Hi guys, I'm new to all this and need some help. My question is to know whether it is possible to operate an R/C aircraft with a Joystick (as you would in e.g. MS flight simulator) or must it be a conventional R/C controller.RegardsMoe
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Moe
Forget about autopilots and cameras for a while, prtend they don't exist!
In the meantime, buy yourself a decent quality Transmitter with at least 6 channels, a flight simulator that is compatible with your transmitter and PC and start simulating flight with RC! Then, when your eyes can take no more of the computer screen, get yourself an ARTF Piper Cub ( around 72" ) build it and get some hours FLYING in!
Then, when you are happy with your flying skills, you can begin to thing about other things
at first something easy to learn how to fly, then defiantly an autopilot, camera etc. I've understood that in order to use the PCx you will need to have a controller with a trainer , and everyone is telling me that the easystar is a good option for a beginner aircraft but it doesn't come with a controller so id rather buy a good controller so when I upgrade to another aircraft i can still be able to use it.
The following is the link I've checked out regarding easystar http://www.hobby-lobby.com/easystar.htm
I've never (yet) had a problem flying with the PCTx, there is some latency but for normal flying its ok, you can't do 3D heli stuff with it. At the field the PCTx plugs into my JR9303 which is being held by my 19 year old 3d heli pilot son (Great Backup) so if anything does lock up he can take immediate control of the plane and save it. We have about 50hrs with it with no problems.
I use the PCTx and it works well. I've flown Heli's with it too. I would stay away from trying to reverse the controls, as the plane is coming in to land there is not much room for error, as the plane flys past you you would need to reverse the controls again. Thats alot going on with the plane at a low altitude. When I'm facing the plane and its coming at me I just remember to move the control towards the low wing and when it passes by then its back to normal. If you reverse the control and make a mistake on landing you probably won't have time to recover before it crashes. If you can find someone to buddy box with you it dosn't take to long to get yourself to the point you can fly with the plane going away or coming towards you.
I would have to back up what Thomas and Garry Have said.
The PCTx is you best choice but it is only going to add control latency, make your system more complex (and therefore more prone to failure) -especially if you are planning to use it on an Aircraft.
If your trusty laptop freezes or decides to run a virus scan while you are trying to fly your aircraft, the chances are your going to crash...
Thomas J Coyle III Thank you for your help really appreciated. I just wish that some of the other people here would have been as helpful as you I don't quite understand the need to mock someone specially if they say that they are new to this stuff and would like some help, its not that I have forced anyone to help or they must have a say. If a question is "Silly" then dont answer it no need to show off that you know better than me...
Other than the looking cool factor, I'm struggling to understand why this is a good plan, is it not another fail point??
I could see the point if you were feeding information from say Flight Sim, because then you could set up the FS autopilot to fly a route and watch the aircraft fly although it would be fraught with issues.
What about a converter to plug a PC joystick into the trainer port, if really the effect you want is looking like you have a multi million dollar control system rather than an RC transmitter ;-)
A good place to start for free training is a search for FMS or flying model simulator, its a free RC sim and you will soon iron out the direction problems with it. You can even purchase very low cost dummy transmitters that plug in via USB. That will get your muscle memory working. Time spent on a sim, might just save you thousands of dollars in bent aircraft. That said the Easystar is so easy to fly if you have it built correctly out of the box that you could just leap in.
I wonder why nobody has offered an Easystar and transmitter package for noobs on here, I would have thought it would be good for vendors.
Replies
Forget about autopilots and cameras for a while, prtend they don't exist!
In the meantime, buy yourself a decent quality Transmitter with at least 6 channels, a flight simulator that is compatible with your transmitter and PC and start simulating flight with RC! Then, when your eyes can take no more of the computer screen, get yourself an ARTF Piper Cub ( around 72" ) build it and get some hours FLYING in!
Then, when you are happy with your flying skills, you can begin to thing about other things
The following is the link I've checked out regarding easystar
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/easystar.htm
Doug
I use the PCTx and it works well. I've flown Heli's with it too. I would stay away from trying to reverse the controls, as the plane is coming in to land there is not much room for error, as the plane flys past you you would need to reverse the controls again. Thats alot going on with the plane at a low altitude. When I'm facing the plane and its coming at me I just remember to move the control towards the low wing and when it passes by then its back to normal. If you reverse the control and make a mistake on landing you probably won't have time to recover before it crashes. If you can find someone to buddy box with you it dosn't take to long to get yourself to the point you can fly with the plane going away or coming towards you.
Doug
The PCTx is you best choice but it is only going to add control latency, make your system more complex (and therefore more prone to failure) -especially if you are planning to use it on an Aircraft.
If your trusty laptop freezes or decides to run a virus scan while you are trying to fly your aircraft, the chances are your going to crash...
anyways cheers for the advice Thomas.
I could see the point if you were feeding information from say Flight Sim, because then you could set up the FS autopilot to fly a route and watch the aircraft fly although it would be fraught with issues.
What about a converter to plug a PC joystick into the trainer port, if really the effect you want is looking like you have a multi million dollar control system rather than an RC transmitter ;-)
A good place to start for free training is a search for FMS or flying model simulator, its a free RC sim and you will soon iron out the direction problems with it. You can even purchase very low cost dummy transmitters that plug in via USB. That will get your muscle memory working. Time spent on a sim, might just save you thousands of dollars in bent aircraft. That said the Easystar is so easy to fly if you have it built correctly out of the box that you could just leap in.
I wonder why nobody has offered an Easystar and transmitter package for noobs on here, I would have thought it would be good for vendors.
http://www.endurance-rc.com/servocommander.html