Eagle A3 Lite: Fly Like a Pro with This 3-Axis Airplane Gyro!
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A3 Lite 3-Axis Airplane Gyro from HobbyEagle - HEA3LTE
The A3 Lite is the latest 3-axis gyro for airplanes, which is developed based on AVR platform and applies the high efficiency, concise and mature algorithm. Experience with previous gyros and introduces many new features such as PPM receiver support, separate 3-axis basic gain adjustment and the throttle output channel for mini serial receivers. The A3 Lite provides users with more powerful and better performance.
Flight Modes
A3 Lite provides 3 flight modes which can be switched by a 3-position switch of the transmitter during flight. The factory default mode allocation of the switch is NORMAL - GYRO OFF - LOCK.
NORMAL Mode (Solid Blue LED)
The NORMAL mode, also known as the 'Rate mode', is the most basic function of the gyro. It works based on the rotation rate control of each axis of the airplane. When operating in this mode, the gyro will only correct currently occurring rotational movements, a momentary reaction will be applied to the servos when the airplane rotating on corresponding axis, after rotation the servos will move back to their neutral position as soon as the airplane standing still immediately. The NORMAL mode can be used with nearly any size and type of airplanes. It can effectively improve the stability and precision of the airplane and reduce the stall point specially.
GYRO OFF Mode (LED Off)
When operating in GYRO OFF mode the gyro will be deactivated completely, and the airplane will be completely under the control of your transmitter as it was before installing the gyro. This mode is usually used for testing purpose only.
LOCK Mode (Solid Red LED)
The LOCK mode is also known as the 'Attitude Lock mode', '3D mode' or 'AVCS mode'. Different from NORMAL mode, the gyro will perform a permanent correction for rotational movements on each axis constantly. That is when you release the sticks the airplane will stop and lock its current position immediately. This mode is well suited for practicing basic 3D maneuvers such as hovering or knife edge. Since it can help you to lock the attitude of the airplane, it is also helpful for landing.
Why use an airplane gyro? - Gyros (also called flight stabilizers) help keep your airplane stable during take-off, flight maneuvers, and landings which can be helpful during windy days or when learning how to fly RC planes. Once thought to be for beginners only, Gyros are now common in all classes of aircraft and are utilized by all levels of flyers. Gyros are great for learning, they let pilots practice advanced aerobatics, they give you piece of mind in less than ideal flight conditions, and they can often help you avoid costly crash damage.
Need more convincing? Be sure to read our article Gyros: Clearing Up The Stigma from our Knowledge Blog.
Note: Not for use with gas/nitro aircraft.
Features:
- Standard PWM receivers, PPM and Futaba S.Bus receivers supported
- 3 Flight Modes: GYRO OFF Mode, NORMAL Mode and LOCK Mode
- 3 Wing Type: Standard, Delta-wing and V-Tail
- Throttle output channel provided when using the PPM or S.Bus mode
- One-key setting mode with colored LED indicator light
- Remote master gain
- Separate basic gain adjustment for Aileron, Elevator and Rudder
Includes:
- Eagle A3 Lite Flight Stabilizer
- 16V EZ-Plug capacitor to help maintain a secure voltage level during flight
- 3M Foam mounting tape
- 5 x 150mm(6') male to male servo wires to connect stabilizer to your receiver
Specifications:
- Input Voltage: 4.8V to 8.4V (H.V. 2S Lithium Battery Supported)
- Gyroscope: ±2000 dps
- Servo Frequency: 50Hz/125Hz/250Hz
- Servo Travel: 1520uS Limit 970-2070uS
- Operating Temperature: -10 ℃ to 50 ℃
- Size: 43mm x 27mm x 14mm
- Weight: 10g (excluding wires)
IMPORTANT - Please Read This Carefully
- Proper setup of the HobbyEagle Gyro is crucial. Read the gyro instruction manual completely before attempting to fly your aircraft. Failure to follow setup instructions can result in loss of control and inevitable damage to your aircraft.
- Ensure the gyro is installed in the proper orientation (see manual) and is mounted to a hard surface near the aircraft's CG point.
- When you first plug in your aircraft battery DO NOT move your aircraft for at least 10 seconds to allow the gyro to perform self-calibration.
- It is crucial to verify that the gyro is moving the control surfaces in the correct direction BEFORE attempting to fly your aircraft. Failure to do so could result in loss of control during flight.
- Setup one of your gyro control switches (3 position switch on your radio) to activate Gyro Disable. This safety feature will allow you turn off the gyro if you encounter any issues during flight.
- ANY warranty claim for HobbyEagle gyros applies to the gyro only, not the aircraft in which the gyro was installed.
Wiring
The new A3 series provides 5-channel inputs and 3-channel outputs. You only need to connect the receiver and servos to the corresponding pins on the side of the controller. The knobs are used to adjust the gain for each flight mode, clockwise to increase, anti-clockwise to decrease. Futaba's S.Bus and S.Bus 2 are supported by the new A3 series.
Standard PWM Receiver Connection
- [MODE] is used for flight mode switching of the gyro, connect it to a 3-way switch channel of the receiver to switch the flight mode in flight
- [SBUS/PPM/G] is used for remote master gain adjusting, connect it to a proportional channel of a volume or slide lever of the transmitter to tune the master gain in flight
- The ESC or throttle servo is connected to the throttle channel of the receiver directly without passing through the gyro
- Pay attention to the polarity of the plugs. The orange signal line must always be on the top and the brown on the bottom
Single-line Receiver Connection
A3 Lite supports PPM and Futaba S.Bus serial receivers which allows you to connect the gyro to the receiver with one single wire. When using a specific type of these receivers the appropriate type of receiver channel allocation will be preset in the A3 Lite. Please refer to the table below and check if your radio transmits the channels in the correct order. If you use a standard PWM receiver with standard wiring layout the channel mapping does not apply. When A3 Lite is operating in single line receiver mode, the [THR Out/AIL] can be used as the throttle output channel for the ESC or the throttle servo if a mini receiver is being used which has no additional output connectors.
Please note that the Remote Master Gain is disabled in single line mode as default. Choose a channel number for gain channel in item 8 of the Setup Menu to activate this feature if needed.
Setup Menu
To get into the Setup Menu, press and hold the button for about 2 seconds until the LED starts flashing Blue and Red quickly. The Setup Menu contains 8 setting functions which normally only need to be setup once after installation.
Function Selection
In the Setup Menu, the LED will flash Blue and Red several times every 3 seconds in a loop and the number of times LED flashes shows at which function item you are currently. For example, one Blue and Red flashing means the first setting 'Aileron Gyro Direction', after waiting about 3 seconds, a twice Blue and Red flashing means the second setting 'Elevator Gyro Direction', etc.
Option Switching
When you reach the function that you wish to operate in, short press the button to get into it. After entering in, the current selected option is indicated by the color of the LED. Each short press of the button advances the option to the next value. After you finish making your selection, just wait for 5 seconds until the LED starts blink quickly which indicates that the modified is saved and then you will be brought back to the Setup Menu level automatically. If you do not want to change anything, just wait for timeout without any operation.
Exit of Menu
To exit the menu just keep the button pressed for 2 seconds again until the LED starts flashing Blue and Red quickly.
