rotarydoc

Nick,

Yeah a little history behind the Anderson power poles, they have actually been around for quite some time, when I was using them, it was 1990..[X(]

That sucks about the guy's fingers....and yeah, model aircraft deserve a lot of respect, they can seriously injure people! I have been lucky so far, I've only had that one "bite" from the B400 early on, and have never seen a serious accident at any events or fields, but I can see how they could easily happen....when I was at the MHA fun fly last year I was watching some guys flying Trex 700's, doing fast backwards hurricanes and what not, and coming within 15-20 feet of themselves and spectators, all it would take is a servo to glitch, a link to fail, or any of a number of scenarios to cause a serious accident...hope I never do see one...

That is cool with the new gyros and the improved performance...seems RC electronics get better all the time, especially if you stick with the good stuff...hard to beat Futaba stuff, they've been at it so long...and most stuff I hear about Spartan is good as well...

I hope to get some MCPX flights in tomorrow and the rest of the week...tonight is my "late night" at work, gotta be here until 6PM, work or not...new rules...[&o]

Glenn

JPEE

Glenn,

Rules and Laws were meant to be BROKEN unless they are written by a Boss or Wife which is really the same! LMAO

A guy I know who yesterday flew a clone 500 with 5000 6s pack under the hood. I can't imagin how he got it under the canopy but he even said there was room to spare. I might get to see this thing tomorrow. He said at 9.5 minutes he was exhausted and landed. Holy Cow!!!!

John

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Nick,

I've had some close calls during my plane days with nitro engines...had a few props back off b/c of a flooded engine and don't get me started on how a chicken stick can slip on a cold day and your fingers get caught with a starting prop. [X(] But I was lucky and never reached through a running prop...I've seen some gruesome pictures on some forums, sorry you had to witness it in person. I do have several scars due to my 450 when I first got it...took a few 'bites' before I began to really respect it esp when working on a live heli indoors. But as you said, we really need to be safe around them b/c they can cause some serious damage.

I know you are relieved that all your work on the gyro's and tail's mechanical setup finally worked out. Nice to be able to do some of your maneuvers without having to worry about a tail blowout.

As was suggested to me by both Dave and John...DEETS!! Definitely will help with the bug problem.

JPEE,

Rules and Laws written at home (by the Boss, Wife, or Queen ) are not to be broken and to be respected at all costs!! All others...do as you will at your own descretion.

Wow, 9.5 minutes of flying on a 5000 pack...a guy on HF was able to do something similar by reducing the pinion and keeping the headspeed low enough to keep the bird stable for easy sport flying. So it seems its doable but I don't think I would be able to go over 7 minutes...it would just feel weird.

Glenn,

I see your in a hurry to get those newly cleaned servo's dirty again. Are you still able to use the Moose Lodge? Hope the weather is nice for you.

I had to think about what I was doing in 1990...Sophmore in high school (how time flies ). But fast forward 4 years and I was experimenting with a nitro boat...it was an Atlas Vanlines Hydroplane wooden kit, I do believe my only wood built anything I ever did. Must have taken me several months to build and had a 46 water cooled nitro engine on it (K and B I think) that was a total pain in the butt...it would run for several seconds then blop, nothing. And usually just enough to get it in the middle of the pond so a swimming I would go for it. Needless to say that only lasted until it started to get really cold. Well, enough with the reminiscing.

Still not a lot going on...hot weather hanging around. Maybe we'll get some relief this weekend.

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sorry you had to work later today.

Mark,

It takes me awhile before I learn. I got a few sun burns out flying before I started wearing sun screen. Hopefully I will now remember to also put some bug spray on.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Guys,

Just a quick note as I am leaving for the field. But at 5:30 a.m. we met at the Park and did the flight test and I ran the timer. He flew for 10 minutes from lift off to touch down! "I" checked his two 3S packs and they came

in about the same. All cells were either 3.7 and most were at 3.8 so I estimate he another minute to 1.5 minutes and he'd still come is before 3.6. Later, I have his battery information for you and pinion size.


How did he get the two packs under the canopy WELLLLLLLLL he cut the frame like a lot of did to get a 3,000 mAh pack under the hood. But in his case he went drastic and cut his frame down so low (about 1/4") past mine to

near the last opening in the frame where the battery strap went through. So now he straps his packs in with the little bit of opening still left in the frame and it goes under the battery tray itself. It is a bit hard to write clearly so

you can this in your mind, so next time out I get a photo. It is more than I would ever cut, but for his light duty flying there is no real frame stress issues in this reporters opinion.


Get back this afternoon.

FLASH BULLETIN JUST CAME IN FROM THE PILOT:

The past were two packs were, 5000 mAh 11.1 volt each in series to give him 24 vt. The packs were 20C.

John

JPEE

Hey Guys,

My buddy and I are going to be DO-GOODER'S [X(]

He bought a push stripping machine $50.00 off of craigs list. He got the paint for it and we are going into the club field tomorrow morning and blow off the whole runway and related areas and restrip the field!

I can imagine there will be some suprised faces around there wondering who did it, as my buddy wants to keep quite for a day or two just to hear the kickback lol.


HOT HOT HOT here with morning haze and then HEAT. For the most part June Gloom is gone!


John

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Mark,

I am hoping to get some flights in this weekend, looks like rain tonight, but the weekend forecast looks pretty decent...not too awful hot...

That is interesting on the boat....never had a boat...never had a place to run one...there used to be a boat club here in Laurel, that ran boats on the Laurel Lake, but some envirnomentalist people got upset, and that was that....but I know they can really scoot when they are setup right!

JPEE,

Cool on the undercover striping project, I'll bet some people will be quite surprised!

Sorry your weather went from gloom to super hot...I know I've had my share of super hot here so far, and July isn't even here yet...but I think I have a fairly nice weekend ahead....

Nick,

I talked to Mike, who went to the MHA fun fly a few weeks back....and I didn't miss much, apparently...he said no pros there, Bobby and Bert were not there (apparently they both left Align), the only really good guys were those 3 guys from Hirobo that were there last year...and he said the turnout was about half of last year...kinda sad, a sign of the times I guess....

He just had a catastrophic crash with his 700n, nearly totalled it....he lost the tail for some reason mid flight...suspects the Align gyro...not sure yet...looks like about a $500 crash...[X(]

Be sure and get some bug spray for next time out...

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi all,

More hot weather today.

And I had a crappy day yesterday...our house air went kaput in the middle of the afternoon. [X(] Talk about misery...I left work early last night so I could try some troubleshooting on the system (narrowed it down to the outside fan unit), made an appointment for this morning, and did our best to cool the house down after the sun set last night. I eventually went to Wallyworld around midnight to get a small window AC unit and put that in to cool things off a bit for the overnight (fun doing that at 12:30am )...the tiny unit was able to get things down to 87 which was doable. The tech came out around noon and was able to fix things...seems the outside fan had a capacitor that was blown. So now we have nice cool air blowing in the house again. Not a very fun experience.

JPEE,

That sounds like a major undertaking...are you sure you want to start something like that in the middle of summer? Just looking out for your health in this swealtering heat there bud! [8D]

Nick,

No more nights for awhile...at least your getting in a bunch of flights before school starts again - August or September?

Glenn,

That's terrible to hear about Robs 700...esp. when its due to no fault of the pilot. That is just one of the drawbacks to the larger helis...larger repair bills. Makes you appreciate the smaller ones a bit more.

Glad your weekend is looking promising.

Mark

JPEE

Mark, thanks for the thoughts on the heat and my old age lol. Not a problem for me. And.......... We are doing this in the cool of the early morning just like when we fly early. That's what's nice about being retired,

when it gets hot! Shut it down and let the night crew finish it, LMAO.

John

JPEE

Hey Guys,

I need some support!

One of my 500 ESP's has developed a nose to tail bobbing condition. In the past that was corrected with relocating the battery to add some more front weight on the CG.

Today I, relocated the battery, changed the main blades (balanced the Finless way), changed the tail blades, main shaft, used a dial indicator on the tail shaft and blade grips

thinking one may be bent, and lastley changed radios. And..... I have bumped the curves beyond my other 500ESP that flies like silk. I am LOST on this, what have I missed?

