rotarydoc

Nick,

That last post got me looking on You Tube for a GMP Cobra to show you.

This one is very similar to mine, and this guy can fly it a bit better than I could when I had mine.

The thing looks amazingly stable once he gets the hang of it...

I'll bet it was pretty easy to fly, actually.

I wonder where I'd be today if I had stuck with it from 20 years ago?? LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuvBb0IaNnY

Have fun, and enjoy the vintage heli vid!

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

Like you said I also think the forums and internet has helped people get into the hobby and stay in it. I think E-Flite's CX/CX2 has also helped many people get into the hobby. The only reason I considered getting a helicopter was by watching 3D on youtube and wanting to do it someday.

Since you said the company went out of buisness I assume you couldn't find parts for it anymore.

That was a cool helicopter. I would probably need a big field to fly something that big.

If you kept flying from 20 years ago you would probably be doing 3D at a Pro level.

Nick

evdreamer

Glenn,

Here is the [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQGXypKhsyc]video[/link] of my CPP with the brushless motor, G90, and GWS DD motor. There is more potential when it has room to move, but since it is on a tripod I can't get all of that.

When I was flying it I noticed it piros easily to the right, but has a hard time going to the left. I am thinking it is because my gain is really high. I will have to do some more testing to see. I would think the brushless motor has enough power to make a fast left piro.

Nick

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

just went for a fly, first one in a week, was doing really well, but then I was trying to do banked turns and lost it, bent the spindle, so thats going to get replaced. I think im going to order the gws tonight and wait to install that before I fly again

evdreamer

Good to hear you were able to fly today. I think you will enjoy the GWS motor.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Wow, the CPP looks SWEET on that video, congrats on the flying and upgrade project!

My day started out great, and then not so good.

I put the tail rotor on the CPP, and took it for a fly. At first, it was acting very strange, seemed like it had a bunch of forward elevator in it all the time, it even took off in forward flight once, with me on the stick pulling back. I still haven't figured that out yet, but it seemed to straighten itself out. I am keeping the possibility of a flakey servo in the back of my mind, for now.

Then, after that though, I took back off with it, and it was flying like a champ, no issues at all. Then I bumped the gyro up to 100%, and it was flying like a belt tail again! (well, almost...LOL)

THEN, the tail rotor blade came off, in mid flight, and you know the rest. I tried to land it gently, but had a boom/tail strike, and blew the GWS tail fin to pieces.

I went to my close LHS, no dice on the stock tail box, but fortunately the better LHS had one. So, I got that, and I will have to set it up like yours is.

I'm gonna send this for now...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Nick,

So, anyways, now I have two questions...with your setup, the tail blade side with the GWS name faces towards the tailboom, correct?

How did you attach your tail blade to the motor shaft? Just pressed it on with a small vise? I am thinking of using a drop of CA on it...and worry about getting it off when the time comes.

That is the first time I have lost a tail in mid flight, except for on the sim. Not much you can do, I just brought it down as slowly as possible. Good thing I was just playing around in the parking lot of the baseball field, at low altitude.

So, I should be able to get it back in the air tonight. Then I will give you my impressions again. Before the tail rotor came off, it was flying like a dream!

I went to my local flying field, and it was VERY COOL, tell you about it soon... got to see not one, but two T-Rex 600's fly...

Glenn

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

that video is amazing, good flying there, yeah it woudl have been nicer if I could have got more then one pack in, its suppose to rain here again tommorrw, so it looks like im going to rebulid tommorrw

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

did you guys get the version 1 or 2 for the conversion?

rotarydoc

Heli,

I got version 2 for mine. I think the tail blade is supposed to be better or something. I don't particuarly like the press on tail rotor idea, I had one fly off earlier today, resulting in a crash.

It looks like version 1 has a shaft and nut or something to hold the tail rotor on with. It's up to you. I just flew my CPP earlier, and the tail blade didn't come off this time, I used a small vise to press it on pretty far.

I am going to order another one, because I broke the tail fin. Or, I may just order a spare motor or two...this setup along with the gyro does wonders for the way the CPP flies, there is no doubt about it!

Hope you can rebuild tomorrow in time to fly some.

Glenn

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

nah no flying tommorrw, big storm coming in, also I have a question about the new tail motor, does it fit in the stock position where the stock tail motor would fit, I thought evdreamer did that to his rather then using the tail fin that comes with it?

rotarydoc

Heli,

Yeah, I just did that to mine, for an emergency repair this morning. When my tail blade came off, it was a given that I was going to crash. I landed it as softly as possible, but it still took the tail fin that comes with the kit out.

So, I got the stock CPP tail gearbox, and used it. You have to file/shave a small amount of material out of the stock mount to allow the GWS motor to fit, but it's an easy mod to do. Took me maybe 5 minutes to do.

