E-flite Diamante 5e ARF Assembly Manual
Good news is, it’s fairly easy to compensate for. Lets do the roll
axis first, you can do this 2 ways and both work well. In fact, I
would suggest you try both to get the best input.
Version 1 is to climb to a high altitude, simulating a typical top
of the box altitude and fly directly over your head and into the
wind. About 50–100 feet out from your self, push down.
You are now looking at the plan view of the model. Watch
carefully to see if the model is rolling on the down line. Most
models will roll slightly to the right. Personally, I have never
had a model that hasn’t needed a little left aileron mix on low
throttle. I’m not saying it can’t happen but I personally haven’t
seen it. The second way to check for throttle Aileron mix is to
fly along at level flight, medium height and reduce the throttle.
Watch carefully and see if your model is rolling, chances are it
will. Arrr, ever wondered why you always have to lean a little
left aileron entering spins, or why your model always falls one
way, perhaps it’s because your low power trim is not correct.
Ok, the second Programmable Mix is the throttle-to-rudder
mix. Same deal, it’s hard to get your model to track correctly in
the yaw axis at all speeds, your only hope is to apply a small
amount of "left" rudder on low throttle. To check for this, use
the same technique as the throttle-to-aileron: fly above yourself,
directly into the wind and push down in front of yourself and
watch carefully. You will be amazed, especially at the start of
the down line. If you haven’t got any throttle offset to rudder,
you are most likely flying around the problem, and where I find
it most challenging is in figure 9’s and vertical and horizontal
8’s. Any time you are using elevator and are off on the yaw
axis, it’s a bad hair day. I can hear all you guys thinking, yes
it’s true. Your model perhaps could need a little rudder mix on
low throttle. Give it a try, you will be amazed. I know of some
fairly experienced modelers that use the same theory but reverse
where the mix is. They use little to no right thrust on the engine
but have right rudder mixed on full throttle. That works well, or
so I’ve been told, but I haven’t tried it myself. One thing you
may want to experiment with in both these scenarios is where
the mix is activated. I like to have the stick offset at
least above half and let it progress from there. It seems to be
the best balance, plus I am not getting a sudden mix input; it
progresses more or less with the speed of the model. This will
vary from model to model but try to keep the mix activation well
above an idle setting.
Hopefully you have noticed when working through the trim
sequence how each trim adjustment has complemented the next
stage. Rudder Aileron Mix. In most cases only requires a linear
Programmable Mix. What I mean by linear Programmable Mix
is that you don’t need a progressive value to the mix. (i.e Less
at the start, more at the end and the mix will be linear.) Most
modern designs, with the exception of Bi-planes, are real close
and only require a small amount of Rudder Aileron Mix. It’s
fairly easy to identify. Some like to put their model on knife-
edge, but I like to just do flat turns, simulating rolling turn inputs.
Remember, play the numbers, rolling turns require more precise
mixing than sustained knife-edge flight. In fact, you don’t do
much flying on your side at all, but you sure do a lot of rolling
turns. So, I like to do the flat turn thing. Doing a simple inside
rudder turn to the left, using left rudder, the model should just
yaw, with no roll effect. If the plane rolls to the left, then you
need to mix 2–5% right aileron to left rudder. My Cap is a little
unique as it has adverse roll. When I apply left rudder, the
model rolls right, so I need left aileron mixed with left rudder.
Repeat the process with right rudder. Now what I want you to
do is vary the speed in which you do your flat turns. If you find
as you increase your speed the mix becomes too much, you
could be getting surface blow back. Man, sorry to keep harping
about this but it is important. With insufficient rudder power,
when you apply a Programmable Mix for roll, or pitch for that
matter, the mix will become too much value as the rudder throw
reduces due to aerodynamic pressure. I see a few lights going
off again. Could this be why you have your mix perfect for knife
edge, but you chase your aircraft all over doing rolling circles?
