Also included in this column:
• Indoor venues
HI, EVERYONE. The good news is that spring begins the month of
this issue’s cover date. March traditionally kicks off the outdoor flying
season here in the Midwest. The early-spring weather is unpredictable,
and warmer temperatures are often accompanied by gusty winds.
Early in your flying career, wind tends to be bothersome. Later,
after you mature as a pilot, you adjust your flying to maintain
positioning while compensating for the effects of the wind.
Pod-and-boom helicopters are not affected as much by wind; their slimmer profiles help cut
through the air. On the other hand, larger Scale models are tricky to fly when the air is
buffeting them about.
HeliCommand Stabilizer: Matt Brown joins us to share information
about a fancy new stabilization unit that works for both Scale and 3-D
helicopters. He worked with Kerry Muncy on the Indy Apache Scale
project, and instability in windy conditions became a problem while
testing the large model. Matt was looking for something that could
electronically stabilize the machine.
During a trip to the E-Fest event in Champaign, Illinois, Matt met
Henry Jezek and Brian Butts from MS Composit, who had just
released a new gyro-based helicopter stabilizer called
“HeliCommand.” I will let him tell the rest of the story.
“My name is Matt Brown, and I have worked closely with Kerry
Muncy over the last few years to bring the Apache to market. We both
knew the large helicopter needed something to stabilize it during
flight in windy conditions. I was excited to meet the guys from MS
Composit, and try out their HeliCommand stabilizer.
“Henry and Brian have been very helpful during the integration of
the HeliCommand system. It is a
fairly small, two-piece unit
consisting of an interface board
and the processor/camera/gyro
module.
“The HeliCommand is
available with four levels of
programming. The first three are
for the more conventional flybar
type helicopters, and the fourth
mode is called Rigid. It is for
flybarless, or ‘rigid rotor’
helicopters.
“The HeliCommand is
marketed as a ‘flight stabilization’
system as well as a helicopter
training aid. It consists of three
heading-hold gyros and a camera
all feeding data to a flight control
computer that controls the
helicopter based on the feedback from the
sensors, biased by the commands given by
the transmitter and receiver.
“During setup, the flight computer
‘learns’ the correct responses for each flight
control. This allows the system to adapt itself
to virtually any type of collective/cyclic
system. On the Apache, it uses standard 120°
CCPM and it learned it very easily. It can just
as easily be setup on helicopters with
conventional mechanical mixing, or 140°
CCPM, or even four servo 90° CCPM.
“After purchasing the unit, Kerry went to
visit expert Scale builder/pilot, Darrel
Sprayberry, to work together on a setup for
Kerry’s test bed Apache. Due to time and
weather issues, they never got a chance to test
fly it.
“A month or so later, Kerry and I attended
the Huntsville Helicopter event. We had not
yet flight-tested the HeliCommand, and
Kerry was very anxious to see how it would
do. We went through the setup procedure to
make sure everything was responding
properly and took a guess at where to set the
gain of the system.
“Within a minute, or so, after lifting off,
Kerry knew this was the way to go. He
landed and we adjusted the gain down a few
points to settle the helicopter down a little.
Too much gain on the HeliCommand is much
like too much gain on a tail gyro.
“He flew out the rest of the flight while
observing the reactions of the HeliCommand.
While we only had about 10 mph winds, the
HeliCommand easily maintained a solid
hands-off hover for as long as desired. The
helicopter did have a different ‘feel’ in flight
but it still did whatever Kerry told it to do.
We later test flew the helicopter with 15-20
mph winds and the HeliCommand shined
through again. It made the helicopter as
comfortable to fly in wind as if the conditions
were calm.
“The biggest hurdle we had to overcome
revolved around using it in the Rigid
(flybarless) mode. Rigid mode could only be
activated via software that had to be
purchased separately. Kerry had bought it
before he went to visit Darrel.
“Darrel installed it on his PC but ran into
a minor problem. The software comes with a
cable to communicate with the
HeliCommand module but it is a serial cable.
Neither Darrel’s PC nor any of mine are
equipped with serial ports. Most all PCs these
days are primarily USB. He and Kerry finally
found a USB-serial adapter and got it hooked
up and talking to the HC module.
