Help! Did I just waste $50 on an Aura?

[Oldbrass]

Howdy all,

Full disclosure- I'm a total n00b to RC aircraft (but not cars, but they mostly stay on the ground. Mostly) and am trying to figure this whole thing out.

So I went and picked up an Aura 5 Lite to put in an FT P-47 for my son and now that the build is going along nicely, I'm worried that this may have been a huge mistake. Now, I get that this is a technical hobby, but I'm having a brutal time understanding what is actually needed, what is compatible and how you find out. So let me lay it out like this... I have:

Aura 5 Lite
Fly Sky FS-T6 Transmitter
FS R6B 6 channel receiver
Power Pack C

My questions are, is the Aura going to play with this transmitter and Receiver setup and am I missing anything extra?

Thanks everyone and happy flying this weekend!

 

[leaded50]

The Aura 5 is a gyro stabilizer system, and is not trouble to use with the other parts you gave up. The transmitter and reciver do the contct with plane and you. Aura is a stabilizer part between the reciver and sevos/motor, to give that a automatic control/adjusting to help you in flying.
Power pack have the motor, electronic motorcontrol (ESC) prop, servos to use, eg.

You should be fine with that parts.

 

[Oldbrass]

You should be fine with that parts.

Thank you, Leaded50! That's a relief to hear. I'm not in the position to buy all new gear. Am I missing any electronics to make the Aura 5 work? Does it need a special receiver to work? Do I need to add power for the Aura?

 

[Timmy]

Personally I don't recommend learning to fly with auto level and all that stuff on because the computer does most of the work. For the fist flight you might want it on but it doesn't really help you learn.

 

[LitterBug]

I'm not very familiar with FlySky gear, but what you need is a receiver with serial protocol (single 3 wire cable) to work with the Aura 5 lite. (ibus/sbus/ppm) It looks like the receiver you have is PWM with individual outputs for each channel. Hopefully someone that knows more about Fly Sky can help with the right RX to use. If not, this looks to be a good overview of options: https://oscarliang.com/flysky-tx-rx-buyers-guide/

I am playing with the Aura on one of my new race wing builds. I have been flying FPV for quite a few years. Started with multirotors which won't fly without stabilization, then moved to wings without any flight controller. Flying wings FPV, especially small light ones, can be nauseating because they get bumped around by the smallest breeze. Adding stabilization makes a big difference in smoothing out those bumps. Auto-launch, and self leveling can be nice to have too. The "Race" wing I'm putting my Aura in is notorious for being difficult to launch. Having simple stabilization is a real bonus for this build. If you do find that it wasn't something you wanted, drop me a line and I will buy it from you.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[Ry_tha_Fly]

Guys I’m a newbie to this , 11yo and need some help. I can get the Aura 5 to bind to my Spectrum AR410 and my AR6610T (RX bind led goes from flash to solid ) and my dx-6e tx says it’s bound. BBBUUUTT...... the Aura 5 led light say its still searching for RX. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[LitterBug]

Guys I’m a newbie to this , 11yo and need some help. I can get the Aura 5 to bind to my Spectrum AR410 and my AR6610T (RX bind led goes from flash to solid ) and my dx-6e tx says it’s bound. BBBUUUTT...... the Aura 5 led light say its still searching for RX. Any ideas? Thanks

The AR410 is a 4 channel PWM reciever and will not work with the Aura. You need a serial RX like one of these: https://www.buddyrc.com/collections.../lemon-rx-dsmx-compatible-diversity-satellite

Cheeers,
LitterBug

 

[PlaY80]

Howdy all,

Full disclosure- I'm a total n00b to RC aircraft (but not cars, but they mostly stay on the ground. Mostly) and am trying to figure this whole thing out.

So I went and picked up an Aura 5 Lite to put in an FT P-47 for my son and now that the build is going along nicely, I'm worried that this may have been a huge mistake. Now, I get that this is a technical hobby, but I'm having a brutal time understanding what is actually needed, what is compatible and how you find out. So let me lay it out like this... I have:

Aura 5 Lite
Fly Sky FS-T6 Transmitter
FS R6B 6 channel receiver
Power Pack C

My questions are, is the Aura going to play with this transmitter and Receiver setup and am I missing anything extra?

Thanks everyone and happy flying this weekend!

Hi, if aura 5 works only with sbus you will need new receiver (afhd not afhd2a) with sbus. Even if some ppl don't like the stabilization for new ppl trying to learn to fly, i think it's OK. If you trash your first builds you will leave the hobby! Make it simple for the first times then go bad. Good luck with it!

 

[jerryn]

Howdy all,

Full disclosure- I'm a total n00b to RC aircraft (but not cars, but they mostly stay on the ground. Mostly) and am trying to figure this whole thing out.

So I went and picked up an Aura 5 Lite to put in an FT P-47 for my son and now that the build is going along nicely, I'm worried that this may have been a huge mistake. Now, I get that this is a technical hobby, but I'm having a brutal time understanding what is actually needed, what is compatible and how you find out. So let me lay it out like this... I have:

Aura 5 Lite
Fly Sky FS-T6 Transmitter
FS R6B 6 channel receiver
Power Pack C

My questions are, is the Aura going to play with this transmitter and Receiver setup and am I missing anything extra?

Thanks everyone and happy flying this weekend!

As a rule of thumb, the best airplane platform to start on is a 3 channel park flyer with wings above the fuselage. The Aura 5 lite
would make the FT P-47 manageable. I was very surprised that the nano goblin didn't require me to adjust the pids or throws
in the configuration settings for the Aura 5. My Ranger 1600 is a big airplane so I knew I would need to adjust the throws to make it
fly perfectly.

The Aura 5 is not a waste. I have the stabilizer in a small Strix Nano Goblin and a large Volantex Ranger 1600. Here's a video that demonstrates how well the stabilizer works. My club's airfield is located near the ocean. We get strong thermals and gusts. The Ranger 1600 flew as if on rails.

Here's the small ultra light Strix Nano Goblin with the Aura 5 light installed. Ordinarily a small airplane like this will be tossed around
by the 25mph wing gusts and thermals at my club's field, but with the Aura 5 lite the airplane is ultra stable

I think the stabilizer is awesome. Usually to get flight this stable you need to adjust the PIDS and Rates multiple times until it's perfect.
The only think I needed to do for my sailplane is adjust the throws. Airplanes with a long fuselage requires less of a throw to the stabilizer.

The main thing is just have fun out there. My sons are all grown now but they still come with me now and then.

 

[rcmanic]

Anyone know what is the 4 pin JST-SH connector on the Aura 5 for? See photo.
It is not addressed at all in any product literature and I wonder why? Could this be a possible 4 pin PWM

signal port?

 

[jerryn]

I think it's for a future firmware update to support a GPS. It traced out the circuit, it looks like a UART port. UARTs are used to interface to sensors, gps, radios, OSD.. contact Flex Innovations. They designed it.

 

[dap35]

I think it's for a future firmware update to support a GPS. It traced out the circuit, it looks like a UART port. UARTs are used to interface to sensors, gps, radios, OSD.. contact Flex Innovations. They designed it.

It could also be how the unit is flashed in mfg or for debug.

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

Personally I don't recommend learning to fly with auto level and all that stuff on because the computer does most of the work. For the fist flight you might want it on but it doesn't really help you learn.

Got to agree try and avoid flight stailisers, particularly when learning they give you a false sense of security and you dont get the feel of how a model really behaves in the air.
If you have a large warbird and want to eliminate weather effects while your getting use to flying something like that, I can understand. Or if you want to learn to fly 3d, you can get settings to help you knife edge if thats your thing.
Personaly Id say set up your plane without flight stabilisation initially. Join a recognised club and get a qualified trainer to buddy box with you and fly that way first. When you have learnt the basics of LH and RH circuits without losing altitude, landings and take offs. Then by all means fit your stabilisation, to help give you confidence when flying solo.
KISS - Keep it simple stupid, in other words dont over complicate things, like fitting flight stabilisers (they are okay for heli pilots and drone flyers), you dont need one.
Build a Tiny trainer fly it crash it and have fun

 

[dap35]

As a rule of thumb, the best airplane platform to start on is a 3 channel park flyer with wings above the fuselage. The Aura 5 lite
would make the FT P-47 manageable. I was very surprised that the nano goblin didn't require me to adjust the pids or throws
in the configuration settings for the Aura 5. My Ranger 1600 is a big airplane so I knew I would need to adjust the throws to make it
fly perfectly.

