rotarydoc

Hey guys,

jreue,

I see you got the little one already on the heli track at an early age...

Cool picture, for sure!

Sorry about the crash. That looks just about textbook for a failed first loop crash. All the "normal" stuff....

psb667,

Good luck with the CPP setup, I agree with all that Nick said, and unfortunately, I am not familiar with Futaba radios either...

This video on CCPM setup may help though...it uses a Futaba 7CHP radio, so it should be similar, and is an excellent guide to CCPM swash setup, etc.

You may have to join Heli Freak to watch it, which is free and easy.

http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...CPM_Part_1.wmv

There are 2 parts, this is the first one....

Hope it helps.

Glenn

psb667

Thanks Ill try it

jroo

Any advantage to using a carbon fiber tail boom over the aluminum ones? You guys use em?

rotarydoc

jreue,

You are welcome to try it....I had one, and only one, on the B400.

I hated it, seemed much more prone to vibrations, and it ended up getting stress cracks where it mounted in the frame.

It cost 3x what normal booms do, I could have had 3 aluminum booms for the price of one CF.

Just my 2 cents, some guys love 'em...

Glenn

jroo

well that's enough for me to not try them. I like the $8 for 2 price of the aluminum ones.

JPEE

Jreue,

I am with Glenn on the Cf booms, the price and quantity says it all. Sorry about the crash and while I know it will be a few bucks to fix, my 500 went down two weeks ago or so and that crash cost $257.00 and literally made me sick. In two and one half years that was my worst, a battery wire came off in flight!

Nick, the drawing is awsome! Yes bass wood is used for many things as it is bendable. We used at a mill at worked at to roll to make columns for like a plantation home. Whenever had to be made to roll or bend thats what we used.

Glenn, hope the parts come fast for you.


ME: STUPID STUPID mistake! Did not sleep well last night and I had a fly date this morning. While I flet like crap I took great pains to get my cam hemet, camera, two helis, tool box, battery box with transmitter and battery checked in the radio and a bunch of 2250 3S packs, a field charger and was ready to rock and roll. I get there and find I FORGOT MY NEW 3000 mAh packs and only had 3S packs for the 500. I could not freaking believe it, STUPID STUPID! ! ! !
I brought the pig tail from charger to car battery for the Thunder Power charger NOT my new Hyperion so that didnt work either. CRAP CRAP! But......................old JPEE did one thing right. He stuck the old Y connector for 2two 3S packs in the radio box and guess what, I flew the 500 on the duel 3S packs and had a fun day besides flubbing everything else. I got in 3ea 500 and 3ea 450 pro and 1ea T-28 and it was too hot to stand on the air strip after that. That I came home WHOLE without incident is a winner anyway you cut it.
But my buddy totally crashed his new WortHog Airplane on it first flight. He has ony had "a" plane up 5 times and this was a maiden on this one.

JPEE

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

Sorry you forgot your batteries when you went to the field...I (so far!) have not left anything behind when I go to my heli field...but it's just a matter of time....

I should make a list, like I saw suggested in RC Heli magazine...at least you only forgot your batteries, what would really suck is to forget your TX!

Glad you did get to fly some at least, with all aircraft returning in one piece, always a good day when that happens!

Your buddy's Wart Hog looks rough...always sorry to see those kind of pics...sorry about that one...

Well, NORMALLY, the postal person leaves my packages at the doorstep...but not this time..even though there was no signature delivery, they didn't leave it. SO, it's off to the post office here in a few...

Nick,

After reading on HF about a LOT of people having various issues with the Align GP series gyros (more so it seems with the new, "improved" GP780) I decided to try something while the 450 is all apart, I installed my GY401 and 9257 from the B400 for a while and see how I like that...

I'll know alot more after this weekend...

The main thing I could not decide was whether to just change the gyro first, not the servo, or just do both...the wiring is such a PITA on this thing (if you conceal them) that I decided to just do both for now. I can alway narrow it down later on if I need to.

Besides, this time of year, I'd rather be flying, than experimenting with setups...while the weather is good, and the days long...

Hope your CAD project is coming along well...

Glenn

evdreamer

JPEE,

Good to hear you got to fly yesterday.

Glenn,

Sorry you have to pick up your package.

Good luck with the new gyro.

I got my parts yesterday and put the tail back together. Now I just need to wait for the out of stock flybarless parts to be in stock. The spindle I got wasn't machined enough, so it wouldn't fit in the bearings. Luckily it is a standard sized, so I could use one of my 600 spindles.

Here is some more progress on my 540.

Nick

JPEE

Nick, I can't believe that f shaft was not machined properly! In these days of quality control, thats unbelievable. Thank goodness you were able to make a parts switch for the time being. Your PDF 540 looks great, it is really coming along.

Glenn, Me too sorry that now you have to drive to the PO to get what should have been left on the porch.

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

I hate it when I have to go pick up my stuff. My Post Office is on Main Street in Laurel, and parking and what not are a pain, everything is cramped. I was amazed though, there was no line....I usually have to wait in a 10 or so person line, but no line at all, so that made it alot nicer.

Nick,

Your CAD drawings look great!

That is cool that you can post them for us to see as you progress...

Well, I got all my stuff...and completed the rebuild...sort of...

I didn't look closely enough when I ordered the flybars... I just assumed that there was only one size...well....Align makes an optional short flybar, 190mm...and that's what I ordered... the stock ones are 220mm, which is the same size as the B400.

At first, I was just going to try the shorter ones, which should give it faster cyclic reponse, but less stability...but I found a fairly straight one from my B400 in my crash parts box...the LHS was out, of course....so I went with that.

After all was assembled, I looked it over, and noticed when I spin the mainshaft, the links from the servos to the swashplate move...wobble...I tracked it down to the swashplate itself...I am not exactly sure why, but it's out of whack...wobbles when you turn it. It looks like the bearing is cocked in the swashplate, but I don't see how to get it back in place....or maybe the swash is just bent....

Not sure, but I took it out that way anyways...bent flybar, and swash...mainly wanted to see what the tail was like...

I was amazed....you would never know that the flybar and swash were out of whack...the thing flies great, practically hands off hover...and the tail is about 95% better than with the Align gyro and servo...

I say 95% because the wag is gone, even in idle 2, except for a split second when I first flip it to idle 2....it wags for a second, and then smooths out perfectly....it's like the GY401 has some way of detecting the wag, and makes a correction....

I can definitely live with it! I had the usual stubborn GY 401 issue with being very sensitive to being re-bound....I had to rebind it twice to get a consistent solid red light. Once last night...maybe that didn't take, and once today at the field. Once it was done, it was fine. I still think the GY 401 is one of the best overall gyros out there, even if it isn't the fastest or most modern...

I am pooped. I still need to install the fan shroud on the SDX, and I forgot the step down regulator for the 9257...[X(] I think it survived, I'll install it tomorrow....IF there is anymore room for wiring in the frame...(JPEE, you KNOW how long those wires are on the GY401....they are all stuffed in the frame!!)

Hope everyone gets to fly this weekend....I'm supposed to get some nice weather tomorrow and Saturday, but Sunday on, looks like back to near 100 again...[&o]

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool you didn't have to wait in line at the post office.

That is good your 450 is flying better.

I probably won't be able to fly this weekend. I think I am leaving for vacation on Sunday.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Sorry you won't get to fly this weekend.

Hope you have a nice vacation....where are you headed?

I need to take a vacation myself one of these days...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

I am going to the Ozarks.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Wow, that should be a cool trip...nice scenery out there...

I got off work early, packed up the 450's and went flying. I was able to use the big school field across the street.

I got to fly 4 packs back to back... And it was nice having 2 very similar flying helis to practice with, not so much time spent adjusting to each one over again.

I have to take back my comments on the GY 401/9257 being nearly perfect. Actually it was a bit windy, and when there is a cross wind, the tail starts wagging a bit with either heli in forward flight. The original one has always done that...

I'm not going to spend alot of time on it, it's more of an annoyance than anything. I remember seeing Rob's Trex 250 display the same thing when he was flying on a breezy day. It might just be characteristic of the heli design or something...

They both flew great otherwise, although the original one still needs the flybar and swashplate, it's making some kinda strange noises. I should just not fly it until I get the new stuff.

Other than that, I'm just going to install the SDX fan shroud tonight, and get it ready for tomorrow. Oh, and charge 4 batteries...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool you got to fly at the school again.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

That field is great when I can get it.

If it was always available, I wouldn't need a club field!

I do enjoy going to the club though...only problem is, I spend too much time chatting, and not enough flying...

Glenn

JPEE

Hey Guys,

Well I got back to the filed last night or late afternoon after it cooled off a bit. I flew three 3000 mAh packs. The first was short to get the feel. The second was 7.5 and the last 8 min all in stunt 1 and I was flying pretty fast.

Today I charged them and due to a phone call I only was able to track two of them on the Hyperion. But will say the all three packs (one on the TP1010) topped off at the same time within a minute or two of eachother. Back on track now, the cells came back in a 4.2 on packs 1 and 4.19 on pack 2. The voltage was 25.18 and 25.20, man this Hyperion can balance...... I charges all at 2C so they were each showing a 6 amps to start. I put back into pack 1.... 1,234 mAh. For pack two which I flew longer I put back 1,456 mAh. When you think about it I have like 2,400 to burn so I will stretch my next flights to 8-9 min from the 7.5 I show here. Another benifit is the great these packs charged back up in 18 min and 10 sec! Of course when I take them down deeper that will draw out but not a whole lot I dont think, perhaps 45 min max.

Happy 4th to both of you guys.
JPEE

evdreamer

JPEE,

That is cool you got to fly and are liking the charge times. You are getting longer flight times than my Velocity.

Happy 4th to you too. I won't be around on the 4th and for a week after. I am going to go fishing at the Ozarks with my dad and some friends of the family that are going down with us. I haven't been fishing since I was in elementary school. My dad also said there are some good go-kart tracks down there that I will have to check out too.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Just got back from flying at MHA a while ago...flew till it got too dark to fly...

Had a great day, no crashes, and made alot of progress with the 500 and SDX at the large field...

The SDX is still running a bit on the warm side, I was disappointed that the shroud didn't help as much as I had hoped. It's not running hot, just not as cool as I'd like for the carb settings...I'm still going to keep at it though.

JPEE,

Those batteries and your charger sound like an awesome combination! Glad it all worked out in the end, I know you weren't real happy about chopping the frames...

Those are some impressive flight times...

Nick,

Cool on the fishing trip....hope you have a great time...

I have not been fishing since I was a kid either...lol...

Hope those go-kart tracks turn out to be cool. There are some awesome ones out there, I remember in Ocean City, MD, going to ones that were called "Indy Raceways"...those were some very cool and sophisticated go karts...you had to have a valid driver's license to drive them, and you raced against the clock, not other go karts, it was one at a time, sort of a time trial thing.

Those were cool go karts, had disc brakes, suspension, and German made Sachs rotary engines... Pretty darn fast....

I don't know what ever happened, it closed after a few years. Seems like the overhead to run it would be very expensive. It was really cool though.

Happy 4th you guys...

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool you had fun flying too. Sorry the fan shroud didn't work better than you hoped.

There used to be fast go karts out here too. They had motorcycle engines and everyone had to wear helmets. They moved out to Las Vegas were they could make more money.[&o]

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

I was hoping for better with the shroud. But the engine is running at 195 on an 85 degree day, so it's not the end of the world. But it's still a bit on the rich side, and later, when I want more power, it might become more of an issue. It's OK for now, I'm going to just fly it like this for now.

