Follow the action on the FT Forum (Andre's Sukhoi SU-29MM)
Back in September my family got together and purchased me a Park Zone Sukhoi SU-29MM.
An incredible plane for someone who is interested in learning to fly 3D aerobatics.
Have a listen the the Flite Test After Hours Podcast where Chris and friends discuss the plane.
042 ParkZone Sukhoi 29MM Discussion.
I was very excited to fly the Sukhoi but there was 1 problem. I do not own a Spektrum radio.
Normally this would be a game stopper but I fly with a Turnigy 9X 9Ch Transmitter which can accept JR style transmitter modules.
Rather then get a whole new radio I was able to purchased a OrangeRX DSMX/DSM2 Compatible 2.4Ghz Transmitter Module (JR/Turnigy compatible). Note Swapping the module does require some changes to the stock antenna setup.
Setting Up The Radio
On my maiden flight I'd actually inverted the flight mode selection and panic mode channel settings.
This caused the plane to be stuck in 3D mode meaning I had to fly a little slow to avoid damaging the control surfaces.
After some careful reading and testing I was able to figure out which channel to assign the 3 way switch and what value to set each mode with.
Channel 5 is for the 3 way switch. This controls the 3 flight modes.
Stagility Mode: Position 0 has a value of 85/Full on ID0.
3D Mode: Position 1 has a value of 100/Half on ID1.
Precision Mode: Position 2 has a value of 0/Full on ID2.
If you are running a similar setup I would be curious to know if your values are like mine.
I would have expect 0,50 & 100 to work but clearly not.
Panic Recovery Mode: Activated by the timer switch assigned to channel 6 with a value of 71/Full.
Bench Testing The Modes.
In order to engage the AS3X Safe technology you need to run the motor up for a few seconds.
Be Careful! There is a lot of power and it is indeed a large propeller.
Run the motor for a second or two and then lock the throttle control.
You can then safely test all 3 modes on the bench.
Stagility Mode: If you simple tip the plane onto its nose the rudder will respond attempting to correct the plane.
3D & Precision Modes: In 3D mode you will see the biggest throws on the control surfaces this is the key difference between 3D and precision. 3D has large movements while percision is smaller.
While in 3D mode go full lock on the ailerons then switch over to precision mode with low rates.
You will see all the control surfaces will set down to a lower positions and actually respond slower/smoother.
Again tip the nose over or hold the plane on it’s side but this time engage the Panic Mode trigger.
The control surfaces will all react attempting to right the plane.
I followed the manual when setting up my high and low rates.
Throttle Control:
Remember Spektrum assign channel 1 to the throttle control.
Be mindful of this and remember to move your throttle lock over as well.
Summary:
There you go. You can enjoy almost any planes which require DSMX/DSM2 with a simple $30 module.
It does take a little work to get the settings sorted but once you’ve figure that out the sky is yours.
Hope you enjoyed this article.
Andre
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Thanks bud ;)
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Vastly better os for the radio.
https://code.google.com/p/er9x/
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http://youtu.be/fW0hFJjamf8
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Moving on from the old Turnigy 9x to a new Taranis, how would you translate the 3-position MODE switch setting for a Taranis setup with the latest OpenTX 2.0 installed?
I was thinking of using the 'Special Functions' Tab for assigning each switch position an "Override CH5" with the proper value for each mode.
However, the override parameter value is set between -100% to 100% while in your tutorial guide you are referring to values as "85/Full", "70/Full" etc.
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Got the 3 way to work but it was again like the 9X not what you would think.
I'll check this evening and let you know what I did use but it just a case of MAX and different weight ranges.
I know I followed the same routine of putting the plane on it's nose and going through the motions of testing the functions.
At least with the new radio it calls out the settings.
Switch up = Precision, switch mid = 3D and switch down = Stagility mode.
Trigger = Panic recovery mode.
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Channel 5
Precision Mode = -85Max
3D Mode = 0 Max
Stagility Mode = 85 Max
Channel 6
Panic Mode = 71 Max
Hope that helps.
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That's a time saver and takes away a lot of the mode setting uncertainty before I maiden the SU-29MM.
Good timing too, since I just heard on the FTAH podcast you just switched your radio from the 9X to the Taranis :)
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Yes there is a whole forum post on the Taranis Experience.
http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?18811-Andre-Gets-A-Taranis
But so far I'm liking the radio a lot.
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I had problems with aileron in 9x. module don't work correct and channel 1 moves automatic without comand bkoen an airplane. I buy 9xr trying to use orange module with spektrum receivers. I try to fly with two airplanes nad booth stop motor in flight , turn off radio and loose control because module has the same problem in channel 1. I find many foruns saing about problems in channels with orange module. Hobbyking finish my ask without none solution...
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If the motor shut off in flight that means you had a receiver issue and that caused the ESC to cycle.
If I am on the wrong DSMX mode with my UMX planes the motor will pulse as well but you might have a defective module as well. Hard to tell.
Andre.
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I followed your instructions in two transmitters and in both I've the same problem: insufficient and inconsistent throttle - you can see the video here: https://goo.gl/photos/44t5yxz14zymPGer5
by the way the motor sounds is enough to understand something is wrong :-(
I've the same problem in both transmitters: Turnigy 9x and 9RX running ER9X and ER9XSky using and OrangeRX DSMX/DSM2 v1.2 with an Horizon Hobby AS3X P51D UMX.
Everything else works very well, but the throttle.
The batteries are 2S Lipos with 280mah from e-flite and are full charged.
I know the motor can go full throttle consistently because sometimes if I disconnect the radio before the plane the motor revs up for a few seconds. (strange)
Do you have any suggestion before I start opening the plane? :-)
Best regards,
Pedro Viana
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With mine I've seen this before if I'm set the wrong DSMX.
It sort of binds but its pulses the throttle like you are showing.
What ORX module are you using?
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It binds in auto mode (the led constantly on).
I will try to bind using one of the other 2 modes - wich do you recomend? DSMX or DSM2?
Best regards,
Pedro Viana
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I've successfully binded the transmitter using DSMX mode instead of auto ao now the throttle is working well :-D thanks for the great tip!
... in between must I've change something and the rest of the controls are little unresponsive. Nothing some fine tunning will not work.
Best regards,
Pedro Viana
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