Watch this if you use a gyro in your RC Planes

Gyros are wonderful. The gyro technology enables rc pilots to fly better and helps new pilots learn how to fly without crashing. However, you MUST understand there is a danger and if you don't follow a few simple steps, you'll destroy your cherished rc plane. In this video I discuss how to prevent the carnage.

[@1Sail2]

Another fantastic, clear and to the point video, bound to save many fliers from disappointments. I watched your last video on this topic and followed your advise after changing an aileron servo on a new plane, defective from the factory. So glad I am subscribed to learn valuable lessons. Thank you.

[@SteffenRC]

Dang, this made my day. I really like hearing these type of comments. Its the whole point of my channel. Thanks, Will

[@wmdayman]

Thank you for your explanation on how to set up servos. This explains why I have had some prangs. Now I understand.

[@SteffenRC]

Really glad this was helpful. Appreciate the comments. Thanks Will

[@williewideback]

This is very important regardless of which gyro one uses

[@SteffenRC]

Yep. They are all different, the pilot needs to understand how their gyro works. Thanks for the comment.. Will

[@SlowFlyer85]

Good info Will this should help a lot of new and old pilots 😊

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks Frank. Appreciate it.

[@BillKisel]

I never thought about this stuff so thanks for enlightening me.

[@SteffenRC]

Glad you like this Bill. Appreciate the comment. - Will

[@robertirvine4780]

I support a local group of RC learners/flyers with repairs, flight instruction, build and design services and of course the installation, setup and test flying of third party flight stabilisers/controllers. There are a large number of gyros and flight controllers that you did not mention which is good because it seems every man and his dog are adding to the plethora of stabilisation devices. When a servo needs to be replaced and the replacement servo rotates in the opposite direction to the original I have learned to simply reverse the servo. I use the same technique used to reverse one of the flap servos to maintain physical symmetry of the installation. Having said all of that another problem has reared its ugly head around the long term use of gyros etc. The climate I fly in is temperate to tropical with 40 degrees Celsius not being uncommon. Over time the filtering of the BEC within the ESC becomes less effective and so the use of an external BEC is recommended to reduce the effects of the heat but even so the external BEC can loose its filtering over time and so additional surge suppression is currently being used.. The stabilisers can reset when the voltage supply is spiked and this can have a catastrophic outcome. ESC/BEC cooling is even more important if a third party flight stabiliser/controller is fitted and failure to do so can cause the unit to reboot whilst airborne or even lose its setup programming for some unit designs.

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks Robert, Appreciate you perspective on this topic. Yep, there are lots of Gyros on the market. I was kinda hitting on the ones that I see and have some experience with. I didn't delve into the Matek or SpeedyBee FC that I use, since thats a whole different ball game. Thanks for sharing, Will

[@jollyroger2226]

A very helpful presentation ! You took a complicated subject - and made it easy to understand. 👍

[@SteffenRC]

Brother, I can't think of a better compliment than that.. Thank you so much. I hope my channel helps a few pilots fly better and crash less.

[@grantfoster9099]

Thank god you made this video! im watching this serveral more times before i madian my new plane tomorrow! Lol Scared is a understatement! lmaoo Thanks Again Will!

[@SteffenRC]

You'll be fine. Just go slow and methodical about checking all the direction and throws. Have fun. - Will

[@grantfoster9099]

@@SteffenRC thats what happen to my friends ugly stick i bought from him this week i maiden it this weds n the plane went straight up once i took off n couldn't control it even friend couldnt get to pull up to keep it from nosing into the ground all my control sufaces were working in the right direction. idk if i set my as3x n safe wrong or their was a reverse servo that i needed to turn back who knows but their was nothing i could do to get it outta that situation.

[@nirlachman007]

Yup, I’ve learned it the hard way when I was a beginner. Very important tips Will! Thanks

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks for the comments. Appreciate the support.

[@txkflier]

The Hobby Eagle A3 Super 4 is a great gyro and their manual has the best images showing how to check the control surface movement, but nothing beats Spektrum's Smart AS3X/SAFE receivers. I would avoid the FMS Reflex gyros. The main thing to remember is that the surface should deflect in the same direction that you move it; it should oppose what you do. Raise a wingtip and the aileron on that side should deflect upward. Raise the tail and the elevator should deflect upward.

