Note that the Nano QX requires DSM2 or DSMX for control and the Taranis won’t do that natively, but I got an OrangeRx module that speaks the right protocols and plugged it in as an external radio.

Flight mode Setup

We create FM1 for this new flight mode. For the initial goal, we’re not adjusting anything, so nothing special just yet.

Dynamically Changing Bank Amount

The 50% up there was an arbitrary number. I don’t actually know what a good number is, and it sucks to reconfigure everything when you want to experiment. That’s why we have knobs and sliders and stuff.

Better Control

Auto Banking (via Super Advanced Mixing)

That was fun and practical, but I wanted see if I could automatically bank the craft while flying when I try to turn only using yaw.

Goal: In isolation, yaw, pitch, and roll should all work normally. But when pitched forward, yaw should proportionally also apply roll to bank the aircraft.

Thrust on Channel 1

So, this isn’t my typical programming post, but I wanted to write about stuff I learn in my hobby time. I fly things.

Flight Mode on Channel 6

Because we want to adjust the weight from 0 to 100 (unless you want counter-banking), we need a curve to adjust the slider input linearly over that amount.

At this point, you should have basic flight operations.

Secondary goal: I have no idea how much to do this, so I want to make the amount configurable on the fly via one of the sliders (I used LS).

Advanced Mixing

But that’s all background. The main thing I wanted to write about is how I use OpenTX to actually do interesting things with this model.

Rudder on Channel 4

Aileron on Channel 2

But I’m Lazy!

You can look over the OpenTX printout of the model, or just download the model directly to play with it.

Building and flying is a fun, but I have a specific topic that might be interesting.

My weapon of choice is the Taranis+. It’s basically a weird computer whose interface is a bunch of switches and knobs and joysticks that you can use to control things over RF.

This was non-obvious enough to make me want to post about it.

This curve is used to grab an absolute distance from zero in elevator control, as we want to bank proportionally to the pitch regardless of the direction we’re going.

So basically this curve:

If you pick one of these up with one of the RTF kits, you get a terrible radio controller. It’s OK to learn some basics, but won’t get you very far (literally, my tiny apartment exceeds the range of this thing).

Now you jump into the right flight mode on the taranis and flip SH until the light turns red and bam – it’s flyable.

To apply this, I made a flight mode on the Taranis controlled by SA. I only change ail and ele control in mixes. For example, existing ele control would be set for only flight mode 0. The new mode (2 at this point) gets a new mix that’s only for flight mode 2 and works pretty much like the default, but applies the curve defined above. Repeat for ail.

If you do this, this should override the existing rudder control.

Then just swap out the 50 weight above with the variable GV1 and you’re done!

I want to write about some of my “development” work in the meantime, though. It’s Christmas today. The weather’s not too bad, but it’s a bit windy. Since it’s winter, we also don’t have as much light, so I want something I can fly indoors.

Repeat the same for elevator and enjoy the magic.

Make the Curve

We need a curve that takes us from zero in the middle to 100 at either size. A smoothed curve is good here. I use the following: