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All Forums >> RC Helicopters >> RC Helicopter Beginners Forum >> RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!!
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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/27/2006 11:09 PM   
millst


 

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From: Carterton, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		I got my new Falcon last week and I resisted the urge to get out straight away and try to fly it (i'm a complete newb).
I spent the entire week going over it with a fine tooth comb making sure I understood how it all worked.
As I am in New Zealand spare parts are a long way away and there is nobody local to teach me.
As an added precaution I decided to order an FMA copilot for the falcon as well.
I installed the co-pilot and after spending a few days making sure it functioned well I finally got out yesterday to try to fly the falcon.
It flew beutifully and having a co-pilot onboard was a life savour. If i got into trouble I just let go of the sticks and the helicopter immediately dropped into a stable hover.
I've been flying back to back for the last few days and have had no problems at all although this morning I landed on a bit of a funny angle and she tipped over with a blade strike. Blades are probably ok (will need to rebalance them) but I thought I would order another set.
As the shipping prices to NZ from the US are crazy I was wondering what anyone would recommend I order in the way of spares. What am I likely to break if i do go in hard. I'm thinking 2 or 3 sets of blades at least but what else would be useful to have?

PS, for any other newb's out there considering the falcon, i'd highly recommend the FMA co-pilot, it works very well on the falcon and has already paid for itself.

Cheers
Toby
New Zealand

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 1:14 AM   
choppersrule


 

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Status: offline 		JJT,

On several occasions, I've had trouble getting my Falcon to initialize properly. I thought oh man...what now.

I've got about 40 flights or so, and happened maybe 4 times.. I would just unplug the battery and then replug. Then everything seemed fine. One time, I had to disconnect the battery twice and replug. I still love the Falcon, it's an awesome heli.



Gary Morris,

After 40 flights or so, I thought I'd take the plunge and try idle-up mode. I've been using the idle-up mode on the Blade CP for awhile, sooo, why not give the Falcon a try. This was in my garage, raining outside. Anyway, I throttled up in normal mode, until it was really light on the skids. Having nervous of steel, I mean nerves of steel.

I flipped the idle-up switch, HOLY COW, GEE WHEEZE, what have I done now, the POWER is SCARRING these nerves of steel and immediately turned them into aluminum foil.

Well, as things happen, it was great, I did NOT crash, WHEW! It was only for about a minute or so, my brain was on fire. And the nerves of steel turned into mush. A lot of deep breaths after the first idle-up experience on such a power machine.

I usually take steps slowly and don't fly much past my know ability, I took the risk and it turned out just fine. I'll just add it to another stepping stone.

As always, thanks for all your expertise on the Falcon,

Dave / Choppersrule








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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 1:30 AM   
evoIX


 

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From: , KS, USA
Status: offline 		first time i heard on the FMA co pilot thing , i check it out and its a stageering $180 which i can get spare parts for the heli. anyone ever think its adviseble to get a co pilot kit to learn how to fly a helicopter?



millst: which fma model did u get ? the CPD4 or the FS8 ?thanks and how well does it work? have a picture of it on your heli?

< Message edited by evoIX -- 8/28/2006 1:36 AM >

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 1:36 AM   
poiyt


 

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From: Newnan, GA, USA
Status: offline 		hey big Dave!
Yeppers, it's a real RUSH when you 1st hit that idle-up, sittin' on the pad! Let us know what it's like when you're outside really throwing the Falcon around in idle-up mode! Gonne be good!

Jeff

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 1:38 AM   
poiyt


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: evoIX

first time i heard on the FMA co pilot thing , i check it out and its a stageering $180 which i can get spare parts for the heli. anyone ever think its adviseble to get a co pilot kit to learn how to fly a helicopter?



millst: which fma model did u get ? the CPD4 or the FS8 ?thanks and how well does it work? have a picture of it on your heli?




evoIX and all,
I'd been meaning to ask you guys... how'd it go with the sim that's included w/ the Falcon? Was it realistic; did it help? Any issues with interface w/ the pc? thanks!