[@SteffenRC]

As always.. Appreciate your comments. Hope you are doing well and have a great Thanksgiving. - Will

[@txkflier]

@@SteffenRC I just sent you a PM on RC Groups..

[@williamhoenstine5057]

You are absolutely CORRECT and a must to be sure the gyro is working correctly! Thanks for the detailed video. BTW - the Reflex 2 is also capable of being reconfigured for correct servo movement but you have to be somewhat computer literate and understand how to modify the individual airplane files that the FMS computer application provides. There's a detailed discussion/explanation of doing this on RC Groups under Reflex 2 Gyro. I use 3 Reflex 2 gyros in several sport airplanes and have the ability to modify the 'param.dll' file to accommodate any airplane. The Reflex 3 is somewhat simpler to modify but most of the internal settings aren't available unless you do it on a windows based computer. I also advise that everyone using any gyro set it up on a 3 position switch so it's capable of selecting OFF, STABILIZER (AS3X), and SAFE. Not doing this is very dangerous! Just saying.

[@SteffenRC]

Appreciate your comments. I should've mentioned the technical option to reprogram the V2. I remember seeing that discussion on RCG. Agree a switch to disable the Gyro is very important, especially during the maiden and tuning flights. Thanks Will

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Having an "Off" option will certainly help in many situations - especially if the Gyro unit comes adrift or you've made a setting boo-boo. However the idea that it will always save you is misplaced. Even in the purely "Manual" switch-off position the servo controls are routed through the stab. An internal malfunction in the stab unit (much less common than the former 2 faults admittedly) will still trash your toy. Main "internal" faults with stabs are likely to be physical damage from crashes or register overload from vibrating props.

[@cletusberkeley9441]

Great info! ...important stuff❤

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks. I agree. It’s the little details that can get you in trouble..

[@michaelkrailo5725]

Details are everything when it comes making any changes or re-maiden after a crash or just a new plane. Never assume anything and suspect everything that could go wrong. I thought I would save some time by not putting the servo control horn screws in because I knew I would have to physically realign them during a later radio setup. Yep, I forgot to put the darn screws in and although the first flight was uneventful, the second one pile drived into my brick house because the ailerons became unresponsive. I was so glad it was my house. Very good advise on the type of problems that can happen with gyros. I had to ditch that Reflex V2 out of my FMS Pitts because I couldn't get that stupid configuration file to update the gyro direction for my swapped out higher quality servo's. Every single servo had to be reversed and there wasn't any way to reprogram that thing. Swapped the receiver out for a Spektrum Rx with gyro and it was super easy to set that up with all the correct gyro movements.

[@SteffenRC]

@@michaelkrailo5725 thanks for sharing. Btw, there are a few guys who have changed the FMS file to reverse the servos with the reflex v2. Some details are on RCG.

[@razorbak6783]

Good stuff and thank you....that definitely helps. I'm still fairly new to this hobby and I hate to admit this but I learned the hard way about not taking off the prop while changing settings on the TX. But what I want to know is why did this happen on some planes and not others. I have several planes on the DMS protocol by spektrum and I can change settings with no problems. I recently got an arrows edge 540 and got it set up with a radiomaster TX16s and a radiomaster RX run thru the arrows vector gyro...everything is perfect and moving correctly and the gyro movements are correct. I don't know why I did this but I did.....I reached down and cut the TX off first before the plane and the prop took off at 100% throttle in my small work shop with no room....that was fun. the second time on the same plane I was setting the RSSI to the middle frequency because everybody says do it or you could lose signal....as soon as I hit the highend number and lost frequency the prop again went to 100% wide open. Is this normal or do I have something set up wrong? I've set the RSSI up on other planes and the prop did nothing went I lost frequency on the high end or the low end.

