RES Sailplane Setup

Configuring your transmitter to operate your RES/E-RES sailplane is very simple. Because of this simplicity you may program the model in either Acro or Sailplane mode. Acro is the simpler one for most folks, and it’s what we will cover here. Even though your model is configured in Acro mode, you still have access to the sailplane canned images, or you can add photos of your actual model using the NX Toolbox available from https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4377641-NX-Toolbox

The rudder and elevator can be either a conventional or a V-tail.

Conventional Tail:

If you have a conventional tail, plug your rudder servo into servo port 2 (Ailerons) and your thumbs will follow the same as normal. You can also mix the rudder stick to ailerons so that either stick will provide directional control. Servo port 3 will be for your elevator servo.

V-Tail:

If your plane has a V-Tail, you may use either the V-Tail or Elevon type in Acro mode (one of the reasons we chose it for this example). There are two options of both V-Tail and Elevon, A and B. If you get pitch action on the servo when you command roll/yaw, change from A to B or B to A. There are two differences between Elevon and V-Tail settings which may affect your choice:

In Elevon mode, the roll and pitch commands are mixed together at 75% + 75%. This limits the total control throw using normal 100% Travel settings to 150%. If V-Tail mode mode they are mixed at 50% + 50%, and you can use the Servo Travel setting to increase it to 150% for maximum throws.

The V-Tail Differential (if V-Tail chosen) or Differential (if Elevon chosen) allows you to adjust the mix ratio somewhat.

If the controls are in the wrong direction (up/down and left/right) then reverse the servo’s travel direction. Note in all cases that you need to look at the Monitor screen to see which port on the receiver is left and right. You can also swap the servo leads at the receiver to change the right/left servo options, but then other names in the radio may be wrong.

Spoiler Configuration in Motorless Sailplanes (RES):

Single Spoiler Servo

If your sailplane has no motor, your simplest setup is to plug the spoiler servo into the throttle port. You will have full travel of the stick to provide full, linear control of the spoiler.

Elevator Compensation:

If your plane needs elevator compensation when the spoiler is deployed, this is best achieved in a simple model using a curve mix of throttle > elevator. Adjust the curve so that the elevator responds in the appropriate direction as the spoiler (throttle) stick is moved. The curve itself can be edited after flying to get the response correct throughout the stick movement.

Multiple Spoiler Servos

If your aircraft uses two servos for spoiler, it is recommended that you use a Y lead and follow instructions above for the single spoiler servo. If for some reason you can’t do that (such as servos requiring opposite rotation) then this is the section to cover that.

First, choose servo port that you will be using to control the second spoiler servo. The first servo will be channel 1 (unused because this is an unpowered model). Ports availability will depend on your prior wing and tail type choices. For the sake of clarity in this document, we will use channel 8 (Aux8) but you can use another if you like.

Go to the System menu, then select Channel Assign. Scroll down to channel 8 and change Aux8 to Throttle. This will duplicate everything you do on with the throttle stick onto a second position.

We recommend that the channel 1 port be used as the right spoiler, and channel 8 as the left spoiler. This keeps with the Spektrum convention of the right side of paired servos being on a lower channel. We recommend that you change the Channel Names to match the functions. This is found on the Servo menu series. In the event of signal loss, only the right spoiler will be deployed (assuming you bound with the stick in that position) while the left spoiler will remain in its last commanded state UNLESS you use the failsafe settings in the receiver’s Forward Programming menus to change it. Deployment of only one spoiler should be sufficient to allow the model to descend in a gentle right turn, indicating to you on the ground that there was a loss of signal.

At this point you can adjust the Travel, Reversing, and other servo settings independently for the two spoiler ports.

Elevator Compensation:

If your plane needs elevator compensation when the spoiler is deployed, this is best achieved in a simple model using a curve mix of throttle > elevator. Adjust the curve so that the elevator responds in the appropriate direction as the spoiler (throttle) stick is moved. The curve itself can be edited after flying to get the response correct throughout the stick movement.

Spoiler Configuration in Powered Sailplanes(E-RES only):

With any electric model it is important that the throttle port have a preset failsafe function. Spektrum receivers have this on port 1 on all receivers, and on many newer receivers it is available on all ports usually through Forward Programming. For sake of simplicity we will assume that your receiver only supports it on port 1.