Yeah, at the Indy Raceways, you had to wear a helmet for sure.

And you had to sign a release form before you drove.

It was cool, but there is still alot to be said for having multiple karts out on the track and bumpin' and bangin'...

Hope you have fun on your vacation. We are having a heat wave this week, hope it's cooler where you will be...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

There is an echo in here...lol...

Nick, hope you are having fun in the Ozarks...not much new here except the 100 degree heat wave in the east...

I still got 4 packs in yesterday, and should be able to tonight as well.

I did some more work on the SDX cooling system, trying to optimize it for the best cooling by adding some plastic fan shroud material to better direct the airflow over the head.

Other than that, not much new here...

jreue, Mark, and JPEE,

Hope you guys are all getting some flying in this week as well....

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Hope everyone had a good 4th!

Sorry I've been MIA for the past month. Hopefully will be getting internet this weekend so that'll be a plus.

The past month has been quite a whirlwind - my wife's friend, who we are renting from, wasn't ready to move out until this weekend so we have been sharing a household. Yep, 2 families in a 3-bedroom house! [X(] Suffice it to say it has been a bit...cramped. My wife, me, and our 18 month old have been sharing the master bedroom while the other family has the 2 bedrooms. Plus, we haven't been able to set up our computers b/c no room. Not having RCU for that long is hell!

Glad everyone is doing great!

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool you got some flights in a couple of days ago.

I just got back and I ordered the parts I needed right away. I was afraid Helidirect was going to be out of the flybarless parts that I needed before I got back. I got the rest of the bearings I needed, another 5000mAh receiver battery for the 600, and some higher quality hex drivers. Mine are ok, but I got a really nice 1.5mm from Helidirect and I wanted to get some 2mm-3mm drivers like that also.

It rained about half the time I was in the Ozarks. The go karts weren't very good. There was some cool tracks, but the karts were pretty slow. There was one good go kart at a slick track. They looked like mini sprint cars and they were pretty fast. They had the roll cage and big tires in the back.

Mark,

It sounds like you are having an interesting experience.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Glad to see ya back...it was quiet in here...[&o]

Sorry about the rain, and the semi-lame go karts...the mini sprint car ones sound like they were pretty cool...

Good that you ordered your parts, seems everyone runs out of parts fast this time of year...I also ordered some more 450 parts, so I will have a pretty good stock. This time Helidirect had everything I needed, so I got it from them. It's at the post office, just like last time...gotta go get it tomorrow.

I didn't get to fly tonight, too many people in the fields. I flew every other night this week.

That is cool that you got some high quality hex drivers. I have some decent ones, the Align set, which is OK, and a Dynamite set, which I like better, and I went and got the best 1.5 driver on the market, the MIP/Thorp driver...those things are great, they are a super tight fit in most of the fasteners that our helis use....they are expensive though, $16 for one driver...[X(]

I just got this in from Grand RC...it should help me monitor engine temps a little more consistently, and easier too...

http://www.grandrc.com/inc/sdetail/163673

I'm going to install it tonight. Seems pretty cool, and accurate at room temps, so I'll see how it works out. If nothing else, it will be a good reference from flight to flight...

I went to do some mods on the cooling system on the SDX, and I can't get the engine out...the starter adapter won't come off of the clutch shaft...the set screw is SUPER tight...it's going to either strip, or break a 2mm driver....so I left it in for now. I ordered a new starter apapter for when I actually do have to remove the engine, in case I have to destroy it in the process...I have no idea why it's so tight, I only used blue loctite, and a normal hex driver...

I made an additional air shroud out of plastic that should help direct more air over the head....the area inside the shroud, on the engine side was still wide open, even with the optional shroud, which only goes over the top of the head...so I still feel like I was losing alot of cooling air through that...

Other than that, not much new here. I have to work Saturday, but the forecast is for 50% rain...so I might not miss much. Hope you can fly soon....

Glenn