FMA Direct Co-Pilot FS8 User Manual
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FMA Direct Co-Pilot FS8 User Manual

Advanced radio control receiver system featuring digital signature recognition, failsafe operation, infrared flight stabilization and full telemetry
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FS8 Co-Pilot™
Advanced Radio Control Receiver System
featuring
Digital Signature Recognition,
Failsafe Operation,
Infrared Flight Stabilization
and Full Telemetry
User's Guide
Note: Read this manual carefully before using FS8 Co-Pilot™.
FMA, Inc.
5716A Industry Lane
Frederick, MD 21704
Sales: (800) 343-2934
Technical: (301) 668-4280
l
www.fmadirect.com

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Summary of Contents for FMA Direct Co-Pilot FS8

  • Page 1 FS8 Co-Pilot™ Advanced Radio Control Receiver System featuring Digital Signature Recognition, Failsafe Operation, Infrared Flight Stabilization and Full Telemetry User’s Guide Note: Read this manual carefully before using FS8 Co-Pilot™. FMA, Inc. 5716A Industry Lane Frederick, MD 21704 Sales: (800) 343-2934 Technical: (301) 668-4280 www.fmadirect.com...
  • Page 2 © 2003 FMA, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication is prohibited. Co-Pilot is a trademark of FMA, Inc. user guide version 1.10 U.S. Patent 6,181,989. Foreign and other patents pending. 12/26/2003 FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 3 This FS8 Co-Pilot™). gives FS8 Co-Pilot™ much more precision than visible light sta- bilization systems. For example, FS8 Co-Pilot™ won’t cause continued the aircraft to wander when a cloud comes into view. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 4 On/off control or proportional throw adjustment, depending on channel availability of radio system Aircraft types Works with all aircraft configura- tions, including dual aileron ser- vos, quad flaps, elevons, V-tail, complex transmitter mixes, digital servos and CCPM FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

  • Page 5: Safety Precautions

    FMA Direct recommends that you join the AMA. They can ence (between earth and sky) available for FS8 Co-Pilot™ help you find a club in your area.

  • Page 6: Parts List

    Advanced Servo Buffer (Part no. 605SB). Strongly recom- mended for aircraft with long servo extensions and/or gasoline engines. Works with analog and digital servos. See page 10 continued for more information. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 7 3. Clean the bottom of the Pitch/Roll Sensor with rubbing alco- same orientation throughout setup, calibration and hol and allow to dry. flying. 7. IMPORTANT: Carefully remove the protective stickers from the four sensor windows. Æ Go to “Mount the optional Vertical Sensor.” FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 8 Æ Go to “Mount the optional Vertical Sensor.” MOUNT THIS SIDE TO FUSELAGE 7. IMPORTANT: Carefully remove the protective stickers from the two sensor windows. Æ Go to “Mount the Button/LED Module.” FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

  • Page 9: Connect The Components

    When you see “REC Button” and “CAL But- ton” in this manual, substitute “R” and “C” on the Low Profile Module. Same as REC Button Same as CAL Button Æ Go to “Connect the components.” continued FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 10 “old style,” pre-”Z-type” Airtronics servo connectors.) Failure to observe correct servo/bat- Servo or servo extension tery polarity voids warranty. Damage may result to connected to pins on bumpy side both receiver and servos. of buffer continued FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

  • Page 11: Set Up The System

    Failsafe position during Failsafe Mode. Channels not set for Failsafe remain in their Last Good Frame Hold positions. FS8 Co-Pilot™ stores setup in- formation for each channel. It keeps this information even when power is turned off. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 12 To determine a channel’s mode: Watch servos, control surfaces and throttle: Servos set for Last Good Frame Hold move slowly back and forth a small amount. Servos set for Failsafe move to their preset positions (and don’t move back and forth). FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 13 (if any). FS8 Co-Pilot™ now knows 3. Press and hold the CAL Button, turn on FS8 Co-Pilot™, then which channel controls pitch, and how it should respond when the aircraft is pitching away from horizontal. continued continued FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 14 Note: Repeat flight stabilization setup if you pitch, roll and remote on/off channels learned by reconfigure the aircraft, reprogram your transmitter FS8 Co-Pilot™. or move FS8 Co-Pilot™ to another aircraft. continued Æ Go to “Set Auto Trim.” FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 15 3 over water. However, if FS8 Co-Pilot sees a 2 over land, it would see 0 over water. It is safer to fly over large lakes when the temperature difference is 4 or higher over land. Æ Go to “At the field.” FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 16 Instructions for disabling flight stabilization are provided on page 21. continued Helicopters require extra precision to hover. For that reason, you should only use flight stabilization on a helicopter when the calibration reading is 3 or greater. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 17 It’s important to make the aircraft absolutely level, so take your time. If the model has conventional (taildragger) gear, support the tail with an object so the air- plane is in a level attitude. continued Æ Go to “Preflight check.” FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 18 Turn the forward-facing one or two windows on the Pitch/ on the transmitter! (The receiver will count this as one Roll Sensor. failsafe). continued continued FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 19 Helicopters are very sensitive to small out-of-trim condi- tions. You may need to adjust Co-Pilot’s trims (see tips continued above) to match your flying site. A little effort here will pay off with added precision. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...
  • Page 20 Unless the plane is very high, it may crash. For aerobatic maneuvers, set Throw to the intermediate or expert level, or turn off flight stabilization. continued FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 21 Cars, buildings, houses, moun- Turn the receiver’s Pitch and Throw pots fully counter- tains, cement and water, for example, can change hover clockwise. trim by a few degrees. 3. On your transmitter, turn off flight stabilization. continued FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...

  • Page 22: Range Checking

    If you suspect the transmitter is out of tune, FMA can tune it for you. With proof of pur- chase for an FMA receiver, FMA will tune your transmitter (any brand) at no charge. The only cost is for shipping. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

  • Page 23: Troubleshooting

    Put your hand or a hot object below the Vertical Sensor when Remote on/off channel does not turn Flight Stabilization on verifying Flight Stabilization operation. and off. Instead, it changes the direction that pitch and roll surfaces move to stabilize. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...

  • Page 24: Frequently Asked Questions

    It’s probably a good idea to drop the landing gear, al- one approach. though for some airplanes a belly landing may be less costly There is radio frequency interference from some unknown than bent landing gear. source. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...
  • Page 25 A: No. The bad frame and failsafe counts are lost when you turn off the receiver (unless the Flight Recorder is installed). With the Flight Recorder, you can “ride” in the aircraft dur- ing the entire flight. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...

  • Page 26: Condensed Instructions

    Servos set for Failsafe Mode move to their preset failsafe positions (and don’t move back and forth). Leave Receiver 1. Turn off FS8 Co-Pilot™. Setup Mode 2. Turn off transmitter. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

  • Page 27: Button Summary

    Press button 5 times Change between 1X and 2X LED flash rate (1X = 1 flash per second, 2X = 2 flashes per second). Press button 6 times Turn Auto Trim on/off. FMA Direct FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide...

  • Page 28: Field Checklist

    10. Check failsafe operation: turn off transmitter; servos with failsafe settings should move to those positions. 11. Test all transmitter controls, including stabilization on/off. 12. If using a buddy box, activate it for 2 seconds before each flight. FS8 Co-Pilot™ user guide FMA Direct...

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