ZOHD KoPilot Lite: simple stabilisation and RTH - step by step setup for new pilots

A few last tips: don't forget to setup your fail-safe on the radio/receiver to be the RTH mode (Ch5). That way if the Rx loses connection with the model it'll head for home. Also you will need to be in Stabilise mode for the level calibration to work.
Full ZOHD KoPilot Lite Series: • ZOHD KoPilot GPS fligh...
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[@nickmarangelis2251]

I have tried a few flight controllers and some are still in the drawer. This is because they get to complicated and I am not computer savvy. I then bought the kopilot and after a few videos managed to set it up, I was doubtful it would be up to what I expected. I have been using it for the past few months and I could not be more impressed. It is consistently reliable and given me such peace of mind and I enjoy flying so much more. This will now be standard in most of my planes. Your video is well explained. Thanks

[@mickelson8332]

Great update again Lee, thanks for reminding others about setting the throws back to 100% before attempting the autolevel calibration. This caused me a lot of frustration last time but I know you have a separate video for this now. Thanks Lee.

[@lifeinrc9051]

Painless, I want to thank you for all your tutorials, reviews, and flight videos first. I have to say thank you now with the tutorials on the Kopilot system. I was able to follow your instructions and I did the maiden flight of my FPV Glider and it was an amazing experience. I was able to do the flight and tested stabilization, RTH, and even failsafe RTH successfully. I do have some trim & battery positioning to work on to get the best balance/performance but it was a fantastic experience. Thanks again for all you work.

[@crabsodyinblue]

After 2 years of no flying i got my little Dart 250 from the back of the shed and was clueless again on the Kopilot settings, have the manual somewhere, but your excellent video's are a trusted life and timesaver as always. Thanks again Lee!

[@blah4216]

I am currently building a drfft and been having bulk issues watching this helped me out perfectly thanks

[@z506fpv5]

Thank you for this video, having someone showing how the things look when done right is really helpful. I just finished the setup of my Zohd Drift with Kopilot.

[@IanF-FPV]

I got one for free with my Zohd Talon GT. I installed a Matek board with INav but your video has encouraged me to put it in my old Durafly Sidewinder fpv race wing.

[@RB-qg1qx]

I bought the Drift with the koPilot Etc a couple of months ago and just getting round to setting it up, found your videos very helpful, thank you!

[@TheJimpickeringjr]

I just wanted to thank you for all the videos you've produced. :)

[@DavidReynolds-kr6yh]

Thanks for doing this video, I’ve got the Dart 250g and while it flies beautifully in stabilised mode, it was an absolute pig in manual mode. Now I have a better understanding of where I went wrong.

[@jwpw47]

Many thanks for your videos about the zohd that made my life much easier! I have flown the bigaole before the zohd and must say that the zohd has some very nice features. Besides the easy setup I really like the automatic storage of the home position. I planned to build in a zohd in all of my (next) airplanes. Please keep up the good work! Greetings from The Netherlands. Jan

[@SteffenRC]

Really enjoy your videos, Ive learned a ton.. Appreciate all your hard work.. I finally figured out the Kopilot for my Dart 250 after watching your video a dozen times. One thing that I couldn't figure out and probably missed in the video.. The Manual mode was working ok, but when I went to adjust Stabilize mode with rotating the pots, everything started to get reversed.. I swapped the servo leads and everything is right as rain... The next one will be a breeze to setup..

[@jcfpv3454]

Thank you very much we'll definitely start over and go back through everything to see if I missed anything

[@The_Pub_]

Thanks Lee. Very informative and useful even a year later. Just as JC from "Project Blue Falcon" was, May he Rest in Peace.

[@blacksheeprcmodelers959]

sorry to go crazy on the comments. I put this setup in my yellow EF 300extra. modes are, stabilization, off, RTH. everything worked great. I even threw the plane in the air to test the auto take off and it worked great!!!! thanks again for this video. The only thing i dont like about it, is you have very limited control when the model is in stabile mode. I wish it was more of just a gyro, but I am still learning all the functions of this item!! thx again

[@fcass]

Thanks for this. When I did my maiden on the Dart 250g it immediately death rolled to the right and broke the nose off (ouch, but you can't see where I glued it back together so all is well.) I did manage to figure out the Kopilot problem and get it flying nicely, but I wish I had seen this then, 'thank you' to your patreon for inspiring it. I had to move (during a pandemic? Eeesh!) and haven't flown it in too long. I originally tried a little 200mw aio cam like you have in this video and I could never get any range. So I bought an RDQ vtx and a good cam but still haven't set it up. Now that I have the DJI goggles on order I'll probably just stick a Caddx Nebula in it! And someday I'll fly it again ha ha :)

[@JoaancairoProd]

Really good tutorial! Well explained and very graphical!! Perfect for beginners...

[@AndrewSmith-yd8vy]

Thanks for taking the time to explain how and why, awesome!..

[@MCsCreations]

Thanks a lot, Lee! That's really useful!!! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@BigMeanyVids]

Yes, thanks for this vid as about to employ this on a sailplane as a failsafe backup kind of thing since i had one lying around but never used it.

