RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama?

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama?
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RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 1/17/2007 1:23:09 AM

kregan

Posts: 1616
Joined: 11/5/2004
From: Highland, MD, USA
Status: offline

The switches on the transmitter are for servo reversing.
Mine came set from the factory and did not need changing.

Left stick up/down = throttle, controls the height
Left stick left/right = rotation, standing behind the heli, left stick=tail moves left

Right stick up/down = forward/back pitch, like elevator on a plane.
Right stick left/right = left and right pitch, like ailerons on a plane.

hope that helps

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lamarama

Hi out there, I think I need some help, having just tried out my very first flight with my new heli, just capable of a few hops and being totally new to this hobby, and as you all now the actual manual is totally rubbish, can anyone tell me (what are the two horizontal black dials on the controller, and the two vertical black dials for) I know the left joystick is for throttle (lift) and to always have it right down when turning on heli, and the right joystick is to alter pitch etc, could you also tell me what are the four switches at the bottom right of the controller are for, mine came with the two first switches up and the other two down, but it did'nt feel right, so I put all four switches to the bottom (is this right) also some people seem to be adjusting the 4 in 1 for some reason eg pitch gain or whatever, surely this is factory set, do all heli's need to be adjusted or is it just a few, please forgive me for these qustions which are no doubt obvious to most of you, but as I said I am a complete beginner to this and would welcome any help, thank's

_____________________________

Kelly

(in reply to Lamarama)

Post #: 51

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 1/17/2007 1:29:20 AM

kregan

Posts: 1616
Joined: 11/5/2004
From: Highland, MD, USA
Status: offline

I bought this heli from Hobby-Lobby for 89.00.

They price matched + 10% the Raidentech web site price.

It is the latest version with the servo reverse switches on
the TX and the trainer cord plug in the back.

This thing is really fun for $89.00. I wanted to practice on this
befor I flew my new Raptor 50 titan. This was the first heli I
ever flew besides the simulator and it is a blast to fly around
the house.

I have not crashed it yet, but I am taking my time with it and
not flying crazy.

_____________________________

Kelly

(in reply to kregan)

Post #: 52

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 1/22/2007 5:31:35 AM

mykl88

Posts: 3
Joined: 1/17/2007
From: , NV, USA
Status: offline

Here's my story. My wife Alison got me something for Christmas that I've always wanted - a radio controlled helicopter. She did a lot of research, knowing she needed to find one that was as easy as possible to fly. And she did great, don't get me wrong. She probably found the EASIEST possible rc helicopter to fly - but again, here's my story...

First attempt - immediately after opening the box. Place it in the foyee (how do you spell that area where people first walk in to your house?). I then tell my daughter Hannah and Alison to "watch out" (foolishly thinking I could protect them from what would happen next.) I flip the biggest switch on the controller to "on" - having no idea what the other 10 switches do.

Helicopter just sits there. We then hear a bunch of clicking. Ok..., not really sure what the clicking is all about, but I'll admit, I'm pretty scared now. (I would later find out this was the computer "calibrating" itself. Still scary - I've never had a toy that could think on its own.)

With some serious trepidation at this point, I go ahead and push one of the controller sticks up. The helicopter starts spinning rapidly, gaining flight. Having no control over what could happen next, I switch the controller to "off."

This, very unfortunately, only made things worse. The helicopter went nuts. It was like a crazed animal in our house, that just so happened to have spinning blades. (Don't worry, at this point, I had already tackled Hannah and was covering her head.) It finally crashes into a wall and goes silent.

Is it dead? I warily approached and went for its life line - the battery cord. Like everything else on the helicopter, the connection was very small, but I managed to unplug it. Ahhh. Sigh of relief.

Ok - probably better to try this outdoors.

"Honey, shouldn't you read the manual first?"

"Have you seen the manual? The "help" phone number is "86-0755-82124391" - pretty sure that's not a free call. It is (no kidding), the "Wantong Building" on "Sungang Road" in what I can only believe is China.

The manual was obviously written by a Chinese person who lied on his resume that he could write anything in English. Case in point - the big bold letters on the front - "TWF Ready for your fly!" I sincerely hope not.