[@SteffenRC]

Holy cow thats kinda scary. Not 100% sure why, but it could be your Failsafe is set to 100% throttle on that plane. So, when it loses signal it goes into FAILSAFE, which is set to 100%. Might want to look at the FS options on that plane. Hope you can figure it out, that isn't normal. Good luck.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@SteffenRC I'd say that there are at least 2 possibilities for his problem. 1. Like you say, he has not set a proper Throttle Failsafe on the receiver set-up. (So the Throttle is going to the channel default of 50%) OR 2. He is using a Radiolink (not a Radiomaster) receiver and that maker (like Futaba) uses a reversed Throttle control. (ie -100 is motor flat out!) 😱

[@Stirling_RC_Videos]

An excellent explanation of how to check the gyro. I just did this gyro fix yesterday. I had put a HobbyEagle A3 in a plane and fortunately had the gain at 5%. It was a bit wonky as I had forgotten to reverse the aileron gyro setting to match the receiver. Flying in AS3X mode was ok, but wonky. I flipped into Stabilized to check it and the plane inverted. Oops. Minor repair and all is well.

[@SteffenRC]

Yikes. Sounds like you caught it before it caused too much damage.. Stuff happens.

[@Stirling_RC_Videos]

@SteffenRC well, yes. It was an MD-Hobby E0717 so they are pretty tough. Back in the air and flying great with the gyro settings fixed.

[@JDDupuy]

I love when a guy crashes an airplane and the first thing he blames is the gyro! Great video as the fact you must do any reversing etc in the gyro and not the radio. Any change to servos must be re addressed in the gyro. You need a gyro to fly an RC airplane that's fine. But I guess I have been an expert pilot flying since 1976 without one. I have several I ripped out of Flex aircraft. They work great for 3D flying but for sport flying nope. Thanks for educating the folks they need a gyro to fly!

[@SteffenRC]

JD, I don't think its blaming the Gyro, its asking what caused the crash. In this case the Gyro direction wasn't check after a servo replacement and the gyro caused the plane to be uncontrollable. I think I was pretty clear about it being pilot error. I'm finding more and more new pilots who begin their RC Plane journey with Gyros (since almost every PNP/BNF has them). The new pilot doesn't understand the point you mention about testing the surface movement of the GYRO not just the TX stick movements. So, this video is that PSA to let them know. I'll say I started flying in the late 70s early 80s and didn't even have expo. I sure like that now though. I get it, you don't care for gyros but I've found some planes that really benefit from them. Especially flying in windy conditions. Its important to know how to tune a gyro also, which is a whole other topic. But again to each his own.

[@rangerstl07]

Dude, relax with the anti-gyro negative waves.

[@andrewdenslow7427]

The Reflex v2 can be used in 'any' plane. However, It requires a bit of geeky file editing of the FMS config.dll and param.dll files on your PC. Find a comparable FMS model, open the config and param files, copy that model's settings to a new model, update the gyro and TEST. If a surface needs to be reversed, replace the 1 with 0 (or vice versa) for that control surface's gyro direction parameter. I have Reflex v2's installed in the following models: FMS Ranger 1220mm (standard FMS Ranger 1220 model config) RocHobby WACO YMF-5 1100mm (based on FMS P-40 980mm model config) E-flite P-51D 1.2m Cripes A'Mighty (based on FMS P-51 1.4m model config) Flightline P-38L Lightning 1.6m (based on FMS F7F 1.7m model config) E-Flite F-16 80mm EDF (based on FMS F-16 80mm EDF model config)

[@SteffenRC]

You know, I remember a thread on RCG with you guys tweeking the files.. Pretty cool stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@andrewdenslow7427]

Radiomaster R88 + FMS Reflex v2 + file tweaking = Poor man's Spektrum AR631 ;)

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Gyros are the devil!! LOLOLOLOL. Will great helpful vid that will help many who are secure in their manhood. It always amazes me how guys that don't use them feel the need to watch EVERY video on them just to tell people that they don't use them. That and six dollars will get you a coffee at Starbucks. If you don't use them and can't tune them how can you possibly speak about them with any degree of accuracy. I can do both...so can you Will. Interesting isn't it?

