being said, a governor can be a great help once the motor and machine are set-up. Avoid putting a governor on the machine to make things easier, they wont be.

I always advise pilots to purchase the governor (the Stator Gator is the best pick-up/sensing device..period) but put the governor back until they learn the fuel ratio, carb setting and break-in is complete or nearly so. Once this is done, go for it.

Make sure to use the throttle curves at first to set-up the machine. With carefull attention in set-up, the throttle curve can be set-up to control the motor as well as the governor does (some times better). When I fly, no-one can tell if I have the governor on, or off....The only give away is when I switch to idle-up 2 where the governor is set to 14,000 RPM.