Why fly Mode 1?

Which do you fly?


  • Total voters
    22

Robbie

Senior Member
Hey guys,

I have been in the RC community for several years now and I just cannot understand why people fly Mode 1. To me Mode 2 just seems so much more intuitive and simply superior in terms of control, accuracy and learning curve.

Lets face it Elevator and Ailerons in a plane/quad are practically the same thing and behave in roughly the same way just on different Axis, while rudder and throttle are completely different and will do a variety of different things in different ways depending on what the other control parameters are doing is doing.

Frankly even Mode 3 (Left stick: Elevator and Aileron, Right stick: throttle and rudder) seems more intuitive to me because I can sort of understand the appeal for left handed people who want the extra control in the Ailerons and Elevators for their left hand.

Honestly I get quite annoyed when looking for a new radio like a Taranis which is fairly popular and the Mode 2 radios are sold out while there are plenty of Mode 1 radios, I honestly think the RC community could really do with some standardisation.

What do you guys think?
 

Ocean

Member
MODE 2 MASTER RACE!!!

In all seriousness I agree and think Mode 2 is much more intuitive, I would find flying Mode 1 much more difficult.
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
Having just gotten a UMX Whipit hand launched glider, I think I see why people fly mode 1:

DLG's.

When I fly my powered versa wing, I launch using my left arm (overhead/baseball/cricket type pitch) with my right hand on the ail/elevator controls. I use my mouth to throttle up.

I got the whipit today, and I was trying to see how I would have to launch it, and realized my stronger arm (right arm) would have to be used since this is a hand launched glider, which means I won't have elevator and aileron control until my hand returns to the TX. This was after programming a bog standard setup for it. Realizing this, I went to google search what people did, and found that people use a launching mix for DLG's.

Back to programming the DX6i, and setting up a launch mode with some down elevator and right rudder (to compensate for the high launch speed and arc).

I haven't tried it yet, as by the time I finished the mixing/programming, the wind picked up.
 

joshuabardwell

Senior Member
Mentor
Honestly, it's completely arbitrary. There's no more objective benefit to having throttle paired with ailerons than paired with rudder. It could be argued that, for a bank and yank plane, having elevator and aileron on separate sticks gives more precise control. It could be argued that for a four-channel plane, you need to work both sticks to coordinate turns, so it doesn't really matter either way. The main reason to prefer Mode 1 or Mode 2 depends entirely on what other people around you fly. If you live in an area where most people fly Mode 1, that's what you should learn.
 
Honestly I get quite annoyed when looking for a new radio like a Taranis which is fairly popular and the Mode 2 radios are sold out while there are plenty of Mode 1 radios, I honestly think the RC community could really do with some standardisation

Just FYI, it is extremely easy to switch a Taranis from Mode 1 to Mode 2. It's basically just a couple of screws that you adjust.

https://boltrc.com/blog/taranis-how-to-mode-conversion/
 

Capt_Beavis

Posted a thousand or more times
I flew my delta ray in mode 4 when I first got it. I was used to the rudder being on the right coming from a 3-channel plane. Until I got used to ailerons it was a big help, but it didn't take long. I think 1 vs. 2 is just a regional thing that goes back to what was first available.
 

ZoomNBoom

Senior Member
As everyone else said, its mostly a habit. Like driving on the left side in the UK vs right almost everywhere else. But you will find mode 1 flyers saying that its better for racing and the like, to have the two main controls (elevator and aileron) on different sticks, as this would allow more accurate control. I dont really buy in to that argument myself, and even if there is truth to it, its hardly consequential. The same goes for other configurations, a good friend of mine flies with his throttle inverted.

But for helicopters or even quads it might be a different story; its too late for me now, but I can imagine my right hand being better than my left, and therefore wanting to use my best hand for throttle control. In a plane, fine throttle control is not as important and Id rather have my best hand for my primary controls.

BTW, Id like to confirm what silent gloves said. I bought my taranis as a mode 1 because it was the only one in stock. Not difficult to change at all.
 
Last edited:

MrClean

Well-known member
we should be flying single stick but the cost of the mechanism was prohibitive.

Now we all argue over which side the butter knife should be on.
 

