The Airtronics Stylus 8-Channel PCM system has definitely caught the attention of R/Cers, and for good reason! (See the features pages here for a listing of all the features of this system in both basic form and with the various cards installed. )
This page is intended to give you some of MY personal favorite features and applications of the Stylus. It will be updated regularly as time allows!
Pattern Pilots * IMAC/Scale Pilots * Helicopter Pilots
As most of you know my first love is precision aerobatics competition. The Stylus with AERO card is such a great pattern radio that it's hard to put any order to what I like about it! The only thing lacking in the current card is a throttle curve - that will be fixed (along with a bunch of other things) in the next version. And you can make a workaround for this by offsetting the center position of the throttle servo. All the below refers to the Stylus WITH the card(s) installed unless otherwise noted.
Here are a few things I really like about the Stylus in my Legend
AUTO SNAP DISABLE
As with the Infinity 660 and 1000, the Stylus automatically disables the snap roll function when the retracts are down. Saves panic attacks on take-off.
DUAL ACTIVE SNAPS per SETUP
The Stylus snap switch is a spring loaded 3-position switch. This means you can have - for instance - both an inside and an outside snap active at the same time, with no fumbling for switches on the back to change them. By switching to an Alternate setup (in flight) you enable two more snap programs.
STICK OVERRIDE on SNAP SWITCH
You can use the snap roll switch to do slow rolls or the "Two Horrible Rolls in Opposit Directions" in Masters. ALL sticks have full over-ride ability while a snap program is active.
DUAL RATE/EXPO/VTR OPTIONS
Stylus has 3 rates for each of the flight controls. The Dual Rates can be set to more or less than the "normal" rate, and can also use either exponential or VTR. The VTR (Variable Trace Rate, it's basically a stick position activated dual rate) has rate and point adjustments. I don't use VTR but I like to mention I have it just to annoy the ZAP guys who have to jump a LOT of hoops to get it!
SWITCHES and SWITCH LOGIC
I love the flexibility and power offered by the Stylus in assigning switches! You can, for example, assign a dual rate for aileron and elevator and/or rudder to any switch. You can assign ANY function or group of functions to any switch. Using logical operators, you can assign a function to work IF one switch is on AND another is on, or another is NOT on, etc. An example would be using a flap switch that was inactive unless the throttle was below a certain point.
SWITCH SELECTION TO "ON"
I have always likes the way I can just turn ANY function "ON" with the Infinity and Stylus radios. Mixers in particular are generally intended to be ON at all times, why have to check some stupid switch before every take-off to make sure they are?
STICK SWITCHES
A "stick switch" is simply any position on any control stick that you tell the system to treat as a switch. Craig Buckles uses these and the switch logic options as a conditional multi dual rate enabler, as follows: He likes to hand-fly his snaps (and of course his spins) rather than using a switch. But he doesn't like to have his rates on elevator and aileron as high for normal flight as he needs for the snaps/spins. Craig also dislikes having to reach for a switch for any manuevers. So, he has two stick switches defined, one at about 95% of elevator stick movement and one at about 95% on aileron stick. We'll call the SSW1 and SSW2 (SSW=Stick Switch) for this example. Now, he goes to a dual rate for elevator, and for aileron, that gives the extra throw desired for the autorotating manuevers. He assigns BOTH of these Dual Rates to the following switch: SSW1 - AND - SSW2. Now, he can use full stick movement and never change rates UNLESS he has both the Elevator AND Aileron sticks at extreme travel at the same time. When this occurs, the rates for both change to the dual rate setting and "snap" (or "spin") he gets the needed throws only when he needs them.
There are 5 stick switches available and they can be assigned to any stick at any position with the direction of activation user-defined. Any number of stick switches can be assigned to a single stick.
ALTERNATE SETUPS
Airtronics was the first to come up with this, MANY years ago on the Vision. The Alternate Setup function allows you to change to a completely different set-up IN FLIGHT by flipping a switch!
One of my favorite uses for an Alternate Setup is for landing. Although I like expo on my elevator for flight maneuvers, I do NOT like it on landing. I also want a VERY broad throttle response on approach, and I also trim in some up-elevator to trim my approach attitude (and thus airspeed) to a consistent value. So, I just switch to an alternate setup that has these changes programmed into it. You could also droop or reflex the ailerons with this alternate, but I don't like that myself so I don't do it.
DELAYS
These allow you to slow the speed of the servo by a desired amount. Not that useful in pattern, but it's kind of neat to slow the retracts (if you use a proportional retract servo as I do) to a realistic speed. I know what some of you are thinking, "What if I have to move the gear up or down quickly if my engine dies?" Well, you assign a switch to the delays AND use a stick switch (with the "and" logical operator) on throttle - if you have to go around or go dead stick you move the throttle stick up and turn off the delay - now the servo works at max speed. Same is true for a flap function, if desired.
STOPWATCH
This is no big deal, but it's very handy to have my timer set to warn me when 10-minutes is up, because I'm very low on fuel by then. Bet here'e the clever part - I use the retract switch to activate the timer! This way I don't have to remember to activate a separate switch to start the timer.
Obviously the above "pattern" functions apply to IMAC and some other scale models too. Here's a few other goodies I like:
TWIN THROTTLES WITH THROTTLE HOLD
This function lets you have two throttle channels with individual EPA's, so you can control each engine (or pair of engines on 4-engine plane) individually. Of course both throttles respond when you move the throttle stick or trim, but you can set the end points and centering of each servo independantly. ALSO, you can assign a mixer to affect only one throttle channel; thus you can mix rudder and throttle for scale-like taxi with asymetrical thrust. Nifty, huh? And there's more; you can also assign a switch for throttle HOLD. This let's you start one engine and tune it, then hit "hold" and start and adjust the 2nd engine while the 1st ignore your throttle stick movements. This function can also be used to simulate engine-out performance without having to actually kill an engine or use two throttle controls.
DUAL GEAR CHANNELS with DELAYS
This option lets you assign two channels for retracts, so you can get staggered gear operation at a scale speed - all user adjustable. Aux channlels can be mixed and delayed to also get scale tailwheel or gear door operations.
SMOKE or GLOW AUTO SWITCHING!
On my Midwest Extra 300 I have on-board glow as well as a smoke pump. I use the stick-switchs and switch logic options to get some very nice results. For smoke, I have a "master" switch that I flip to turn on the smoke pump. THEN, I have a stick switch that I assigned at 30% throttle stick positon - above that this stick switch (SSW#1) is ON, below it's off. My logic assignment works so that the primary switch AND the stick switch must BOTH be in the ON position to turn on the smoke pump. So, I hit smoke when I want it to be on and then the smoke automatically turns OFF when I reduce power below the 30% stick position.
Then I assigned ANOTHER stick switch to the throttle stick, SSW#2, and it's defined to be ON when the throttle stick is below 5%. This is used for the onboard glow; both the main glow switch on the transmitter AND the SSW2 must be in the on positions for the on-board glow to come on. Now I just flip the glow switch on when it's time to start up and it comes on whenever the throttle stick is above 5%.
The 5-point curves for pitch and throttle are in the standard Stylus without the card installed, as are the external dial for hover-pitch and hover-throttle. ALSO in the basic radio are the external sliders for low-collective and hi-collective. AND offsets for Ail, Ele, and Rudder for each flight mode. I like this arrangement!
WIth the new (v2) HELI card soon to be available, the radio really zings for helis! Now you have all of the above plus FIVE flight modes per setup, and with two alternates available you have access to FIFTEEN flight modes in flight! That ought to be enuff!
EACH flight mode has its own 5-point curve for REV-Mix (throttle/rudder mix). You can move the points and adjust them as you wish. Each mode also has its own GYRO setting and it's own offsets settings. You have FIVE rates available, you assigne a dual rate/expo/VTR setting for EACH flight mode!!
Each flight mode also has its own user-definable DELAYS for collective shift or rudder shift, so you can "soften" the changeover from one flight mode to another.
IN addition to the 5 rev-mix menus and the 3 compensation mixers available, you also have ANOTHER FIVE compensation mixers, one for each flight mode that are automatically activated when you select that flight mode.
This is one heck of a radio for helis! More as I get time on
the system.
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*Airtronics Radios