setting tail to zero pitch

[nickyd]

Following the instructions, i should set the servo to 90degrees,then set tail to zero pitch during calibration.

Zero pitch on my helis tail has a large offset to one side on the slider.

This consequently gives much more servo travel in one direction compared to the other , which results in my setup values giving 95 one way and 135 the other.

In my helis case, it would seem more logical to set the midpoint of the tail slider rather than zero pitch, in order to have even servo travel in each direction.

Maybe my heli is an unusual case with these attributes, but what do you guys think/ recommend please.

cheers....

[psylence519]

On my X5 and Goblin I set the servo to 90deg, and the tail slider to 90deg. This gave me fairly even throw on the servo, and so for I haven't seen any blowouts or other issues.

I am paying close attention, since these are the first handful of flights on these helis and I too read that it should be setup 0deg.

[gitbse]

Nick, there's a slight miss you have there. I did it at first too. You don't set the tail blades to 0 pitch, you set the tail slider arm to 90 degrees. Took me a few setups to realize that's what the wizard says, rather than blades at 0.

It won't do any harm, but it may show up here and there in flight.

[anthony1]

according to the setup videos in the sticky you set the tail blades to zero pitch, it is even demonstrated in the video so I would say you have it set correctly, I don't think the point of the setup is to get even movement of the pitch slider I think its more to tell the sk unit where zero pitch is, but I could be wrong

[nickyd]

Cheers guys.

There seems to be conflicting understanding or information with either zero degrees pitch or 90 degree tail slider then.
so far, i personally have only seen zero degrees pitch documented.

[gitbse]

I could be wrong, it's been awhile since I've done a setup. I know it was one or the other, and I did it wrong the first couple of times. I'll check it again to make sure.

[tfrotor]

I don't think ui have ever had a tail setup that the left & right travels were the same
Imay not be correct but i think the tail needs more travel in the deriction that opposes the main rotor,I don't think i'm explaining this the right way.clock wise main rotor rortation the heli itself wants to turn counter clockwise so u need more travel to yaw
to the right than to the left.I think that is said the right way.but back to ur setup
I would set it up per the manual and i always fold the blades over till they touch eachother that is 0* turn on tx, center servo then adjust my tailrotor push rod to whatever that distance is then let skookum know my travel on L & R and if the travel
fields turn yellow or red,then move the ball link further out on the servo horn until the color stays white

[kachur779]

I set my servo to 90 then my blades to 0 ,my slider usually ends up being at 90

[nickyd]

Originally Posted by kachur779

I set my servo to 90 then my blades to 0 ,my slider usually ends up being at 90

Does that mean you have even travel on each side then?


I really want to know if my 135- 95 figures are acceptable or should i centre a little more on the sliser rather than going for zero pitch.
it just doesnt look right with the servo working much more in one direction.

[Groucho_]

This is the only way it should be done:

1: Set your tail servo horn to 90 degrees.

2: Set your tail slider dead centre. (Use callipers if you have them) - Now you have a perfect mechanical setup and equal travel on both sides of pitch.

3: Use the SK-Software to set tail centre at zero pitch. - The SK-unit just wants to know where zero pitch is. You do this by folding the tail blades, and adjusting the tail centre value in the SK software until they are on the same plane. You only need to eyeball this.

[nickyd]

Thanks Groucho. That sounds logical.

I had been missing step 2. I will check, but I think this information (step 2) is missing in the setup guide.

cheers...

[anthony1]

mine is also around the same figures that you have ,and mine flies fine

[anthony1]

sorry to disagree groucho but the video from skookum says to set the servo to 90 with the software then adjust the blades to zero pitch mechanically by adjusting the length of the pushrod, my slider is not in the middle but I have zero degrees pitch in the blades, then set the endpoints in the software, this is the way I've done it on both my heli and have had no problems, rotational rates in both directions are the same,

[Groucho_]

Anthony, that video is old.

The method I detailed here was discussed with Art.