Thanks for any input you can throw at me.

JPEE

evdreamer

Glenn,

It sounds like you will be getting my good weather.

That is too bad the turnout for the fun fly wasn't that good.

That sounds like an expensive crash.

I went flying again today. I am starting to find the sweet spot with my YS50. I was making a lot of power and the engine wasn't over heating. I was able to do continuous tic tocs at a moderate speed without the engine bogging. About a half gallon in I noticed two of my links popped off at the flybar cage. I am suprised the Velocity still flew good. I decided to pack up the Velocity instead of loosing it in flight. I am really liking the telemetry system. Once the receiver battery started getting low I could hear my transmitter beep when I pushed the heli a little too hard, so I just backed off. I can't wait until the electric version of the telemetry system comes out, so I can know when I am pushing the 600 a little too hard at the end.

Mark,

Sorry about your AC.

School starts in August for me.

John,

I have only experienced that when I have hard dampners and not a high enough HS, but it sounds like you already tried to increase the HS.

Nick

JPEE

Mark,

I am embarrased I missed in your post that you A/C had gone out! MR. LAND LORD........... come quick. I cannot belive you got the wall banger, good insurance, just hold on to that baby.

Nick,

Thanks for your opinion but there is bad news I just posted on RR.

Found the problem!

I thought I'd play a little bit more before I read you post Nick and I bumped my curve from 80 to 85 across the board and she was silky smooth. Then in one second

something flew off and she destructed in the air. I have a fair size yard and was hovering there about 60' away when the "what" appears to be the screw/bolt that held on one tail rotor blade

grip broke. I was blessed to have a half of one main blade go by me by 20'and of course I had hit TH as soon as she started coming a part.

I wont know more till later but a new tail and TT system and all blades looks to be the fix.

I have heard that this is not uncommon for that bolt come off/break off/fatique and let a tail grip go. So while I could not feel it with my hands pulling in and outward or flexing, there was a gremlin in there.


John

evdreamer

John,

That is good you weren't injured.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

My gosh JPEE,

I am very relieved that you didn't get injured in that tail grip incident...please change the grip bolts in both your 500's...looks like the general concenses is to use 12.9 hardness...here's a link for an online purchase: [link=http://www.mcmaster.com/#91290a013/=cvyl5i]McMaster[/link] P/N 91290A013

Once again I'm happy you are alright...but very scary stuff to be sure considering how many of us do test hovers after a repair or tweak in our front/back yards. [X(]

Mark

choppersrule

Hi Fellas,

Just checking in and give ya a quick report on the mCP X upgrades. If you remember, I ordered the CNC swashplate and the main blade grips. Installation of the swashplate went rather smoothly with no problems, other than it's so small and difficult to get the links on and off.
The main blade grips were pretty easy too, the only problem is the screw for the feathering shaft is really really little and it's made of aluminum. So, you can't use a magnitized screwdriver. I ended up using CA and glued the screw to the screw driver. Works like a charm. You youngsters wouldn't have had as much trouble as I did. I had the big ol' magnifing glass out, to see what the heck I was looking at. All in all, it went great. First test flight was great, the heli seemed a lot more stable and easier to control. One thing I did notice it that I didn't have to use the grommet mod on the swashplate to keep the servo links from vibrating, that's a plus. Also, I noticed that in some of the minor crashes I had, the small links from the swashplate to the blade grips never popped off. Huh! The other night I was flying in the basement and smashed into the wall and thought for sure that something was definately damage. Not a scratch, this little rascal is pretty tuff. I tried the weighted blades too, the ones that look like there is a small bullet on the leading edge. I like those a lot, seems even more stabe with the weights, great for indoors.
I tuned down the dual rates from the recommend 70 - 30, to 60 - 20 for aileron and elevator, I like that two. Now I can pretty much cruise around the basement. I've been having a ball landing and taking off from the pool table. HA!

Off Topic Stuff: Man did we have some rain a few days ago, it came down in "double buckets", we accumulated 4 inches of rain in just 2 hours. YIKES! My garden was totally underwater. The garden is 20 x 70 feet, and about half of it is corn, I love the corn. Also, we have tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and green peppers.. What we can't eat or freeze, we set up a table out on the front drive way and sell to passers by. So we make enough money to pay for the garden, eat for free and have money left over. How cool is that.

