evdreamer

JPEE,

Good luck with the house.

I got caught up on my homework and the weather was perfect for flying. The heli pilots in my club wanted some cheaper heli fuel, so my LHS got a new brand that is $5 cheaper. I got two flights in with my Velocity before the engine wouldn't start. First the glow plug extension came apart, so I couldn't get the glow plug to light. Then I tried attaching my glow starter right to the glow plug, but some how it shorted the glow plug out. The glow plug extension is a POS, so I am going to put on an alligator clip instead of using the boot assembly that always comes apart. Then I got 5 flights on my old reliable 600.

Nick

JPEE

Nick, sorry on the Velocity. Something that small gounds ya..........dang it!

Hey Guys, well I stuffed the 500 today. I was doing some 3D and and just over-burdened the motor I think. It kinda stalled and could/would not recover. I was pretty close down and the guys around me couldnt believe I had time ( I did ) to hit throttle hold and save the bulk of the heli. Heres what I lost. TYhe stuff in BOLD is what I had one th shelf.
1. Blades
2. Bottom frame where the landing gear hooks on
3. Landing gear, the legs.
4. I checked both upper and lower main bearings and they were knotchy so I am replacing those too.
5. Main shaft
6. Upper main gear

The good part of the day is I got to fly my T-28 with pure excellence! I got one flight in on the 600 too. BUt that battery I spoke of is a gonner. I had that punk balanced "prefectly" and at 4.2 per cell. In 90 sec of hovering I went into LVC which dang nabbit I need to take out of the ESC but anyway the battery was toast. I have a 5000 30C on the slow boat from China but a guy today had a 5800 6S pack for his 600 ME LIKIE I guess I'll look into the those for my next buy from HK.

BTW, I got my estimate today to remove all of my heater ducting with Aspestos for a mear $850.00. Do you now how much heli and plank stuff I buy with that money LOL.

JPEE

evdreamer

JPEE,

Sorry about the 500, least you had a good time with the T-28.

A new member to the club brought a pretty nice RTF electric Cessna today. He wasn't doing too bad for a beginner pilot.

I made my new glow plug extension and it is working pretty good and should last a lot longer. I am just curious how well it will work when I am flying.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

Bummer on the 500, I know you hate to see that one go down....it doesn't sound too awlful bad, hope you can get it rebuilt before too long...

Sounds like you had a good time with the T-28 and the 600 at least, so hopefully that made up for it.

I felt the same way when I wrote a check for $700 to the US Treasury last week...

Cool on your new pack coming in soon...


Nick,

Sorry for your bad luck with the Velocity glow plug extension. Hope your new one works out better.

Cool on the club getting a deal on some cheaper fuel, that is always a plus!

Not much new here, rain, wind and no flying lately...maybe Sunday, looks like it's going to be 15-20 MPH winds until then, after this storm goes through. At least it cooled things off, and got rid of some of the horrible POLLEN....everything is covered in yellow/green dust...

I am lucky; I don't have alergies, but some people are really hating life in this stuff...


Hope you have better luck with the Velocity next time out.

Glenn

jroo

Hey Guys!

Just got in from the 2010 Central Texas Fun Fly Helicopter Event held here in Austin TX.

This was my first event to goto; my first time seeing anything bigger than a Blade 400 in real life.

Holy (*#$(*#$$#

Absolutely incredible. There had to have been at least 50 pilots, most flying big birds like the Align 700 and Logo 600.

Curtis Youngblood was there and did a 9 minute presentation his new, unreleased Vibe 90 EV. Stunning work. In the last part of the demo, he went incredibly high, pretty much out of sight, and auto'd all the way down; landing right at his feet.

Good news, I got it all on video. It's being uploaded to youTube as we speak. There were a number of other events. Ihad a front row seat with the pilots while they did a speed competition. Fastest was 114 MPH. I have all this on video too..


Here are just a few pics from the event

Some folks had some things for sale. Igot an Align 450 carrying case for $35. yae!

jroo

Itook this today!

Curtis Youngblood showing off the new Vibe 90 EV at the 2010 Central Texas Heli Fun Fly

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8R7f7ivT_Y[/youtube]

evdreamer

Glenn,

Hope you have better weather on Sunday.

I ordered some more glow plugs along with a tool long enough to change them out at the field.

