Throttle Mixing - Flite Tip

Throttle mixing is something that can really improve your flying experience, but most people don't do it. 

Let's say you have a plane that flies great but has a few flaws, like with our Retro Pioneer which takes a nose dive whenever you chop the throttle. Well, throttle mixing can correct this issue! 

You may be thinking that throttle mixing is the same as trimming, but it's not. If you trimmed out a nose heavy plane on a glide your plane would then porpoise up every time you gave it throttle.  

Throttle mixing allows you to setup the adjustment to the elevator only when the throttle is reduced, so when you throttle up, the elevator would return back to it's original trim allowing the plane to fly correctly. 

Throttle mixing can also be setup to correct issues like involuntary banking caused from engine torque, which was the case with our E-flite Carbon-Z Scimitar.

You can also create compound mixes, tying your throttle to ailerons, rudders and elevators to effect multiple control adjustments at once.  At that point you may just want to go back and check the balance and basic setup of your RC plane. 

The problem with our Pioneer seems to be a thrust angle issue, because everything about the plane flew great but when you reduce the throttle, the plane would suddenly take a dive. 

So, we need to create a mix. The elevator automatically needs to compensate for during low throttle. So when the throttle is reduced it will have a bit of up-trim giving our plane a nice glide-slope and making it more pleasant to fly.

Another little tip: Put this mix on a switch so you can switch back to the original setup if needed. While making your mix adjustment, watch the plane to be sure the control surfaces are doing the movement you want.

After your mix is setup, take your plane up a few mistakes high and switch on your new mix and see how it handles.

Links to some of the itemsmentioned in this episode:

The Retro Series - Pioneer 1020mm EPO (PNF)

E-fliteCarbon-Z Scimitar

The Spektrum DX8

BalancingYour Plane

BalancingProps