Anyone else out there prefer to not have any stabilization??

[Lon]

I agree with you Dewey I also don't think anyone is right or wrong believing in using them or not as long as they don't try forcing that belief on anyone else.

Well said!! Fly and enjoy, share your passion with others.Embrace the different opinions and likes. Don't turn your nose up to others who have the passion of flying who may not have the exact same tastes.

[ryramZ]

Most of my buddys have heard me say this at one time or another. "Sometimes it's the plane that needs the gyro not the pilot." Above all it boils down to preference. Both sides of the debate have valid points. Personally there are some airframes that I normally wouldn't fly unless the weather is perfect. When I put a gyro in them I can fly them whenever no matter how nasty the winds are.
If you only fly when it's perfect you don't get a chance to learn crosswind technique. Different planes behave differently once you input the corrections to straighten up with the runway. Some have a wicked adverse coupling. It's really nice not to have to fight the roll while your feathering in rudder to correct the crab right before touchdown. Keep in mind your already playing with elevator and throttle along with that same rudder correction. A little help on the roll to decrease the workload, fine let me have it. Not all planes need the help and not all pilots need the help. However when I throw in a gyro into a plane that was not very well behaved and it becomes fun I'm always super glad. Most of my birds never see a gyro. The planes I have that I put a gyro in however never have them removed.

[TiredIronGRB]

I'll clarify that I couldn't care less if someone else wants to use them I just don't like the feel of them.

[Grossman56]

Exactly Farm, each to their own. BTW, I get a kick out of the correlation between crashing and learning. I've also heard the one about 'if you're not crashing, you're not flying hard enough' as well. Good thing they don't use the same reasoning when driving a car or flying a full scale with your butt inside of it.
How about,'if you're not crashing, you're not buying enough new airplanes!"
or,"If you're not crashing, you haven't got enough spare parts in stock!"

Grossman56

[OV10]

How about,'if you're not crashing, you're not buying enough new airplanes!"
or,"If you're not crashing, you haven't got enough spare parts in stock!"

Grossman56

I like those Gman.........now if I get caught in the Bermuda Triangle @ NEFI again this year just spout out one of those to me to put a grin back on my mug.

[Grossman56]

LOL, same here!!
That was strange though wasn't it. Tell you what, I definitely flew better after Nefi, so I certainly can't complain about losing a a couple of prop blades! Hope the wind is a little more cooperative this time.

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

The first time you should really leave it off until you gain a safe altitude to turn it on and if you notice something detrimental be able to switch it back off and regain control without crashing. After you are satisfied that it is operating correctly you can leave it on or turn it off as you please. The only real thing you will notice is your flights and landings should become somewhat smoother. I will calm down alot of the effect the wind has on your plane.

[wpmay]

The first time you should really leave it off until you gain a safe altitude to turn it on and if you notice something detrimental be able to switch it back off and regain control without crashing. After you are satisfied that it is operating correctly you can leave it on or turn it off as you please. The only real thing you will notice is your flights and landings should become somewhat smoother. I will calm down alot of the effect the wind has on your plane.

This might depend on the particular gyro, but it's also generally good practice to trim the plane first with the gyro off, then land and reinitialize the gyro (so it sets the trimmed control surface locations as the gyro's neutral positions). I leave mine on all the time because, as Dewey pointed out, there are takeoff and landing benefits but that really is a personal preference (just as using a gyro at all is).

Bill

[Alpha]

I prefer to fly without it, mostly because when testing a prototype I need to feel the aircraft directly, but I can see the value of stabilization and don't think it's a bad thing in general. These days most turbine drivers use Demon Cortex gyros, because, as I hear time and again, "why not?". When thousands of dollars are tied up in the sky, any advantage to smoothing out a flight isn't overlooked.

The recurring line I caution about stabilization devices is this: They are only as effective as they are set up. If calibrated incorrectly, or installed precariously, or set up improperly, these devices can kill an aircraft before you clear the runway. Like any device, care is required. These are rarely "plug and play" devices, especially when we' leave the realm of AS3X/SAFE and enter Lemon/Hobby Eagle/Cortex/etc stabilizers. Thankfully, none of these are really rocket science to figure out, but they still must be correct or they will be more harmful than helpful.

