The receiving end can encompass the whole of the current Futaba range, including receivers of both PCM and FM types and all of the numerous servo types available. Apart from increasing the versatility of the system even further, this means that your existing Futaba airborne packs can be used with the 'FC-28' transmitter. As a result of this total freedom of choice it is difficult to produce a specific review of the airborne equipment, so we shall concentrate on the transmitter, which is the 'brains' of the system. This being a helicopter magazine, we shall also restrict coverage to the 'Heli' configuration. Coverage of the other features will appear in 'R/C Model World'.

For this review, the receiver supplied was a 9 channel, dual conversion, PCM type (FD-R129DP). Despite being extremely complex, this is of average size and utilises modern surface mounted components to achieve this. A discussion of dual conversion receivers would be out of place here, but their use considerably enhances selectivity and increases the rejection of signals which are on frequencies which can tend to 'break through' on simpler receivers.

As previously stated, this has a large case which is intended for use with a transmitter tray. This does not mean that a tray is actually necessary, and it can be held quite comfortably in the hands. However, neck strap users will find that there is nothing to which they can attach one!

The stick length is adjustable over a range of 5/16th of an inch (8mm) and longer ends are available which give further variations if required. Mode changes are very easily done by rotating a plate on the rear of the stick and then 'telling' the computer which control arrangement you require. One feature of the stick design is that the throttle function has a greater physical movement than earlier Futaba equipment (or most competitors). This gives a finer control of the all important throttle/pitch relationship on a helicopter, though it may feel a little strange at first. The trim levers have an extra notch at the centre of the throw which enables you to find neutral trim without looking. The throttle trim can be set to operate over the whole range, or to leave the high point unaffected. You can also set things up so that the throttle stick is pulled back to open the throttle if you prefer things that way.

Longer sticks really work best in conjunction with the optional tray. This has a flexible plastic weather shield which is attached by 'Velcro' patches to the edges of the tray and to the supporting strap. For my personal taste the transmitter sits rather too flat in the tray, but this was easily remedied by packing between the tray and the top of the transmitter to angle it forwards slightly. A mere half inch made all the difference.

Many transmitters tend to produce problems in reaching the auxiliary control switches when used in a tray, particularly when the switches are on the top of the case. With the FC-28 the switches are on the front face and extra switches can be added to suit the operator. Any of the existing switches, or any additional switch, can be used for any desired function. In addition, one switch can operate any number of functions. This all adds up to a very versatile and convenient unit.

In all, there is provision for 16 additional switches, or rotary trimmers, which are accommodated in two panels at the top of the front face. Rotary trimmers can, like the switches, be allocated to any desired function. You can, for example, use one of these trimmers as a hovering pitch control to find the optimum setting and then render it inoperative after entering the setting into the computer memory.

As supplied, there are three linear slider controls on the front face of the transmitter, in addition to the usual stick trims. In helicopter use, one of these serves as a pitch trim and the other two operate auxiliary channels, one of which is intended to operate the gyro gain control. These are 'default' settings and all of this can be changed if you wish.

We take lots of things for granted on modern radio equipment and the FC-28 can do all of the things that we have come to expect from a helicopter radio and one or two extra things too.

Each channel, of which there are eight, has separate throw adjustment in each direction (110% max) and servo reversing. Two types of exponential are available - less sensitive around neutral and more sensitive around neutral - plus a 'dogleg' response (VTR). This gives a sort of automatic rate switch where the sensitivity suddenly increases at a certain point. Both the initial rate and the position of the change point are adjustable.

The four trim levers have adjustable rates and this can vary between 0 and 110%. You can have crossed trims if you prefer and the throttle trim can work over the entire range (changes the high point as well) or progressively reduce as you approach the high point (leaves the high point fixed). If you prefer to pull the throttle stick back for 'high', it can do that too.

There are no rate switches as such, but up to four different rates ('rate' includes both types of exponential and VTR) may be set for any channel and called up by any of the switches. The versatility of this arrangement is considerable. You can change the rate of all channels, or any number of selected channels, simultaneously by operating one switch and the same switch can also operate something else. For example, one switch can call up different throttle and pitch curves, different rates and/or expo, gyro gain, change the trims, etc.