[@foreverdroningon]

Once again Mr Painless helps me out. I have just installed one of these which I bought for thirty six pounds from banggood. in my Bixler 3. Followed your clear and simple set up instructions. It works a treat . I think I really put it through its paces. In manual I put it into a full stall switched into stabilize and it corrected itself immediately . To be fair the bixler does tend to correct itself but not as quickly. I performed a half loop in manual switched to stabilize whilst inverted once again the Kopilot sorted it out beautifully. The return to home is great the only very slight downside is that the home point is set above the point where the board powers up which means when it returns to home it orbits over the pit area. Easily fixed by powering up on the far side of the strip. The scary part of my test was actually switching off the transmitter. No problem there back to the home point like a well trained pigeon but when I switched on after the test I had no throttle control so ended up landing dead stick off strip. ( nice day for a walk ) . It was pilot error as I have to set all my switches to the up position before the radio will power on of course this set my throttle in safe mode and I forgot this. Auto launch is a bit scary you really need to give it a good shove to keep it on track as the throttle opens. I think I found a nice little hack or trick. If I apply full left or right rubber in stabilized mode the plane makes nice flat turns. I am thinking of mixing one of my pots to the rudder. This could be really useful in a thermal. Thank you Mr Painless you made my install really easy. FDO

[@LookatTheseMuffins]

This video was just what I needed. The instructions are ok, but a bit confusing when first trying out the system. Your video really helped clear things up for the me though, so thank you so much!

[@phatpastor32974]

Yes this would have helped me on that Dart 250!

[@dougmcpheters1546]

Great follow up video!

[@GOTTACO]

SUPER IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE USING ELRS!!! Channel 5 is binary so you will need to move one of the leads in your receiver to channel 6 and set up using channel 6 as your mode switch.

[@Painless360]

Yep, this could be changing soon... Stay tuned

[@pierstaylor7780]

Brilliant video, thank you

[@birdmantelly007]

Many Thanks. Will let you know how I go.

[@gazzabyerun9556]

💯Thank you very much, i am very new to the new world of electronics and flying drones, FPV planes, i am looking at getting a ZOHD vtail plane. I like the way you zoom in and show a close up of everything and thank you very much for the pro tips,💯 nicely done! 🇺🇸🐾🐾🐾🖖 I will definitely use ur coupons next time i get something from BangGood/ BangBad. Getting ready to pull the trigger 🔫, 💸 on ✈️ ZOHD products! Semper Fi!

[@willielemaitre3854]

Good explination, thank you

[@jcfpv3454]

Thanks fantastic video

[@pilotmiami1]

thenks

[@marcioschittler]

Love your videos. And your accent.

[@johncarold]

Hi I purchased the ZOHD Kopilot for my first AR Wing, but I had problems with the controls but I think now I know what I did wrong but now I have a Maytek F411wse in it. Now I know what I did I need to order a new gps module and a new plane . Thanks for the video and information.

[@johncarold]

I do have a question about the ZOHD Kopilot, I have a Volantex A.S.W 28 Would like to put it in and if I'm right I can use the aux port for the flaps. and I I uses the Beitian BN-220 on my AR Wing but if I'm right again I can order the Beitian BN-880 and then I can have a compass GPS module. Will this work ? Thanks again for the video and information and the answer

[@Painless360]

If you're looking on doing anything more advanced than basic stabilisation and an emergency RTH mode then adding a more advanced FC with something like Arduplane or iNav would be a better choice. See my builds and comparison for both. Happy flying

[@tunaflights7258]

Thank you

[@hobbyaddictnbroke7678]

After watching this video I had to have this for my new trainer w/FPV! My only hiccup was the double sided foam pad raises the Kopilot enough that the GPS holder doesn't clear. Wish they would have included the screws to mount the Kopilot. Im looking forward to the maiden flight thou..

[@Painless360]

I cut a small piece of foam from the GPS cover. Best of luck with the maiden!

[@user-od2ei3bp7h]

Thank you friend .

[@budgetwebsiteservice]

Thanks for doing videos like this, the last time I flew fixed wing it was with nitro, crystals, coloured ribbons & a peg board, so it's going back some to say the least & none of these types of electronics existed back then, so it's great to learn about these types of products both for new pilots & those like myself returning to the hobby.. Having seen your earlier video, I've purchased one of these from BG & was just about to install it in to my brand new plane, that was until I found that the carbon fibre wing support rod that's supposed to be straight was actually bent! So that's put the build on hold for now until HK send me out a replacement.. That said, something I had to Google to find the answer (& it wasn't easy) & I'm wondering if it's the sort of real real basic stuff that you can cover in future videos is things like which way up is the GPS unit supposed to go?? And does it actually matter?? Also, the best placement for it, as from what I've read I believe that some of the other electronics can interfere with the signal... Anyways, I look forward to your future videos...

[@Painless360]

The square sensor on the GPS has to face the sky. I've covered that in other build videos... Happy flying

[@greatgandalf5233]

Thanks....this is some good 👍gouge!

[@GTStGambit]

12:24 I found with autopilots like the Eagle tree 2D/3D and Ardupilot that adjusting the trims in manual mode would affect the autopilots control and it sounds like the ZOHD is the same. The way I addressed it is to use the flight modes settings on the Taranis linked to the flight mode switch, you can then specify that the trims are only used in manual mode. Means you can adjust the trims for each individual flight and weather condition and know that the stabilised flight modes will not be adversely affected.