Now mine is setup like evdreamer's, and it works fine that way, if not a little better, the tail fin that comes with the kit is pretty flimsy.

I know what you are thinking, and yes, you could probably get away with the motor itself, and the blades. That is all I am still using from the kit.

You will definately want to get an extra 6 pack of tail rotor blades, trust me on that...LOL

Glenn

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

yeah I was thinking about just picking up the motor and the blades, but I heard the motor screws are not a typical size and hard to find, not sure how true that is

rotarydoc

Heli,

I can check for you, but I think they are the same size as the stock motor screws.

Also, all my stuff came in separate bags, and the motor already had the screws threaded into it, so I would ASSUME that is the way the motor would come if you ordered it separately. I am going to get another motor, for sure, I am sold on this combo, it really makes the CPP a flyable heli compared to the stock setup.

It's still not as good as a belt tail, but mine sure is close right now!!

You could call them and see if the screws come with the motor, I'm sure they will tell you...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn and Helistyle,

Thanks for the comments on the video. If I ever get the guts to go inverted on it I will try to get a video of it.

Good to hear you had a good flight and sorry about the tail rotor.

It doesn't matter what way the rotor is put on since the helicopter will spin the same way with either direction. And that is why I had to have the rotor spin down away from the main blades. But it seemed like I got a little bit better performance with the smooth side facing away from the tail box and the side with GWS on it facing the motor.

Yeah I used a small vise from Harbor Freight Tools to attach the rotor. Then I put it on as far as I could with out the rotor rubbing on anything. When I first did it the rotor was rubbing on the screws. So far doing it this way the rotor hasn't come off in flight.

That would be very cool to see those T-Rex 600's. Were they electric or nitro? And were the pilots doing 3D with them or just sport flying?

Helistyle I got the version two of the GWS motor kit with the smaller rotor. I have also heard the version two rotor is better. Here are a couple of pictures of mine.

I will add more, so I don't loose this post.

Nick

evdreamer

Yeah Glenn was right that the stock CPP tail motor screws and the GWS motor screws are the same thing. But I bought the seperate motor and blades a long time ago and it didn't have the screws with it. And one of the holes was drilled too big, so my CPP screws wouldn't fit in it. I like the kit since the screws are already in the motor, so I didn't have to worry about that happening again. You really need the heat sink on this motor because it gets very hot around 110-150 degrees on mine. And with the motor, blades, and heat sink there isn't a big money difference between the kit and the seperate motor and blades. And the kit also comes with heat sink paste which probably helps some more too. So the kit is at a very good value.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Now my tail setup is just like yours, I ended up getting a stock tail gearbox and using that. It works fine, better than the GWS thing I think.

Yeah, I went up to the further LHS to get the tail gearbox, and the flying field is on the way there. So, on the way back, I stopped in to check it out. When I got there, there was one older guy there with a BIG heli, so I parked and went up and started talking to him.

Super nice guy...he was surprised that on such a nice day he was the only one there. I wasn't sure what the heli was, I knew it was either a 500 or 600 electric, since I have never seen either in person. So we talked a bit, and he put the canopy on it and took it out to the field. I wasn't sure what to expect, he's an older gentleman...

He spooled it up, and took off gently, and did some very large ovals around the field with it. He was basically flying scale with it. The 600 is HUGE. It is so stable looking in flight, it seems like it would be very easy to fly. Everything happens slowly, at least with the old guy flying it. It was very impressive.

Then another guy showed up, ends up he is the main guy running the field and club, and the older guy said that he would show us how it's done....LOL

That guy, Rob, is a very good pilot. Very organized, very meticulous with the heli. He brought a T-Rex 600, and a T-Rex 450 also.

His flying was extremely impressive for me, at least. He wasn't doing 3-D really, but he did do alot of manuvers very well. Loops, rolls, inverted, backwards flying, and a combination of all of those at times. He flew very high in the air. It was difficult to keep track of the orientation of the heli, even as big as the 600 is...and I wasn't even flying it!!

It was VERY cool to see in person. He had both helis on the table, and the 600 absolutely DWARFS the 450....LOL. Everything is huge, including the price of the batteries, they were saying the packs cost them $300 each. The poor old guy said he had gone through 4 bad packs in the last year...$1200 worth of batteries down the drain.

I'll finish in a minute....

Glenn

rotarydoc

Nick,

Good point for Heli, I forgot that the motor needs the heat sink, which is in the kit...whoops!

Anyways, the old guy brought a plane too. He was reallly good with the plane, he's been doing planes for a long time, he said, and helis not so long. Rob brought a plane, a styrofoam thing, and played around with it for one battery.

I got all the info, and it costs like $60 to join, plus the AMA membership. So I'll probaby join in a month or two. Money is kinda tight right now, I am getting a new (er) car soon, so I need to cut back on my heli spending temporarily.

