October 2004 137
I HAVE AN apology to make. Several errors were printed in the
August 2004 column, and Duralite Batteries pointed them out to me.
The corrections did not make it into the column.
For a 7.4-volt pack, the finish-charge voltage is 8.4, the “Stop
Fly” voltage is 6.9, and running the battery down past 5.5 volts may
damage the pack. I apologize to Duralite Batteries and anyone I may
have confused for the error.
We’ve been having a rather rough stretch of weather during the past
couple of weeks. We’ve gotten more rain and more thunderstorms in
a shorter time than I can recall ever having. The flying sites are
rather soggy. I really feel for the fixed-wing pilots who are having a
tough time with this stuff. The grass is growing like crazy, and it’s
too wet for mowing. At least we can fly helicopters under those
conditions!
In the past season or so, a new device called the Throttle Jockey
has come onto the scene. It is “basically” similar in concept to the
Futaba Throttle Governor, but the similarity ends quickly. The
Throttle Jockey is less expensive, doesn’t seem prone to some of the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Model Avionics also makes the Auto Glow.
Model Avionics manufactures the Throttle Jockey Pro.
A close-up shows the Auto Glow installation. Throttle Jockey installation shows the Hall effect sensor.
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:26 am Page 137
138 MODEL AVIATION
failures that we’ve experienced in the past,
and seems to be catching on!
I’ve been working with Ray Stacy of
Performance Hobbies, who is my good
flying friend, to evaluate this device for the
column. I worked with him a bit on the
write-up, but he did the work so I’ll let him
take over here.
“I used to think a governor was a person
elected to run the state. I could never
understand how something like that would
ever benefit my helicopter flying. Recently,
thanks to the Throttle Jockey Pro from
Model Avionics, I have come around to a
new way of thinking.
“Paul Beard, owner of Model Avionics,
has developed a neat little box that installs
between your throttle servo and receiver.
This little 1-inch-square black box monitors
your engine rpm and compensates for the
additional load of climbouts and aerobatics
by increasing throttle when needed to
maintain engine rpm. It also decreases the throttle when the load is
light.
“This has worked out very well for my 8-year-old son Kyle. His
hands are too small to reach the idle-up switch. In the past, he would
overspeed the head when coming out of the air because he couldn’t
reach the flight-mode switch. The Throttle Jockey has solved that
problem. With the Throttle Jockey, once he takes off I switch him
into idle-up and he can complete his 3-D flight without ever
worrying about the head speed.
“The Throttle Jockey monitors engine rpm by using a Hall effect
sensor to detect a magnet that has been attached to the fan of your
engine. Raptor fans have a nice little recessed area on the fan to
facilitate magnet installation. A second magnet is included for fourstroke
and gasoline engines that run at a much slower rpm. The
Throttle Jockey with one magnet on the fan has an rpm range of 9K-
22K. With two magnets installed, the rpm range drops to 4.5K-11K.
“Once the Throttle Jockey is installed, you need to calibrate it via
the instructions so that the governor understands the servo’s range of
motion. A second lead is connected to a spare channel in your
receiver. This channel is used as a reference to determine what your
head speed will be. Raising or lowering your endpoint on the
reference channel will raise or lower your head speed.
“On my installation, I used ‘AUX 4,’ which lets me adjust the
head speed by turning the potentiometer on the transmitter. Model
Avionics has a nice calculator on its Web page for calculating the
initial setting of the reference endpoint number. For our Raptor 50,
the correct endpoint setting is 84. This gives us a head speed of
1,800.
“There is no problem if you do not have a spare auxiliary
channel. The Throttle Jockey has a mechanical potentiometer
adjustment as well. For setup purposes, the Throttle Jockey has an
LED indicator to let you know when the sensor detects the magnet
passing by. There is also an LED to let you know when the Throttle
Jockey is engaged.
“During setup, have your throttle as close to 100% travel as you
possibly can. I have found that the Throttle Jockey may not calibrate
properly if your throttle ATVs are set too high. I mentioned it to
Paul Beard and he is looking into it. Once the calibration is
complete, verify that the activation LED is on when the throttle stick
is higher than 25% throttle and the LED is off when the throttle
stick is lower than 25%.