[@Painless360]

It's common practice to recalibrate the radio in the FC after you trim. Check out the Arduplane build as it can do all of it automatically... happy flying

[@peterkoslowksi4462]

Thank you so much for detailed Installation guide! 👍 I bought a Kopilot Llite together with a Zohd Drift. Unfortunately, I‘m having big problems getting a connection to the Kopilot. I‘m using a Crossfire Nano + Taranis QX7S + Crossfire module. The Connection between Crossfire Nano and Crossfire Module seems to be fine (solid green light). I‘ve created a simple 4 Channel model in my Taranis and added a 3 way switch as channel 5. For the transmitter output, I‘ve selected external and Crossfire. With this setup, no input reaches the Kopilot. The Kopilot is permanently in balanced mode (flashing green light). I can select different plane types using the set button of the settings board in this mode, but this does not solve the issue. Surprisingly, this setup worked before I played around with small settings board. It seems that - by accident - I‘ve messed something up within the Kopilot. Is there factory reset for the Kopilot available. Can you provide some hints for troubleshooting this issue? 🧐

[@Painless360]

How odd. You could try it without the settings board plugged in and see if that changes it. I'd also double check that CH5 is being put out on the SBUS connection to the KoPilot and that the output is set to SBUS in the TBS Agent Lite LUA script on the radio.. Best of luck!

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

The flashing green led(s) means that the Kopilot is in RTH/FENCE/Altitude Hold Mode NOT Stabilized. IF this is not changeable by moving your channel 5 switch then that means that the Kopilot IS NOT receiving any input signal from your receiver. As Lee says check that you have your settings correct for an S-bus signal output from your Crossfire unit. Also remember that you MUST unplug the Kopilot settings board BEFORE you cut the power to it (NOT AFTER!) or you can lose the settings that you just added.

[@peterkoslowksi4462]

I tried a different reciever (non Crossfire) and it worked. It seems to be an issue with the Crossfire module. I wanted to check the configuration of the module and couldn‘t execute the lua script. There seems to be no communication between the crossfire module and the Taranis. I tried a factory reset of the Taranis and the module, but it didn‘t solve the issue. Could there be an issue with the compatibility after a factory reset?

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@peterkoslowksi4462 I have absolutely no knowledge of Crossfire. Possibly your best bet would be to ask on the RCGroups Forums thread on your Crossfire receiver if there is 1. Best of luck!

[@Painless360]

I'd check the settings on the radio are for CRSF for the external bay. I'd think hard about what you changed as it sounds like you did something else you cannot recall. See my Crossfire for beginners series fro how to set it up.. Best of luck!

[@jamesceastep8874]

Lee: Very nice job! I really liked your still-frame closeups. Good tips at the end. 1) What was the all-up weight on your plane? Which model is it? (Drift?) How do you use it? Long range? Sloping? Thermals? 2) Does ZOHD Kopilot Lite mind the lack of a rudder? 3) Have your tried either of the Express LRS Happymodel systems? (915mhz or 2.4ghz)? I'd like to see your take on these new short latency, long range products. Love your stuff! - Jim

[@Painless360]

Hi James, 1) It is a very easy to fly, floaty model great for relaxing flying in very calm weather. 2) Not at all 3) I've not. I am a TRACER and Crossfire fan. Happy flying!

[@SmallScaleSteam]

Having followed this really useful video I had the KoPilot setup in my Drift, but one thing doesn't look right. In manual mode everything is fine but in stabilised mode the AIL and ELV pots which I thought set the gyro gain also affect the servo travel and the lower the gain the less the transmitter can move the servos. For example, in manual mode full stick deflection moves a servo about 60 degrees. In stabilised mode with the gain pot fully clockwise the servo will still move 60 degrees, but if I reduce the gain pot to almost zero the servo now only moves about 3 degrees for full Tx stick deflection. On my planes with gyros such as the nX3 or Multiplex G3 I always start with low gains and after a test flight start increasing the gain until the model starts to over correct, at which point I reduce the gains very slightly. With the Kopilot starting with low gains means that even a full stick deflection hardly moves the servo so I have no confidence to put the Drift into the air as I appear to have no control. Is this gyro gain reduction in maximum control surface movement normal for the KoPilot ?

[@Painless360]

Moving less in stabilised modes is common. I. E. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXKao5iXh7J5aq8

[@CorruptName1]

Man i would be totally down with this thing for certain models if it could do telemetry, Mainly battery voltage but GPS would be nice too.

[@quiquemsa]

hi, thanks for your videos, they are very good. I have two fixed wings of 800 and 1000mm approx with kopilot with the same problem, they fly perfectly in stabilized mode but when I use the semi-autonomous take-off with the RTH or when in flight I put the RTH it goes like sudden jumps entering a loop that if I don't change to stabilized or manual sure it would end very badly. I have changed gains going down to the maximum elevon, but I do not correct it, I repeat it happens only in RTH mode. What do you think could happen? Thank you

[@OdysseyUnreal]

Hi mate, I'm having difficulty on finding the right LEDs for orientation lights that I can use for a octocopter with the Pixhawk 4. Could you do a video or just explain how to set up LED orientation lights for each arm of a drone? This would be a massive help have been searching the PX4 docs for a good hour at this point with no avail. Thanks!

[@Painless360]

If you're looking for LEDs that are controlled by the FC (i.e. WS2812), then there are some documents on Neopixel support. Best of luck!

[@roycegittings]

Thanks for the great video! Does the KoPilit have auto leveling when you let go of the sticks or just stabilization?

[@Painless360]

It does!

[@michaelwheatland4565]

Hi, I have just set up the ZOHD Kopilot Lite in the Dart 250 and your utube videos are invaluable, one problem I have is getting the balance correct, do you think I could reposition the rx into the rear compartment with the escape, incidentally I have made the rear cover removable. I am a bit new to this hobby so forgive me if these questions seem ridiculous. Do keep up the good work. Oldsurveyor 1944

[@asangag]

Hi Mate, great video ! I recently bought kopilot lite but having issues with Throttle/ESC calibration. How do you calibrate the throttle /ESC once connected to the FC ? I have used omnibus & matek FC with Inav & ardupilot and they all need throttle calibration via FC to get full range of the throttle . With Kopilot I'm not getting full throttle range via FC?

[@wtfmimshag]

Timely - just finished putting one into a Dart 250g, nice to have the workflow confirmed. Any tips on kopilot gains and manual throws for the Dart 250? I assume it's a good idea to limit throws only in manual mode and have 100% for stabilised.

[@Painless360]

That would be a smart way to do it. Happy flying!

[@jasonkokosinski6393]

Painless360, great vid. Do you know of any flight controllers with RTH that have a trainer mode with stabilization and a regular mode with stabilization. It seems the manual mode on the Kopilot disables the stabilization as well as the auto level etc. I’m looking for a unit less complicated than the iNav or Ardupilot systems.

[@wadedittus3552]

I do enjoy your videos thank you. Have there been any fly away issues with kopiolt?

[@Painless360]

I've never had one but then it is setup properly.. Happy flying

[@BryonGaskin]

In regards to trimming. Step 1 fly in manual mode and make the trims on the radio. Step 2 do the calibration using the kopilot in stabilized mode. After you have done the calibration in the kopilot, do you (A) reset the trims to center on the radio or (B) leave the trims on the radio?.

[@Painless360]

I leave trims as the recalibration is teaching the KoPilot the new 'middle' channel values.

[@itzikronen105]

Thanks for one more great video. Does the kopilot manage the throttle in RTH? In Failsafe, do I need to set throttle position or just RTH? I apologize if this question has been asked before, I have no idea how to search in the comments.

[@Painless360]

It does everything in RTH mode. Happy flying!

[@superworm1233]

Lee, awesome upload and very helpful. Im attempting to set this up with a DX6i (no 3way switch for modes). is it still possible to use this TX with the ZoHD? thanks

[@Painless360]

Yes you can but you will not get the mode that the middle switch position selects. Maybe you could mix two switches to give you three positions? Best of luck

[@Kikerumbo]

As always, a pretty nice video. I'm trying to use one of these (I know, two years after the release), but I'm unable to use dual rates to make my Drift a little more "mellow" in manual mode. Is there a way to use dual rates and expo with the ZOHD Kopilot Lite? Thanks!

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Yep. Just set them to work only on the same switch position that you use to select "Manual".

[@jackmechanic]

Good day. I’m working hard to install a ZOHD Kopilot Lite into a small foam flying wing. I am attempting to set up the Kopilot using a Spektrum DX9 transmitter and Spektrum AR 620 receiver. Despite working hard at it, I’m quite frustrated. I began with a clean slate by creating a new model in the transmitter with no mixes. Using the Kopilot’s PWM wiring harness and the transmitter’s RX PORT ASSIGNMENTS function I have programmed the transmitter to AETR rather than the Spektrum standard of TAER. The transmitter now controls ailerons from channel one (rather than the Spektrum standard of throttle on channel one), elevator on channel two (rather than the Spektrum standard of ailerons on channel two), throttle on channel three (rather than the Spektrum standard of elevator on channel three), and rudder on channel four. At the receiver the Kopilot wiring harness’s white wire is plugged into channel one and the mode switch servo plug is inserted into channel five. I have also programmed the transmitter to have the three position “B switch” control the Kopilot’s Mode function (switch position +100 = stabilized, position 0 = not stabilized, position -100 = Return To Home). In the model, the servo connected to the aileron channel (#1) is installed in the left wing, and the right wing servo is connected to the elevator channel (#2). Following the instructions that ZOHD provides, and a number of KZbin videos, I have used the Kopilot’s control panel to set the unit for a flying wing (both green LED’s are lit along with the red GPS LED. As far as I can tell, everything’s perfect - but, there is a problem. I am flying Mode two - elevator and ailerons on the right stick and throttle and rudder on the left stick. The left stick’s throttle control works just as it should. That is not the case with the right stick. When I pull back on the right stick my wing’s control surfaces move for a left turn (right aileron down, left up)! When I push forward on the right stick my wing’s control surfaces move for a right turn (right aileron up, left down)! When I move the right stick to the right, both ailerons move up. And when I move the right stick to the left, both ailerons move down! When I engage the stabilizer via the mode switch, corrections made by the Kopilot are a consistent mirror image of the results of control inputs. In other words, when the wing is pitched down, the stabilizer acts to bank the aircraft to the right. When the wing is pitched up, the stabilizer acts to bank the aircraft to the left. Similarly, a left bank brings a downward pitch correction, and right banks result in an upward pitch correction from the Kopilot. I have had the same results using a different receiver and transmitter, as well. I don’t understand why the transmitter’s right stick has aileron controls on the vertical plane and elevator control on the horizonal plane. I would be grateful for any help you may provide. Thank you

[@Painless360]

I've only seen issues like this when either the servos are in the wrong connections or you have two different servos in the wings with one moving opposite.. Best of luck

[@jackmechanic]

Thank so much. With your help, and some from others, we have the system up and running! I'm grateful for your quick and helpful response!

[@Painless360]

So, what was the issue?

[@jackmechanic]

@@Painless360 As you suggested, the aileron and elevator servos were in the wrong connection, one servo's travel for stabilization had to be reversed at the potentiometer, and the second servo's travel had to be reversed in the transmitter. Three small actions; each, by itself, simple. But when combined, very vexing for over four days. Once again, thank you, thank you!

[@Painless360]

Glad you got it sorted. Having the servos in the wrong outputs is so common I made a few videos on it with things like INAV. Happy flying!

[@Idefix70]

Hi Lee! Thank you for all your tutorials. Greatly appreciated. Maybe a stupid question, I have two aileron servos leads but only 1 aileron connection on the Kopilot lite, where do you plug the second lead in?

[@Painless360]

You need a Y cable possibly..

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@Painless360 jj604 on rc groups forums asserts that you can run a lot of planes with only 1 aileron fed by the stabilizer and the other (and flaps etc) fed directly from the receiver. He generally knows what he's talking about.

[@alyssonsmiranda]

hello, I have the zohd lite and I would like to know about fail safe. do I have to configure it on the radio or is it already configured? My radio is the spektrum dx7s

[@foreverdroningon]

Hello again Mr Painless. I find your videos extremely helpful. I have moved my Zohd to my asw 28 .It works a treat the only thing I find a little troubling is in RTH once the model is over head the throttle closes to the point where it is just above the stall. I am sure I am doing something wrong. My flying buddy has just bought a motor glider with a Zohd installed but we don't have the leads to go from the receiver to the Zohd. Do you know where I might find them or what they might be called..

[@Painless360]

RTH is there for an emergency. If you are using it to fly home then take back control before it starts to circle

[@rcdreamers119]

Can i have crow mix braking when my ailerons are plugged into a ZHOD KOPILOT LITE but turned off? Current set up is a Voalntex Phoenix V2, Flysky FS-i6x and FS-i6b, plus the Kopilot. what i am thinking is it possible to use the crow mix when the Kopilot is NOT engaged like when coming into landing i turn the Kopilot off so would crow braking then work or not? or would i need a bigger number receiver? as i have a 6 channel that is all used up.

[@garyhill9723]

Nice instructional vid, I never did get auto launch to work consistently on my Dart 250g though. A lesson I learnt, I set fail safe as rth for the Dart rather than my usual throttle kill. On the second flight last time out I did my usual launch, chuck it about a bit then rth while I put my goggles on. I soon realised that it was flying away from me rather than rth, but by that time it was out of range of the XM+ so I never saw it again.

[@rueda82nd]

WOW what happened?

[@garyhill9723]

Not sure but I think the gps may have lost its signal or kopilot corrupted the home point as it flew off at around 100 ft and I never saw it again.

[@biscuitbassbroom7306]

Hello again ....thank you for yr videos as usual I have another question.... When in rth mode ....will the drift or wing loiter when it has come home?

[@Painless360]

Yes, it'll orbit around the home location.. Happy flying

[@biscuitbassbroom7306]

@@Painless360 thank you sir

[@joenaylor3626]

05:25 As I understand it, if there is no movement in stabilized mode it may be because you do not have a satellite lock

[@mickelson8332]

Hi Joe, I have two of these now and have learnt lots from painless360 on this kopilot. You should have movement in stabilised mode with the ailerons/elevator moving in the correct direction to the movement you are imposing, even without gps. The gps is required for the rth position when you have it selected. Don't fly it until you get the gps lock though otherwise when it does lock you will probably see your plane fly away to where it got the lock. If you haven't got stabilised when testing it on the bench then I suggest something is wrong. Make sure your mode switch is set up to work the right way. 👍

[@magnuscampus]

hello great videos as always ... unfortunately i can't solve a problem..in autolaunch mode the engine starts before launch ... shouldn't it do it after launch? ... thanks 

[@Painless360]

Usually. Sounds like you've not calibrated the ESC... Best of luck

[@magnuscampus]

@@Painless360 thank you Painless .. a greeting from Luigi (Turin)

[@justjonfpv]

Great series of videos, I have a couple of these on the way to help me as I'm just beginning in the hobby and I like the idea of this as a safety net. I have most of this sorted in my head but have one query, When using the SBUS connection does the Kopilot take it's power feed from the throttle connection and then feed that via the SBUS connection to power the receiver? If this is the case I assume you must use an ESC with a BEC/SBEC supplying 5 volts When using the PWM inputs am I right in saying you need to power the receiver with 5 volts and the KoPilot then takes it's power from the mode switch connector? Some help in clearing this up would be greatly appreciated.

[@Painless360]

The Kopilot powers the RX.. Best of luck

[@justjonfpv]

@@Painless360 Thanks for the response, much appreciated.

[@lifeinrc9051]

Thanks for the video painless as this helped me out greatly on setting mine up and works like a charm. However, I do have a question, is there a way that I can add an OSD without the ZOHD Cam? Or, I was also wondering if there is a way I can use telemetry from my radio directly as that would work as well. All I'm looking for is Battery Voltage/Amp and Altitude. If it can't happen in an OSD I'll be happy with radio telemetry and setup voice. I'm currently using the FrSky RX6R 6 channel rx as I'm not doing long range at the moment and eventually plan on Crossfire. I thought about going full iNav but honestly the Kopilot really does what I'm looking for on a controller (stability during video footage & RTH Failsafe). Outside of that I'm in manual mode and RTH GPS Failsafe.