[anthony1]

then accept my appology, still haven't seen it documented here though , could you explain in a bit more detail how you get the pitch at zero pitch and the slider in the middle, its not possible on my heli(furion 450) , do you set the servo to 90 and the pitch slider to 90 with power off then use the software to zero the blades? right now i have the servo horn at 90 (using the software) and the blades at zero but the slider is off to one side, would it be better to do it the way you describe (actually does sound more logical)? please don't take this as being argumentative i genuinely want to know

[Groucho_]

Originally Posted by anthony1

then accept my appology, still haven't seen it documented here though , could you explain in a bit more detail how you get the pitch at zero pitch and the slider in the middle, its not possible on my heli(furion 450) , do you set the servo to 90 and the pitch slider to 90 with power off then use the software to zero the blades? right now i have the servo horn at 90 (using the software) and the blades at zero but the slider is off to one side, would it be better to do it the way you describe (actually does sound more logical)? please don't take this as being argumentative i genuinely want to know

Don't be silly - No apologies needed...

It's true, this is not documented anywhere yet it would seem.

You will not have the slider in the centre while the blades at zero pitch unless your tail is designed that way.

The method you just mentioned is almost exactly correct.

Have the servo arm as close to 90 degrees as possible without or without trims - it depends on how accurate you want to be - (You'll need battery power and the SK software to do this)

Then while still connected to the SK software, adjust the length of your tail pushrod to centre the tail slider.

Now you have a centered slider and a centered tail servo.

If your helis tail is designed to have zero pitch at tail slider centered, then you're set.

If not, as with all my helis, use the SK-Software and adjust the tail centre value till the blades are at zero pitch.

When your pitch is zero now, the slider WILL be off to one side, since the tail would have been designed this way.

Obviously, also set your tail end points, which should turn out to be almost equal since you have a mechanically neutral setup.

That's about it...

[dpelletier]

Interesting thread... I remember things getting somewhat heated in the past about this very thing... My helis are setup the "old" way as described in the video and in the setup wizard.

Is the new way going to be dictated in the software?

What would be the advantage/disadvantage if any between the "old" way and the "new" way as described in this thread?

I do have one comment about the "new" way... if you use the SK soft tail center to 90 your servo and then use the tail center again to find 0 pitch, then your not mechanically at servo 90 anymore.

[DaveHolland]

My 700 tail acted funny when I set center to 0 pitch. I set center for center of the slider and now my tail does not drift and I have a few degrees of pitch at "center."

[Groucho_]

Originally Posted by dpelletier

I do have one comment about the "new" way... if you use the SK soft tail center to 90 your servo and then use the tail center again to find 0 pitch, then your not mechanically at servo 90 anymore.

It actually still remains mechanically centred.

That is to say, that if you had to power off your system, and manually rotate your tail servo arm to 90 degrees, the tail pitch slider would still be centred.

You only use the trimming in the SK-setup, to keep the servo arm at 90 degrees while you adjust your pushrod length so as to have a centred tail slider.

What you do afterwards with the trims doesn't matter mechanically.

Originally Posted by destroyerbmx

My 700 tail acted funny when I set center to 0 pitch. I set center for center of the slider and now my tail does not drift and I have a few degrees of pitch at "center."

I had my TDR setup exactly as you describe, and it flew fine for me too.

I only changed to the Skookum way of zero pitch at tail centre value in setup software, because Art specifically told me that the SK-720 likes to know where zero pitch is.

Having flown with both setups, I cannot see any difference. However that may well be due to my flying skills. Someone who is more proficient that I am, or flies harder or maybe even differently, could very well notice the difference if indeed there is any.

[nickyd]

This has been really informative info.

Thanks to Groucho for the new procedure. Hopefully Sk will change the instructions in the setup gui on the next software release.

In the meantime I would suggest someone adds this info to the sticky where the tail setup video is posted. Do we need to pm the author of the setup video sticky to get this done?

Cheers....