I asked him about the AMA insurance, and if it covers you when flying at like baseball fields, etc. And he said it's kind of a grey area, and more or less the insurance will cover you IF you have permission to fly in the area.

When I got done with all that, I came home and fixed the CPP, and went flying.

The CPP flies the best it ever has, without a doubt!! I am also getting a very slight tail wag at 100% gyro, but I can live with that, for sure!

I also flew the B400, and the Gaui. I had a minor crash with the Gaui, I did fine the first two packs before I flew the B400, but when I flew one pack after flying the B400, it threw me off, and I lost it on a slow left turn (I still have isues with left turns/circles!).

Overall, a great heli day for me...how did your day go?

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sounds like you had a good time at the flying field. All the people I have been around at mine are also very nice. It seems like every RC pilot I have talked too on the forums are all nice.

It would be nice if some people could do 3D on their helicopters at my flying field and show me how they do it. But from what I hear all of them are beginner pilots. But there are a lot of people that can do 3D on their airplanes there. The last time I was up there a person's elevator fell of in flight. I hate to say this, but it was pretty cool. It was a big airplane and it made a nice thud and brought up a lot of dirt.

I have seen a lot of pictures of the 450 by the 600 and I know what you mean by dwarf it. I would love to get my hands on a 600, but I wouldn't want to own one more like test fly it. I like my $30 price tag on the CPP batteries.

Nick

evdreamer

Glenn,

Your club is cheaper than mine. I think mine is like $75 a year. Good luck car shopping.

I also get a tail wag on mine when I add a lot of rudder. But in foward and backward flight I don't get any.

I assume you didn't crash doing that turn.

I only got two flights in today. It was perfect out around 75 degrees, but it was short because I had to go to work.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

I am glad I went to the field, and I got lucky I did when I did, to catch Rob there. He said to email him, which I did earlier, and he replied. He's looking for a DX6i, and I have two of them, so I may sell him the one I'm not using. I really don't need two of them. But it is nice if something happens to the original one, so we'll see.

He told me he's been flying helis for 15 years, so I can see how he would be pretty good. It's pretty cool, he emailed me back, and said he has to go on some trips coming up, but when he gets back he invited my for a fly session in a park somewhere or maybe his back yard. He would be a good instructor to learn from, for sure!

He also emphasized the importance of learning circles to his flying sucess. He mentioned that at the field also. I told him I was having problems with figure 8's in the opposite direction, and he said to keep working on the circles, and use the sim alot.

I got away easy on the Gaui, just some bent grip screws and one see saw arm. About $8 worth.

I noticed today one thing that makes the Gaui difficult/strange to fly...and that is it doesn't tend to carry any momentum like the bigger helis do...in other words, it just kinda slows down in forward flight unless you really apply forward elevator.

LOL on the plane crash. I was hoping not to see anyone crash while I was there, they are all nice guys, hate to see them have a bad day.

The sick thing about the guy Rob, is that he said he hasn't flown in a month. I seem to lose my "touch" if I skip a single day...LOL

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

It is cool to hear you got an offer on the DX6i and invited to fly with him.

It seems that learning the simple stuff always makes the hard stuff easier.

That is interesting about the Gaui.

That guy and his plane that crashed didn't seem too upset. I think most of them have a lot of spare airplanes.

It is probably like riding a bike for that guy Rob. After a week of not flying it takes me awhile to get used to flying again.

Nick

evdreamer

Glenn,

I have seen this [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQeDYpWvEI]video[/link] in the past, but I ran across it recently. He has pretty much everything I do on my CPP. He has the GWS DD motor, brushless, one of the comments says there is a gyro on it. I guess this is a goal to reach someday.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Yeah I suppose when you do it for that long, you can almost do it in your sleep. He mentioned that he's a little bit burned out of it...so he doesn't fly as much as he used to.

I was amazed, in that there was a really accurate wind gauge at the field, and the wind was blowing at 15 MPH, and it didn't even phase the 600's. When Rob broght out the 450, he didn't even hesitate to fly it.

He said the limiting factor for him was his eyesight, not the wind.

When he was flying the 450, I was having a hard time seeing it in the sky at times.

Another guy mentioned the same thing, and Rob says that sometimes he "loses sight" of it for a second, but when the heli changes attitude, he gets his bearings back...whew!!

It will be a LONG time before I can ever fly at that level, if I ever do...LOL

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

I saw Helihobby had a wind gauge, but I just go by how the trees move and what I feel from the wind.

I have the problem of loosing sight of the helicopter in the sims, but I fly pretty close in real life.

I am sure in 15 years you will be at his level of flying skills. When I first started I wanted to be a pro right away and got frustrated when I wasn't. But when I learned how long it took people to become pros I felt better about my progress. When I think about it I have come a long ways from just being able to hover for a few seconds.

Nick