Throttle on the Stick:

The throttle will be activated using the throttle stick. Since most RES planes will also use the throttle stick to control the spoiler, we need a way to deactivate the throttle (lock it off) when the stick is being used to control the spoiler. We will also assume that the spoiler will be fully deployed when the stick is in the “low throttle” (fully down) position. What we need is a way to transition smoothly from one to the other. There are two ways to accomplish this:

1 - Split the throttle stick into two halves - in this method, the throttle stick drives channel 1 from the center of travel up to the max of travel, while the spoilers are operated from mid-travel to minimum.

2 - Use a switch to select if the throttle stick is controlling the throttle or the spoiler.

When we split the throttle stick into two halves, we actually need to use the stick position to control two different channels. We do this using mixes.

Set Mix 1 to a Curve Mix. Set it to THR > A6, with On as the switch. Edit point 1 on the curve to -100%, Point 2 to -100%, and Point 3 to +100%. Change the name of the mix to MOT.

Set Mix 2 to a Curve Mix. Set it to THR > A7, with On as the switch. Edit point 1 to -100%, and points 2 & 3 to +100%. Change the name to SPL.

Now go to the Monitor screen. Here you can see A6 and A7 moving as we programmed, while the throttle channel moves according to the stick position. To correct this we need to go to the Channel Assign screen in the System menu.

On the Channel Assign screen, change servo port 1 to use Aux6 as its input, and put Aux7 onto the other unused channel (ailerons or rudder, which changes per wing type selected).

Now go to the Servo screen and select Channel Name. Change the names of the two channels as needed so you know which is the motor (1) and which is the spoiler (2 or 3).

Bind to your receiver, and test with the prop off and servo linkages disconnected. You may need to use the Servo Reverse function to get the channels working as desired.

Throttle on a Switch:

If you prefer to put the throttle onto a switch, this is much simpler to do in the radio but it requires you do manually adjust the spoilers so you aren’t adding throttle while killing lift.

On the Channel Assign screen, change channel 1 (throttle) use Aux6 as the input, and then change the switch to the desired one (usually B). This puts the switch to control the throttle, which will be in servo port 1. We do this to keep the failsafe assigned properly.

Next, go to the unused channel 2 (aileron) or 3 (rudder) and put the Throttle function there. You won’t be able to change the input (dashes). This will actually be your Spoiler channel.

Next, go to the Servo screen and select Channel Name. Change the names of the two channels as needed so you know which is the motor (1) and which is the spoiler (2 or 3).

Bind to your receiver, and test with the prop off and servo linkages disconnected. You may need to use the Servo Reverse function to get the channels working as desired.

F5J/ALES/LMR Settings:

If you need a quick and easy way to toggle the power on and off, you may use the I switch (pushbutton on top left shoulder) and follow the instructions above for Throttle on a Switch.

Multiple Spoiler Servos

If your aircraft uses two servos for spoiler, it is recommended that you use a Y lead and follow instructions above for the single spoiler servo. If for some reason you can’t do that (such as servos requiring opposite rotation) then this is the section to cover that.

First, choose servo port that you will be using to control the second spoiler servo. The first servo will be channel 6 or 7, based upon your previous selection. For the sake of clarity in this document, we will assume channel 7.

Go to the System menu, then select Channel Assign. Scroll down to channel 8 and change Aux8 to Aux7 (you may have renamed it to SPL). Channel 8 will now track channel 7 exactly.

We recommend that the channel 7 port be used as the right spoiler, and channel 8 as the left spoiler. This keeps with the Spektrum convention of the right side of paired servos being on a lower channel. We recommend that you change the Channel Names on both to match the functions, such as LSP and RSP for Left and Right Spoiler.

At this point you can adjust the Travel, Reversing, and other servo settings independently for the two spoiler ports.

Elevator Compensation:

If your plane needs elevator compensation when the spoiler is deployed, this is best achieved in a simple model using a curve mix of THR> elevator (REL in case of a V-Tail). Adjust the curve so that the elevator responds in the appropriate direction as the spoiler (throttle) stick is moved. The curve itself can be edited after flying to get the response correct throughout the stick movement. Note that you will need to leave part of it as a flat line at 0 for that portion where the throttle is used for powering the plane rather than deploying the spoilers.