Other noteable quotes in the manual:

"then following the instruction which in our website and operate it correctly" - yeh, ok, sure
"throttle down again and un-plug the flight battery if you are not to start flying" - ok, that one sounds a little kinky, but ok

So, now I'm outside, plenty of room to mess things up. Alison and Hannah are safely inside the house watching out the window. Feeling pretty confident at this point I won't be killed or maimed by my new toy, I go full throttle. Probably sent it about 15 feet in the air - something, again, I would find out is not a good idea as a beginner.

As you can probably guess, it didn't stay up there very long - man, the controls are sensitive. Smack, hits the ground, and then heads back up - this time not so high. And with not as much plastic as before it hit the ground.

Slight adjustment by me on the controller and, yep, back down to smack the ground. (Meanwhile, inside the house, Hannah is quoted as saying "oooh, bumpy."

.

Finally, after probably four "smack downs", the helicopter (a real trooper at this point, no longer able to gain flight, but still spinning its blades wildly), heads for the front lawn and really does a great job at trimming a good portion of it.

Alas, it falls silent. Like too many thriller movies I've seen though, it's not to be trusted that it is actually dead. I approach cautiously. Finally, I manage to get the battery cord disconnected and am able to heave a sigh of relief. Any neighbor watching right now is seriously worried about their property values falling.

Ok, let's check the damage. 3 out of 4 blades (yes, 4 blades, that is what apparently makes this thing "ready for your fly"

are non recognizable. Battery carriage is completely broken. Let's head back in the house and fix things. Honey, where's the duck tape?

After duck taping the battery back on and replacing the broken blades, let's try again. This time, middle of the street. Throttle up. And we're completely out of control again. This time, we've reached an altitude of over 30 feet and just one smack down this time. Pretty cool though - plastic flew everywhere!

So I'm out of replacement parts. My flight time (yes, I'm required to keep a log) is now at 25 seconds. Repair time: 30 minutes.

On the web for new parts. $20 dollars and two weeks later, I have my new blades, landing gear, and tail (pretty much everything you can break.)

After forty five minutes of dealing with really tiny screws that disappear quite rapidly in carpeting, I have what might be something flyable. Let's give it a go.

Ok, let's be careful this time. Ease up on the throttle. Just get a little air and bring it back down. Perfect. Good job. Try again. Yep, few inches off the ground and bring it back down. We are doing good.

Let's stop while we are ahead. Turn the big switch to "off."

And the helicopter goes into full crazy mode again. Off it goes, no idea where it's headed, and, yes, plastic once attached is no longer attached.

Hmm, I'm starting to think turning the controller to "off" is not really "off" in the literal sense. Let's check out some rc helicopter forums on the web to find out.

And I quote (from someone who apparently has been into the rc flying hobby for 25 years): "turning the transmitter to "off" before disconnecting the battery can cause the helicopter to go into half or full throttle mode."

Wouldn't this be something you would have in bold letters in the manual? I double checked, there is no mention of this.

The Chinese translator did manage to mention however: "Once happen warp, you are able to correct, and this will start to show smooth flight." My a@#.

(in reply to phillipmorris)

Post #: 53

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/5/2007 4:30:02 AM

tkris

Posts: 18
Joined: 1/1/2007
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline

ROFLMAO. That was funny.. I feel bad at enjoying your pain, but the way you wrote the story there's no way to avoid it.

I hope you've had better luck by now.. if not, do a lot more reading on the web before trying to take off again.. read (and try and ignore the annoying marine drill sargent voice of) Radd's school of flight. It might seem tedious, but once you get the basics down and can safely fly your lama around indoors out of the wind, you'll appreciate having taken the time.

Here's the link to radds.
http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html

Good luck.. I think you started with the right bird.. My brother bought me a full collective pitch 3d heli for xmas.. I went through radds, and I still have about 45 seconds of flight time on that bird, with 2 expensive crashes. I bought the lama to try and get the basic feel for it before trying the 3d bird again. I've flown about 12-20 batteries on the lama in the last 2 weeks.. A few crashes, but almost no repair costs so far except some time and CA glue.

Good luck

(in reply to mykl88)

Post #: 54

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/6/2007 2:53:00 PM

marc2d

Posts: 11
Joined: 1/15/2007
From: eastborne, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline

im from england and a total newby to this sport. i orderd my v3 lama cant wait to take it for a spin (lol) atm im pratacing with a picoo z lol( u gotta start somewhere) wot does pitch mean in heli terms?

(in reply to tkris)

Post #: 55

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/6/2007 5:12:27 PM

tkris

Posts: 18
Joined: 1/1/2007
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline

my understanding is that pitch refers to either the angle of attack of the main blades on an adjustable pitch or collective pitch helicopter, and it also refers to the attitude of the heli in the air... I think this one is a holdover from fixed wings, just like referring to the controls as aileron and elevator (it's really the collective control). The lama is a fixed pitch bird - it's main rotors don't dynamically change their lift characteristics by altering their angle of attack during flight.
the picoo z type heli's don't have much control to them.. you have to kind of will them to move forward. I enjoy flying mine around and tormenting the cats (they like to knock it out of the air), but it is a different experience all together from the lama where you have complete control over everything the heli does.

I found this glossary very helpful when first reading about rc heli's (about a whole month ago.. :-)
http://www.heliguy.com/nexus/glossary.html

Good luck with the lama!

(in reply to marc2d)

Post #: 56

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/7/2007 7:16:38 AM

vega2614

Posts: 560
Joined: 7/23/2006
From: Morton Grove, IL, USA
Status: offline

That was one of the greatest posts I have ever read, Mykl88. I cringed while I chuckled at your misfortune, mostly because my chopper has undergone similar "restructurings," although not nearly as bad as what you describe.

I have indeed broken a few blades because of the whole "turning transmitter off while battery is still connected." I quickly learned to never do that, although from time-to-time it happens by accident (I land it, then a few minutes later I turn off the transmitter forgetting I haven't gone over to the chopper to unplug it).

Sometimes the crazy half throttle mode doesn't occur when you turn off the transmitter, so I'm wondering if it's some kind of safety feature so that if the transmitter runs out of batteries or you get out of range while the throttle is on, the chopper doesn't just plummet to the ground. The Lama is so stable that it could probably just slowly drop to the ground with minimal problems.

Luckily, replacement parts for the Lama are pretty cheap online. I've pretty much purchased an extra set of everything structural (no motors, 4 in 1s, servos, etc.). The bane of my Lama's existence is the stabilizer bar holder on the top rotor. It always breaks on me. I've gone through 3 already. I really need to get the aluminum inner shaft with head, but the site I want to get it from are out of stock.

After many, many crashes and really slow meandering around the room, I've gotten pretty good at flying it. Granted, every once in a while my brain farts and I screw up the aileron/elevator control when the Lama is at a wierd angle, but I am getting better with every charged battery. I was doubting that I'd ever be able to fly a chopper when I first got it, but now the Lama is like an extension of my fingers. You can check out some of my earlier videos on youtube.com: http://youtube.com/watch?v=e5ji4mABGIk .

I found that the easiest way to learn is to first practice hovering and trimming the chopper out. As others have posted, throttle up until the chopper starts sliding only slightly, then throttle til the chopper is about a foot or two above the ground (make sure you have plenty of room). Make sure it doesn't laterally move (unless you tell it to) and trim it so that it has a slight forward motion. This will make it fly like a 2-channel chopper, which is WAAYYY easier to learn with. Just point the heli in the right direction and let it fly that way. You will quickly get used to controlling yaw no matter which way the chopper is facing.

The next step is to work on elevator control. Try moving forward and backward slowly, with the heli facing random directions. I've learned the following the hard way: don't go full throttle then cut back or pull a 180 right away. The Lama will go into a death dive where it will lose all horizontal stability. Be gentle when changing directions. You will have to test for yourself what the Lama can handle. Don't get me wrong, you can do some funky moves, but going from 6mph FF to reverse right away is too much input and freaks the Lama out.

Once you get elevator control down pat, work on aileron control. I found this to be the most difficult, but only when the chopper is either facing you or viewed from the side. Just be gentle at first. Once you're pretty good at all dimensions of control, you can get ride of that slow forward trim. Keep flexing those servos, and eventually you'll be able to fly in any room. My goal right now is to fly from my basement to the first floor through a very narrow and steep stairway.

I've gone from crashing into anything and everything in my basement to being able to land on a dime and do constant heading laps at FF around support beams in my room. You'll be there soon enough.

I have yet to fly outdoors. I mostly fly in a moderate-sized room with many obstacles, so I haven't really been able to unleash the fury so to speak. A gym would be perfect.