The Aura 5 is not a waste. I have the stabilizer in a small Strix Nano Goblin and a large Volantex Ranger 1600. Here's a video that demonstrates how well the stabilizer works. My club's airfield is located near the ocean. We get strong thermals and gusts. The Ranger 1600 flew as if on rails.

Here's the small ultra light Strix Nano Goblin with the Aura 5 light installed. Ordinarily a small airplane like this will be tossed around
by the 25mph wing gusts and thermals at my club's field, but with the Aura 5 lite the airplane is ultra stable

I think the stabilizer is awesome. Usually to get flight this stable you need to adjust the PIDS and Rates multiple times until it's perfect.
The only think I needed to do for my sailplane is adjust the throws. Airplanes with a long fuselage requires less of a throw to the stabilizer.

The main thing is just have fun out there. My sons are all grown now but they still come with me now and then.

Agreed. The launch mode is also amazing if you are doing hand launch - its just so easy.

 

[sprzout]

As a rule of thumb, the best airplane platform to start on is a 3 channel park flyer with wings above the fuselage. The Aura 5 lite
would make the FT P-47 manageable. I was very surprised that the nano goblin didn't require me to adjust the pids or throws
in the configuration settings for the Aura 5. My Ranger 1600 is a big airplane so I knew I would need to adjust the throws to make it
fly perfectly.

The Aura 5 is not a waste. I have the stabilizer in a small Strix Nano Goblin and a large Volantex Ranger 1600. Here's a video that demonstrates how well the stabilizer works. My club's airfield is located near the ocean. We get strong thermals and gusts. The Ranger 1600 flew as if on rails.

Here's the small ultra light Strix Nano Goblin with the Aura 5 light installed. Ordinarily a small airplane like this will be tossed around
by the 25mph wing gusts and thermals at my club's field, but with the Aura 5 lite the airplane is ultra stable

I think the stabilizer is awesome. Usually to get flight this stable you need to adjust the PIDS and Rates multiple times until it's perfect.
The only think I needed to do for my sailplane is adjust the throws. Airplanes with a long fuselage requires less of a throw to the stabilizer.

The main thing is just have fun out there. My sons are all grown now but they still come with me now and then.

Stabilizer in the Nano Goblin...Huh...I've been flying mine without stabilization since day one, but I can see how it would be useful for what I refer to as a "flying Nerf football". Even without the stabilization, though, the Nano Goblin will roll and turn like it's on rails if you hammer it over.

 

[LitterBug]

Stabilizer in the Nano Goblin...Huh...I've been flying mine without stabilization since day one, but I can see how it would be useful for what I refer to as a "flying Nerf football". Even without the stabilization, though, the Nano Goblin will roll and turn like it's on rails if you hammer it over.

I have flown my Nano Goblins both ways. where I find the stabilization helps the most is flying FPV in non-smooth air. The stabilizer can really knock the bumps down to make it feel like a much bigger bird.

 

[mastermalpass]

I second what the others are saying about first plane choices. You want to start on a simple plane with no stabilisation and learn to wrestle with the inconsistencies in the sky. Yes, you will crash - but from what I've seen, Gyros give no guarantee of a safe flight. Seen another guy at the field repeatedly crash a gyro-stabilised H-King Skyraider until it was a write-off.

