Hi,
It would be very helpful if there was a way to initialize the rescue feature with a signal from a channel without having to unplug and plug the Spirit unit. For example, while hovering level and steady flip a switch on the transmitter and re-initialize the rescue feature. Is there a way to do that? Can it be added to the firmware?

I fly long flights (up to 25 minutes) with a gas engine helicopter and the level setting for rescue in the Spirit can drift; especially when the helicopter is sitting on the ground with the engine idling (as in warming up the engine).

Thanks,
George

Hi George,

the Rescue should never drift. If you can observe drifting then there is a big issue that should be resolved in other way than next initialization.

A proper solution is described here:
http://manual.spirit-system.com/index.p ... ise_Rescue

Once you start up the motor it is good to not move with the sticks before take off. This could help you too.

_________________
Spirit System developer

Hi Tomas,

Thanks for the response. My helicopter has a 29cc single cylinder gas engine. It vibrates. It will always vibrate. If I start the electical, start the engine and take off without delay the rescue will be level and will mostly stay that way for the duration of a 20-25 minute flight. But, if I warm up the engine with the helicopter sitting on the ground for 3-4 minutes before taking off the rescue will be WAY off.

Rather than having to shut down, restart the electrics, restart the engine and then take off I would rather be able to settle into a steady hover and flip a switch on the transmitter to activate a special function that would calibrate the rescue to level.

The majority of your customers are using electric. In that case just turn on the helicopter, fly for 6 minutes and everything stays perfect. Yes, I know. I have 2 electric helicopters with Spirit. I'm just asking if you could do a special feature for the few people that fly gas engines. If not, that's OK too. I can make it work. Spirit is still the greatest!

Thanks,
George

Hi George,

we are testing with a combustion helicopters from the beginning to make sure it is all working well.
I can say that it should work always well regardless of motor and time the unit is working.

You are right that at a certain circumstances the problem could appear just because of time.
But if this is occuring even during warm up, then unfortunately it will probably not work reliably even if there was no warm up.

So the point is why it is happening, because this is not normal in any case. This mean that your request to temporarily fix the problem is not a proper solution, because it only push it little bit away. But the reason why it is happening still persist.

I would like to ask you if you have ever measured vibrations - even if it is a combustion engine then it is always worth.
Next question is if you are engaging the Rescue or other mode just during warm up? Or is it sitting at the bench in a normal flying mode?

_________________
Spirit System developer

I start my helicopter in the grass because the ground is soft, not on the runway. I just stand there and wait for the engine to warm up; I'm not playing with any controls. The problem is the Spirit calibration for rescue will drift during this time. In flight it stays pretty close to correct calibration but can shift slightly toward the end of a long 20 minute flight. That is not much of a problem as the rescue is still usable if I need it.

In my mind it is a miracle the Spirit rescue works as good as it does on my gas helicopter. The vibration is intense and there's nothing that can be done about that. Nitro engines aren't "warmed up". They start them and fly them and they don't vibrate nearly as much because they are half the size, have less compression, run at faster speeds and fly for half as long.

I'm not looking for a "temporary fix" as the situation isn't going to change. I could use a way to calibrate as I've described but if it's too much trouble to implement for the handful of people like me who use a Spirit gyro on a gas helicopter then I understand. Like I said, I know the work around to make it work. I just have to shut down and restart after warming up. Usually just the first flight of the day. I always take off as soon as possible after starting the engine so that I know the rescue is calibrated correctly.

One other thing that complicates my situation. I didn't go into it before. I have a Spektum GPS telemetry sensor (SPMA9587) that now (after the latest transmitter and receiver firmware updates) takes 10 minutes to acquire satellites. I doubt I will be waiting that long but theoretically I would have to wait on the ground for 10 minutes after powering up for the GPS telemetry to read out on the transmitter before starting the engine and taking off. The GPS will still write to the log file even if it doesn't read out on the transmitter. If I restart the electrical system on the helicopter I would have to wait another 10 minutes. It would just be a lot easier if I could calibrate the level setting of the rescue when I want to. Not when the Spirit wants to. That way I know it is done right.

There's one other thing I forgot to bring up. On my Trex 450L I've always wondered when the Spirit calibrates itself; when the power is applied or when the servos pump the swashplate up and down? Or is it sometime in between? It's very difficult to hold the model level and plug an EC3 connector in at the same time, and then hold the model steady and level until the pitch pump.


Thanks,
George

Tomas, at what point in time exactly does the rescue calibrate itself to level?

Is it right when the power is connected?
Or, how long after the power is connected?