ZOHD Dart 250G & Kopilot tweaks

[@bomberaustychunksbruv4119]

I have found with Kopilot - run gain pots lowish like you 1/3 max. Also with little planes I setup adjustable EXPO on a pot with a range between 30 min to 70 max in OpenTX so I can adjust it while flying in manual, then later you can set it permanently, or just leave it on the pot.

[@benjaminwinston4185]

Thanks so much for doing this video. Particularly the stall and glide characteristics, they're very helpful!

[@ukulelefatman]

Amazing rainbow photo. I've never seen such a clear separation of colors.

[@RobisonRacing68]

You are a huge help Andrew.

[@AndrewNewton]

The pleasure is mine.

[@davidwatkin1484]

🌈 thanks Andrew, a rainbow on the horizon for many modelers. You've saved me a lot of trial and error with the Kopilot. 🍻 Cheers

[@AndrewNewton]

Glad it helped David.

[@davidwatkin1484]

@@AndrewNewton In stabilized mode, I am getting aileron flutter, when the model is perfectly still, regardless of gain setting. Any suggestions? 🍺

[@longjammeriii3323]

Hi my friend am building my RC knowledge up nicely thanks to your informative vlogs and your relaxed interesting and sometimes humorous style, fly safe and thanks for sharing, regards, Alan ( old rc newbie) UK.

[@RGCbaseace]

Another nice informative video thank you andrew

[@mikegriffiths7487]

Just finished putting together my Dart 250 that I got a couple of months back and was reviewing this very useful video for which many thanks. It’s the first model I’ve had with an FPV camera. Practically burned my fingers on the circuit board during set up! I find it astonishing how hot this thing gets and it clearly needs to hang right out in the airstream. How long do these transmitter boards last and if it packs up can you still use the integrated camera with another board?

[@AndrewNewton]

Yes they all get surprisingly hot, specially these tiny transmitters. Really need to keep the air flow over it. Good question about the camera. Not easy to separate but I have a dead one that I might try.

[@marielizysurourcq]

NO STAAAAALLLL ! Like my delta ! Huge point for beginners and "park cruisers" like me. PS oh, and thanks for the 2S flight :)

[@jamesceastep8874]

Andrew: Since you are my go-to guy for slope flying and I can see you have had a good bit of flying with the ZOHD Dart 250g, I have several questions for you: 1) What do you feel is the sloper potential of the ZODH Dart 250g? Should it be run a bit heavy or light to perform best? 2) Have your tried 2S 18650 (or 21700) Li Ion batteries in it? 3) Could the use of one of the Matek flight controllers to enable the removal of the ESC for simultaneous weight savings and increased flight control capability? Which one? 765? 722? 411? 405? other? 4) Do you feel that another camera would add value/utility? Foxeer Razeer mini? Caddx Ant? AKK 356c? Which Vtx would you use to optimize weight and range? 5) Do you think that running INAV in this model with its avalable mission planning would work without adding too much weight? What flight controller would you suggest? 6) Have you experimented with the Happymodel ExpressLRS ES24TX or EX915TX protocols to expand range/reliability yet? Thanks! - Jim

[@AndrewNewton]

Hi Jim. It's not suited to sloping really. Could ballast it up for speed in a decent wind maybe. 2s LiPos or 18650s are fine F411-WSE is the only board suitable, but that wouldn't replace the ESC VC400 is not a great camera, but it's small and all in one. Any of the micro setups would work but I dont know much about them. F411-WSE check out Marc Hoffmanns videos. INAV seems to work well. No idea about the Happymodel, not really my area of interest.

[@jamesceastep8874]

@@AndrewNewton Thanks for patiently answering!

[@blackskorpion71]

Калибровка стиками возможна тока если на аппаратуре расходы стоят 100%. А уже после калибровки выставляешь скоко надо. У меня первый канал 35, второй 38. На блоке настройки первый меньше пол четверти а второй пол четверти.

[@pierstaylor7780]

Thank you.

