Spirit System

Today I had some time to replace the Mini VBar with the Spirit on my Gaui X3.
My X3 flies perfectly with the Mini VBar, lets see how it goes.

I started with the Setup Wizard and selected the Gaui X3 preset.
It would be nice if you can save settings done at any time.
Handy if you need to quit half way for some reason.

All went well and no big problems.
If you need direction reversal, the software should tell you if you need the TX.
I had to think a few times if TX reversing is allowed or not.

I use Futaba S-Bus and have my ESC/BEC cable connected to the AUX port. (HobbyWing V3 50A)
So I needed to add the throttle signal with the Spirit software.
It was a bit confusing it worked when I selected "Throttle 1. channel".
Using Futaba, throttle is on channel 3, so that is what I selected first.
That gave a funny effect.

When I arrived at "Pirouette optimization" it wasn't clear where to look for exactly.
Something similar is needed in the VBar, so I used my experience with that and selected reverse for my setup.

Otherwise I left most stuff at default.
I changed "Rudder delay = 2", because I use a KST BLS505X @ 7.4V (0.04sec/60)
I changed "Flight style: 2"

Before I go out for the first time I added my settings file.
I hope ZeXx86 can take a look and tell me if I did something really stupid.

Thx!

Oh, the color of the Spirit matches great with the Gaui colors.

Hello,

thank you for your info.

Regarding saving in the wizard, it is actually built-in. If you want to quit the wizard in the middle of setup process, it will ask you to save the settings.

For TX reversing - it is little bit different from VBar. In case of Spirit, there are no strict reverses and you are looking just for the result here. It does not matter if directions are correct in the diagnostics tab. If the cyclic is just responding correctly, then it will work.
After few more setups you will see it is very strightforward and can be done very fast.

Channels in the software are same globally, because each manufacturer has different mapping. In the future channel mapping will be more interactive, so it will be clear immediately how to assign these channels.

Your settings seems to be fine, I just recommend to set frequency of the cyclic servos to 200Hz initially, even that they are rated for 333Hz.

Thx for the quick check.
I'll change the freq. and hope to do a test flight tomorrow.

I'll report back the results.

Oh yes!
Nervous as hell, but I got two packs under my belt with the Spirit!
I changed a few settings before maiden, so I attached my maiden settings with this post.

OK, no governor, so I used a TC flat line of 90%.
Packs came in about the same (3.72/3.74), so I guess close to the 3000 rpm I usually run.
Rolls and flips are slower than before. I'll up rotation speed from 9 -> 11.
Same for piro speed, slower than I'm used to. I'll up rotation speed from 9 -> 11.

Next is tail gyro gain, when at 65% I could hear a bit more tail noise in fast forward flight.
A tiny bit too much gain I guess.
Upright funnels are still OK with 65%.
I'll change tail gyro gain from 65% -> 62%.

Piro stops are good. A bit soft but no bounce in CCW direction.
I see a tiny bit overshoot in CW direction.
In CW direction stops are too soft.
How should I tune this?
I'm going to up the piro speed, so maybe first see what the next flight brings?

Cyclic feel.
I started with 60% cyclic gain. (My Mini V-Bar ended up with 64%, but I guess numbers do not relate here.)
I do like the cyclic to feel tight. Hard to describe but it felt a bit loose around center stick.
I'm not sure how to tune this.
Should I start with a bit more cyclic gain? I don't see any oscillations in the rotor head.
I know from my V-Bar, cyclic gain changes feel dramatically.

Or maybe Flight Style setting? Currently I'm on 4.

I feel brave enough to switch on Rescue (Acro) mode for the next flight.
I'll take it ten mistakes high when I first test it.
On the workbench it looks good.
Leading edge of the main rotor blades always point to the sky when activated.
I don't see much cyclic action on the workbench, but I know stuff always look weird with the heli on the ground.

Can't wait for my next flight.

Your insight is, as always, much appreciated.

One more, logging came up empty when connected to my PC.
Guess I'm OK with vibs.
On my V-Bar I've only seen some raised vibrations, so I expected good vib results.

For your rudder issue - how did you configured rudder neutral? Try to configure it to 3-4° while rudder servo horn is at 90°.
If this is OK, you can solve the problem with decreasing Rudder end-point to the side, where you can see overshoot (0.5mm - 1mm should be fine). It is mostly side closer to the boom. But do not decrease it too much, since it can be not enough in hard manouvers.

For the cyclic feel - increase Cyclic Feed Forward, this will increase direct control of your helicopter (values of 7 - 8 might be fine for you). Cyclic Gain is not intended for this purpose, but you can increase it little bit more. But not necessary.

For the rescue, make sure that piro optimization is correctly configured. Then I believe all will be OK.

Rudder is configured according to the Gaui X3 manual.
This is all linkage 90/90 with zero pitch on the tail blades.
I didn't change anything mechanical when I replaced the Mini V-Bar.

On the Mini V-Bar you have a tail optimizer.
This gives separate stop gains for CW and CCW behaviour.
The Spirit uses only one parameter, "Rudder Dynamic".
I guess this is the difference I notice?
Not to be rude or anything, just saying.

Same issue with the BeastX, only one dial (3) for tail stop behaviour.
I can understand it could very well be solved with 3 or 4 degrees on the tail.

I do see a nice new tail feature for a future release.

I'll use Cyclic Feed Forward parameter to change the cyclic feel.
Thx for your quick reply, I'll let you know how it goes.

It should be always possible to tune tail stopping behavior with current parameters. If the tail stopping performance is not good, then it mean that whole rudder is configured not very well. So I believe you can do so with good success.

OK, two more flights done with the Spirit!

I came from "Cyclic feed forward" 6, which is a bit soft.
Today I tested 8 and hell yes, a lot of change!
A bit too direct for my taste.
I changed it to 7 which I hope will be spot on.

I also changed "Rotation speed" for cyclic and rudder. (9 -> 11)
Much better.
My guess is I'm going to like 10 for both the best.

First flight with Rescue! (Acro)
OMG! This just works.

For the next flight I upped "Rescue coll. pitch" from 60% (default) to 80%.
During my two test flights I triggered rescue multiple times.
Also when inverted.
Sometimes I do see the nose pitch up a bit.
I guess 10 or 15 degrees, not very much.

When in a (inverted) hover it just goes straight to the sky!
After I landed I triggered Rescue and can see the swash stays level.

Great trainer tool.
Thank you very much for this team Spirit!
Well done.

Thanks for nice info!

You can also try to set Expo for aileron/elevator/rudder in your transmitter to 25-30%. VBar has by default internal Expos enabled.
You can check with cyclic leveler travel in full positive/negative pitch, there can be difference in these positions. You can correct these differences with Servo Travel Correction.

ZeXx86 wrote:Thanks for nice info!

You can also try to set Expo for aileron/elevator/rudder in your transmitter to 25-30%. VBar has by default internal Expos enabled.
You can check with cyclic leveler travel in full positive/negative pitch, there can be difference in these positions. You can correct these differences with Servo Travel Correction.

Good advice.
I'll get a swash leveler.
I didn't check if the swash is level at low and high stick.
Only eyeball it with the ty-rap method at center stick.

One other question.
For the time being I switched on the internal ESC governor. (Works great on the HW Platinum V3.)
Could it be this interferes a bit with the cyclic gain?
Maybe I've seen a bit of a head shake.
I can't change internal ESC governor gain, maybe lower the Spirit cyclic gain a bit?

Thx for your help.