Jeff

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:06 AM   
millst


 

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From: Carterton, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		I got the CPD4, it was $109.
thats cheaper than a couple of sets of main blades shipped all the way to New Zealand.
I'll try and get a pic of it mounted on the falcon, but basically you just follow the instructions as per the CPD4 manual and it all works. The only difference is you need to set all of the jumpers on the CPD4 to off in order that it works correctly (the falcons seem to have their servo's reversed or something compared to a standard install.
i was blown away with how stable the heli is with this thing on.
it eliminates the need to trim out, it automatically trims on the fly so you can concentrate on flying.
first time i used it i just increased the throttle until the heli took off and it just hovered perfectly in the air about a meter off the ground. It just slows everything down so if you make a mistake you have time to recover, it significantly reduces the amount of focus you need and you can relax a bit (i tend to make more mistakes when I'm nervous).
It probably does make you a little over confident but the great thing is you slowly reduce its influence until your flying on your own. I started at 100% and am now down to 80% influence and its getting progressively harder to fly.

Cheers
Toby

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:21 AM   
evoIX


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: poiyt


quote:

ORIGINAL: evoIX

first time i heard on the FMA co pilot thing , i check it out and its a stageering $180 which i can get spare parts for the heli. anyone ever think its adviseble to get a co pilot kit to learn how to fly a helicopter?



millst: which fma model did u get ? the CPD4 or the FS8 ?thanks and how well does it work? have a picture of it on your heli?




evoIX and all,
I'd been meaning to ask you guys... how'd it go with the sim that's included w/ the Falcon? Was it realistic; did it help? Any issues with interface w/ the pc? thanks!

Jeff




erm i belief the sim provided is the free one you can download off the internet the FMS. i myself am not a big budget flyer so i use the clearview which i think its worth the price . and i am in the same ship as you on backorder for the falcon. =(

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:24 AM   
evoIX


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: millst

I got the CPD4, it was $109.
thats cheaper than a couple of sets of main blades shipped all the way to New Zealand.
I'll try and get a pic of it mounted on the falcon, but basically you just follow the instructions as per the CPD4 manual and it all works. The only difference is you need to set all of the jumpers on the CPD4 to off in order that it works correctly (the falcons seem to have their servo's reversed or something compared to a standard install.
i was blown away with how stable the heli is with this thing on.
it eliminates the need to trim out, it automatically trims on the fly so you can concentrate on flying.
first time i used it i just increased the throttle until the heli took off and it just hovered perfectly in the air about a meter off the ground. It just slows everything down so if you make a mistake you have time to recover, it significantly reduces the amount of focus you need and you can relax a bit (i tend to make more mistakes when I'm nervous).
It probably does make you a little over confident but the great thing is you slowly reduce its influence until your flying on your own. I started at 100% and am now down to 80% influence and its getting progressively harder to fly.

Cheers
Toby



hi millst , ah the CPD4 , i know installation manual will be included but i think it would be great if someone with experience especially catered for the falcon 3d do a write up on installation of the co-pilot kit , setting it up and how to use it effectively.

hope you can help fulfil this request from us newbies. =)

thanks a lot

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:32 AM   
choppersrule


 

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Status: offline 		Toby,

Welcome aboard the Falcon 3D heli world. It's a great bird. How in the world did you find this site, just curious?
We're all happy that you are having a great experience with the Falcon. It's sounds like you are having a ball.

If you get some extra time, start from the begining of this thread, there are over 200 posts. But there is a ton of good information on how the Falcon should be set-up.

Best of luck to you and if you have any questions, there is always someone here to give you input.


Dave / Choppersrule

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:33 AM   
millst


 

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From: Carterton, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		no worries.
the co-pilot manual is absolutly brilliant, i haven't come across a more thorough and well laid out manual for something like this in a long time.
you just follow the co-pilot instruction manual step by step and you can't go wrong.
the only difference is when it comes to setting the jumnpers. the manual says set the jumpers to

1 - on
2 - on
3 - off
4 - on

for a falcon, you set the jumpers to:

1 - off
2 - off
3 - off
4 - off

you can work this out for yourself, i just followed the manuals troubleshooting guide and it eventually guided me through setting the jumpers correctly but it did take a bit of head scratching first.

make sure you check, and double check and then triple check that its behaving correclty.
if you tilt the chopper forward the blades should pitch backwards and if you tilt it to one side then the blades should roll in the opposite direction. don't try to fly it until you are 100% confident that you have set it up correctly otherwise your chopper will fly itself into the ground and you won't be able to stop it.