[@EnglishTurbines]

Lol....looked a handful in manual Andrew...Im surprised they didn't include remote Gain adjustment via a channel, like even the basic Giros do....Just fly along slowly increasing the gain knob until it starts to oscillate, then back it down a little. A lot easier to hit the sweet spot IMO.

[@AndrewNewton]

Needed even lower rates and more expo for manual, then it's a sweet flier.

[@petwog]

great information about a really sweet plane. Interesting how many well respected pilots (such as yourself) still fly with the Aomway Commander V1....still a good goggle.

[@AndrewNewton]

OK goggles at a reasonable price

[@julianhumphrey4843]

looking very good, seems a pretty good plane, not for me as i have the older dart.....be careful flying with stabilisers you ight end up like me with a stab in every plane, some say they are cheat mode but i love how a plane flies with eagle tree guardian fitted

[@OscarBertrand]

How did you manage to deal with both 2s and 4s batteries with the same setup? You do not have Low voltage cut off on the esc side?

[@AndrewNewton]

Only 2S and 3S. I never set LVC

[@istvansoos1055]

Dear Andrew! How I set up the RTH throttle value? Do I must set a value for the throttle when I set the failsafe? Or does the kopilt control it? I don't think so.

[@AndrewNewton]

No need. Kopilot controls the throttle during RTH

[@istvansoos1055]

@@AndrewNewton Thx! So on the Taranis I set only failsafe value for ch5 to rth, the other chanells not set anything right? If I fly on 300m high and switch to rth, the plane will descend to it's preset low rth altitude or stay on the 300m during rth? Thx!

[@AndrewNewton]

Only set RTH. Dont know about above 70m

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@AndrewNewton Seems it drops down to 70 during RTH if above that height. Rises to 70 during RTH if between 35 and 70. Flies straight and level up to 35m then enters RTH and climbs if starting below 35. This little wing flies nicely with your settings but is better suited to your soft lawn landing areas that our old mining plain, Andrew. Needs some of the battery weight sacrificed for some nose and underside plastic reinforcements. 😁

[@SighKick]

Hi Andrew - I have just used your BG R/C link to purchase the ZOHD Kopilot Lite and the ZOHD VC400 AIO FPV COMBO as there is a $20 saving. I am buying now to avoid the 15% GST we will suffer from the 1st December here in NZ, we have been lucky in this regard up to now. Hope you receive commission for this purchase. Dave [NZ] p.s. if you figure out how to change font on the OSD, do let us know.

[@AndrewNewton]

Many thanks Dave, pretty sure you can't change the font

[@pierstaylor7780]

Thank you for all your detailed videos an I may have missed one but at 2:02 you talked about having the “settings at full” I couldn’t quite see the the settings you have on my phone, would there be any more details on these please? Would you be able to explain the setting between manual, stabilised and expo? Apologies but I’ve yet to take a maiden flight in the 250

[@AndrewNewton]

I was turning the gyro gains up full just to see the effect. Manual is unstabilised just passing the stick commands straight through to the servos. Stabilised is self levelling with limited bank and pitch angles. Adding expo softens the response of the control surfaces around the centre region of stick movement. If you're asking those questions I think you should start with a less complicated setup like a Bixler 2 and no flight control board.

[@pierstaylor7780]

@@AndrewNewton thank you for the detailed reply. This is my first venture into fixed wing. Painless360 and yourself are my go-to channels, I’ve built and flown quite a few quads over the years, I must apologise the question I asked was probably worded wrong (also probably our cultural differences as well) Question: Is “expo” is it used in all modes? Is there any harm in setting it in all modes? I looked at the bixler but it’s a bit big for my vehicle! But I did see your realistic video on the xka800. I I’ve ordered one and gonna fly the life out of it Thank you so much, we all learn so much from your hard wok

[@pierstaylor7780]

....and also your work (oops)

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@pierstaylor7780 How did you get on with the A800? Personally I'd have taken Andrew's advice and started off with a pusher - the lighter the better. That A800 won't survive a heavy nose-in. ;-)

[@pierstaylor7780]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 brilliant! I’ve had a few flights but the weather here is bad (northern ireland) couple of crashes but nothing hot glue can’t fix. I liked it so much I bought a 2nd one and also a hobbyking 959, zohd dart & parrot disco, Getting stuff here has become difficult since Brexit. But I’m really enjoying the hobby. Thank for all your help and encouragement

[@СергейЛарионов-у8в]

I have two questions about setting up a flight controller. 1. In the moment you drop the model, I hear that the engine is already running. Not using autostart mode? I no longer try to start in this mode. I set the stabilization mode, set max throttle and drop the model. 2. Can I turn off the setup board after all the settings are complete? Is it necessary to disconnect the setup board when the battery is on, or when it is turned off?