[@Painless360]

Sadly you will need a flight controller for that. See my iNAV for beginners 2020 series.. Best of luck

[@lifeinrc9051]

@@Painless360 Was afraid of that but yup I agree, time to look into a different flight controller.

[@Stephanbrown1987]

You have videos on the Zohd Kopilot Lite and DJI Air Unit, can the two be used together? If so, how is this wired up? Thanks for the great videos!

[@Painless360]

Yes they can but they can't talk to each other outside the AIR Unit being used in the same way as any SBUS receiver to control stuff. Not sure about the channel order though so that is worth checking..

[@adambolonsky8623]

Hi Painless 360; I'm arriving at a half understanding of copilot hardware. I'm using a low-cost RC plane to learn how to run large-scale orthomosaic surveys. (I've got a Bixler 2 ready to fly with just its servos and RX to practice and learn how to fly fixed-wing.). Will the ZOHD and its OSD camera and some other piece of hardware allow me to later program the Bixler to run lawnmower patterns to capture orthomosaic imagery, as I can already do now with DJI GSPro and a Mavic or Phantom? Thanks. I always find your videos helpful. Glad to buy through your affiliate links, by the way, if you can link or suggest everything I need to run ortho flights after I'm confident flying my Bixler.

[@Painless360]

No missions on this things - it's a simple stabiliser with a RTH function. See the ArduPlane/ArduCopter builds in the PixHawk 2020 series for something serious for surveying and mapping... Best of luck!

[@quiquemsa]

Hi, congratulations on your channel. I have a kopilot, why are movements in stabilized mode so limited compared to manual mode? Is there a possibility of increasing them to make the wing more agile? thanks greetings

[@Painless360]

Nope, the max bank and roll angles are set. Happy flying!

[@quiquemsa]

@@Painless360 OK thanks, I will try to play with the adjustment of the gains to be able to have more control penalizing the stabilization a little.

[@Retset]

In manual mode, is there a small amount of stabilisation to counter gusts (like AS3X)?

[@Painless360]

Nope. Nada.. Happy flying

[@kenspaceman3938]

What would be a small thermal glider with an electric motor for getting up, then to turn it off and search for lift? I would be thermal flying over a big farm field with this zohd copilot in the glider. I have a Taranis Tx just like yours. What receiver should I get? I live in Europe so a receiver that could be used on both EU and FCC mode would be nice. Would like the newest rxtx protocoll as I don’t have any airplane receivers for the Taranis tx yet.

[@Painless360]

I use the RadioMaster or FrSky ACCST/D16 compatible receivers like the X8R for wings and planes when I don't need Crossfire or Tracer.

[@batmojuice5704]

I love the Kopilot on my Dart250. But every time I flip into manual mode it just dives to the ground. The preflight controls check looks good. Do you think that sticks in calibration will fix that?

[@Painless360]

You still need to trim the model as you would normally if you want to use manual mode... Happy flying!

[@Vlodek9]

Hello. Thank you for the video. I didn't even know that something like this existed for so low of a price until I saw this video. I do have a question that maybe you will be able to assist with. My ZOHD Kopilot is configured and ready to go. Couldn't do it better and faster without your video. But, I'm about to setup my failsafe on my Spectrum system. For FailSafe, I will set Rates and Expo switch to low, will set my mode switch to RTH. BUT do you think that I need to set the throttle mid range for Fail Safe as well, OR, will the KoPilot adjust the throttle accordingly since its in RTH mode (per failsafe settings) at the time of a full signal lose between the Tx/Rx? Thanks!!!

[@Painless360]

RTH manages the throttle.... Happy flying

[@crazycrow3378]

I Finally found the time to retry to setup the Kopilot Lite on my Dart 250 but keep running into the same issue. Throttle stops working once I switch out of manual mode. I really am so close to finally getting it to work. I’ve setup many Inav and ardupilot planes but this is just killing me.

[@Painless360]

If the servos are 'twitching' when you can't control the throttle, that is because you are in RTH/Launch mode.. That is normal, throttle only starts when the model detects a throw.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

You can have no throttle control in any mode except Manual (if you have the GPS module plugged in) UNTIL you have enough satellites acquired to have a stable GPS lock and the Home Point thus set. Take it outside where it can see the clear sky! Alternatively unplug the GPS unit and you will have throttle control in all 3 switch positions.

[@rueda82nd]

Thanks i just got this in ready to install into my ZOHD Dartv2 , Also had QUESTION? Is it easy to install a CrssFire RX??

[@Painless360]

You've not checked the playlist have you ;) Crossfire detail in here... Best of luck!

[@rueda82nd]

@@Painless360 Thanks going to check playlist

[@uavpilot6715]

I know it might be a simple thing to do, but would it be possible for you to make a video on setting up the failsafe on ZOHD FC?

[@Painless360]

Already done. Check out the playlist.

[@TheBaliAsli]

Hi Lee, well all is good so far in my set up of KOPILOT and the DRIFT. The ailerons and the elevator however work in reverse to the stick. You mention if this is the case then fix it by adjusting things in the radio. I have no idea how to do this having searched for information. My radio is a Devo 7 but the answer to the problem is probably similar for other radios, can you give me some guidance how to fix this please. Thanks

[@Painless360]

Reverse the channel. See my plane setup videos. It's also covered in the manual (www.deviationtx.com/user-manual/user-manual-7e-10) - Section 9.8.1. Best of luck!

