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Q. What is Flying Saucer?
A. Flying Saucer is a vertical
take-off, hovering aircraft which uses a combination of 3-axis
solid-state gyro sensors and special aerodynamics to produce
stable yet highly manoeuvrable flight. It is optimised for a
living room environment, where we believe that many hobbyists
would like to be able to fly. So it is lightweight, durable
and it has no whirling rotor blades to take out the knick-knacks
on the mantelpiece. It can fly forwards and steer like an aeroplane,
but its speed is self-governed to a rate suitable for a domestic
space. Of course it can hover about like a helicopter, and can
be landed on the palm of an outstretched hand. It can also be
flown all around the house!
Q. Is Flying Saucer suitable
for learning to fly?
A. Definitely yes. Unlike
a radio controlled helicopter, Flying Saucer is aerodynamically
self-righting, which means that it tends to bring itself back
to a horizontal, stationary hover if it is tilted or moving.
This makes it a lot easier for a new pilot to get it into the
air and begin developing a feel for it. However, unlike many
"super stable" hovering novelty products, Flying Saucer has
a full set of effective flight controls, so it can be flown
with similar precision to a true RC helicopter. Additionally,
it is very safe to operate, with no large whirling rotor blades.
Q. Does Flying Saucer have proportional
controls?
A. Yes. It has four, fully
proportional channels of control.
Q. Are spares available?
A. A set of replacement
props are included with every Flying Saucer. We stock propellers
and other spares. Please note that unlike Jump Jet, the Flying
Saucer has left and right handed propellers, and the correct
replacement must be fitted.
Q. What is the benefit of infrared
control?
A. Infrared control has
one huge advantage over radio-based communication: It works
by line-of-sight, so it cannot suffer interference originating
from outside the immediate environment. Flying Saucer is intended
to be operated indoors in a confined space, amongst people of
all ages. It is therefore crucial that it doesn't pick up interference
from another nearby transmitter, potentially causing erratic
or violent movements. Infrared control is immune to interference
coming from outside the room it is operating in.
Q. Can the Flying Saucer be trimmed?
A. The Flying Saucer has
no trims on the handset. That's because the electrical values
of both the TX signal and the on-board gyros are automatically
zeroed at the aircraft each time the TX is switched on. If the
handset had trims and these were offset from centre, the aircraft
would re-zero to these trim positions at the next power-up,
negating their effect. However, the automatic trim is not always
100% perfect because it cannot correct for small differences
in performance between the motors and propellers, or a centre-of-gravity
imbalance. The best way to correct these errors is by adding
one or two small blobs of Blu Tack to the extremities of the
aircraft as necessary to bring it into balance.
Q. Can the Flying Saucer be enhanced
in any way?
A. While the Flying Saucer
is generally less easy to modify than Jump Jet, it can be disassembled
and "tweaked". The working part can be removed from the foam
body entirely and flown about on its own. In this form it makes
a charming little miniature quadcopter. With care the battery
can be accessed for replacement, and we offer an upgrade battery
with enhanced performance.
Q. What is the control range?
A. Infrared range varies
depending upon the environment. Although IR works in straight
lines (rather like a torch beam), it provides good omni-directional
coverage of a room because it reflects and re-reflects from
the walls and ceiling, filling the available space with energy
travelling in all directions. A torch beam can illuminate a
whole room in the same way. However this only works well if
the room is not too large, and the ceiling is not too high.
Generally a domestic room with 8 - 10 foot white ceilings is
ideal, when range will be 20 - 25 feet. This allows full freedom
within the great majority of home spaces. Range will be reduced
outdoors or within a large indoor space such as a sports hall.
Also, some types of lighting can disrupt IR reception and reduce
range, especially high powered discharge lamps and some types
of fluorescent tube. Domestic lighting usually causes no problems,
unless the Jump Jet is flown very close to the lamps.
Q. How can the IR control strength be
maximized?
A. The Flying Saucer's
infrared control is very robust in most domestic environments.
However in larger rooms and at longer ranges, it is necessary
to keep in mind the transmission medium being used. The following
tips can make a real difference:
1) It may seem obvious, but when flying, point the controller
at the plane! Many pilots tend to point it downwards, so that
the infrared energy has to reflect off the floor before it has
a chance of reaching the receiver. This is even worse if there
is furniture between pilot and aircraft.
2) Don't fly the aircraft close to lights. Unfortunately, many
compact fluorescent lamps operate at a similar frequency to
infrared, and can disrupt reception if too close.
3) Avoid direct sunlight, which will reduce range dramatically
if it hits the aircraft.
4) Flying Saucer will not tolerate other infrared devices operating
in the same room.
5) Use fresh, alkaline batteries in the handset.
Q. What is the difference between Mode-1
and Mode-2 control?
A.In Mode-1 the left-hand
stick controls elevator and rudder. The right-hand stick controls
throttle and aileron. In Mode-2 the left-hand stick controls
throttle and rudder. The right-hand stick controls pitch and
roll.
Q. How
is the High Performance (25C) Battery better?
A. This battery is a "go
faster" replacement for the standard Flying Saucer battery pack,
and brings improved performance through a new chemistry. The
Flying Saucer maintains peak climb-out power through most of
the discharge, rather than losing performance steadily as the
flight proceeds.
Q: Can several batteries
be used so that the Saucer can be flown more than once without
re-charging?
A: We offer spare batteries
as replacements for worn-out units. Use of multiple batteries
is not recommended because the Saucer's battery socket is not
designed for frequent re-connection. Additionally, back-to-back
flights will cause excessive wear of the motors, because they
will not have the usual time in which to cool down.
Q: How should the
Saucer battery be replaced?
A: To replace the
Saucer battery, it is first necessary to remove the mechanical
flight "engine" from the foam body. To do this it must be pulled
upwards with steady force, whilst holding the foam down in the
area immediately adjacent to the electronics housing. The mechanical
part is held into the foam with double-sided tape on the bottom
only, and with persistence this can be peeled apart.
Once the mechanical section is removed, flip it upside down
to reveal a black slotted box containing the battery pack. Unfortunately
this cannot be removed easily, so instead it is better to cut
away the slotted section to access the battery (photo). The
plastic is thin and soft, and can be cut easily with scissors.
Take care not to pierce the battery pack whilst doing this.
The battery can then be carefully prised out of the casing,
and unplugged. After the replacement has been installed the
mechanical section can be pressed back into the foam body -
the double-sided tape will usually work a second time.
Click to enlarge
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