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks Adam. Appreciate the comments. I enjoy flying my planes my way, with our without gyro depending on the plane. I also see the majority of folks at my club fly gyros on some planes and no gyro on others. Nobody seems to care. As you know, my channel is primarily for the new pilot that doesn't know how these Gyros work from the perspective I illustrate in the video. The majority of the comments are very positive and appreciate this type of content. So, I'll keep at it. Thanks again.

[@lienmeat]

great info, but if you're actually using the terminology "did you check your gyro surfaces" like you said at the beginning of the video, that is confusing/bad terminology and probably why you are getting confused looks. Maybe instead say "did you check how the gyro caused the surfaces to move, when you moved the plane".

[@SteffenRC]

Gotcha. Thanks.

[@HciContractor]

Thanks Steffen!

[@SteffenRC]

Hope you got something out of this. Thanks for the comment. - Will

[@JohnVHRC]

Great tips. Ive seen, and actually taken off once with a gyro reversed. haha.

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks John, Appreciate it. So far I haven't had the situation effect my planes. But I've had servos reversed which is embarrassing. Since we have a steady stream of new pilots at my club, there is a steady stream of YT content that comes from that. Lots of my "How to" videos start with a conversation at the field..

[@Mikeylikesit1968]

I had that issue with using a gyro rx, I had mine set up for off , as3x, safe. . When I got in the air and turned on as3x, it was doing funny things, I was also high doing this . I found the gyro was moving backwards on movements, in Forward programming there is an area where you can reverse the gyro inputs so they go the right way

[@SteffenRC]

Sounds like your Gyro didn't have the correct orientation. If you set the correct orientation, it will know which way is up/down left/right. The first time you setup AS3X it will ask you to orientate the gyro. If the gyro controlled surface directions is still wrong, you should start over by doing a factory reset on the RX.

[@richardb8317]

Yep...poor preflight

[@SteffenRC]

Yep. The problem for this pilot and several others I've seen, is they don't know to do this simple check as part of the preflight. Hope this video helps a few new pilots.. Thanks, Will

[@JimHenriksen-z1s]

Hey Steffen, I had a similar experience with my Air Tractor a few weeks ago; totally destroyed the fuse! I reordered all the parts from Horizon and reassembled the aircraft back to original condition, I checked all of the controls and they worked "manually" as they should and all the AS3X and SAFE controls work as the should except the horz. stab., which works backwards. I I went to forward programing on my Spektrum Dx6e trans. and it tells me that it cannot connect. It tries to connect, with the transmitter both close to and far away from the plane, but "connection fails" every time, plus it tells me in Forward Programming to "go to menu;" however, I can only click back out of Forward Programming and not move anywhere within Forward Programming to select the text "go to menu" which it is instructing me to do. Both my AS3X and SAFE are backwards on the horz. stab., all the other surfaces are correcting toward the proper direction. What do you think I should do Steffen?

[@SteffenRC]

@@JimHenriksen-z1s hey Jim, first most of the Eflite BNF don’t allow you to change the Forward programming. They are locked. You’d need to unlock and reset through the fancy Spektrum cable. Something you might want to try is rotate your elevator servo control horn 180 degrees. That will act like the AS3X is programmed. You’ll need to reverse the servo in your TX.

[@JimHenriksen-z1s]

Oh gosh Steffen, I'm not sure where my original Spektrum cable is??? Maybe I'll need to try your solution the other way, by "rotating my servo arm and reversing the directing in my transmitter." I see how that might work, I just don't know if my servo arm has enough room against the fuse. sidewall to clear it, I will try though and reply back to you if it works. Still though, I am a bit wondering if my transmitter will cause the same error on my other planes when it come to having AS3X and SAFE enabled, I may have to take them out via the transmitter switch (disable it)! Will get back with you either way, thank you for the interesting "servo idea" though. Good thinking Steffen!

[@SteffenRC]

@@JimHenriksen-z1s the programming cable I’m referring to is an addition part you must order. Not sure how the servo is reversed if everything is exactly the same. Something must be different. My friends situation was his non stock servo was reversed direction of stock servo. If your servos were all place back in the same place and same direction, that’s really odd. The RX is the same and in the same orientation?