[@AndrewNewton]

1. Not autolaunch, this model dips too much for that to work all the time. 2. No difference with my setup.

[@СергейЛарионов-у8в]

@@AndrewNewton Thank you!

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Actually we've found that Autolaunch requires a REALLY strong throw at a slightly upward angle to get it up to flying speed OR to use a Bungee-launcher - particularly if using the 3-blade propeller on 3s. Also the ONLY way to guarantee that your settings will be saved if you want to remove the Settings Board and the cable IS to do it BEFORE you unplug the plane battery. That has been tested and proven.

[@rizen3467]

I flew mine for the first time today but the auto take off just didnt work, always landed the plane nose first 4 meters in front of me, seems like the motor doesnt start soon enough

[@AndrewNewton]

Yes they do dip. Have to give it revs and a good fling up at about 30º

[@rizen3467]

@@AndrewNewton okay going to try that today. thanks for the fast answer!

[@alanreid250]

Hi Andrew....initial maiden of the dart it was very waggly in stabilizer mode....turned the gains down and still waggles a lot...had a thought the other day that if i turned the rates down that this might help...unfortunately the weather here in the next few days is gonna be very breezy so won't be able to test my theory.....would turning rates down to say 50% help??? Thanks

[@AndrewNewton]

Turn the gains down to something like 15% for less wiggle.

[@johndylan9309]

Have you had any problems with burning out the motor using the 2 blade prop on 3s? I am on my 3rd motor and ended up switching back to 3 blade prop. I am also running 600mW vx off the esc. Not sure if that is the culprit.

[@AndrewNewton]

No problems with my motor. But I use 2S mostly

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Yep. You've got to use the throttle sparingly when running the 5x5 on 3S. Only use on take off and dodge tree panic mode for very short bursts. We've done 1 on a Dart250 and 1 on a Drift. A 4545 or 5x4 might be better. The 3-blader is anaemic and is easily broken on a rough landing.

[@kool-k-kel]

Hi Andrew I have a question regarding the build... Do you have to limit the servo travel / throw on this wing.. not seen anything on this... Thx fella for your vids

[@AndrewNewton]

I started with a 50 50 elevon mix then reduced the ailerons and increased the elevator to something like 40 60

[@thenatedog]

do the rate knobs change your throws in manual mode or only in stabilizer modes?

[@AndrewNewton]

Only the stabilisation gain, not the throws. I have 50% weight and 30 Expo for manual only, then 100 weight for RTH and stabilise

[@vijayakumarkona443]

Can we connect a camera with gimbel for adjusting the moment for camera view

[@AndrewNewton]

Yes there is one spare AUX ch on the Kopilot (SBUS Ch6) or you can connect straight to a spare channel on your receiver

[@jcfpv3454]

Hey tried to calibrate the dart 250 off of your drift calibration video it would not do anything other than beep any help greatly appreciated

[@AndrewNewton]

Which calibration, ESC, level or radio trims?

[@gamaxgbg]

Very nice, but a plane small like this even causes some discomfort to fly in manual mode. Too wiggly, feels like it is gonna fall to the ground at any moment. As you said, if the kopilot had rate (acro) mode and geofencing for altitude it would be a killer.

[@jcfpv3454]

What a wonder flying wing this one is my favorite my other is a mini ar wing with kopilot and gps installed 👍

[@AndrewNewton]

I prefer the drift myself

[@jcfpv3454]

I really enjoy the drift as well only flew it once on a windy day but so cool

[@jcfpv3454]

I have only Los flew it but absolutely amazing

[@jcfpv3454]

How do you set different rates for manual mode vs stabilized mode still learning sorry if this is a noob question

[@AndrewNewton]

In the mixer page you can enter different weights for each switch position (or mode) Taranis / OpenTX

[@busasquid]

What was the amp-hour of the last battery

[@AndrewNewton]

1300mAH 2S

[@jcfpv3454]

Hey when turning on the sub 250 was the rth on position 1 or 3 I cant figure out which is which the motor and everything else acts exactly the same except position 1 blinks both leds position 3 is solid on both leds in kopilot

[@AndrewNewton]

Position 1, switch up, or -100 is RTH

[@jcfpv3454]

Do you lose throw amounts in stability mode when turning gains down or is it only adjusting stability corrections

[@AndrewNewton]

Just correction amplitude, not the throws

[@ianbrisky640]

Where do you adjust the rate to 60 as noted in this video when flying in manual mode? I have a Taranis Q X7. Thank you for your input.

[@AndrewNewton]

I programmed reduced rates that are only active when the mode switch is on the Manual Mode position. I'll add a photo in the community tab

[@TakeItToTheGround]

So can you please summarise what you think? To me the ZOHD 250G seems great but do you recommend using ko-pilot or going the full inav and/or another stabiliser with acro mode?

[@AndrewNewton]

If you're happy with fine soldering and flashing firmware then I would go with a Matek F411-WSE board and iNav. If that doesn't thrill you then the Kopilot is a much simpler setup.

[@pokiou]

nice, should set up a fpv wing race :D

[@reefer2917]

It looks like each launch you did a bit of lawn mowing! :-) great vid, thanks for sharing

[@AndrewNewton]

Yes it will dip if you don't give it lots of throttle and a good chuck

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@AndrewNewton And that's from a big fellah with a pitcher's arm. Bit harder for us old runts with 1 weak and 1 dud arm. Ratio of launches to take offs goes up. :D

[@GroundControlRC]

Nice demonstration! I'm reviewing your FPV footage to catch site of that Pot of Gold ;-) See you in the Air!

[@AndrewNewton]

That rainbow ends at the waste water treatment plant. There's gold in sewerage!

[@babylonhobbiesandfpv4862]

I just received one of these and have a few questions, firstly I have a flysky i6s is it compatible with this uav and how do I go about setting it up, also I have a heap of 4s 1500mah 100c batteries and a heap of 3s 1500mah 100c ones as well, not worried about weight being over the 250g mark but will it fly with these cells and will the electronics handle them? Both battery types are just over the 100g mark in weight the 4s is a little heavier of course.

[@AndrewNewton]

Unless you mod the throttle spring centering you can't use your radio with planes, and I doubt your batteries will fit. Check the product page for battery bay sizing

[@babylonhobbiesandfpv4862]

@@AndrewNewton I have no throttle spring in mine.

[@babylonhobbiesandfpv4862]

@@AndrewNewton will it take a 4s?

[@MX7XMXD]

Silent Storm it can take 4s with the 3 inch props just not the 1500 mah ones

[@alexkerr306]

Cool..

[@zohdofficial6484]

EPIC!

[@AndrewNewton]

Thanks, great fun to play with.

[@eflight13]

WHAT IS YOU ACTUAL FLYING SOT AUSSIE DON

[@keithnerison1017]

Thanks again Andrew! you have pretty much covered every question I had about the Dart 250 / Kopilot combo, very happy to see this little guy tame the shakes , When Mine shows up I have a very good starting point for the setup. When flying 3s with the 5x5 prop in manual was there any noticeable torque roll? I know its not exactly a big prop but it is fair sized for the Dart 250's wingspan and weight, also thanks for the amp draw info, all very useful information. You are my Dart 250 / Kopilot Guru! Love the content Andrew. Once again Cheers and thanks for a sign of warmth from the Early winter in the Midwest USA!

[@AndrewNewton]

Didn't notice any torque roll, but I never do and always assume it's wind.

[@grumpyjohntxredneckrc6346]

Very C@@L! Thanks Mate