“The Throttle Jockey kicks in at 25% of your throttle position. It
would be a good idea to make sure that your throttle curves for your
idle-up settings are all more than 25%. When spooling up in the
normal flight mode, once you are above 25% throttle, you can hear
the governor kick in and smoothly take your machine to the
designated engine rpm. It will stay there until your throttle curve
falls below 25% or your reference setting is set to 50% or less.
“Model Avionics recently came out with a new add-on device
Tom Fiddler’s Stator Gator throttle governor sensor for gasoline models.
available for the Throttle Jockey called the Auto Glow. The Auto
Glow is an electronic onboard glow-plug igniter and engine-boost
system. It operates as an accessory to the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. It features an automatic glow driver, it eliminates the
possibility of an unintentional high stick start, it improves the
engine’s idling reliability, and the boost function ignites the glow
plug when the rpm drops during a high-load maneuver.
“This device consists of a controller, a 2100 mAh Ni-Cd battery,
and a clip for your glow plug. The Auto Glow controller connects to
the Throttle Jockey AUX port, and the battery attaches to the glow
plug of your engine. Once the Throttle Jockey detects that you are
turning the engine over, it activates your glow plug for starting. If
you are trying to start the engine at high throttle, the Throttle Jockey
detects this and will not light the glow plug.
“Some earlier Throttle Jockey units have an older version of the
software and will activate your plug as soon as you turn the receiver
on. Mine has the original software, and this has not been a problem
for me. However, if you have one of the earlier Throttle Jockey Pros
and would like to have the software upgraded, Model Avionics will
do this for free. You can determine the software version by the text
on the Throttle Jockey label. Blue text is the older software; green
text signifies the later software.
“The boost function is activated by monitoring parameters such
as rpm and throttle commands from the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. The Auto Glow driver continually monitors the Throttle
Jockey Pro parameters in flight. If the rpm bogs excessively
because of a high rate of change in engine demand during a highload
maneuver, the glow driver will momentarily ignite the glow
plug proportionally.
Some of the bogging is caused by a sudden delivery of cold fuel
to the cylinder. The momentary glow-plug reignition will reheat the
cylinder, thus improving the engine’s ability to react to the change
in demand.
“During my testing of the Auto Glow, I was unable to notice
much of a performance change on the top end. This may be because
of the power-to-weight ratio of our Raptor 50 with O.S. 50 MP-II
setup. It’s difficult to bog a machine with this much power. Paul
Beard tells me that 60-size machines experience the biggest benefit
from the power-boost feature.
“In my opinion, the Auto Glow really shines for starting and
idle/acceleration. No need for a glow starter here! Just hit the starter
and go. I tend to run my idle on the rich side. It requires me to
feather the throttle until the engine clears out. The Auto Glow does
a nice job of smoothing out a rich idle and cleans up acceleration.
“I am on my fourth weekend of flying and have not had to
recharge the Auto Glow battery. A quick check showed that there is
no drain on the battery when the system is off. A charger does not
come with the Auto Glow. I used my Triton charger to bring the
Auto Glow battery up to snuff.
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:27 am Page 138
October 2004 139
“While surfing around on my favorite
helicopter forum, I came across a product
called the Stator Gator. The Stator Gator is a
governor sensor. This nifty little device is
manufactured by Tom Fiddler and lets you
use a Throttle Jockey governor on your
gasoline engines without having to epoxy a
magnet to your fan.
“The Stator Gator takes the place of the
Hall effect sensor and magnet by utilizing
the pulse from the coil of your engine and
turning it into a signal that your governor can
use. Cool! No magnet to lose. I highly
suggest contacting Tom for additional
information if you plan on using a governor
on your gas machine.
“During the last few months I have come
to appreciate having a governor onboard. We
found that during the stress of 3-D
maneuvers, the Throttle Jockey did a great
job of keeping the head speed steady. The
gyro certainly appreciates it! I was able to
increase the gyro gain on my son Kyle’s
Raptor just by smoothing out the head speed.
A governor should not be used in place of a
good throttle curve or to cure a bad-running
engine.