[@JimHenriksen-z1s]

Hi Steffen, I had room against the side of the fuse., so I placed the servo arm on that side (180 deg from where it was placed to begin with). Plus, I reversed the elevator servo in my transmitter (servo adjust pallet) and all surfaces work great in AS3X; however, when I flip the switch on my transmitter into the SAFE position, the elevator goes negative, like the aircraft will go into a dive on SAFE! So.... I'm just not going to use the SAFE feature on this receiver as I am thinking now that I must have received a bad AR637TA receiver with the plane. Regardless, I think I'll just use the switch in the AS3X mode and forget about the SAFE feature, I never use it anyway! Thank you for your help Steffen.

[@SteffenRC]

Jim, I sure wish I could help with this situation. There has to be something we are missing. This should be a simple setup after a build. You may want to checkout the Spektrum programming cable they sell. It will help you unlock RXs, upgrade them and so on. Its a handy piece of kit. Good luck.

[@boxlessthinker1973]

I had a gyro incident with my v2 Reflex on my Kinfgisher (factory installed) that was like a grand mal seizure. I’ve never had a hiccup from my Spectrum gyro. I was barely able to get it upright before the Kingfisher hit (no damage surprisingly). Very concerned to try it again…. Any suggestions? I’ve flown it without gyro but like having it installed so I can flip a switch if I get into trouble. After watching this I will go wiggle the gyro - maybe the 2-sided tape is loose. Should I replace the v2 with a v3? This acted like a voltage spike or dip (can that happen?).

[@SteffenRC]

Those type of issues are hard to troubleshoot. I'd test to see if its loose, but that reflex placement in the Kingfisher is pretty tight space. If its stuck tight, then I'd check the servos and control horn connections, make sure the servos are working perfectly. If those are solid, then I would remove the reflex from the equation and connect to my RX. (what type of rx are you using?). If you feel comfortable that is. I've never had a Reflex act up like you described so its hard to determine if a V3 would help. Or maybe this is the time in your RC Piloting career where you fly without the Gyro for a few flights. I'm sure you're capable and the kingfisher is tough. Let me know if you find anything on the plane that could be causing the issues.

[@MarlonMoyer]

My EFlite Ultimate 3D crashed hard because the gyro wasn’t secured well from the factory and for some reason HH never thought anyone would want to fly the plane without the gyro enabled.

[@SteffenRC]

I've yet to have one get loose on me. I fly in all weather conditions and know its just a matter of time when the cold effects the double stick tape..😂

[@timtheurer9831]

The one you don’t mention is the flex innovation aura gyro which in my opinion of extensive use is far better than all the others

[@SteffenRC]

Your right, The Aura's..... I don't have any experience with them, but helped a friend program his once. Seems like a nice gryo..

[@caseygray6028]

I never learned to use gyros. Accept of course on helicopters. I don't run any kind of gyro on jets or prop planes, you dont need it.

[@Stirling_RC_Videos]

They help me. Glad YOU don't need it. Someday I may be as good as you are.

[@SteffenRC]

Thanks Casey, Some like them, some don't. Lots of guys use them from the beginning and its important they understand how to use and take advantage of them. I use the analogy of a backup camera in my new truck. Do I need it? No, I can just use my mirror or turn my head, but it sure make it easier to backup. At least for me.. To each their own. Will

[@davidsmithson9236]

What’s wrong with a gyro? What sandwich would you recommend ?

[@SteffenRC]

Oh No.... Don't misunderstand. A gyro is a wonderful sandwich, but it's really important for the sandwich maker to pay attention to the details. For example you need to make sure you have the correct condiments. You wouldn't apply mustard to a Gyro, but instead apply some tzatzika instead. Also, using a slice of wonder bread would be a complete disaster and resulting in the sandwich falling apart and crashing into your lap. No, only a quality flatbread or pita will do.. Thanks for asking though.. - Will

[@nunu4692]

bro i check that whole sht plus i configure gyro gain from 0 to 70 on a dial channel to have full control of it on sudden wind change. great info though.

[@SteffenRC]

@@nunu4692 you are ahead of the curve my friend. Lots of newer pilots don’t quite understand the TX/Gyro relationship. They see as one and the same. Thanks for sharing your process.