Liz (the wife) and I have a few projects lined up for the rest of the summer. One is to replace an old worn out shed, it's 16 x 20 feet, that I built around 1986 or so. And it shows it. Our house is an all brick ranch that was built in 1969. The brick is good and doesn't need tuck pointed at all, but the fasica boards and soffets need replacing, so we're gonna do that with vinyl. I talked to my contractor buddy today, and he recommended vinyl over aluminum. He said that the aluminum has a tendency to get chalky looking in a few years and is prone to getting dents in hail storms, which we have a lot of those here in Indy.

Here's a picture of the mCP X, with the shiny stuff. Lol!

Dave Out

JPEE

If flying helicopters isn?t scary enough, try this



Hey Guys,



these guys really earn their money.....

Helicopter Landing

Imagine catching up to a ship moving into the wind at 20kts with a gusty 30 knot headwind and gusts

moving over the cabin at 50+ gusting to 0 or Stopping and pitching up and down 15' or more, and this

is just a test to see if the machine is capable.

MOVIE ONLY: NO SOUND! Go to full screen.

http://www.prismdefence.com.au/index.htm

JPEE

Hey Guys,
Once again I don't have time to really get the full extent of the 500 damages but with another second quick review I have the following.
1. main gears, upper and lower.
2. Main blades
3. Aileron Hitec servo...dead
4. Tail servo stripped
5. Boom
6. TT side
I have to check all TT gears but some have to be gone too. I made the mistake of rebuilding after a crash like this and it ran dang near as much as a new heli. New 500 ESP's Super Combos now sell for $509.00. With that said next week I will tears it down and see which way I intend to go.
Thanks guys for the concern about my safety. I have only come close like this once before to my recollection and that's when the gusting winds grabbed my 600 while I was 3 feet above the ground and flipped it over towards me. But during this crash hearing that blade pass me ( I didn't know what passed me but I did hear it go by) that's pretty close to getting hurt.
MARK, thanks for the link and yes I will be doing the upgrade.

Chopper, your animal! You've really done a number on your little bird. I hope you have a Vendors license to sell veggies in the front yard? And that you claim that all on your income taxes as additional income.
Regarding the house repairs, I like your contractors thoughts and agree with his opinions.

JPEE

choppersrule

JPEE,

On your 500 damages, I hear you when you said it almost cost as much in repairs as a new one. You know me, I'm the impulse buyer and I'd have to go with a new one. Then tear apart the crashed 500 and inspect it with a fine tooth comb and save what I could for spare parts. Just my nickel...

Concerning the Vendors liscense for my veggie stand. After I retired from the telephone industry, I worked for NAPA as a local parts driver. I use to deliver to the City Garage all the time, where they work on the fire trucks and police cars.. I'm good, I know most of the police officers in town. I may have to slip them a few tomatoes though.

Dave

JPEE

Hey Guys,

You won't believe this.

Bob just brought over his 500 clone which has had a sideways tail bump/pulse like to much gain. He asked me to help him tame that down. He fired it up and before lift off I told him he way to much

head speed. He lowered the head speed to a "by ear" more acceptable rpm. Then he lifted off and without warning! buzzz bang, zzzzzzzz, and other noises I can't spell and down she came. We are not

sure what came first, the chicken or the egg, meaning the tail rotor shaft bent so as to let the tail blade grips hit box and the boom and we found the drive gear in the frame that drive the lower antirotation

gear came loose or got knocked loose on it shaft and it came upward unitl its pline was showing where the gear used ot be! It moved up so far it grabbed the main gear and stopped the heli. His damage was

minimal compared to mine but still, a 60 second flight/hover and two 500's are down. I may take a break and hope my luck changes.


P

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

I'm still here! Just not been doing a whole lot with the helis this weekend after all....

Nick,

Sounds like your persistence with the YS engine tuning has paid off...making good power it sounds like now!