Jreue,

Good to hear you had fun at the event.

Curtis is known for doing really high autos.

That is the same type of helicopter I have in the last pic.

Nick

jroo

T-Rex 700 Crash at Saturdays event

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9IsxmIJSuE[/youtube]

JPEE

Hey Guys,
Last week Friday I was at the Club for a 13th birthday party for this kid who flies, and I mean flies. He has always been a crack plane flier but of late he got into Heli's. The short of this I started helping him because his God Father there who is a MASTER plane builder and flier doesn't know heli's. Now the kid could fly and flew well but didn't know the word PM before flights, didn't know safety, and some of the other dangers as well as how to set up a gyro correctly. Now 3 months later he builds his own heli's and flies like Youngblood, for real. He has been brought up over the months on HK heli's 450s and a 500s. For his birthday his dad gave him a 600N a week early. The kid's (Austin) flying skills are next to a pro. He makes that 600N dance flips, "anything" he wants it to. That day a senor pilot showed him how to do autos. With 15 minutes he mastered them and did them time after time over and over. He flies on the SIM until his fingers are near bloody! and that is not an exaggeration, I saw his hands!

NOW the good part. One of the guys there, a master flier had three 700N and a YES a 700E he built. I am starting to tremble just going over the story in my head to write this. This 700E has so much power that when he was designing it the power kept stripping the main gears SMOOOOTH. He now has it dialed and can only run 80% throttle. So for Austin's birthday he told him he could fly it! ! ! That has to tell you how good this 13 year old is. As we stood there and after I had made two flights with my freshly rebuilt 500 only 2 hours ago Dave the 700E owner turned to me and asked; Do you want to take her out for a spin? I crapped right there! ! ! My mind was racing, should I do this, it wasn't the money end, if I crash it I'll pay for it, but more if I crash it , the work it would take to rebuild it. So with all considered I passed on the chance. Had just a few people been there and a little less pressure I feel I would have done it, but there was a crowd and it just didn't feel right as bad as I wanted it too.

When he flew that thing, and I am not exaggerating.................it made his 700N look like Blade 400's NO LIE. I confess it was scary to hear and see that thing fly in 3D. Don't hold me to the numbers but it was "something" like a 700N has 3 HP and his 700 has 11 HP! The numbers they were all talking about were just staggering. So there you have it, I WENNIED out. But I now know this guy and given another day at the field I will fly it under easier conditions...........you can bet the farm on that.

Still puttering on the 450 when I have time. And like you guys we have had gray skies for the last two days and it is to rain tonight and Monday.
Smiles JPEE

jroo

Ken White flying his Boomerang XL - Tubine engine

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BHw8mGoRSo[/youtube]

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hello everyone!

Finally got back from beautiful, sunny Florida!! And had a blast!

Looks like I have some catching up to do with everyone here.

JPEE,
Major heartache to hear you put your 500 in. [] I know with the house project going on it is tough to do any type of major repairs but hopefully you'll have her up again in no time.

I really wasn't surprised to hear about the TT bearing issues you had on your HKPro - I have had to change out most of my major bearings by now. The main grip bearings and thrust, tail grip bearings (both the outer and that tiny inner one), as well as the main bearings. Mostly due to notchiness. There flyable but...you know don't want to tempt fate! Luckily I haven't had any issues with the TT bearing. I did however, replace the TT with an Align one only because I nicked the Tarot TT when I drilled the boom to pin it. But, overall I am happy with the clone and it sounds like your build is coming along nicely!

Nick,
Hope your cough is gone by now! Have you had the chance to try out your new glow plug extension? Good thing you bring along your trusty electrics just in case the nitro doesn't want to behave!

Jreue,
Absolutely amazing footage of the heli fly-in in your area. It really is nice to get a chance to see in person that type of flying - really gets the blood pumping! That field looks really nice - is that where you fly on a regular basis? Sorry to hear about your 400 - were you able to get her fixed up and flying again?

Glenn,
So your leaving heli's to play with some darn ipad??? huh? WTH?

I heard everyone up north had some funky hot weather...I think the entire time I was in Orlando the temps were no higher than 85. And the air was full of this wild orange aroma - from all the orange groves in full...well, orange bloom!

Guys, the interviews went really well. I still have to make another trip or two just to solidify things but everything is pointing towards mid May that we make that big move. I can hardly wait!!