[@TheRCfunny]

Can I use two separate channels for ailerons or I have to use "Y" connector?

[@traviscozza7177]

Use a Y

[@emerychandler]

Should come with it’s own y connector.

[@janspoelstra8309]

Hi Lee, I spent the afternoon watching your set-up video's and got the stabilisation of the Kopilot to work as it should. What I can't get to work, is the ESC, it won't arm no matter what. Connected directly to the receiver (RadioMaster R86C, or R88) the ESC arms, so no defects there. I'm at a loss what to try next...

[@Painless360]

There is a problem where some escs will not initialise properly because the KoPilot takes a moment to startup and the ESC times out and disables itself the safety... best of luck

[@janspoelstra8309]

@@Painless360 Thanks! Seems like the ZOHD ESC (rebranded Flycolor) is the way to go, unfortunately I only have the 120A and 150A boat versions at hand...

[@robinvanlooy294]

I have recently bought the fpv version of Drift. I wanted to use my Graupner mz12 Pro transmitter to control it together with a pwm receiver from Graupner. When I was setting up de kopilot, my inputs from the receiver don't work. I plugged my pwm receiver correctly to the kopilot with the special cable. Do you know the cause of this?

[@Painless360]

If the outputs of the receiver are regular PWM then it would work the same as all other receivers. What troubleshooting have you tried?

[@robinvanlooy294]

@@Painless360 I only have the problems when I want to control the plane with the kopilot, if I unplugg the kopilot and just uwe the pwm receiver, everything works fine

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@robinvanlooy294 Graupner use TAER channel order. Have you re-ordered the pins in the 4-pin connector from the AETR stock order?

[@waynetudor3247]

does the settings module need to stay attached to the fc or can it be removed once set? thanks

[@waynetudor3247]

Since commenting, I now own one and now know, it doesn't :)

[@birdmantelly007]

Hi. I have been flying R/C models since 1962 in all the usual types. But some years ago I thought that my skills had reached the point where it would be better if my models had some level of stabilisation and return to home capacities. I have tried several different systems. Ardupilot, Arkbird, Pixhawk,Mini Pix, and most recently Zohd Kopilot. All proved difficult to set up but the Zohd proved impossible and has, I suspect, a fault. It seems not to be in production any longer. What is there in the current range which fills the bill ? Clear instructions and step by step installation details are essential. My preference is for fixed wing applications. My Mini Pix was the only success I had with Copters but the Mini Pix seems not to be available due to design licensing issues. I have enjoyed your guidance in the past and look forward to some full and frank guidance with a currently reliable product. Best wishes: Birdmanpete

[@Painless360]

If you are looking for the majic combo of stabilisation with GPS function then that limits the stabiliser options you have. There are lots of 'old-school' stabs. that work great for the basics but very few have added the extra features. I suspect that your KoPilot is faulty. I've seen a few since it was released. The manual was always a little 'light' on detail so I made the setup videos to help pilots with that. In terms of the options. KoPilot Lite is still the simplest to setup, and when working (i.e. not broken and setup properly) provides auto-launch, stabilisation and RTH features that you don't need a PC to setup. Outside of KoPilot, there are a few others about (something called the Sparrow for example) but I've not tried them. For fixed wing I use INAV. It isn't too tricky, the setup steps are well understood and there is a large community that can help with setup and issues. It does require you to fire up a PC and soldering iron but you can have all of those features you want and so much more. Check out my INAV for beginners 2023 series for the latest series..

[@frankintegrity7996]

I found this controller excellent for launching and nice and smooth for FPV.But unfortunately the RTH let me down on my last outing.Another loss oh dear.Think I will take up RC cars I may have more success :)

[@adrianjvermeer4996]

Hello Lee thanks for your awesome videos, just installed the Kopilot in conventional plane had a Vector in it previously no issues. For some reason the throttle does not respond the lights show I get GPS lock and I waited for the ESC to initialize as you indicated but after 15 min nothing any ideas? The stabalisation works etc Many thanks Adrian

[@Painless360]

Not sure, I've not seen that here... let me know what the problem was when you figure it out.. best of luck

[@adrianjvermeer4996]

@@Painless360 thanks for your prompt reply I connected another ESC and motor and it worked as you said, it beeped a few times then when enough satellites it initiated and started, it is a coincidence as it worked before with the Vector, will do some more detective work Thanks again

[@Painless360]

Ah! I've heard of some ESCs timing out waiting for a valid throttle signal from the KoPilot. It only sends that when the GPS locks.. Maybe that is part of it..

[@jeremygalloway1348]

Painless...what about mounting the kopilot angled slightly nose up(same angle as thrust angle needed to fly true level). Will this compensate and keep the model flying true level without screwing up anything else?

[@Painless360]

You would want to angle it nose down to force the model to have that slightly nose up attitude in flight. I'd follow the setup guide as it works.. Best of luck

[@jimclayton87]

Hi Lee, what did you set the taranis failsafe to with the kopilot, I have it in the AR900 wing. Cheers

[@Painless360]

See the note in the description.. Happy flying

[@fabiomorlin]

nice video, can I ask you a question? where should the switch be for the "rth" function? in my remote control I have position 1 output at 100%, position 2 output at 0%, position 3 output -100%, which should I choose?

[@Painless360]

The positions are hard coded into the KoPilot so you need to see what the positions of the switches do in your setup.. Best of luck!

