Is expo really needed.

[BalsaDust]

After attending my first probro yesterday I'm convinced that expo may not really be needed in our planes. It's all in your setup. One guy that was thee let me fly a couple of his planes. If he had not told me I never would have know there was no expo programmed into the radio. He has all his planes set up so perfect it's unreal (mind you he is super anal about the setup). One plane I flew I think he said he had close to 8hrs into tuning the plane and getting the setup just right. Everything from thrust angle, both your normal CG and the vertical CG, lateral balance, weather or not that particular plane needs in reflex in the ailerons or not. Basically crazy setup perfection. His planes flew just as smooth if not smoother than any of mine did with 30-40% expo in them.

I will not start going through all my planes and setting them up to be as perfect as possible and start taking the amount of expo in them down.

Just some thoughts I had after the most fun day of flying I have ever had.

 

[pawnshopmike]

Expo is very much a personal preference thing. I myself use very little. Other guys use lots of expo and they freak out when I hand them my radio to fly one of my planes. I always warn them, but they are always surprised.

As far as set-up eliminating the need for expo, I can't really wrap my head around that. I have no doubt that great set-up = great flying plane though. I'm just not sure how expo would play into that.

 

[BalsaDust]

It may have just been in my head but I had flown a couple of my planes without expo when I got back in the hobby and they were a handful. This guys planes just flew smooth as silk and it was only 30 seconds into the flight and I was comfortable with them.

 

[dhal22]

I use very little expo. But then I'm only an occasional flyer.

 

[emtp275]

When I got back into flying I never used it even on 3d capable glow planes with stupid rates on high, I got my first giant scale and expo was explained to me and that it was a must so I started using it, I have found myself removing expo a little every day I fly to get it out of my radio, I feel more connected every day, I also took 6hrs one day redoing a plane to try a new set up programmed all the servos so they match perfect on all surfaces and with in the past two weeks I am flying this plane better than ever and am connected to it durring flight better than any thing I have, but that's just my testing on a single airframe over the past few weeks and I'm slowly comming off expo like a drug so I may never get to zero on every thing,

 

[Islandflyer]

It is all about personal preference....and ability!
Some are so used to yanking the sticks around with little response, they would quickly reduce their plane into a pile of unrecognizable matter when the 3D rates are turned on.

Others are used to quick response from the controls surfaces and usually fly with little stick movements around the center.
It's all about what you are used to.

Daniel Holman flies all high rate, and little to no Expo. So does Kyle "The Alien" Woyshnis.
Gaby flies with mostly high rates: the main change on his low rate is the Expo. On low rate, he has full throw, with a lot of expo.

 

[David Shriver]

It's all about feel. I've never really liked flipping switches in flight. Even when competing in pattern or IMAC I liked to stay in one radio setup. Expo lets me do this. It gives me the fine control I need for precision flying, but also access to the full throw needed for hammer heads, snaps, or 3D. I don't compete anymore and I mostly fly 3D but I still fly with full rates and expo. I remember pre-computer radio days when even dual rates were a luxury. It took me a long time to accept expo. Now its part of my setup though and I think it makes me a better flyer.

 

[pawnshopmike]

Others are used to quick response from the controls surfaces and usually fly with little stick movements around the center.
It's all about what you are used to.

Daniel Holman flies all high rate, and little to no Expo. So does Kyle "The Alien" Woyshnis.

That's me. Every time I fly someone else's plane that has a lot of expo I'm like what's wrong with this thing? The plane won't respond!

As for Daniel and Kyle....I'm in great company!

 

[Kevin-K]

The rotational output of a servo arm does not produce a linear movement to the control surface relative to the transmitter stick position. As the servo arm moves farther from center position, it's moving more sideways and produces less movement in the direction of the control surface. And to make matters worse, the situation is compounded by the rotational arm attached to the control surface. So without expo, you're actually flying a mechanical setup that gives you just the opposite of expo( the sticks are more sensitive around neutral than at the end points).

 

[Bipeguy03]

Another thing to look at (outside of feel) is the servo speed. Some of the servos I have in a couple of my airplanes are so fast that without a little bit of expo you'd be hard pressed to keep the wings straight. Then I have others that are slower servos and I use less Expo with them.

For the most part, I only have 10-15% expo programed in my radio for the low and mid rates (Airtronics SD-10GS) but when I go to high rates (3D rates) I'm more up into the 30-40%.

But as most say it is all about feel.