That is cool that your telemetry is working well for you....how is the engine temp monitor part doing, can you check the engine temp in mid flight? Does it record the highest temp? Sounds like a big plus for nitro tuning for sure....

Dave,

Cool on the mod reviews, and the cool pic of the new parts...they sure do look cool on there!

Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with the MCPX...I know I am loving mine more and more....I'm really liking the stress-free flying almost anywhere I can find a small field....so nice!

Mark,

Whew, that must have been brutal....FL with no A/C!!!

Makes you wonder what they did back in the days before A/C, doesn't it?? [X(]

Glad it was an easy fix, just a cap....not too bad at least...

JPEE,

I'm glad to hear that the tailblade flew past you, and you weren't harmed!

I remember all too well when the Raptor came apart, some parts of it flew a good 60 feet past/over me....not a fun experience!![X(]

Hopefully the new tail grip bolts will cure that problem....I have not heard anything about that, is it a known issue? Mine have been fine so far...

And then the double trouble with Bob's 500 as well....so sorry about that one too...

The main thing is that no one got hurt on either one...


I just got back a bit ago from the horse track, got a couple of packs in on the MCPX, and got 6 flights in last night....trying to mix in a bit of upright during the flights, so I don't forget it alltogether...lol...been concentrating mostly all on inverted...

Hope everyone has a nice week ahead....

Glenn

evdreamer

Dave,

It sounds like you will be busy for awhile.

Glenn,

On my transmitter there is a menu just for the telemetry. It displays everything my telemetry box that is on the heli can gather at once. If nothing is connected it just defaults to 0 or -40 for the temp. I can check the engine temp anytime I want as long as there is power to the telemetry box. I usually start by warming up the engine by doing fast pitch pumps. Then I will land and see if the engine is over heating. Then it is nice to be able to check when I think the engine might be leaning out or not. As long as I am in the telemetry menu it will record the max, min, current, and avg temps of each temp sensor. It can monitor up to 4 temp sensors. I don't know what it will show with the GPS, Fuel, and RPM sensors since I don't have those hooked up. The receiver battery will store the min and max Voltage even if I get out of the telemetry menu. You can also name the sensors what ever you want in the transmitter. Since I got this I found out my engine is leaning out near the end of the tank. I might add a header tank or a fuel magnet. I land with about a minute of reserve, so it doesn't lean out too bad. I also added another sensor to the skid to see what the ambient temp is. I can take some pics of it working if you would like.

I ordered another receiver for my 600 to monitor that receiver battery and some new links for my Velocity.

Did you read that RC Heli Magazine is only going to have 10 issues a year now?

That is good you have been getting some flights in with the mcpx.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

That telemetry system sounds like it works well, and is very versatile, and quite valuable for engine tuning, and extending the engine's life, by monitoriing it for a lean condition. It's especially cool that it records the max engine temp, since you can't constantly monitor it during a flight...

No need for pics unless you feel like it, you description about covers it....very interesting, and sounds like it's a very well done system, well thought out.

Interesting that your engine gets a bit lean towards the end of a flight, I've read about that before in nitro articles. I have had nothing but problems with my header tank on the SDX, maybe you'll have better luck....mine goes SUPER lean when it transitions from the main tank to the header tank, I just stop flying before the main tank runs dry...and I'm OK. No one I have ever talked to seems to know why....I checked and replaced everything, even tested it for leaks with a vacuum pump on the fuel system for 4 hours (it held), so I gave up.

I had to laugh a bit at the GPS....I guess it would come in handy if your aircraft got really far away, and you lost it, and needed to find it with GPS coordinates....[X(] The fuel level might be cool, it would eliminate the need for bringing the heli in close for a fuel check...

That is interesting on RC Heli. I stopped my subscription, after having so many delivery problems, and the misspellings and errors were really bugging me...I'll probably go to the newstand and read it occasionally....case in point.....in the April issue, page 43, they have the end cutters and diagonal cutters reversed....small error, I know, but they happen over, and over and over....maybe if they take more time between issues, and actually double check their work, I might go back...I guess I'm just picky!!