And Glenn, I did take your advice and enjoyed Orlando while we were there. We got a chance to spend part of the day at Downtown Disney and I even got to visit one of the local hobbyshops!! They had a 500 on display there (how cool was that ) and the guy there let me take a nice, close look of it over. I have been seriously considering one and now more so than ever after that!

Can you believe I was even able to scope out a potential flying area on the way to my potential job?! Lot of potential there, huh? Unfortunately I did not take my heli down with me so I wasn't able to try it out. [] Ah, but there will be plenty of time for that later on.

Mark

JPEE

Hi Mark,

If your considering a 500 ESP then you need ot check this site out. Last week they had a Promo for a 500 complete less the gyro and tail servo for $428.00, ole Choppersule and others got one. Add $200.00 for the gyro and servo and you hav a ready to fly 500 with! the new frame upgrade and the new M type motor! for $728.00 which I paid $1020.00. You have to put their site in your quick search and check it every morning as they run daily whoppers like this.
http://flying-hobby.com/catalog/prod...oducts_id=5905

My 500 got rebuilt on Friday afternoon and was test flown and she was 100% back, so we are in the flying business again.

Glad you had a safe and fun trip to Florida.

JPEE

evdreamer

Mark,

Good to hear you enjoyed your time in Florida.

Yeah I used my makeshift glow plug extension to start my engine a few days ago with an airplane glow plug. It worked pretty good, I just don't know if it will stay on during a 3D flight.

I got my glow plug tool along with some extra glow plugs today. So I shouldn't be stuck at the field due to a bad glow plug again. I really like this tool. It holds the glow plug in with a clamp and at the right distance, so that makes it really easy to install.

I started to program my new LCD today and it looks pretty cool with the back light.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Long time no post here....gotta get caught up!

I didn't get much flying in over the weekend, but I flew a couple of packs in the B400 today, one at lunch, and one after work. That works out pretty well, I kinda like the short but sweet little flights in here and there....just pop in at the field, fly a pack, and go back to work...pretty cool while it lasts...and it should, flying at lunch is the easiest time for me to find a place. When summer is here, I'll have a big field at the elementary school, the kids won't be in school!

I also took CPP2 number one out....and to be honest, I was evaluating it for sale on eBay...I had already changed it over to the stock radio, and was checking the setup...man..the thing flew so good in low wind, that it changed my mind! I don't really need two of them, but for what I'd get for it, it's not worth selling, not as well as it's flying....

Charging some packs for tomorrow...

jreue,

Thanks for the pics and vids of the Fun Fly down there in TX....looks like a great event, with lots of cool stuf to check out. The field looks nice too!

Sounds like you had a great time, I know I did at my first fly watching some pros...they are amazing for sure...

How's your flying going?


Nick,

Cool that you got some new glow plugs, and a wrench that works well.

I know what you mean about the right tools...I have a great appreciation for quality tools, or special tools that make a job easier, it kinda comes from my job... I went on a heli tool buying spree last year, and got pretty well all stocked up.

The right tool for the job is a huge plus, esp out in the field where conditions aren't always the best.

Glad to hear that the backlit LCD is coming along well. You'll have to get us some pics....

Mark,

Sounds like you had an awesome time in FL....and that you will be moving there before long it sounds like!

Congrats on the new position down there, sounds like you will love it!

Cool on Disney, and the LHS...and wipe that drool off of the 500 when you are done lookin at it, will ya??

Yeah, I have a soft spot for the gadgets, just ask anyone that's been around here for a good bit...it's nothing new!

The thing is amazing (iPad), I am still like a little kid at Christmas with the darn thing...

I'll be back in the flying groove here soon...

Sounds cool on the new potential flying area, figured you'd be looking around while you were there!

JPEE,

Sounds like you had a nice time on the kid's birthday party, maybe more fun than he had with all the stuff to see and what not...

These kids these days are amazing...I have also seen first hand when I was at my Fun Fly last year, a 6 year old kid by the name of Justin Chi was flying with his dad, with HIS TREX 700N!! I could not believe my eyes while I was watching him! He was doing some mid level 3D stuff by himself, with dad at his side, watching closely of course...but what he can do at that age is just unreal....

When I went up to my Heli only flying club last year, and was talking to the president of the club...he actually hinted around that I should not get too discouraged or intimidated by the kids, they learn so fast...just as you have seen...so there is something to be learned there....