“I personally didn’t think governors were
necessary on my helicopters, but having used
one, I can say that they have really helped
out on my son’s machine. I must admit that
the Throttle Jockey and Auto Glow have
certainly made our lives easier.
“On a side note, customer service is very
important to me. It often determines where I
will spend my money next. Model Avionics,
Horizon Hobby, and RC Helis Plus get a big
star in this department. We were flying our
Raptor when the radio stopped responding.
The helicopter crashed into an ore bed,
where it spent the next two days under water.
“The reason for the crash was that the
receiver antenna had come out of the
receiver tube and wrapped around the head.
The overall length of the wire was reduced to
roughly 6 inches. All of the radio equipment,
including the Throttle Jockey, had quit
working.
“I sent the radio equipment off to
Horizon, the CSM SL560 Micro gyro off to
Len Sabato at RC Helis Plus, and the
Throttle Jockey to Model Avionics. Horizon
Hobby and RC Helis Plus repaired or
replaced my equipment at a very reasonable
cost with a one-week turnaround time!
“Model Avionics and Paul Beard went
one step further and sent me a new Throttle
Jockey! While talking with Paul Beard, he
mentioned that customer satisfaction is a top
priority for him. How refreshing! We need
more manufacturers like this.”
For more information about the Throttle
Jockey Pro governor and the Auto Glow, go
to www.modelavionics.com. For more
information about the Stator Gator, www.stat
orgator.com will get you what you need. For
more about the CSM Micro Gyro, go to
www.rchelisplus.com.
To learn more about Horizon Hobby’s
offerings, including the JR line of radios, go
to www.horizonhobby.com. Finally, for
more information about Thunder Tiger
Raptor helicopters, go to www.acehobby.co
m/acehobby.
All of this information should get
everyone thinking a bit. This is good stuff for
the newbies and the seasoned helicopter
pilots. It’s getting easier and easier for new
people to get into helicopter flying, as long
as they can get to the information. In the
good, old days, you had fixed-pitch
helicopters and, if you were really lucky, a
“mechanical gyro”! That anybody learned to
fly helicopters back then is amazing.
Speaking of getting information, a
couple of helicopter forums on the Internet
are www.runryder.com and www.helifr
eak.com. If you have a question, ask. You
will often get multiple opinions.
Remember to be careful about what you
read and believe. It’s like anything else on
the Web; some things are factual and some
things are opinion.
Pay attention to who replies on the
forums, and you’ll quickly learn whose ideas
you can trust and whose you’d better doublecheck.
If someone writes something that is
incorrect, most of the time they’ll hear about
it from the others in stereo. Many helpful
people frequent the forum sites, so you
should be able to get your answers.
That’s it for this month. Respect your
helicopter and it will respect you. MA
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:27 am Page 139
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/10
Page Numbers: 137,138,139
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/10
Page Numbers: 137,138,139
October 2004 137
I HAVE AN apology to make. Several errors were printed in the
August 2004 column, and Duralite Batteries pointed them out to me.
The corrections did not make it into the column.
For a 7.4-volt pack, the finish-charge voltage is 8.4, the “Stop
Fly” voltage is 6.9, and running the battery down past 5.5 volts may
damage the pack. I apologize to Duralite Batteries and anyone I may
have confused for the error.
We’ve been having a rather rough stretch of weather during the past
couple of weeks. We’ve gotten more rain and more thunderstorms in
a shorter time than I can recall ever having. The flying sites are
rather soggy. I really feel for the fixed-wing pilots who are having a
tough time with this stuff. The grass is growing like crazy, and it’s
too wet for mowing. At least we can fly helicopters under those
conditions!
In the past season or so, a new device called the Throttle Jockey
has come onto the scene. It is “basically” similar in concept to the
Futaba Throttle Governor, but the similarity ends quickly. The
Throttle Jockey is less expensive, doesn’t seem prone to some of the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Model Avionics also makes the Auto Glow.
Model Avionics manufactures the Throttle Jockey Pro.
A close-up shows the Auto Glow installation. Throttle Jockey installation shows the Hall effect sensor.
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:26 am Page 137
138 MODEL AVIATION
failures that we’ve experienced in the past,
and seems to be catching on!