[@JordanColeman-r8w]

I do a pre-flight even with my umx airplanes

[@SteffenRC]

As you should.

[@alexanderklenk2195]

Why use something like these systems instead of an equally priced and much more capable flight controller running something like INAV?

[@SteffenRC]

Some of these systems come already installed in the plane. These are simple 3 axis gyros. Nothing like a Matek F405 flight controller running INAV which offers 10x the capabilities to these systems. Also, 99% of the users of these systems are flying LOS, not FPV where the FC and INAV really shine.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

If us Old Dodderers can't even get 2 simple set-up tests done right, just imagine the fun we could get into with something as complex as programming a fully-fledged flight controller! 😱😵‍💫🙄

[@RcFlighttest-c4j]

Can you pls send me an plane like fms rannger

[@RcFlighttest-c4j]

Or an umx

[@SteffenRC]

I don’t have a Ranger to give you, but FMS has some great sales going on. You can use my discount code STEFFERC for 10% off. Good luck

[@billsmith2308]

...Bought 2 months ago, not happy with its characteristics.

[@SteffenRC]

@@billsmith2308 Bill, You weren't happy with the Ranger flight characteristics. I'd love to understand what you didn't like about it. Please let me know since I've been using them for many years and haven't found any issues. That said, I might have different expectations than you do. Thanks Will

[@RcFlighttest-c4j]

@@SteffenRC but can you send me an plane any plane broken or not I don't care

[@FastSloW-qt8xf]

Maybe do some quick ground checks first..

[@FastSloW-qt8xf]

Alitte shake to the left right front and back

[@SteffenRC]

Yep, that the point of the video. Understand how to test your gyro is working as it should. Lots of guys do a control surface check with their TX, not thinking about the Gyro.

[@Mroswaldo16]

Make sure safe wasnt on, thats why i crashed my plane! As3x flying good.

[@thorvelasco1467]

Yup. 24 planes died in my hobby life not understanding this

[@SteffenRC]

Sorry about that.. It happens.. Hence my video (this is the second one).

[@shanethepain2009]

i dont ever use Gyros , end of the problem

[@SteffenRC]

You're fortunate that your planes don't have them and you learned without using them. Some see them as a benefit. Kinda like Backup Cameras in vehicles. Why use them when you can just look in the rear view mirror or just turn your head to look back. I dunno, some technologies are handy to have..

[@melvonnar1]

befor flight the first time flying a new airplane check up down right left controls -----------------THEN CHECH gyro DIRECTION RIGHT, LEFT, U,, DOWN ---have many times seen gyro working back Ward -----=INSTANT CRASH

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Nope! Wrong way around mate! ALWAYS check (and correct if required) the Gyro Directions FIRST! On many Gyro systems switching the gyro direction ALSO switches the radio stick direction. But switching the radio stick direction has NO effect on the Gyro correction direction. (As explained here!) So do the gyro first then the radio - unless you like doing things multiple times and any mistake in any of the steps could stuff your pride and joy into Firmer Terror!

[@jwoodyr1]

I put gyros in my mowf ... not in my planes.

[@SteffenRC]

Thats great you don't use them in your planes. Some find them handy, some don't. Its a very popular piece of equipment for many pilots. So, its important that they understand how to perform a check to make sure the gyro (3-axis gyro) is working correctly.

[@stuffD-fh8vf]

Gyros make crap pilots. They dont know how a stall feels, they dont know what to do to exit a spin, they dont know how to land ect ect. Fly without a gyro, its so much more fun and organic. Gyro stabilzed planes looks souless and robotic when flying.

[@SteffenRC]

I don't have the same experience with Gyros that you have. I use them on some planes, but not others. Planes don't feel robotic to me, but that just how I see it. I see a lot of new pilots have a wonderful time flying with gyros. They are really having fun. Not sure the gyro has limited their fun in any way. I appreciate your opinion, I just have a different perspective.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@SteffenRC I don't know why all those "Top Gun" pilots flying those F-22s have all those useless gyro-controlled gadgets in their planes. If they got rid of those they could fly as good as the Red Baron! 😉😊