Sounds like that 700E is quite a machine, for sure!

I would have done the same as you, and declined to fly it under those circumstances....just too much pressure, with everyone watching, an unfamiliar heli, and the feeling that you might have if anything went wrong....I think you did the right thing, and as you said, maybe on a quiet day, when not so many people and commotion going on....

Glad to hear the 500 is back up, and you are tinkering with the 450 some too...


Hope everyone gets some flying in this week!

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE,

Good to hear you got your 500 up and flying again.

That is a good deal over at Flying-hobby. I'll have to ask Dave how much shipping was from China for it...I do believe I heard around 50 extra for shipping. Still not a bad deal for less than $500.

When that time does come (really will have to wait until after we have moved and settled in) probably will use the gyro from the 450 - its a Logitech 2100 and I am very comfortable with its performance. Don't really think I will hold on to the 450 after I get it either. I've also heard some good things about the new 'M' type motor over the older 'L' type, so that will be something I will make certain it comes with.

One other thing about the 500...I ultimately decided to go with the real thing, that is, an Align - and not a clone. With the 450 I didn't mind but after actually seeing the 500 in person I don't want all the issues that you need to deal with in a clone that I came across with my Tarot. Plus the sheer size of it has me a bit intimidated, if you know what I mean!

I would have done the same thing in your place with the 700E - wait for a better opportunity when I was more comfortable to try it out. What an opportunity though and oh happy day when that day comes!!

Nick,

One thing you can never have too many of is glow plugs. I don't know how fast heli's go through them but on my plank engine I had one last an entire season whereas another time it seemed I was going through them every week or so. That tends to get expensive at 4 bucks a pop.

Definitely get some pictures of your LCD and the backlit for all of us to glow in!

Glenn,

Isn't it nice to get some flying in during your lunch hour? Funny how the old CP(P2) still keeps its value with all of us? Speaking of, I finished my repairs (since the gyro incident) on my CPP2 and will be flying in the morning. Glad your enjoying your new ipad.

Enjoy your flying tomorrow.

I did get some flying time with the 450Pro this morning and it was nice to get back to. I decided to just stick with doing oval and figure 8 circuits and forced myself to go in the opposite direction I am used to (and comfortable ) flying. Of course I had to end it all with just a couple of flips. Have to say not to shabby for taking a week off.

Take care all,

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is good you found some time to fly.

Here is my LCD. My camera couldn't get the color of the back light, but it looks kind of blue. I am pretty much done with the programming now. I need to put a delay in displaying the results, since they are displayed to quick. I don't have any of my sensors hooked up, so the info isn't correct.

Mark,

That is good you are practicing the hard stuff for you.

Nick

jroo

Glenn,All,

Yea the event was great. i was curious how they were run. The airfield has room for 5 concurrent helis in the air. A majority of the time, the pilots were out there just flying around having fun. Around 11am they had a little autorotation contest. At noon they took a break, and gave the field to Youngblod to show his stuff with the new Rave EV. The turbine jet was next, then another pro ran the demo with the TRex 700 and had the unfortunate crash (was excited i got it on film!). They opened the field a bit longer, then closed it again for speed trials. The participating pilots congregated at the end of the airstrip, so I just walked on over and joined them. Each got 3 runs to fly out, then right back at us as fast as they could. One guy with a radar gun would sit right next to the pilot and clock his speed. A majority were around 85 MPH, but one stuck out with 114MPH. Either way, having a 700 coming right at you is a little daunting. One wrong move and the crowd is loosing a few heads...

I fixed my 400 the night before the event. To my surpise, Ionly broke the main blades and bent the main shaft. It was my hardest crashes yet, but the least damage ever...hehe

I spooled her up the next morning and took it to the event, but I never took it out of the truck. It was my first time to the field, and my first event. Every single one of those guys were in a different league from me all together and it was way too windy for me. A majority of the birds were 600's and 700's so they had no problem with the wind; or at least it didnt seem to be, but hell they make everything look easy....

I flew a pack on Sunday, just hovering, making sure tracking and all is ok. It seems fine, but to be honest it's starting to seem very 'loud'. There is a very high pitch ringing as well. I have no idea what this is. Could it be a bearing or something, the motor? Hopefully you guys got some good ideas for me to take a look at.