“The software does provide many finetuning
adjustments that you can use to tailor
the system to your specific helicopter. It also
allows the user to save a setup for quick and
easy reloading into the system. This comes in
pretty handy while fine-tuning.
“Once we started flying the helicopter on
a regular basis, we would make adjustments
to the HeliCommand system from time to
time. If Kerry didn’t like the effect of the
latest adjustment, it was a simple matter to
revert back to the previously saved settings. It
was not long before Kerry really liked the
feel in-flight, and it had excellent stabilizing
influence over unwanted weather effects.
“I recently installed and setup another
HeliCommand system in another Apache. I
copied Kerry’s programming straight into the
customer’s helicopter, made a few
adjustments for his mechanics, which was a
four servo CCPM setup, and he was ready to
go. He reported back that his Apache was
much smoother and easier to fly than ever
before.
“We still tinker from time to time on the
fine-tuning, but it is working so close to
perfect, we almost always go back to our
main saved setup. We have not tried to use
the system in a helicopter with a flybar but I
keep thinking one of these days I’ll hang it on
my T-Rex 450 just to see how it does in its
other programming modes.
“The HeliCommand is reported to be
capable of righting a helicopter for a
disoriented beginner pilot. It is also capable
of inverted hovering. That could be a good
assistant for the RC pilot trying to learn some
of the more advanced aerobatics.
“At a street price of $550, the
HeliCommand is not going to be for
everyone, but when it is part of the control
system on a valuable machine it provides
some priceless insurance. Scale pilots and
beginners will benefit most by having peace
of mind while flying a more comfortable,
stable machine.”
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the
HeliCommand, Matt. That sounds like a
piece of equipment that many pilots would
love to own.
The Indoor Season Continues: I mentioned
that spring is only a few weeks away, but
right now the indoor season is going strong
here in Indiana. Brian Butts of MS Composit
set up the deal for us to use some soccer
space; thanks, Brian!
The new facility is working great for our
midwinter events. I included a few pictures to
give you an idea of what our flying site is
like. If you are still flying in a small gym, or
other cramped area, it might be worth
searching for something similar to this soccer
arena. I would imagine that most cities have
something similar.
The building’s owners are happy to have
us, because it means additional revenue for
them. The only catch is that we have to start
our sessions at 9 p.m. We are allowed to fly
until 12 or 1 a.m.
That may sound late, but the time of day
is meaningless when you have to fly.
It is like the famous commercial: Indoor
3-D electric helicopter, $500; all the other
necessities to go with the helicopter, $2,000;
being able to fly when it is 0° outside,
priceless!
See you next month. MA
Sources:
MS Composit
(317) 578-1955
www.mscompositusa.com
E-Sky helicopters
(732) 287-3933
www.bphobbies.com
E-flite
(800) 338-4639
www.e-fliterc.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/03
Page Numbers: 111,112,114
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/03
Page Numbers: 111,112,114
Also included in this column:
• Indoor venues
HI, EVERYONE. The good news is that spring begins the month of
this issue’s cover date. March traditionally kicks off the outdoor flying
season here in the Midwest. The early-spring weather is unpredictable,
and warmer temperatures are often accompanied by gusty winds.
Early in your flying career, wind tends to be bothersome. Later,
after you mature as a pilot, you adjust your flying to maintain
positioning while compensating for the effects of the wind.
Pod-and-boom helicopters are not affected as much by wind; their slimmer profiles help cut
through the air. On the other hand, larger Scale models are tricky to fly when the air is
buffeting them about.
HeliCommand Stabilizer: Matt Brown joins us to share information
about a fancy new stabilization unit that works for both Scale and 3-D
helicopters. He worked with Kerry Muncy on the Indy Apache Scale
project, and instability in windy conditions became a problem while
testing the large model. Matt was looking for something that could
electronically stabilize the machine.
During a trip to the E-Fest event in Champaign, Illinois, Matt met
Henry Jezek and Brian Butts from MS Composit, who had just
released a new gyro-based helicopter stabilizer called
“HeliCommand.” I will let him tell the rest of the story.
“My name is Matt Brown, and I have worked closely with Kerry
Muncy over the last few years to bring the Apache to market. We both
knew the large helicopter needed something to stabilize it during
flight in windy conditions. I was excited to meet the guys from MS
Composit, and try out their HeliCommand stabilizer.