I recommend learning on a prop-in-slot parkjet, ideally one flying elevons-only. I haven't flown any FT park jets yet, but the Alpha, Bravo and F-22 look like good candidates for this. Parkjet like these can be very forgiving in stalls - they're less likely to tip stall, favouring a gentle, level descent. They can be stable in High-alpha maneuvers, widening the envelop for some slow, easy flying for beginners. And of course, when you crash them, the damage is usually just cosmetic - crumpled noses and the like, which they can still fly with (but I recommend calling it a day and building it a replacement nosecone; as the one that just got crushed might not divert the impact away from the rest of the plane if it goes through a second crash). All the important bits are at the back and easily avoid damage in a crash. Lessening the impact of all the crashing a beginner will do.

I worry that a P-47 in the hands of a first timer will hit the dirt and bend the power-pod, bending the prop and motor off-angle, which is a pain to fix. Wing splits and snapping fuselages come next. All of them demanding a lot in repairs. My Dad pretty much did all this with a Skyartec Cessna 182 and he didn't fly again for five years.

 

[sprzout]

I recommend learning on a prop-in-slot parkjet, ideally one flying elevons-only. I haven't flown any FT park jets yet, but the Alpha, Bravo and F-22 look like good candidates for this. Parkjet like these can be very forgiving in stalls - they're less likely to tip stall, favouring a gentle, level descent. They can be stable in High-alpha maneuvers, widening the envelop for some slow, easy flying for beginners. And of course, when you crash them, the damage is usually just cosmetic - crumpled noses and the like, which they can still fly with (but I recommend calling it a day and building it a replacement nosecone; as the one that just got crushed might not divert the impact away from the rest of the plane if it goes through a second crash). All the important bits are at the back and easily avoid damage in a crash. Lessening the impact of all the crashing a beginner will do.
.

I'm going to disagree with this ONLY because launching the prop-slot jets like you're mentioning are difficult for a first time pilot. If you don't put your hand in the right place and launch it right, you run a VERY real risk of chopping up your hand. Trying to hand launch them AND keep a hand on the sticks to get it going right isn't exactly easy. I have seen several launches of prop-slots that have resulted in damage to the person launching (one of which resulted in a trip to the emergency room for surgery to repair a cut tendon).

I say this not to scare pilots away from flying them, as they ARE fun planes to fly, but more that I don't think they're a good first plane, since they require a hand launch and some technique to get them airborne without injury. If you're not used to moving the plane left/right/up/down accordingly, it's likely to have a bad crash.

 

[Bricks]

My second plane after getting back into RC was a prop slot it was a RC Powers SU 34 always just grabbed it by the cockpit area underhanded and it would fly right out of my hand. Unless it needs a ton of speed to fly underhand is easier and safer.

 

[mastermalpass]

I'm

I'm going to disagree with this ONLY because launching the prop-slot jets like you're mentioning are difficult for a first time pilot. If you don't put your hand in the right place and launch it right, you run a VERY real risk of chopping up your hand. Trying to hand launch them AND keep a hand on the sticks to get it going right isn't exactly easy. I have seen several launches of prop-slots that have resulted in damage to the person launching (one of which resulted in a trip to the emergency room for surgery to repair a cut tendon).

I say this not to scare pilots away from flying them, as they ARE fun planes to fly, but more that I don't think they're a good first plane, since they require a hand launch and some technique to get them airborne without injury. If you're not used to moving the plane left/right/up/down accordingly, it's likely to have a bad crash.

It is a known danger with a prop-in-slot configuration. But I've managed to avoid any such incident myself. My RC Powers parjets have a thick enough fuselage to allow easy clearence from the prop. To be extra safe, my Halfpipe designs carry an underbelly wider than the prop. Of course, there is the option of swinging it around by the wing, but I've only done it twice and it was clumsy.

As long as care is taken to make sure your hand stays very clear of the prop, launches can be done safely every time. Make sure you hold the plane a good 10 inches ahead of the prop, if not outside the thrust column. Don't hurl it as fast as you can, just throw enough to get it going. NEVER try to catch it out of the air.

For hand-launching any plane, hold the transmitter in your right hand with your thumb on the pitch and roll. Then use your chin to push up the throttle 'till you feel the plane start to pull and gently launch it at 30°. Your thumb is on the stick from the get go, keeping control while your other hand gets into position.