Also, prior to the crash, my sub-trim was practically all the way to the left, and Istill felt I had to give it a little left rudder to keep her center. While addressing my blades and main shaft, Iadjusted my tail linkage pushrod to compensate for my subtrim, so I could be back at center on the transmitter. It helped a little, but it still feels like it is not holding. I am using the $12 HK-401B and still a stock E-Flite tail servo.....I am planning on getting another tail servo. It does not make much sense to me to have HiTec 65MG on cyclic and this el'cheap on the tail. Any ideas?

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

jreue,

For the tail servo on your B400 you may want to check out the Futaba S9650 [link=http://www.helidirect.com/futaba-s9650-digital-mini-servo-112-118-scale-vehicles-electric-helis-p-827.hdx]Here.[/link] I use it on my 450 Pro and had it on my older 450 V1 and never had any tail issues. If things still aren't holding then look to your current gyro as the culprit.

That turbine jet looked like it had dollar signs all over it!

Mark

jroo

Yea, they said the engine itself was 4 grand.

rotarydoc

jreue,

That loud ring (or screech maybe?) might be the motor bearings, they are prone to failure, and usually don't give you a whole lot of warning, I know JPEE has lost a couple, and I have lost one. I have been replacing the motor bearings as a preventative measure before it's too late, as in these pics I posted.

Once the shaft is that bad, it's too late, new motor time...



It may not be the motor, it's so hard to say without being there, but it would be a good place to start looking...


Hey guys, I came across this T-shirt...kinda funny, but I have a feeling it wouldn't go over too well at the heli club...lol...

http://www.cafepress.com/+caution_ringer_t,409477699

I'm going to go try to fly, today is just amazing weather wise!!

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That T-shirt reminds me of the cartoon people I have seen on the internet where they are getting chased by helis.

Have fun flying.

Guys,

I just finished designing my circuit board and ordered it. It should come sometime early next week. I have all the electronic parts I need and finished programming my controllers last night. So hopefully I can assemble it next week.

Nick

JPEE

Jreue,

Glenn is right I lost two helisin flight with seized bearings. But after I bought the greaser and started taking the motors apart before use and greasing the bearings instead of oil, I have never had another bearing fail. The $39.00 GREASER has paid for itself.

One day old;
I spent a great deal of my time today working on a guys HK500 with a tail spin 360.
Well my friends after doing the prudent things, checking the Gyro for DS and settings, checking the radio settings, using a second test gyro, a second tail servo, but then rebinding numerous times all to no avail. Then moving it to "my" DX6i and binding she was perfect! Of course some of those changes were in between radio's making this whole thing more of a mystery. Once we were golden with my radio we rebound the heli back to his DX6i and we were right back where were. Then on a whim and after matching radio programs page by page which were 100% dead on, we went to slot 4 on his radio and plugged in everything to an NEW empty Model and started from scratch BAM! we were gold, done... fin-neat-toe! So the whole afternoon was all due to a corrupt program in the radio..............who-duh thought. (vic.... where were you while we were working on this spectrum stuff lol.) We got her up in the air and trimmed. Next visit we will go through the head so we can get the swash travel and blades in tracking on.
A good thing you got the short story huh......LMAO

I gave myself a few minutes on the 450 and got all of servos in and mounted, the frame screwed together and then................noticed a crack in one of my Hitec 65MGs ****. I had to pull thing down again and because I save "everything" I had a dead 65 in the drawer so I swapped servo top bodies and was good to go. This build is dragging on whewwwww. Tomorrow, no company, no calls, no computer, just me and Finless nailing this thing down..........is my goal.

Today Wed, I got a lot done. I got my ESC and all except one iside the frame and the loctite-ed. Tomorrow will be boom pinning and installing the tail complete.

Good Nick on your circute board! I bet your getting excited now for sure

Smiles JPEE

choppersrule

JPEE,

Looks like you went the extra mile and have the wiring well hidden.

evdreamer

JPEE,

It sounds like you had an interesting day!

Yeah, I am getting excited. This is my second circuit board that I designed, so I am a little nervous that it might not work. My first one didn't turn out so well.

Nick

JPEE

Come on Nick my boy, you are good at what you do and yes...... you are still on a learning curve but you are still up there with your knowledge.

Best of Luck!

JPEE