“Henry and Brian have been very helpful during the integration of
the HeliCommand system. It is a
fairly small, two-piece unit
consisting of an interface board
and the processor/camera/gyro
module.
“The HeliCommand is
available with four levels of
programming. The first three are
for the more conventional flybar
type helicopters, and the fourth
mode is called Rigid. It is for
flybarless, or ‘rigid rotor’
helicopters.
“The HeliCommand is
marketed as a ‘flight stabilization’
system as well as a helicopter
training aid. It consists of three
heading-hold gyros and a camera
all feeding data to a flight control
computer that controls the
helicopter based on the feedback from the
sensors, biased by the commands given by
the transmitter and receiver.
“During setup, the flight computer
‘learns’ the correct responses for each flight
control. This allows the system to adapt itself
to virtually any type of collective/cyclic
system. On the Apache, it uses standard 120°
CCPM and it learned it very easily. It can just
as easily be setup on helicopters with
conventional mechanical mixing, or 140°
CCPM, or even four servo 90° CCPM.
“After purchasing the unit, Kerry went to
visit expert Scale builder/pilot, Darrel
Sprayberry, to work together on a setup for
Kerry’s test bed Apache. Due to time and
weather issues, they never got a chance to test
fly it.
“A month or so later, Kerry and I attended
the Huntsville Helicopter event. We had not
yet flight-tested the HeliCommand, and
Kerry was very anxious to see how it would
do. We went through the setup procedure to
make sure everything was responding
properly and took a guess at where to set the
gain of the system.
“Within a minute, or so, after lifting off,
Kerry knew this was the way to go. He
landed and we adjusted the gain down a few
points to settle the helicopter down a little.
Too much gain on the HeliCommand is much
like too much gain on a tail gyro.
“He flew out the rest of the flight while
observing the reactions of the HeliCommand.
While we only had about 10 mph winds, the
HeliCommand easily maintained a solid
hands-off hover for as long as desired. The
helicopter did have a different ‘feel’ in flight
but it still did whatever Kerry told it to do.
We later test flew the helicopter with 15-20
mph winds and the HeliCommand shined
through again. It made the helicopter as
comfortable to fly in wind as if the conditions
were calm.
“The biggest hurdle we had to overcome
revolved around using it in the Rigid
(flybarless) mode. Rigid mode could only be
activated via software that had to be
purchased separately. Kerry had bought it
before he went to visit Darrel.
“Darrel installed it on his PC but ran into
a minor problem. The software comes with a
cable to communicate with the
HeliCommand module but it is a serial cable.
Neither Darrel’s PC nor any of mine are
equipped with serial ports. Most all PCs these
days are primarily USB. He and Kerry finally
found a USB-serial adapter and got it hooked
up and talking to the HC module.
“The software does provide many finetuning
adjustments that you can use to tailor
the system to your specific helicopter. It also
allows the user to save a setup for quick and
easy reloading into the system. This comes in
pretty handy while fine-tuning.
“Once we started flying the helicopter on
a regular basis, we would make adjustments
to the HeliCommand system from time to
time. If Kerry didn’t like the effect of the
latest adjustment, it was a simple matter to
revert back to the previously saved settings. It
was not long before Kerry really liked the
feel in-flight, and it had excellent stabilizing
influence over unwanted weather effects.
“I recently installed and setup another
HeliCommand system in another Apache. I
copied Kerry’s programming straight into the
customer’s helicopter, made a few
adjustments for his mechanics, which was a
four servo CCPM setup, and he was ready to
go. He reported back that his Apache was
much smoother and easier to fly than ever
before.
“We still tinker from time to time on the
fine-tuning, but it is working so close to
perfect, we almost always go back to our
main saved setup. We have not tried to use
the system in a helicopter with a flybar but I
keep thinking one of these days I’ll hang it on
my T-Rex 450 just to see how it does in its
other programming modes.
“The HeliCommand is reported to be
capable of righting a helicopter for a
disoriented beginner pilot. It is also capable
of inverted hovering. That could be a good
assistant for the RC pilot trying to learn some
of the more advanced aerobatics.