In the helicopter mode there are five different pitch curves available ('Normal', 'Idle up 1', Idle up 2', 'Hold' and 'Invert'), with the first three having their own throttle curves - like most other sets, there is no separate 'Invert' throttle curve so you have to use one of the existing throttle curves. Each of these curves has 9 set points; high, low and seven intermediate positions. By this means, virtually any shape of throttle or pitch curve is available, though there are certain limitations.

All of the usual helicopter mixing options are included. 'Revo' mix allows you to set different 'Up' and 'Down' values for 'Normal', 'Idle up1', 'Idle up 2' or 'Hold' and any, or all, of these can be inhibited. Those four basic flight modes appear everywhere. You can have a different trim offset on each one if you wish and different gyro gain on each too.

Where the 'Gyro' channel is used to set the gyro gain, several types of mixing are available to let the tailrotor stick modify the gyro sensitivity as more yaw is demanded. This is particularly useful if used with a gyro which has a proportional gain control which is intended to be varied from the transmitter. By this means the gain can be varied continuously as the stick is moved and the effect can be exponential if desired. The point on the stick at which the effect starts can also be delayed by up to two thirds of the maximum deflection.

Two more dedicated mixers are available to mix tailrotor into throttle to compensate for the power taken by the tail rotor during pirouettes and to mix swashplate movement into throttle to compensate for the power taken by cyclic inputs. These two items are of most use during hovering.

Throttle 'Hold' can be manual or automatic and includes an adjustable time delay. 'Automatic' means that after operating the 'Hold' switch, nothing happens until the throttle is closed below a preset point. If required, the throttle trim may remain active after the 'Hold' switch is operated.

Swashplate mixing (CCPM) is fully catered for and includes dedicated mixers for systems having 2, 3 (two types), or 4 servos.

In addition to the above, there are six user programmable mixers which can mix any two channels on a master/slave basis. These are extremely versatile and allow you to perform virtually any mixing function that you can think of. In helicopter use, this is difficult since most of the accepted mixing arrangements are already included.

In the failsafe function, any channel can be set to either hold its last position or go to a preset point. Additionally, the throttle servo may be set to go to a preset position in the event of the airborne battery falling below a certain point. Closing the throttle below the set point and then opening it again will restore normal operation for a short time. The way in which a failsafe should be set up for a helicopter will always be a debatable point, but whatever you choose, the FC-28 can do it.

On the rear panel of the case there is a socket which serves several functions. Direct servo control (DSC) operation can be used by means of a special cable which connects this socket with the receiver charge socket (another adaptor is required at the receiver end). When this is connected, the receiver battery voltage is also shown on the transmitter display. The connection of this lead also switches the transmitter on automatically without transmitting any RF.

The same socket also accommodates a trainer lead for connecting two transmitters together for 'buddy box' operation. This lead also allows the transfer of program information from one transmitter to another.

In standard form the transmitter can store program information for up to six models. If that is insufficient for your needs, this can be expanded by the addition of a 'CAMPac' module in a socket on the front panel. This can accommodate an additional four model memories.

Those who are familiar with the computer world in general will be aware that methods of programming, along with ways of displaying the relevant information, are far from standardised - and probably never will be. The radio control world is certainly no different and virtually every system produced so far has been different to its predecessors. There are many reasons for this, but the basic one is that the better the system is the more it costs. Getting the best results from the lowest costs means that many compromises are necessary and new systems are constantly being devised.

The 'FC-28' uses a large Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) combined with a row of 12 touch sensitive keys immediately below the display. The keys carry labels to show their general functions, but the keys labelled 1 to 6 are also used to perform special functions which are shown by 'flags' on the display above them. This gives the system great flexibility.

When first switched on, the display shows the users name (this is locked in by a four figure code and cannot be changed without it), the model name and number, whether PCM or PPM, the transmitter voltage, the receiver voltage (if connected), the total time that the transmitter has been switched on (since last reset), labels for the 6 buttons referred to above, and any timer function that may have been selected.

