FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide
2
FMA Direct
About FS8 Co-Pilot™
FS8 Co-Pilot™ combines a high-performance failsafe receiver
with infrared flight stabilization.
Built-in receiver
n
Interference Check, which determines the presence of a trans-
mitter operating on your channel, as well as interference from
any source on any frequency that affects receiver operation.
n
Digital Signature Recognition, a new technology that enables
FS8 Co-Pilot™ to reject severe interference and to recon-
struct corrupted frames.
n
Servo Failsafe, which enables FS8 Co-Pilot™ to take control
of the aircraft when a signal isn’t present.
n
System status and performance data output, which provides
information about how your radio system operated during
range checks and flights.
n
Universal operation: works with negative shift (Futaba, Hitec)
and positive shift (JR, Airtronics) FM PPM transmitters.
n
Full range, full performance. Can be used in aircraft ranging
from park flyers to IMAA-legal aircraft to helicopters.
Built-in flight stabilization
n
Controls roll and pitch for any kind of RC aircraft: conven-
tional fixed wing airplanes, flying wings, electric powered
planes, giant scale models and helicopters. Returns aircraft to
level attitude when you center the transmitter sticks.
n
Infrared sensors operate in nearly all weather conditions.
n
Learns about your transmitter and its controls. Setup is easy
because there are no switches to set.
n
Can be turned on and off, and adjusted, from your transmitter
via an assigned channel.
n
Can be automatically activated when receiver enters Failsafe
Mode.
n
Works with optional Vertical Sensor:
l
Flight stabilization knows when the aircraft is inverted.
l
Enables full 3D aerobatics display in the Co-Pilot Viewer
software during playback from the optional Flight Re-
corder.
l
Simplifies daily field calibration for large aircraft.
Other features
n
Works with your FM PPM transmitter, or your PCM transmit-
ter set to PPM.
n
Works with all aircraft configurations, including dual aileron
servos, quad flaps, elevons, V-tail, complex transmitter mixes,
digital servos and CCPM.
n
Includes Co-Pilot Viewer Software for detailed receiver and
flight stabilization data analysis. Displays every FS8 Co-Pi-
lot™ operating detail. (Requires Serial Interface Module,
available separately, and a Windows 98 or later PC.)
n
Compatible with FS Flight Recorder (available separately),
which records receiver and flight stabilization data during
multiple flights (up to 97 minutes total). Download data from
the Recorder, then play back using Co-Pilot Viewer Software.
About failsafe operation
In the event of signal loss or overwhelming interference, the re-
ceiver takes control of the servos, and puts the aircraft into a pre-
dictable flight pattern. Each servo channel can be set to apply
one of two options when corrective action is required:
n
Last Good Frame Hold.
If the receiver concludes that a
transmitter frame is defective—and cannot be repaired—it
pulls the last good frame from memory and applies it to the
servos in place of the defective frame. The receiver continues
applying the last good frame until it once again detects a clean
frame. Random glitches, which show up as servo jitter, are
the most common signal problem in radio control systems.
By repairing bad frames or (in the worst case) using the last
good frame, FS8 Co-Pilot™ eliminates nearly all servo jitter.
n
Servo Failsafe Preset Positions.
This option goes one step
further than Last Good Frame Hold by proactively moving
servos to positions set by the pilot during radio system setup.
Servo Failsafe Preset Positions, for example, can cut the
throttle and put the plane into a gentle circle. Any channel in
FS8 Co-Pilot™ can have a Servo Failsafe Preset Position.
Setting Failsafe Preset Positions is easy—your transmitter is
the interface for the procedure.
Introduction
Note:
FS8 Co-Pilot™ is a unique product—it’s
quite different from other radio control equipment
you may have used. Since new concepts are in-
volved, take your time and work through the manual
carefully.
© 2003 FMA, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication is prohibited. Co-Pilot is a trademark of FMA, Inc.
user guide version 1.10
U.S. Patent 6,181,989. Foreign and other patents pending.
12/26/2003