“At a street price of $550, the
HeliCommand is not going to be for
everyone, but when it is part of the control
system on a valuable machine it provides
some priceless insurance. Scale pilots and
beginners will benefit most by having peace
of mind while flying a more comfortable,
stable machine.”
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the
HeliCommand, Matt. That sounds like a
piece of equipment that many pilots would
love to own.
The Indoor Season Continues: I mentioned
that spring is only a few weeks away, but
right now the indoor season is going strong
here in Indiana. Brian Butts of MS Composit
set up the deal for us to use some soccer
space; thanks, Brian!
The new facility is working great for our
midwinter events. I included a few pictures to
give you an idea of what our flying site is
like. If you are still flying in a small gym, or
other cramped area, it might be worth
searching for something similar to this soccer
arena. I would imagine that most cities have
something similar.
The building’s owners are happy to have
us, because it means additional revenue for
them. The only catch is that we have to start
our sessions at 9 p.m. We are allowed to fly
until 12 or 1 a.m.
That may sound late, but the time of day
is meaningless when you have to fly.
It is like the famous commercial: Indoor
3-D electric helicopter, $500; all the other
necessities to go with the helicopter, $2,000;
being able to fly when it is 0° outside,
priceless!
See you next month. MA
Sources:
MS Composit
(317) 578-1955
www.mscompositusa.com
E-Sky helicopters
(732) 287-3933
www.bphobbies.com
E-flite
(800) 338-4639
www.e-fliterc.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/03
Page Numbers: 111,112,114
Also included in this column:
• Indoor venues
HI, EVERYONE. The good news is that spring begins the month of
this issue’s cover date. March traditionally kicks off the outdoor flying
season here in the Midwest. The early-spring weather is unpredictable,
and warmer temperatures are often accompanied by gusty winds.
Early in your flying career, wind tends to be bothersome. Later,
after you mature as a pilot, you adjust your flying to maintain
positioning while compensating for the effects of the wind.
Pod-and-boom helicopters are not affected as much by wind; their slimmer profiles help cut
through the air. On the other hand, larger Scale models are tricky to fly when the air is
buffeting them about.
HeliCommand Stabilizer: Matt Brown joins us to share information
about a fancy new stabilization unit that works for both Scale and 3-D
helicopters. He worked with Kerry Muncy on the Indy Apache Scale
project, and instability in windy conditions became a problem while
testing the large model. Matt was looking for something that could
electronically stabilize the machine.
During a trip to the E-Fest event in Champaign, Illinois, Matt met
Henry Jezek and Brian Butts from MS Composit, who had just
released a new gyro-based helicopter stabilizer called
“HeliCommand.” I will let him tell the rest of the story.
“My name is Matt Brown, and I have worked closely with Kerry
Muncy over the last few years to bring the Apache to market. We both
knew the large helicopter needed something to stabilize it during
flight in windy conditions. I was excited to meet the guys from MS
Composit, and try out their HeliCommand stabilizer.
“Henry and Brian have been very helpful during the integration of
the HeliCommand system. It is a
fairly small, two-piece unit
consisting of an interface board
and the processor/camera/gyro
module.
“The HeliCommand is
available with four levels of
programming. The first three are
for the more conventional flybar
type helicopters, and the fourth
mode is called Rigid. It is for
flybarless, or ‘rigid rotor’
helicopters.
“The HeliCommand is
marketed as a ‘flight stabilization’
system as well as a helicopter
training aid. It consists of three
heading-hold gyros and a camera
all feeding data to a flight control
computer that controls the
helicopter based on the feedback from the
sensors, biased by the commands given by
the transmitter and receiver.
“During setup, the flight computer
‘learns’ the correct responses for each flight
control. This allows the system to adapt itself
to virtually any type of collective/cyclic
system. On the Apache, it uses standard 120°
CCPM and it learned it very easily. It can just
as easily be setup on helicopters with
conventional mechanical mixing, or 140°
CCPM, or even four servo 90° CCPM.
“After purchasing the unit, Kerry went to
visit expert Scale builder/pilot, Darrel
Sprayberry, to work together on a setup for
Kerry’s test bed Apache. Due to time and
weather issues, they never got a chance to test
fly it.
