Probably.

I’ll try not to bore you with a long story,  but in the early days we didn’t have dual rates. So set up was a tough compromise. When Dual Rates did show up in the early 70`s  it was a huge technical leap and became a necessity with competitors for many years.  

With a flip of a switch, you can change the sensitivity of the control stick and that difference was adjustable. A common example of a dual rate set up would be,, High rate for spins and low rate for the rest of the flight. Normally dual rates were set up on all flight controls.

Dual Rate 

Then, in the 80s, Futaba came up with Variable Trace Ratio.  VTR is essentially an auto dual rate. Brilliant.  The first 70% of stick movements feel exactly like low rate, beyond 70% of stick it becomes high rate. Worked well.

 
Then Came Exponential

Expo

Exponential is basically a blending the VTR as shown in the graphs.

The early Expo curves were not that great so most competitors stayed with manual switching of dual rates or VTR for more than 20 years or up to the early 2000s but Expo  improved dramatically and the later versions are superb.

A New Digital World

Horizon digital 2.4 spread spectrum radios were introduced in 2004 (I was sent one to test a prototype in secret in Las Vegas in 2003) and the RF link was stunning. Later versions with faster processors, radio manufacturers could refine the Expo values to become the single most important tool in setup. Remember, when you go from analog to digital, the potential is unlimited…. It now becomes a game of software.

So today, a lot of legacy features are still carried forward in the modern-day digital radio which is great, but the vast majority of what we do, including  competition flying, can be done with little or no dual rates, just expo. 

How cool is that?

How to set up

We have to start somewhere:

1. Follow the manufacturers suggestion on throws. The most common and  biggest mistake is the notion, more throw is better. 
2. If the manufacturers recommend dual rates, use it, and expo if recommended use it
3. Fly the aircraft. Trim it out. Try the high rate and low rate and land. 
4. Here is a neat trick, toggle the rate between high and low with the stick deflected about ⅓ and adjust the Expo so the servo barely moves.  This minimizes the change of the feel.
5. For an example, my Parkmaster aileron has 70% expo, Elevator 60% and Rudder 50%

For the majority of flying, high rate only with a high Exponential value is the best and simplest solution.  Once you’re there you will not use dual rate and loving it!

If you want any assistance in set up, please ask!

Enjoy!

PS

There still is a place for dual rates. That’s another month.

Dave