The radio transmitters that we have been using have 14 channels, however, up to this point we have only used 5 (throttle, yaw, pitch, roll, and change flight modes). Now, we can start assigning functions to other channels. This lesson will focus on channels 7 and 8.

Channels 7 and 8 are intended to be on/off parameters and can be assigned in the “Extended Tuning” tab under the “CONFIG/TUNING” menu as seen below. It is important to check on your radio that these channels are assigned to binary switches on the remote. We will assign channel 7 to the SF switch and channel 8 to the SH switch. The steps to do this are as follows…

• Power on your Futaba transmitter.
• Press and hold the “U.MENU/MON.” button on the right side.
• Use the wheel on the right to scroll to “FUNCTION” and press the “RTN” button.
• Use the scroll wheel to move the “CTRL” section of the channel you want to change and press “RTN.”
• Scroll to the desired input option and press the “RTN” button once more
• Press the “HOME/EXIT” button on the left to return to the main page.

Now we will experiment with a few different options for these switches.

The first selection used will be the Auto Trim or Save Trim selection. These functions save any Tx trim offsets needed to reduce flight drift while in Stabilize mode.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THESE FEATURES TO COME

The second selection used will be Auto Tune. It requires the Tx trims to be centered, thus why the Auto/Save Trim function is performed first. This Auto Tune function will self-adjust the FC PIDs for better flight control. Additional adjustments of the PIDs can be performed manually if/as desired. The Auto Tune should get you in the ball park and will likely be sufficient for most fliers. INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THESE FEATURES TO COME

The channel 7 and 8 function can be set to enable any pilot preferred special condition once desired flight adjustments are completed. These functions, most probably, are selected 'emergency' conditions, such as Land or Return to Home (requires GPS lock) with the 'quick flip of a switch'.