Looking for control throw settings

[CVA59]

Hey guys, I am going to maiden my Rebel in a week or so. Can you all give me some "conservative" expo and dual rate (mainly low side) settings for this plane & for a first time EDF maiden?? I've heard the manual's setting are ok for some and NOT ok for others. Ultimately, I'm just looking for settings that will keep my out of trouble until I get used to the plane. I do not intend to even use H/R's anyway.

Thanks,

[icepirate3]

What I have almost always done with my planes (prop or EDF) is set the recommended High setting at 100% throw with 30% expo on all surfaces unless I have read on the forums that the books recommended settings are way off (as in the FW F4 if I remember right). Then I set mid rates to usually 80 to 85% with 30% expo and low rates at 70 to 75% with 30% expo.

Sometimes I keep the rudder at no less than 85 to 90% though to help with crosswinds but it depends on the plane. Looking at the manual it calls for 20mm low, 30mm high for the rudder which seems a bit high to me but never having flown the Rebel I can't judge. The rates it shows for the aileron (10mm low/14mm high) and elevator (12mm low/16mm high) seem reasonable.

If it were me I would set ailerons to 14mm high, 12 mid, and 10 low with 30% expo and the elevator to 16mm high, 14mm mid, and 12mm low again, with 30% expo. The rudder i'm not sure of without seeing how much throw it's actually producing at 30mm in relation to the airframe. But since this jet comes highly recommended as a first EDF I would go with the recommended high/low with 25mm mid rate.

I usually start all of my scale planes at 30% expo and work my down from there if need be. Expo is more of a personal "taste" to each pilot and each aircraft and some swear by using absolutely none, others I have seen using upwards of 70% or more. The important thing is to get it setup to where you are comfortable with it's responsiveness and increase/decrease as you wish. But 30% as a starting point has never done me wrong.

That said, if it seems way too twitchy, even in low rates you may want to start lowering your travels instead of expo.

I usually take off at mid rates on maidens and once at altitude try high and low. But again, that's just me. If possible, have an experienced EDF pilot look it over and spot for you during the maiden. And remember that you don't have the luxury of 6 or 7 minutes to get it flying comfortably! My EDF maidens are always set to a 2 minute timer which usually gives me 1 to 1.5 minutes at altitude to get it stable and use the rest for approach and landing. Nerves will be high and you probably won't fly a good first or even second pass so give yourself at least time for 3 passes.

I also never use flaps on a maiden. You want to get the plane tracking straight and level so you can really see what elevator mix(if any) will be necessary. But if it's trimmed out nicely and it will track well on the maiden give it a shot at altitude and see what she does. Just don't drop flaps for the first time on short final. Bad idea. Another reason to give yourself a little more time for a couple go-arounds.

[CVA59]

Thanks for all this info. I will sure put it to use if I can ever figure out why I cannot get my ailerons to even out. I cannot get them set to the same about of throw in both directions. I have played with the sub trims, and linkages until I cannot stand it anymore. In my 25 years plus of building and flying, I have NEVER EVER had this kind of situation before. Not matter how or what I adjust, one side always has more throw than the other. And I am not even playing with the dual rates yet. Anyone have any ideas?