Finally, I recommend programming a remote Off switch. #invaluable

[seaviper]

Coming from RC helicopters I can see where stabilization can be useful. I started helicopters flying in the era of the mechanical gyro and witnessed the introduction of the piezo gyro and heading hold. What a difference it made.
There are certain types of fixed wing aircraft that can benefit from such stabilization, such as deltas or long nosed birds with canards or chines. I however don't use stabilization for fixed wing if I can get away without it. I might use it if testing an unstable design.
But I like to feel connected to the plane.

[Grossman56]

I agree, an off/on switch is a necessity, unfortunately, Spektrum seems to have killed the option of getting a 7 channel receiver so you have one extra channel for that safety feature.

Grossman56

[xviper]

I only use a stabilizer on a couple of Spektrum Rx's. With these, I use the HobbyEagle or one of the Return to Home stabilizers. Most of mine are Lemon Rx's, primarily the 7-ch. stabilized Rx's or I go with their 8-ch and 10-ch (when that's the only stock they have) and put on a HobbyEagle A3 or A3-L.These can be turn ON/OFF with a switch or the rotary. With the 7-ch stabilizer Lemon, one can easily use a switch to turn it off.

[Aros]

I can see both sides of the fence on gyros. In the few dozen or so flights I've had with gyros I do like them mainly because where I live it's rare to have perfectly calm conditions. Even on "nice" days there's usually variable swirling winds that a gyro can be extremely helpful in dampening. However, there's just something about flying without any help at all. The direct symbiotic nature of R/C flight is what drew me to the hobby in the first place. I love knowing that every motion and movement the aircraft displays in the sky is directly and intimately related to every single input I give the sticks.

You don't lose that of course with a gyro, but it's hard to quantify that irreplaceable feeling of flying "naked". (Wait, what?) ;)

[PappaBear]

Gyro's, stabilization devices, the advancement of technology. If the technology is there why not make use of it. The real art of the gyro is in the set up, if it is set up correctly it is a great help to the pilot. However it does require setting up properly and if it isn't then it can be a pain and a lot of trouble. Take one of the BNF E-Flite models for example they are supplied with a RX incorporating the AS3X gyro, and these models fly really well right out of the box. I totally understand that some people perhaps do not like them, but they do ease the workload on the pilot. Anything that helps as got to be a good thing.

Martin.

[farmflyer]

Whoa there Aros I'm not sure want to see that:saywha

[Aros]

Me neither! LOL

[Grossman56]

A little tip, when using an external gyro like the Hobby Eagle, you can rig your gyro to a switch! I highly recommend you do before flying with a gyro. The point is, you don't have to fly with it on just because its there, like a rx with built in AS3X. Lot's of times, I'll switch mine off because there's no reason to have it on. But here in Wyoming, that can change, like right now! Suddenly we have a 20 mile an hour wind! You should have seen my poor Pandora do a vertical landing!! Thank God for gyros! Landed, grabbed the plane before the wind made it do a back flip and that was that.

Grossman56

[boomer108]

I had a simular situation with my Pandora. I have the A-3L gyro controlled by a three position switch on my transmitter and happened to have it on that day last season because of a slightly windy crosswind day. Well I made my turn to final and all of a sudden a high gust of wind kicked up and almost flipped my plane. Without that gyro I may have lost it and the ensuing crossword landing would have been real hairy to say the least. I don't always have it on, but that day I'm glad I did.

Roy B.

[Stringbag]

Using a gyro is to model flying as an Airbus is to Aircraft. The pilot has become ballast and ALMOST a thing of the past.

[F106DeltaDart]

I would personally say that an Airbus is more akin to using a waypoint navigation autopilot, like the ardupilot. A gyro, is simply providing instant, small corrections to damp out any unwanted wag or oscillations, especially in gusting wind. It all depends where you draw the line I guess. Is a heli tail gyro cheating? Is a heli governer system? For my FL Bearcat, modded with a 16" scale diameter prop, there was a lot of torque with throttle movement, and a large amount of P-factor. On a calm day, it flew great, and I had no issues controlling the model. But on windy days, it was quite a workload. Possible to fly, but felt like a constant battle with the interaction between torque, P-factor and the wind. Added a gyro, and it is smooth flying even in some pretty stiff wind now. That said, to each his own. The Bearcat and my helis are the only models out of 25 that I use a gyro on, jest don't be so quick to discount a very useful tool.