The Lama will take a beating, and with some patience and some glue, will still be flyable. It's definitely a lot of fun once you can fly with confidence. Good luck and I hope my basic tutorial helps (the manual certainly doesn't

).

(in reply to tkris)

Post #: 57

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/7/2007 3:07:34 PM

mykl88

Posts: 3
Joined: 1/17/2007
From: , NV, USA
Status: offline

Thanks tkris and vega for the encouragement and helpful hints. Quick update on my flying prowess at this point - 1) I'm able to get it off the ground indoors (never more than a foot or so at this point to stay safe) and have a rudimentary level of control over where it is headed. Usually within 60 seconds I'm bailing out and setting it back down. Slowly but surely I see myself improving until I'm able to move on to my next helicopter - one I can fly myself to the store in. 2) I'm no longer terrified of it.

(in reply to vega2614)

Post #: 58

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/8/2007 7:36:11 AM

vega2614

Posts: 560
Joined: 7/23/2006
From: Morton Grove, IL, USA
Status: offline

Just take small steps and you'll soon surprise yourself. Maybe hold off flying real choppers for a while though

.

I just had a bad collision today with my basement's support beam. The Lama was sideways and I aileroned the wrong way. One blade crashed into the beam and a piece 2 inches long broke off the end and went flying. I'm not sure where it went. I find that to be the hardest; aileron control when the chopper is sideways from your POV.

On a positive note, I can now confidently land on any reasonably flat surface (even the tops of my vertical couch cushions) that's at least 5"x5". For a while there, I had difficulties landing in a 5'x5' space. You really need to get accustomed to the ground effect for good landings.

(in reply to mykl88)

Post #: 59

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/12/2007 3:09:22 PM

PEDROB188

Posts: 1
Joined: 1/6/2007
From: ANTRIM, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline

Hey Guys, I hope some1 can help.
Got the V3 and was having great fun with it. Everytime I try to move it in roll the motors stop and 1 servo goes to full scale deflection. I thought It was the 4 in 1 soo bought a replacement, its not identical to the original one, the old one is ek2-705b ad the new one is ek2-705. Now When i plugged in the new one exactly the same thing happned. When I try to move it in roll motors stop and servo moves to full scale.
Any one got any ideas? do you think it could be the tx??
Thanks for your help
Pedrob188

(in reply to vega2614)

Post #: 60

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/12/2007 3:19:01 PM

Richster

Posts: 17
Joined: 12/15/2003
From: Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline

Hmmm well thinking about mine there really isn't any other electronics in the heli, so I guess the Tx would be a good starting point. As a suggestion, I fly mine on my Futaba RC aircraft Tx (it's a 6ExA) which works beautifully, plus has rates etc which can be useful on the heli. My advice would be to try another Tx with your crystal - borrow a mate's if you don't have one or maybe take it to a model shop so they can check it out. Certainly Futabs devices work OK with the eSky crystals. Or perhaps there is something iffy with the roll servo? Perhaps try swapping the pitch and roll servos i.e. run the pitch one from the roll channel and see if it behaves as expected - leave the roll servo disconnected. I think I mean pitch anyway - the forward/backward motion one. Hope you get it working as this heli is dead good once you get to grips with it.

Cheers - Rich

(in reply to PEDROB188)

Post #: 61

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/12/2007 5:46:51 PM

vega2614

Posts: 560
Joined: 7/23/2006
From: Morton Grove, IL, USA
Status: offline

Your problem sounds a lot like mine, but more severe. My Lama does the same thing when I apply FF elevator and then stop. I flew for about 20 feet FF and then gradually released the elevator because in the past I've had some stability issues but thought it was due to abrupt changes in direction. However, the heli still went into a death roll and crashed rather hard into the ground. It doesn't seem to respond to TX input.

My motors still operate, but the heli turns about 45 degree sideways as if I was applying full aileron. I really need to take some footage of it and figure out what's going on because it usually happens really fast. I don't hear any wierd noises like components colliding or anything, so I'm guessing it has to be the electronics.

Other than that, the Lama performs beautifully, I just have to be careful about pushing its threshold.

(in reply to Richster)

Post #: 62

RE: Anyone Flying Esky V3 Lama? - 2/13/2007 6:56:34 PM