FinalGlideAus

terrorizing squirrels
Just wait for FGA to come online and flip out. Calling us all crettins for flying Mode 2.

haha

Lol :)

I whole heartedly agree with Joshuabell's first post. There is pluses and minuses to all modes. You should fly the mode that others around you fly. I started on Mode 2 but since the clubs in Australia fly mostly mode 1 back then I switched over. I can fly a simple bank and yank glider on mode 2 but it's been a while. I actually tried mode 2 again on multi's right at the start because everyone here who flies mini's also flies mode 2 but I was having to re learn it all again so gave up and stuck with mode 1.

Little bit of history. Back in the 2 channel days "someone" decided the elevator stick should go there and the aileron stick should go there. When more channels were added they were added in the logical spots and Mode 1 was born. Soon after some people realised that it didn't fit well with full-size aviation as you have elevator and aileron on your right hand and throttle on your left. If you put the rudder on you left hand as well then boom, Mode 2 was born. This is pretty much the same controls as a full-size helicopter. Some places went one way and others went the other. Of course the other modes sprouted out from there but they are very much the minority.

I had a lot of trouble learning to do a flip tock because it uses aileron and throttle and that can be difficult using one hand but on the flip side doing a rolling circle with a fixed wing aircraft is much easier with mode 1 versus mode 2.

Then again, mode 1 does tend to limit your abilities.... :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWz8lArjZXg
 

Cyberdactyl

Misfit Multirotor Monkey
The main reason to prefer Mode 1 or Mode 2 depends entirely on what other people around you fly. If you live in an area where most people fly Mode 1, that's what you should learn.

Lol :)
I whole heartedly agree with Joshuabell's first post. There is pluses and minuses to all modes. You should fly the mode that others around you fly. I started on Mode 2 but since the clubs in Australia fly mostly mode 1 back then I switched over.

Sounds allot like religion. :rolleyes:
 

jipp

Senior Member
for me i fly mode 2 because that is what flight test said to fly if you are in america.
i am new to RC.. so i could of went either direction i think.
i say try them both if your TX supports t. rock on.
TEAM NANA FLYS mode 8. CRAZY 8s Yo!
 

Robbie

Senior Member
for me i fly mode 2 because that is what flight test said to fly if you are in america.
i am new to RC.. so i could of went either direction i think.
i say try them both if your TX supports t. rock on.
TEAM NANA FLYS mode 8. CRAZY 8s Yo!

Jipp every post, you talk about team nana wat is team nana?
 

jipp

Senior Member
Jipp every post, you talk about team nana wat is team nana?

its the team of slow granny fliers that Bruce from youtube refers to... so team nana is for anyone who flys slow and crashs a lot.. or just sucks.. i think of it as a joke.. its good to make fun of ones self.. no matter how good one may become.. i hope to be a great pilot with practice one day in a couple of years down the road.. as im a noob.. but i will always think of my self as team nana no matter how good i get..

chris.
 

Balu

Lurker
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
I think "Nana" is another name for "Granny". So we are all slow like Nana.

Also every time FGA posts a video, I'm thinking of leaving the hobby and going back to staring at white walls, because I will never be able to fly that good, but I'm very good at staring at white walls. I even tried green walls once, but that takes getting used to.

But now that I know he flies mode 1, I can pretend that it's my sticks fault.
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
transmitter_mode.jpg


When I first started I accidentally bought Mode 1. But I fly it as Mode 3. Then I bought a Mode 2 for an RC Flight Simulator. I never flew Mode 2 in real life, but I flew it a lot in the simulator and still do. I actually currently have a Mode 1 and a Mode 2 USB controller for the simulators but only Mode 1 for a transmitter.

I actually even fly "single stick" for Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

I can tell you from personal experience is doesn't matter which mode you fly. It's what ever is comfortable for you and I love Mode 3 because it makes hand launching a lot easier for me. If I had a run way and planes with landing gear... well then I don't know what I would fly with.
 

Cyberdactyl

Misfit Multirotor Monkey
I think "Nana" is another name for "Granny". So we are all slow like Nana.

Also every time FGA posts a video, I'm thinking of leaving the hobby and going back to staring at white walls, because I will never be able to fly that good, but I'm very good at staring at white walls. I even tried green walls once, but that takes getting used to.

But now that I know he flies mode 1, I can pretend that it's my sticks fault.

I'm the opposite. I started watching Warthox way back around 2010 or 11, and thought, "I want one of those." :cool: