rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Not much new here, kinda windy to fly, plus no place to fly, ball games everywhere...

I mailed my application and dues for the plane club today. I like my heli club alot better in that regard also, they are a little more up to date, you can send your dues by Paypal...the plane club still uses snail mail...

I took inventory and pictures of the Raptor stuff....man, there is a LOT of stuff. I have no idea what to expect from it on eBay, should be interesting....some of it is old and obviously outdated, but some of that stuff fits the brand new Raptors they make now..

jreue,

Looks fantastic, nice job with concealing the wiring, zip ties, etc....

Nick,

Heliproz updated their site just yesterday, on the 5th....looks nice, I think...nice job.

Yeah, Hirobo stuff is typically expensive, and so are the parts....but I was looking at the parts list, and it doesn't seem like the prices are too out of line...both reviews I read on it praised the quality of the parts, especially the type of plastic they use. I wonder if it's made in Japan like my Quark is? With the labor costs there, I doubt it. I was very surprised when I got the Quark to see "Made in Japan" on it...

Wow, Avant Aurora! You did have some high hopes I guess! I think Rob at the plane club has an older Avant, maybe not an Aurora...I was pretty blown away by the guy at the heli club with twin Synergy N9's sitting there...[X(]..and a Futaba 14MZ to go along with them...

Yeah, I'm not sure about the "fuel mileage" on the .90's....but figure the engine is almost twice the size...but I doubt twice the fuel usage. Seems like to me Rob was saying he got about 7-8 flights from a gallon of fuel in his .90's...but don't quote me on that...

Cool on the upcoming flybarless project.

Sounds good on the new discovery of the voltmeter accuracy at higher voltages, good that you got a workaround for it...

Not sure what's up this weekend, weather is saying WINDY on Saturday....not so bad on Sunday. I have no idea what my plans are yet....but I'd like to go to the new heli club and get a feel for the field and what not...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

My club was also thinking about using paypal, but I think they decided against it.

If Rob is getting 7-8 flights/gallon a .90 doesn't use that much more than a .50. I get about 10 flights/gallon. I was thinking it would use a lot more.

The weather was pretty good for flying today, but I decided to stay home and do homework. I will just have to wait until Saturday morning to go flying.

Hope you get some good weather this weekend.

Nick

jroo

oh no!

Aframomum

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jreue,

Nicely done...your new Sport looks great! [sm=thumbup.gif] Any hovering trimming yet in the garage?

Glenn,

Sounds like this flying season is really turning out to be good for you. Good luck on your Raptor sale, hopefully everything will go all at once.

Nick,

Are you staying up tonight to get yourself ready to sleep all day tomorrow?!

Funny how a project at school helped to shed light on your powerpanel issue - that'll help you sleep better now!

JPEE,

Back at work now so done with any home repairs for this week. That'll take the life out of ya for sure! Looks like I'll get to the painting early next week.

Well guys, back at work now but I only have 5 days left then I am free...for the time being.

Looks like the weather is going to be clear and no wind in the morning so have batteries charged and ready to go!

Mark

jroo

I wish these were stock on the 450!

http://www.helidirect.com/xtreme-***...es-p-18667.hdx

evdreamer

Mark,

I wasn't able to stay up all night because I have to go to school today. Then I plan on going back to sleep after that.

I was working on my circuit board to help keep me up a little later.

It seems like you are getting excited to move.

Nick

jroo

Afro,

No, no test flights yet. see below :|

All,

My head is still not perfect. I have -10 at low, 0 at mid on both blades, but at high stick I have +9 and +8 on the other.

I did notice last night, and now I'm kicking myself for letting it slide, that at full stick my swash was not COMPLETELY level. The elevator was a tad low, but I just moved on. Note to self....never do that again... I'm pretty sure this is the culprit; I don't know what else it could be because there are no other adjustments to be made on this head.

Everyone agree?

So....tonight I will remove the head once again, and get the swash perfect.

That moves maiden to Saturday evening or Sunday.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Nick,

Hope you were able to make it through classes today - nightshift and trying to do school is a difficult mix. Glad your schedule only has you on for a few nights.

Enjoy your flight tomorrow morning.

Yeah, a little bit excited about the move...that's getting to be an understatement!!

I think the worst is having to wait until we are settled in before I can finally get the 500.

But I've been supplementing my thirst by getting some of the off things I want for it, like the KBDD paddles and tail blades, as well as a decent charger for the 6S batteries - just bought a Thunder AC6 from Xheli earlier this week - should be fun playing around with to charge my 450 batteries for the time being. Yeah, I have some restraint!

jreue,

Sorry to hear about the pitch issue with your Sport. The swash adjustment shouldn't be that big of an issue - just remove the upper portion of the head leaving the swash, use the swash leveling tool, and adjust your endpoints on your radio at max positive and negative pitch. You already went through the difficult part - the build!

Glenn,

Hope you get a chance to get out to the heli field this weekend. You may want to bring the 500 if it's going to be a bit windy - don't they just look at the wind and snicker!?

My flights this morning were...okay. I forgot my sunglasses and so it wasn't much fun trying to fly while squinting. [] I did get to play around with my throttle settings though and tried my idle 2 at flat 100. A bit different with the sound but kinda scary fun at the same time.

Anyone use the soft-start feature of the ESC to take off from idle 1 or 2? I got tired of doing the switch once in a hover (plus the bobbing at lower headspeeds) so tried from idle 1 and what do you know...simplistic! And once on the ground I use throttle hold. Just trying some different approaches since switching to a heli that likes higher headspeed and has a TT.

Mark

evdreamer

Jreue,

What Mark said should fix the pitch problem.

Mark,

I slept during most of my class today. I just had a lab to do and I got it done in 10min. I tried sleeping after school today, but it wasn't very easy to stay asleep. So it should be interesting trying to stay awake at work.

I looked at the weather forcast and it is supposed to be pretty cold tomorrow, so I will probably stay home and try and catch up on some sleep.

Have fun with the new charger.

That is good you didn't loose the heli in the sun. I have done that a few times.

I take off from Idle up 2 on my 600. I flip the throttle hold and then flip the Idle up 2 switch. Then I take it out of throttle hold and wait for the HS to come up and take off. When on the ground I set the pitch to 0 degrees, so the negative pitch isn't slamming the heli into the ground.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

I got a couple of flights in after work today at the little field nearby...a bit of wind, but nothing like what is coming for the weekend, 35 MPH or so gusts....a wee bit too much even for the 500 I'm afraid...but it may die down in the evening like it sometimes does...we'll see.

Nick,

I hope your adjustment to the night shift isn't too hard, but for most people, it would be difficult. I have never done it, but like you say, trying to fall asleep the first time during the day might be a challenge for sure...

Mark,

Sounds like the big move is getting closer and closer...good luck when it comes time to actually do it...hope all goes well.

Cool on the prep for the 500...the new charger sounds nice! At least you'll have some time to get familiar with it until the 500 gets there...

500's handle wind a LOT better than 450's do, but you'll still be able to feel it a bit in 10+ MPH winds, just not nearly as much.

Flying in winds today of I am guessing 12 MPH or so was kinda fun...and it does make you a better pilot in the long run...keeps your reflexes flowing!

jreue,

You'll always have little fine tuning projects with any new build, hang in there, you'll get it right, and it'll pay off!


Hope you guys get some flying in this weekend....

Glenn

jroo

Trex 450 is setup perfectly now!

-10, 0, 10 on both blades.

Considering I knew the endpoints were off at full pitch only, and low, zero and high pitch were symmetrical, I didn't bother removing the head. I just adjusted endpoints until the full pitch was right.

I had to modify not only the Elevator endpoints, but the Pitch and Aileron as well.

I ended up having endpoints of

Elevator (up) +115
Aileron (right) +115
Pitch (up) +115

It is pretty windy right now, so I may maiden later this evening.

I also may be picking up a copy of Phoenix Simulator.
Anybody here have this? We could fly together online.

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

WAAAAY too windy to even think about here....32MPH with 41MPH gusts! [X(]

So I may go up to the shop and try and work with the Gaui, it's been a long time since I've played with it, and I think it will be a good candidate for the small heli area at my local plane field in VERY low wind conditions.

Nick,

Do you still know the guy with the Raptor .30?

If so, you may want to let him know about my auction, I have a ton of parts for one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...STRK:MESELX:IT

jreue,

Glad you got the head all setup nice, and hope your wind dies down so you can maiden it soon!

I have Phoenix. Hands down the best Heli sim out there, almost no one would argue that, that has ever used it.

Let me know when you get setup, the online function works GREAT, we can even setup our own private field, so no one comes in and distracts us. Or, you can open a field and meet new pilots online...either way, a GREAT and highly recommended addtion to your hobby!

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sorry it has been really windy there.

Yeah I still know the guy with the Raptor 30. He doesn't really fly it that much. He is more of a plane guy.

The weather is pretty good right now, so I am charging my receiver battery right now. It looks like it will be raining the next few days, so I don't know when the next time I will be able to fly.

I survived my first 3rd shift. I had a hard time staying up, but I liked it. There wasn't much going on, so it was a pretty laid back night.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

I'm up here at the shop with the Gaui...trying some new stuff, and it's helping alot...

When Justin setup my other helis, they flew really well...I think I have just not been running enough headspeed...

He setup the normal pitch curves on the 450 and 500 to 0, 77,77, 77, 77 ...basically flat...and it helped those, so I tried it on the Gaui, and what a difference!

Got lots of HS now, and it's much more stable and responsive as well...flying very well.

I wonder if the HS app on the iPhone will work good for this small of a heli? I guess I could try it and see.

Hope you can get some flying in before the rainy spell starts. I can't believe the wind here, it's really strange, like JPEE's weather or something, it's like 77 degrees, clear as a bell, but 40 MPH+ winds...

I got all messed up earlier, I went to setup the Gaui, and the DX6i lost it's programming, went all the way back to defualt as an airplane...I had to start from scratch, subtrims on up..


Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool your Gaui is flying better.

The weather was perfect for flying today. There was hardly any wind. It didn't start out very good. First I noticed my transmitter battery was almost dead at the field, so I had to charge that. Then I tried to start my engine, but my battery wasn't supplying enough current, so it must be pretty low. I normally bring some alligator clips to charge my starter battery, but I didn't have them today. So I just flew the 600 four times. I just took it easy with the 600 and was enjoying flying. On my last two flights I decided to do some autos. On my last one I decided to do a really high auto. It wasn't a Curtis Youngblood auto, but it was high by my standards.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Glad it was great weather for you, maybe it will come over this way in a few days....I sure hope so...

Sorry your day got off to a bad start, and you didn't get to fly the Velocity. Sounds like you had a good time with the 600 anyways, so that's good.

If I get a nitro, I'm definitely going to have to learn autos...they seem relatively easy on the sim, but in real life it might be a different story...

I continued to work with the Gaui, and got it flying pretty good overall. It still has a high frequency oscillation in the tail, but I'm not too worried, it seems like it's sort of goes with the territory with these small, high HS helis, I know the Trex 250's had their share...and I'm only running a cheap Eflite G110 gyro, so that's probably half the issue right there..

I'm going to get some batteries from Hobby City. It's hard to beat their prices on batteries, chargers and stuff like that. Getting some Turnigy 1800 30C packs for the B400, and some Turnigy 2450 30C packs for the 500...

I listed one of my CPP2's on eBay. I rarely fly them, and if I do, I only need one...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

I got done charging my starter battery and it only put in 300mAh out of a 7Ah battery, so I hope my battery isn't bad.

I think the hardest part to an auto is flipping the switch. I still have a little bit of a problem with the heli bouncing a little after I land. It helps to do an auto with a little forward speed into the wind and also keeping the nose down. If I don't keep the nose down my 600 wants to go into a hover and that doesn't help the auto. I still haven't done an auto on purpose with my Velocity. It is still too new for me to risk crashing it.

I also had a little oscillation on the tail of my Gaui.

Is the CPP2 adding to your Nitro fund?

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

I hope your starter battery isn't bad already, it's not that old is it? Pb batteries are usually pretty durable...my Miata batteries are still going strong...

Thanks for the auto tips...I really need to work on them in the sim, but I have other priorities that I want to work on first, before that. Yeah, I wouldn't practice on the Velocity just yet either if I were you.

I'll just live with the oscillation in the Gaui tail, it doesn't affect it's flight, in fact, it's more of a noise than anything, you can hear it in the tailblades...I took the gyro way down, but it didn't help much, and then the tail was too loose...so I'm not going to try to make it perfect or anything.

Lol, the CPP2 is adding to the nitro fund, indirectly...I need batteries for the helis I have first...but if between the sale of the Raptor parts, and the CPP2, it covers the battery costs, then I'll be that much further ahead on the nitro funds...

Work is slow, so I'm not getting the real nice paychecks like I used to...so it's going to take longer...and of course buying the iPad didn't help...lol.. But, I'd to that all over again, it's super cool...Rob got one too, I just emailed him about the plane club, and he responded from his iPad

I'm debating on the nitro and equipment. I have everything that came with the Raptor....the GY401, the OS .46, and the 5 servos...I think the GY401 will be fine, and the engine seemed to run good, and it looks good inside, the bearings and crank/piston/sleeve look great.

But the servos have me thinking. I wonder how bad they'll be? They are JR servos, look like high end servos of their day, but are obviously analog servos....the 3 cyclic servos all match, and the tail and throttle servos seem fine. I may look up the specs if I can still find them.

I am just wondering if I could get away with the rest of this season on those, and buy new modern stuff over the winter for next year? I mean, it's not like I'm going out there with it and doing full tilt 3D or anything, heck, the first flights are just going to be mild sport flying...

What do you think?

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi Glenn and Nick,

Seems like your the only one's up tonight!

Be right back in a moment -

Aframomum

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Got a bit busy there so actually had to do some real work...bummer. lol.

So Glenn,

selling off one of your CPP2 to contribute to your electron fund, huh? Nitro fund, electron fund, as long as its to the overall heli fund its all good!

Having fun with the Gaui - at least your getting some flying in despite the crappy weather.

Nick,

Hope your glow starter isn't needing a replacement already. Good you had your 600 with you so you didn't have to go home with no flying.

Funny with the auto's, I haven't even thought of trying them with my 450. The idea of only 1 try and that's all you get is the part I don't like!

Stopped by my field this morning but they were having major soccer games and so had to go to my other location [], which isn't really any bigger than a side lot between a building a stream, so basically did some hovering and punch outs and nothing else.

Played around with a flat 100 throttle curve and think I may back it down to 100-98-95-98-100, not ready for that kind of response I was seeing. Or maybe I should consider lowering my swash settings or throw in some expo so I can keep the HS nice and high? Hmmm, decisions - decisions.

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

I think I got the starter battery in October. I will have to try starting my heli at home and see what is going on before I go out to the field again. I know the glow plug is good because the ammeter was around 3A. Once I turned on the starter motor the current dropped down to 1A for the glow plug, so I turned it up to around 3A again. Maybe I will have to assembly my power panel and use that instead. I fixed the problem of supplying too much current in my power panel, so I don't have to worry about burning up glow plugs anymore.

The brushes on the servo motors might be getting worn down, but if the servos still center and hold under normal flying conditions you should probably be fine using them until winter.

Nick

evdreamer

Mark,

After my first glow plug problems in the Velocity I learned I can't count on the Velocity being able to fly when I want to. So I never go to the field without my 600 because that heli will always be able to fly when I want to.

Sorry you weren't able to fly at the bigger field because of the soccer games.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

No biggie about the soccer games - I've gotten used to those fields having games early Saturday mornings. For the past month or so my main flying mornings are Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Weather is looking good for tomorrow morning so have batteries charging now.

I have noticed that it gets lighter earlier, say by 6:30 its already light out, so have been trying to skip out of work early so to beat any early morning people to the field.

The other day when I didn't have my sunglasses the sun was actually behind me but the light still bothered my eyes which was why I was having issues - I think when you do nights for awhile (congrats on finishing yours BTW ) your eyes get accustomed to artificial lighting, and so the sun really does a number on me.

All that makes a nitro engine so great also makes it a pain - everything required to start the engine and then dealing with the tuning issues, glad to hear you have a backup heli to bring along just in case things don't work for the Velocity.

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

Have fun flying.

I also have trouble with sun light, so I try to wear sun glasses all the time outdoors.

Nick

JPEE

ATTENTION

Flying-Hobby.com has the new T-Rex 500 ESP on sale for $420.00 for another 23 hours ONLY. I believe this is same deal like Dave got.


JPEE