At this stage, those 6 buttons allow you to select the timer function that you require, start, stop or reset the selected timer, select the tachometer function, or reset the elapsed time timer. Available timer functions are 'Up', 'Down' or 'Rythmic' (sic). The tachometer function has a sensor set into the left hand side panel of the transmitter case. It can be set to count from 1 to 5 blades.

Pressing the two left hand buttons ('CALL' and 'ENTR') together puts you into the 'EDIT' mode and you are presented with a menu which has 4 rows of 6 options which correspond to the 6 pushbuttons. Using the (up) and (down) buttons lets you select any of the 4 rows and the flags above the 6 buttons then automatically change to correspond with the available options on that row. Pressing any of the 6 then puts you into another screen which allows you to modify that function as required. Here again the flags above the buttons automatically change to show the options. Pressing the button labelled 'END' returns you to the main 'EDIT' menu.

The second item on the first row of the edit menu is labelled 'SMix'. This puts you into the 'SPECIAL MIX' menu. Here again you are presented with 4 rows of 6 options as before. There are, in fact, 4 different versions of this menu depending on which type of model you wish to fly. This is set by selecting the first option on row 4 which is labelled 'MxTY'. From this you can select 'STND', 'GLID', 'ACRO' or 'HELI'. Selecting 'HELI' changes the 'SPECIAL MIX' menu to show all of the features available for use with helicopters.

There is another, more direct, way of making these changes. If, when first switched on, the left hand button ('CALL') is pressed on its own, you will be presented with a page showing various numbered functions. Entering this number and then pressing the 'ENTR' button will put you directly into the screen for that option, ie. FUNCTION 13 will allow you to select the 'SPECIAL MIX' option as described above. The available functions are spread over several 'pages' and the 'CALL' button will move on to the next page if required.

Once you have selected the required function, the item which you can change will be 'highlighted' by a black rectangle around it and the buttons will be labelled to show their purpose. Using the (up), (down), (left) and (right) buttons (the four at the right hand end) allows you to change the highlighted item and the flags above the buttons will change to suit.

When you have finished, pressing the 'END' button returns you to the previous menu. It should be noted that the changes take place immediately and it is not necessary to exit from the function, or press any other button, in order to observe their effect or fly the model. All of the changes are automatically stored and you can simply switch off when you have finished.

The last item on line 1 of the 'EDIT' menu is labelled 'SERV'. This gives a graphic display of the servo movements of all 8 channels and can be very useful for seeing exactly what has been set into a particular model memory. This is especially useful where some control mixing has been set and then forgotten!

In many of the functions a graphical representation is given to show what is happening. When setting the pitch and throttle curves you are shown a graph of the actual servo output against the stick movement together with a bargraph of the stick movement. When setting up the rates you are shown a similar graph, but without the bargraph.

When selecting the various pitch/throttle curve options, the graphical display does not change automatically when the appropriate switch is operated and it is necessary to select the function by means of the highlighted cursor and the appropriate button. In common with all its competitors, it is not possible to show the pitch and throttle curves together, which this writer feels is a major omission. It is worth repeating that this is not a criticism of the FC-28, but of all programmable transmitters seen to date.

If the transmitter is accidentally left switched on, it will automatically turn itself off about 30 minutes after the last input, to save the battery. 'Input' in this case means operation of the sticks, or auxiliary controls, not of the keyboard. This is a useful feature and unlikely to cause any problem in normal operation (don't try for a World duration record with a stable slope soarer). However, it is a little surprising when you are happily playing with the programming and it turns itself off! No, you haven't broken it, just turn it off and then on again.

A very comprehensive and usable system which can do just about anything that you may wish of it - after a little headscratching. I have stood on a flying field with a helicopter before me, its engine running, vainly trying to find a feature which I knew was there and then gave up and carried on flying. On returning home, I had no difficulty in finding and changing the required function!

The ability to fit additional controls and locate them where you wish is a very valuable one. Having struggled for years to reach the throttle hold switch on another manufacturers product, I now have this switch located where I can reach it easily. The problem is to reprogramme my aging brain to remember which set I am using!