I’ve been working with Ray Stacy of
Performance Hobbies, who is my good
flying friend, to evaluate this device for the
column. I worked with him a bit on the
write-up, but he did the work so I’ll let him
take over here.
“I used to think a governor was a person
elected to run the state. I could never
understand how something like that would
ever benefit my helicopter flying. Recently,
thanks to the Throttle Jockey Pro from
Model Avionics, I have come around to a
new way of thinking.
“Paul Beard, owner of Model Avionics,
has developed a neat little box that installs
between your throttle servo and receiver.
This little 1-inch-square black box monitors
your engine rpm and compensates for the
additional load of climbouts and aerobatics
by increasing throttle when needed to
maintain engine rpm. It also decreases the throttle when the load is
light.
“This has worked out very well for my 8-year-old son Kyle. His
hands are too small to reach the idle-up switch. In the past, he would
overspeed the head when coming out of the air because he couldn’t
reach the flight-mode switch. The Throttle Jockey has solved that
problem. With the Throttle Jockey, once he takes off I switch him
into idle-up and he can complete his 3-D flight without ever
worrying about the head speed.
“The Throttle Jockey monitors engine rpm by using a Hall effect
sensor to detect a magnet that has been attached to the fan of your
engine. Raptor fans have a nice little recessed area on the fan to
facilitate magnet installation. A second magnet is included for fourstroke
and gasoline engines that run at a much slower rpm. The
Throttle Jockey with one magnet on the fan has an rpm range of 9K-
22K. With two magnets installed, the rpm range drops to 4.5K-11K.
“Once the Throttle Jockey is installed, you need to calibrate it via
the instructions so that the governor understands the servo’s range of
motion. A second lead is connected to a spare channel in your
receiver. This channel is used as a reference to determine what your
head speed will be. Raising or lowering your endpoint on the
reference channel will raise or lower your head speed.
“On my installation, I used ‘AUX 4,’ which lets me adjust the
head speed by turning the potentiometer on the transmitter. Model
Avionics has a nice calculator on its Web page for calculating the
initial setting of the reference endpoint number. For our Raptor 50,
the correct endpoint setting is 84. This gives us a head speed of
1,800.
“There is no problem if you do not have a spare auxiliary
channel. The Throttle Jockey has a mechanical potentiometer
adjustment as well. For setup purposes, the Throttle Jockey has an
LED indicator to let you know when the sensor detects the magnet
passing by. There is also an LED to let you know when the Throttle
Jockey is engaged.
“During setup, have your throttle as close to 100% travel as you
possibly can. I have found that the Throttle Jockey may not calibrate
properly if your throttle ATVs are set too high. I mentioned it to
Paul Beard and he is looking into it. Once the calibration is
complete, verify that the activation LED is on when the throttle stick
is higher than 25% throttle and the LED is off when the throttle
stick is lower than 25%.
“The Throttle Jockey kicks in at 25% of your throttle position. It
would be a good idea to make sure that your throttle curves for your
idle-up settings are all more than 25%. When spooling up in the
normal flight mode, once you are above 25% throttle, you can hear
the governor kick in and smoothly take your machine to the
designated engine rpm. It will stay there until your throttle curve
falls below 25% or your reference setting is set to 50% or less.
“Model Avionics recently came out with a new add-on device
Tom Fiddler’s Stator Gator throttle governor sensor for gasoline models.
available for the Throttle Jockey called the Auto Glow. The Auto
Glow is an electronic onboard glow-plug igniter and engine-boost
system. It operates as an accessory to the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. It features an automatic glow driver, it eliminates the
possibility of an unintentional high stick start, it improves the
engine’s idling reliability, and the boost function ignites the glow
plug when the rpm drops during a high-load maneuver.
“This device consists of a controller, a 2100 mAh Ni-Cd battery,
and a clip for your glow plug. The Auto Glow controller connects to
the Throttle Jockey AUX port, and the battery attaches to the glow
plug of your engine. Once the Throttle Jockey detects that you are
turning the engine over, it activates your glow plug for starting. If
you are trying to start the engine at high throttle, the Throttle Jockey
detects this and will not light the glow plug.