Glenn

JPEE

Hi Guys,

Well it has been a few crazy days here. The last time we spoke I told you Bob's 500 went down because the belt drive pulley in his frame, the gear that meets the anti-rotation gear to drive the belt had actually slid up its post

which had a grooved spline, you'd think that would be impossible. The next day his brother called from up north and was hovering his 500 (which Bob built and gave him) and his did the same exact thing, the gear slid up and

jammed the heli and down she came. We think that the plastic gear gets hot and then melts in the center and then slides up the shaft, then she goes bust! Bob bought these replacement parts at "nameless site" and they are

cheap imports rather than brand name like Align. You get what you pay for. NO BUT WAIT..................................... there is more!

Today Bob lifted his 500-2 and said, this heli has that same faulty gear and I need to change it after today's flying. Then in the next second BANG that gear failed but the damage was minimal because he was only 3 feet off the

ground but she came down. NO BUT WAIT ..........................there is more.

Next, Bob is flying his 450 which he had flown a few times today. There he is ah-flyin and I noticed he was flying forward far too fast! I yelled at him "slower down". He said nothing, then in a few seconds he yelled HELP I am

losing her. I jump out of my chair run out to the field and he had a damn neck strap on, my fingers were shaking and I didn't even look at where the heli was, in my mind I am saying: I NEED THAT RADIO and that's where I

was going. Once I got the radio in my hands I couldn't see the heli, I scanned everywhere with my eyes. Then Bob yells "over there" and I saw this little little dot! Holy cow, this was further out than I have ever had a 450. I pulled

back on the stick so I could see the blades and then did a 180 so I could see the boom behind it with the nose low so I could track that tail and started it back to us. It was acting crazy and was all over the place. As it came closer

I managed to hold her in control as I said, she was very squirrely, then I get her up close and had just started turning the heli tail in to us and in that moment there was a loud pop, she disintegrated! Something flew off the tail and

then parts started flying everywhere. She was totaled while still in the air and it was only the carnage that hit the ground. So Bob lost two helis today, the 450 is a total and the 500-2 needs repairs, what a day..........

I just bought a belt set up for one of my 500's to cut down repairs and expenses when I have a crash. I got the whole works less tail blades and pitch arm for $20.00 shipped.


Nick,
Sounds like your telemetry, wow checking your motor temps, how cool is that. A guy at the field today and the New Airtronics radio and it measure radio interference in the area. We are picking up a lot now from the track homes

across the river bed. When you think that they all have 2.4 cordless home phones, cells phones with head blue tooth's, router for their computers, it's amazing all of our planes and heli can make it. Yesterday a guy I know had two!

major glitches over by those homes as his two planes went by that area, DOUBLE YIKES!


Glenn,
My mail man was telling me that more and more people are not getting mags anymore, they are subscribing online. The new age I guess. It has been HOT hear but we have been flying at 7:00 and clear out by 11:00 so were

are good. Sorry to hear your not flying a lot, we all need breaks from time to time


Well that's it from my piece heaven.
JPEE

evdreamer

Glenn,

I guess I will stay away from the header tanks then.

The GPS unit can also measure the speed and altitude. It would be cool for jets and the fast FBL helis to see how fast they are going.

John,

That sounds like a lot of tail problems.

I don't have to worry about radio glitches since I fly out in the middle of a corn field. My Hitec radio has an option to scan for the cleanest 2.4GHz channel, but it won't reconnect if my receiver looses power.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

That was a crazy day! Glad you were able to at least get Bob's 450 back in close, before it self destructed....sorry again to hear of his double loss in one day, that is a rough flying day for sure!

Nick,

I am not sure why I have so much problem with the header tank, you may be fine....I know a lot of people run them, and have no issues. I was noticing on Bert and Bobby's nitro tuning video, they don't use them, Bobby mentions them, but they both use fuel magnets, and swear by them, as does Charles at MHA, so something to think about there....

I didn't think about using the GPS for speed measurements, I know my Garmin GPS and the Tom Tom on the iPhone measures speed while driving, so that would be kinda neat. I didn't know GPS could measure altitude though....interesting...

Nice weather here, low humidity, and low to mid 80's....I'd better get some flying in before the weekend heatwave sets in....supposed to be hot, humid for the entire holiday weekend...[&o]

Glenn