PHOTO: COURTESY OF HOBBICO
The 230Si comes packaged with everything you see here (above). The only thing you might want to add is a second battery to get in more flight time between charges. The battery leads (at right) are long enough to allow mounting the battery after plugging it in. This keeps the model motionless while the electronics stabilize.
If you find you want more aggressive con- trols when flying outside, pressing down on the right transmitter stick will toggle be- tween low and high control rates. The trans- mitter gives a visual indicator on its LCD screen as well as audio feedback when mak- ing this change, so you shouldn’t get caught with the wrong control setting.
Additionally you can also change the over- all response setting of the transmitter. This would be akin to the endpoint or travel ad- justments of a more complex computer ra- dio. The transmitter also has the option to toggle between normal and expert flight modes. The accelerometers are disabled in the expert mode, making the 230Si much more agile.
Setting the dual rate, flight control sensi- tivity, and normal/expert flight modes are all accomplished with various stick posi- tions on the transmitter as detailed in the manual. Of these, only the dual rate should be changed while the 230Si is in flight. All of these configurations are easily set by following the manual and monitoring the onboard status light.
Flexible altitude control The altitude control management system
has two other settings in addition to the lim- ited altitude mode mentioned above. The second setting is an altitude-hold mode which maintains your altitude whenever the throttle stick is at its mid position. This pro- vides more consistent altitude control than when hand flying and provides a more sta- ble platform when using the video camera to film action or shoot still images. It has also proven to be an intuitive way to fly for some without previous RC experience. The final setting for the altitude control system gives normal response to the throt- tle. This mode will be the most familiar for experienced flyers. Both the normal and al- titude-hold modes allow you to fly high enough to clear nearby trees or use the on- board video camera to examine the gutters on your roof.
Selecting between the altitude control management settings is accomplished by pressing the F mode button on the top right side of transmitter when the quad is on the ground.
Actual Direction Control Mirroring the F mode button on the top right of the transmitter is the ICM button on the top left. This button is used to access
two very exciting features of the 230Si. Pressing and holding this button for a few seconds will toggle on Actual Direction Con- trol. In this mode the orientation of the 230Si does not matter. Regardless of where it is pointing in flight, if you push the right stick forward, back, left or right, the 230Si will mimic those motions relative to your position. Push away and the quad moves away from you. Pull the stick back and it will come back towards you. In this mode left is always left and right is always right. This eliminates the apparent control rever- sal when flying towards you, thus reducing the importance of maintaining precise ori- entation and making it easier to control the quad at longer distances. You will want to keep the antenna pointed at the 230Si to help maintain orientation.
Tapping and releasing the ICM button en- ables the Return to Pilot function. This brings the 230Si back towards you. While the throttle function remains effective in this mode, the return to pilot command will be terminated as soon as you apply a control input with the right stick. This function does not bring the 230Si to a stable hover, it is de- signed to help you reestablish visual orien- tation control and land safely.
The Limited Altitude Mode will keep you from getting too high (above) during your early flights. The LED lighting makes it easy to see the 230Si (at right) under the fading light of a calm evening.
FLYING MODELS 41
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