“A month or so later, Kerry and I attended
the Huntsville Helicopter event. We had not
yet flight-tested the HeliCommand, and
Kerry was very anxious to see how it would
do. We went through the setup procedure to
make sure everything was responding
properly and took a guess at where to set the
gain of the system.
“Within a minute, or so, after lifting off,
Kerry knew this was the way to go. He
landed and we adjusted the gain down a few
points to settle the helicopter down a little.
Too much gain on the HeliCommand is much
like too much gain on a tail gyro.
“He flew out the rest of the flight while
observing the reactions of the HeliCommand.
While we only had about 10 mph winds, the
HeliCommand easily maintained a solid
hands-off hover for as long as desired. The
helicopter did have a different ‘feel’ in flight
but it still did whatever Kerry told it to do.
We later test flew the helicopter with 15-20
mph winds and the HeliCommand shined
through again. It made the helicopter as
comfortable to fly in wind as if the conditions
were calm.
“The biggest hurdle we had to overcome
revolved around using it in the Rigid
(flybarless) mode. Rigid mode could only be
activated via software that had to be
purchased separately. Kerry had bought it
before he went to visit Darrel.
“Darrel installed it on his PC but ran into
a minor problem. The software comes with a
cable to communicate with the
HeliCommand module but it is a serial cable.
Neither Darrel’s PC nor any of mine are
equipped with serial ports. Most all PCs these
days are primarily USB. He and Kerry finally
found a USB-serial adapter and got it hooked
up and talking to the HC module.
“The software does provide many finetuning
adjustments that you can use to tailor
the system to your specific helicopter. It also
allows the user to save a setup for quick and
easy reloading into the system. This comes in
pretty handy while fine-tuning.
“Once we started flying the helicopter on
a regular basis, we would make adjustments
to the HeliCommand system from time to
time. If Kerry didn’t like the effect of the
latest adjustment, it was a simple matter to
revert back to the previously saved settings. It
was not long before Kerry really liked the
feel in-flight, and it had excellent stabilizing
influence over unwanted weather effects.
“I recently installed and setup another
HeliCommand system in another Apache. I
copied Kerry’s programming straight into the
customer’s helicopter, made a few
adjustments for his mechanics, which was a
four servo CCPM setup, and he was ready to
go. He reported back that his Apache was
much smoother and easier to fly than ever
before.
“We still tinker from time to time on the
fine-tuning, but it is working so close to
perfect, we almost always go back to our
main saved setup. We have not tried to use
the system in a helicopter with a flybar but I
keep thinking one of these days I’ll hang it on
my T-Rex 450 just to see how it does in its
other programming modes.
“The HeliCommand is reported to be
capable of righting a helicopter for a
disoriented beginner pilot. It is also capable
of inverted hovering. That could be a good
assistant for the RC pilot trying to learn some
of the more advanced aerobatics.
“At a street price of $550, the
HeliCommand is not going to be for
everyone, but when it is part of the control
system on a valuable machine it provides
some priceless insurance. Scale pilots and
beginners will benefit most by having peace
of mind while flying a more comfortable,
stable machine.”
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the
HeliCommand, Matt. That sounds like a
piece of equipment that many pilots would
love to own.
The Indoor Season Continues: I mentioned
that spring is only a few weeks away, but
right now the indoor season is going strong
here in Indiana. Brian Butts of MS Composit
set up the deal for us to use some soccer
space; thanks, Brian!
The new facility is working great for our
midwinter events. I included a few pictures to
give you an idea of what our flying site is
like. If you are still flying in a small gym, or
other cramped area, it might be worth
searching for something similar to this soccer
arena. I would imagine that most cities have
something similar.
The building’s owners are happy to have
us, because it means additional revenue for
them. The only catch is that we have to start
our sessions at 9 p.m. We are allowed to fly
until 12 or 1 a.m.
That may sound late, but the time of day
is meaningless when you have to fly.
It is like the famous commercial: Indoor
3-D electric helicopter, $500; all the other
necessities to go with the helicopter, $2,000;
being able to fly when it is 0° outside,
priceless!
See you next month. MA
Sources:
MS Composit
(317) 578-1955
www.mscompositusa.com
E-Sky helicopters
(732) 287-3933
www.bphobbies.com
E-flite
(800) 338-4639
www.e-fliterc.com
