Jonas Wackershauser ~ Rotorflight Tuning
Jonas Wackershauser provides a systematic approach to tuning Rotorflight parameters by identifying specific flight behaviors during maneuvers. Here is a summary of the video (including timestamps) of the key tuning parameters and how to adjust them:
Main Rotor Tuning
D Gain (11:24 - 13:03): Acts as a damper on the helicopter.
- Tuning Method: Increase until the heli starts to shake during a climb and a right pirouette, then back off slightly. This is the first parameter to tune as everything else depends on it.
- Feed Forward (13:04 - 15:28): Makes the helicopter flyable without relying heavily on the control loop.
- Tuning Method: Perform continuous flips and adjust until the Integral (I-term) trace in the blackbox log remains at zero.
P Gain (15:29 - 17:28): Pushes the helicopter into a turn, similar to a spring.
- Tuning Method: Adjust to achieve your desired reaction speed. If it overreacts, decrease P; if it feels sluggish (too much D), increase P.
I Gain (17:29 - 18:33): Looks at the angle of the heli to keep rotation rates consistent.
- Tuning Method: Increase until the heli tracks the stick nicely. If it wobbles during maneuvers, decrease it.
High-Speed Integral (HSI) (18:34 - 19:54): Vital for high-speed flight stability.
- Tuning Method: Increase until the heli starts wobbling during aggressive collective inputs while flying fast, then reduce slightly. The goal is to climb or drop in a straight line without attitude changes.
Boost (19:55 - 20:40): A derivative of the stick input providing a sharper reaction.
- Tuning Method: Increase for a "smacky" flight feel; otherwise, a low value is recommended.
Tail Rotor Tuning
- D Gain (21:46 - 22:06): Increases until a slight shimmy appears on stops, then reduce by about 1/3.
- P Gain (22:11 - 23:14): Adjust until it starts to wag during hard stops or sideways flight, then back off slightly.
- I Gain (23:15 - 23:36): Increase until the tail becomes restless/shimmies in a hover, then drop.
- Collective Feed Forward (25:29 - 26:05): Tuning for torque pre-compensation.
- Tuning Method: Increase until the tail stops wiggling when punching in collective inputs.