“Some earlier Throttle Jockey units have an older version of the
software and will activate your plug as soon as you turn the receiver
on. Mine has the original software, and this has not been a problem
for me. However, if you have one of the earlier Throttle Jockey Pros
and would like to have the software upgraded, Model Avionics will
do this for free. You can determine the software version by the text
on the Throttle Jockey label. Blue text is the older software; green
text signifies the later software.
“The boost function is activated by monitoring parameters such
as rpm and throttle commands from the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. The Auto Glow driver continually monitors the Throttle
Jockey Pro parameters in flight. If the rpm bogs excessively
because of a high rate of change in engine demand during a highload
maneuver, the glow driver will momentarily ignite the glow
plug proportionally.
Some of the bogging is caused by a sudden delivery of cold fuel
to the cylinder. The momentary glow-plug reignition will reheat the
cylinder, thus improving the engine’s ability to react to the change
in demand.
“During my testing of the Auto Glow, I was unable to notice
much of a performance change on the top end. This may be because
of the power-to-weight ratio of our Raptor 50 with O.S. 50 MP-II
setup. It’s difficult to bog a machine with this much power. Paul
Beard tells me that 60-size machines experience the biggest benefit
from the power-boost feature.
“In my opinion, the Auto Glow really shines for starting and
idle/acceleration. No need for a glow starter here! Just hit the starter
and go. I tend to run my idle on the rich side. It requires me to
feather the throttle until the engine clears out. The Auto Glow does
a nice job of smoothing out a rich idle and cleans up acceleration.
“I am on my fourth weekend of flying and have not had to
recharge the Auto Glow battery. A quick check showed that there is
no drain on the battery when the system is off. A charger does not
come with the Auto Glow. I used my Triton charger to bring the
Auto Glow battery up to snuff.
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:27 am Page 138
October 2004 139
“While surfing around on my favorite
helicopter forum, I came across a product
called the Stator Gator. The Stator Gator is a
governor sensor. This nifty little device is
manufactured by Tom Fiddler and lets you
use a Throttle Jockey governor on your
gasoline engines without having to epoxy a
magnet to your fan.
“The Stator Gator takes the place of the
Hall effect sensor and magnet by utilizing
the pulse from the coil of your engine and
turning it into a signal that your governor can
use. Cool! No magnet to lose. I highly
suggest contacting Tom for additional
information if you plan on using a governor
on your gas machine.
“During the last few months I have come
to appreciate having a governor onboard. We
found that during the stress of 3-D
maneuvers, the Throttle Jockey did a great
job of keeping the head speed steady. The
gyro certainly appreciates it! I was able to
increase the gyro gain on my son Kyle’s
Raptor just by smoothing out the head speed.
A governor should not be used in place of a
good throttle curve or to cure a bad-running
engine.
“I personally didn’t think governors were
necessary on my helicopters, but having used
one, I can say that they have really helped
out on my son’s machine. I must admit that
the Throttle Jockey and Auto Glow have
certainly made our lives easier.
“On a side note, customer service is very
important to me. It often determines where I
will spend my money next. Model Avionics,
Horizon Hobby, and RC Helis Plus get a big
star in this department. We were flying our
Raptor when the radio stopped responding.
The helicopter crashed into an ore bed,
where it spent the next two days under water.
“The reason for the crash was that the
receiver antenna had come out of the
receiver tube and wrapped around the head.
The overall length of the wire was reduced to
roughly 6 inches. All of the radio equipment,
including the Throttle Jockey, had quit
working.
“I sent the radio equipment off to
Horizon, the CSM SL560 Micro gyro off to
Len Sabato at RC Helis Plus, and the
Throttle Jockey to Model Avionics. Horizon
Hobby and RC Helis Plus repaired or
replaced my equipment at a very reasonable
cost with a one-week turnaround time!
“Model Avionics and Paul Beard went
one step further and sent me a new Throttle
Jockey! While talking with Paul Beard, he
mentioned that customer satisfaction is a top
priority for him. How refreshing! We need
more manufacturers like this.”
For more information about the Throttle
Jockey Pro governor and the Auto Glow, go
to www.modelavionics.com. For more
information about the Stator Gator, www.stat
orgator.com will get you what you need. For
more about the CSM Micro Gyro, go to
www.rchelisplus.com.
To learn more about Horizon Hobby’s
offerings, including the JR line of radios, go
to www.horizonhobby.com. Finally, for
more information about Thunder Tiger
Raptor helicopters, go to www.acehobby.co
m/acehobby.
All of this information should get
everyone thinking a bit. This is good stuff for
the newbies and the seasoned helicopter
pilots. It’s getting easier and easier for new
people to get into helicopter flying, as long
as they can get to the information. In the
good, old days, you had fixed-pitch
helicopters and, if you were really lucky, a
“mechanical gyro”! That anybody learned to
fly helicopters back then is amazing.
Speaking of getting information, a
couple of helicopter forums on the Internet
are www.runryder.com and www.helifr
eak.com. If you have a question, ask. You
will often get multiple opinions.
Remember to be careful about what you
read and believe. It’s like anything else on
the Web; some things are factual and some
things are opinion.
Pay attention to who replies on the
forums, and you’ll quickly learn whose ideas
you can trust and whose you’d better doublecheck.
If someone writes something that is
incorrect, most of the time they’ll hear about
it from the others in stereo. Many helpful
people frequent the forum sites, so you
should be able to get your answers.
That’s it for this month. Respect your
helicopter and it will respect you. MA
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:27 am Page 139
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/10
Page Numbers: 137,138,139
October 2004 137
I HAVE AN apology to make. Several errors were printed in the
August 2004 column, and Duralite Batteries pointed them out to me.
The corrections did not make it into the column.
For a 7.4-volt pack, the finish-charge voltage is 8.4, the “Stop
Fly” voltage is 6.9, and running the battery down past 5.5 volts may
damage the pack. I apologize to Duralite Batteries and anyone I may
have confused for the error.
We’ve been having a rather rough stretch of weather during the past
couple of weeks. We’ve gotten more rain and more thunderstorms in
a shorter time than I can recall ever having. The flying sites are
rather soggy. I really feel for the fixed-wing pilots who are having a
tough time with this stuff. The grass is growing like crazy, and it’s
too wet for mowing. At least we can fly helicopters under those
conditions!
In the past season or so, a new device called the Throttle Jockey
has come onto the scene. It is “basically” similar in concept to the
Futaba Throttle Governor, but the similarity ends quickly. The
Throttle Jockey is less expensive, doesn’t seem prone to some of the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Model Avionics also makes the Auto Glow.
Model Avionics manufactures the Throttle Jockey Pro.
A close-up shows the Auto Glow installation. Throttle Jockey installation shows the Hall effect sensor.
10sig5.QXD 7/23/04 9:26 am Page 137
138 MODEL AVIATION
failures that we’ve experienced in the past,
and seems to be catching on!
I’ve been working with Ray Stacy of
Performance Hobbies, who is my good
flying friend, to evaluate this device for the
column. I worked with him a bit on the
write-up, but he did the work so I’ll let him
take over here.
“I used to think a governor was a person
elected to run the state. I could never
understand how something like that would
ever benefit my helicopter flying. Recently,
thanks to the Throttle Jockey Pro from
Model Avionics, I have come around to a
new way of thinking.
“Paul Beard, owner of Model Avionics,
has developed a neat little box that installs
between your throttle servo and receiver.
This little 1-inch-square black box monitors
your engine rpm and compensates for the
additional load of climbouts and aerobatics
by increasing throttle when needed to
maintain engine rpm. It also decreases the throttle when the load is
light.
“This has worked out very well for my 8-year-old son Kyle. His
hands are too small to reach the idle-up switch. In the past, he would
overspeed the head when coming out of the air because he couldn’t
reach the flight-mode switch. The Throttle Jockey has solved that
problem. With the Throttle Jockey, once he takes off I switch him
into idle-up and he can complete his 3-D flight without ever
worrying about the head speed.
“The Throttle Jockey monitors engine rpm by using a Hall effect
sensor to detect a magnet that has been attached to the fan of your
engine. Raptor fans have a nice little recessed area on the fan to
facilitate magnet installation. A second magnet is included for fourstroke
and gasoline engines that run at a much slower rpm. The
Throttle Jockey with one magnet on the fan has an rpm range of 9K-
22K. With two magnets installed, the rpm range drops to 4.5K-11K.
“Once the Throttle Jockey is installed, you need to calibrate it via
the instructions so that the governor understands the servo’s range of
motion. A second lead is connected to a spare channel in your
receiver. This channel is used as a reference to determine what your
head speed will be. Raising or lowering your endpoint on the
reference channel will raise or lower your head speed.
“On my installation, I used ‘AUX 4,’ which lets me adjust the
head speed by turning the potentiometer on the transmitter. Model
Avionics has a nice calculator on its Web page for calculating the
initial setting of the reference endpoint number. For our Raptor 50,
the correct endpoint setting is 84. This gives us a head speed of
1,800.
“There is no problem if you do not have a spare auxiliary
channel. The Throttle Jockey has a mechanical potentiometer
adjustment as well. For setup purposes, the Throttle Jockey has an
LED indicator to let you know when the sensor detects the magnet
passing by. There is also an LED to let you know when the Throttle
Jockey is engaged.
“During setup, have your throttle as close to 100% travel as you
possibly can. I have found that the Throttle Jockey may not calibrate
properly if your throttle ATVs are set too high. I mentioned it to
Paul Beard and he is looking into it. Once the calibration is
complete, verify that the activation LED is on when the throttle stick
is higher than 25% throttle and the LED is off when the throttle
stick is lower than 25%.
“The Throttle Jockey kicks in at 25% of your throttle position. It
would be a good idea to make sure that your throttle curves for your
idle-up settings are all more than 25%. When spooling up in the
normal flight mode, once you are above 25% throttle, you can hear
the governor kick in and smoothly take your machine to the
designated engine rpm. It will stay there until your throttle curve
falls below 25% or your reference setting is set to 50% or less.
“Model Avionics recently came out with a new add-on device
Tom Fiddler’s Stator Gator throttle governor sensor for gasoline models.
available for the Throttle Jockey called the Auto Glow. The Auto
Glow is an electronic onboard glow-plug igniter and engine-boost
system. It operates as an accessory to the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. It features an automatic glow driver, it eliminates the
possibility of an unintentional high stick start, it improves the
engine’s idling reliability, and the boost function ignites the glow
plug when the rpm drops during a high-load maneuver.
“This device consists of a controller, a 2100 mAh Ni-Cd battery,
and a clip for your glow plug. The Auto Glow controller connects to
the Throttle Jockey AUX port, and the battery attaches to the glow
plug of your engine. Once the Throttle Jockey detects that you are
turning the engine over, it activates your glow plug for starting. If
you are trying to start the engine at high throttle, the Throttle Jockey
detects this and will not light the glow plug.
“Some earlier Throttle Jockey units have an older version of the
software and will activate your plug as soon as you turn the receiver
on. Mine has the original software, and this has not been a problem
for me. However, if you have one of the earlier Throttle Jockey Pros
and would like to have the software upgraded, Model Avionics will
do this for free. You can determine the software version by the text
on the Throttle Jockey label. Blue text is the older software; green
text signifies the later software.
“The boost function is activated by monitoring parameters such
as rpm and throttle commands from the Throttle Jockey Pro
governor. The Auto Glow driver continually monitors the Throttle
Jockey Pro parameters in flight. If the rpm bogs excessively
because of a high rate of change in engine demand during a highload
maneuver, the glow driver will momentarily ignite the glow
plug proportionally.
Some of the bogging is caused by a sudden delivery of cold fuel
to the cylinder. The momentary glow-plug reignition will reheat the
cylinder, thus improving the engine’s ability to react to the change
in demand.
“During my testing of the Auto Glow, I was unable to notice
much of a performance change on the top end. This may be because
of the power-to-weight ratio of our Raptor 50 with O.S. 50 MP-II
setup. It’s difficult to bog a machine with this much power. Paul
Beard tells me that 60-size machines experience the biggest benefit
from the power-boost feature.
“In my opinion, the Auto Glow really shines for starting and
idle/acceleration. No need for a glow starter here! Just hit the starter
and go. I tend to run my idle on the rich side. It requires me to
feather the throttle until the engine clears out. The Auto Glow does
a nice job of smoothing out a rich idle and cleans up acceleration.
“I am on my fourth weekend of flying and have not had to
recharge the Auto Glow battery. A quick check showed that there is
no drain on the battery when the system is off. A charger does not
come with the Auto Glow. I used my Triton charger to bring the
Auto Glow battery up to snuff.
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October 2004 139
“While surfing around on my favorite
helicopter forum, I came across a product
called the Stator Gator. The Stator Gator is a
governor sensor. This nifty little device is
manufactured by Tom Fiddler and lets you
use a Throttle Jockey governor on your
gasoline engines without having to epoxy a
magnet to your fan.
“The Stator Gator takes the place of the
Hall effect sensor and magnet by utilizing
the pulse from the coil of your engine and
turning it into a signal that your governor can
use. Cool! No magnet to lose. I highly
suggest contacting Tom for additional
information if you plan on using a governor
on your gas machine.
“During the last few months I have come
to appreciate having a governor onboard. We
found that during the stress of 3-D
maneuvers, the Throttle Jockey did a great
job of keeping the head speed steady. The
gyro certainly appreciates it! I was able to
increase the gyro gain on my son Kyle’s
Raptor just by smoothing out the head speed.
A governor should not be used in place of a
good throttle curve or to cure a bad-running
engine.
“I personally didn’t think governors were
necessary on my helicopters, but having used
one, I can say that they have really helped
out on my son’s machine. I must admit that
the Throttle Jockey and Auto Glow have
certainly made our lives easier.
“On a side note, customer service is very
important to me. It often determines where I
will spend my money next. Model Avionics,
Horizon Hobby, and RC Helis Plus get a big
star in this department. We were flying our
Raptor when the radio stopped responding.
The helicopter crashed into an ore bed,
where it spent the next two days under water.
“The reason for the crash was that the
receiver antenna had come out of the
receiver tube and wrapped around the head.
The overall length of the wire was reduced to
roughly 6 inches. All of the radio equipment,
including the Throttle Jockey, had quit
working.
“I sent the radio equipment off to
Horizon, the CSM SL560 Micro gyro off to
Len Sabato at RC Helis Plus, and the
Throttle Jockey to Model Avionics. Horizon
Hobby and RC Helis Plus repaired or
replaced my equipment at a very reasonable
cost with a one-week turnaround time!
“Model Avionics and Paul Beard went
one step further and sent me a new Throttle
Jockey! While talking with Paul Beard, he
mentioned that customer satisfaction is a top
priority for him. How refreshing! We need
more manufacturers like this.”
For more information about the Throttle
Jockey Pro governor and the Auto Glow, go
to www.modelavionics.com. For more
information about the Stator Gator, www.stat
orgator.com will get you what you need. For
more about the CSM Micro Gyro, go to
www.rchelisplus.com.
To learn more about Horizon Hobby’s
offerings, including the JR line of radios, go
to www.horizonhobby.com. Finally, for
more information about Thunder Tiger
Raptor helicopters, go to www.acehobby.co
m/acehobby.
All of this information should get
everyone thinking a bit. This is good stuff for
the newbies and the seasoned helicopter
pilots. It’s getting easier and easier for new
people to get into helicopter flying, as long
as they can get to the information. In the
good, old days, you had fixed-pitch
helicopters and, if you were really lucky, a
“mechanical gyro”! That anybody learned to
fly helicopters back then is amazing.
Speaking of getting information, a
couple of helicopter forums on the Internet
are www.runryder.com and www.helifr
eak.com. If you have a question, ask. You
will often get multiple opinions.
Remember to be careful about what you
read and believe. It’s like anything else on
the Web; some things are factual and some
things are opinion.
Pay attention to who replies on the
forums, and you’ll quickly learn whose ideas
you can trust and whose you’d better doublecheck.
If someone writes something that is
incorrect, most of the time they’ll hear about
it from the others in stereo. Many helpful
people frequent the forum sites, so you
should be able to get your answers.
That’s it for this month. Respect your
helicopter and it will respect you. MA
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