[@joeyduncan1309]

i need help somebody plz help!?! ok i am fairly new to all of this stuff (R/C drones, planes, and helis) and i just got the zohd talon with the kopilot. i got everything hooked up properly, finally, after a couple of days trying to figure out how to get a vtail set up on the kopilot. i didnt know that i needed to have my reciever set up for a normal airplane not a vtail plane setup. anyway i finally figured it out and all of my control surfaces were working properly and i set everything down for the night so i could go out for the maiden flight first thing in the am. i get up go to the garage to check everything and hook up my dji air unit so i could fly the maiden fpv but i turn on my transmitter and not a single input will do anything. i have a good connection to the reciever is but nothing works all of the indicator leds are showing that i am good to go but my transmitter wont operate anything on my talon. WHAT DID I DO?!?! SOMEONE PLZ HELP

[@Painless360]

Sounds like you didn't use this video to set it up in the first place. Glad you found it now. Are the outputs on the DJI unit in the right order for the KoPilot? I'd check that first. You don't mention if you are using the DJI FPV controller but that won;t connect until the controls are in the right place (throttle down). Best of luck!

[@MRedwood82]

With my Kopilot in manual mode the elevons on my wing move as expected. When I go to stability mode it stops responding to the aileron/roll stick. Port wing servo is plugged into AEL, starboard wing servo to ELE. Two solid green lights for stability mode on a wing. Pots on control board both about 3 o'clock. What am I missing? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Painless360]

Not sure, all of the steps I use here are in the video.. Best of luck

[@wbuttry1]

Just got mine installed in a mini sky hunter and i must be doing something wrong it flies good but when i let off the throttle it wants to stall and spin in.What am i doing wrong cg is good and as far as i know i do not have to much elevator throws.

[@Painless360]

Could be a few things. All of the steps I use are in the video.. Best of luck

[@TheBaliAsli]

Hi Lee, a question on PWM connection on the KOPILOT. I have a Devo7 TX and RX701 receiver which I want to use with my Drift setup. My question is does the RX701 use PWM so it will connect with the KOPILOT as per the instruction sheet. I cannot find anyone who has the answer. Hoping you might be able to throw me the answer. Appreciate your help.

[@Painless360]

It looks like it does from the manual for it I found online. Best of luck

[@StoriesForTheSoulHere]

Does the GPS unit have to be outside of the plane like on the main wing or can it also work inside the fuselage? Thank you!

[@Painless360]

It can work inside too but the least material between it and the sky is best... Happy flying

[@pokerchannel6991]

hi: can you cheat the barometer of the kopilot to make it think that you are at a higher altitude as the relative zero altitude? IE: if you stand on a really high ladder and let the kipolite caliberate, then will it fly at x + 35 meters? If X is relatively the zero point, but it is artificially high off the ground, then you will have x + 35 meter for RTH? thx.

[@Painless360]

Maybe. I always let it get a 3D lock and fly from the position I want as home... Happy flying

[@hectorgreen5638]

? Will the copilot work with crsf and witch is better for the ar wing pro the copilot or the matek wing flight controller.

[@Painless360]

It only works with PWM and SBUS. It does basic a stabilisation, basic RTH and Autolaunch. If you want more, then you need INAV or similar.. Happy flying

[@michaelhedges41070]

Hi ive just tried to set this up with the radio master 4 elrs recever and the pocket radio i don't no if your be able to help but I just can't seem to get a 3 position switch to work I get stability mode and return to home manual mod I cant get to work thanks for any advice thanks

[@Painless360]

Remember that CH5 on ELRS is a two position channel so don't use that for flight modes... Best of luck

[@minirotor9006]

Can I extend the PWN & Mode wires--I have a Radian Pro where RX is underneath middle & ZOHD at top front[with battery & ESC]--Using a Lemon LM0052 RX-Spektrum-No SBUS--thanks

[@Painless360]

I'm sure you can. Best of luck

[@blacksheeprcmodelers959]

i hooked this setup up but not using sbus, my mode doesnt work nor does the led 1 or led2 even light up. I figured it out. Frsky Ethos the AUX in the SXR need to be turned on and the SXR in the RX needs to be turned off.

[@Painless360]

Thanks for sharing the answer so others can find it! Happy flying!

[@FPVDiverBomber]

I set leds lights for v tail. My rudder is controlling v tail like it’s the elevator , and the elevator stick is acting like the rudder… I thought I had the servos reversed,, so I switched them but that did not fix it… I tried changing the mix, switching rudder to elev and vise versa,,, now they work correct but in stabilized mode they do not move to correct in the way they should…

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Something you should be made aware of. If you are setting up a Talon250g for instance, then the set-up diagram for the Elevator and Rudder servos is different from that shown in the standard Kopilot Lite manual! The servo connections to the Kopilot are reversed. Compare the Kopilot Manual with the ZOHD Talon250g one! The Talon manual is correct for the way that the servos are mounted in the plane body. This could also happen for some delta wings if the Aileron or Elevator servos are mounted differently to the Kopilot manual diagram. Best of luck!

[@comsterfpv9668]

Nice one! I guess 0 works as a measure of proximity.

[@jhshorr1]

Success configuring to T-tail, thanks to you. No success configuring to wing/elevon. LED configuration is LED1, 2 both on. Power up beeping, but no movement of elevons. No flight modes functioning. No throttle. Help! Thank you

[@Painless360]

Sounds like you're not changing the model type. See the video for how I do it. Best of luck!