I've flown at night, in the morning with a heavy frost and even in a relatively built up area while the sun was setting and it still kept the thing in a perfect hover. Even in relatively heavy winds that I would previously not even think about flying in, it just sits there like its tied to a peice of string.

Cheers
Toby



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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:53 AM   
millst


 

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From: Carterton, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		yes thanks, i've been following this thread from the beggining and its what actually lead me to buy the falcon (along with a favourable experience with an RC plane from the same manufacturer.
The heli seems to be set up ok now, I'm just interested to know what parts other people are breaking so that I can order one lot of spares to do me for at least the next 6 months.
at $40 for freight, i don't want to be ordering stuff every month.
main blades seem to be the main things to go, but i'm interested to hear what others have broken.

Cheers
Toby

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 3:18 AM   
evoIX


 

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Status: offline 		damn thats a lot of money for shipping , they dont carry the art tech product in NZ? what about australia or direct from asia? wont that be cheaper?

ordering from US sure is going to cost you a lot

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 4:54 AM   
SkyUp



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From: Carson, WA, USA
Status: offline 		Hi Millst,

Welcome to the forum!
It's great to hear about the co-pilot and that it works so well with the falcon, thanks for sharing the information on it.

As for spare parts:
I'd probably order the following, but the items with an (*) astric could probably be left off your list as I 've hit the main blades a few times without hurting these parts, the main shaft and spindle shaft seem to be a very hard steel.
I actually ordered the Revo blades for a spare set of main blades, I think they are only $17 vs. $24 usd
Some of these may not be necessary either, but are relatively cheap so as a bulk order may be worth considering.

ATS6005 Tail Drive Gear Set $ 3.10
* ATS6007 Spindle Shaft $ 6.20
ATS6008 Tail Rotor Hub and Shaft $ 3.10
ATS6011 Tail Rotor Blades $ 2.80
ATS6016 Main Rotor Blades $ 23.70
ATS6022 Tailboom $ 13.40
ATS6023 Tail Drive Shaft $ 3.40
ATS6024 Ball Link Ends and Pushrods $ 1.10
* ATS6030 Bearing 8x3x4mm, 4 $ 17.20
* ATS6031 Main Rotor Shaft $ 6.60
ATS6032 Flybar $ 1.40

This is just what I'd order, take it with a grain of salt, I'm a newbie ...
I did manage to have a tailboom strike with mine though ... therefor I mention the tail boom parts.

Good luck in all and keep us posted on how that co-pilot works out ... I just may have to invest in one of those ...
... could end up saving me in the long run.
I'm off to go read about it now ...


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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 5:16 AM   
evoIX


 

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Status: offline 		i just emailed art-tech directly and they said hobby lobby will get the new shipment most probably in 1 weeks time and hobby lobby has reported those esc problem to them and hopefully they will solve it in the newer batch.

btw can anyone let me know why aren't the ch5 wires connected? so the switch is useless? not that i got mine yet but i read a lot of people saying the same thing

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 11:34 AM   
millst


 

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From: Carterton, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		ok, i've uploaded some fairly crap pics of the co-pilot installed on the falcon

1 - you can see the sensor which is velcro'd and cable tied to the boom
2 - you can see the co-pilot brain which fits nicely on top of the falcons receiver.
3 - the mess of wires the installation creates, one day i will get around to shortening everything

Cheers
Toby

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:43 PM   
a68fan


 

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Status: offline 		RATS!!!!

Blew out my ESC, and cooked a 2100 TP battery....

Oh well....

Allen

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:49 PM   
bjett80


 

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Status: offline 		Toby,

That's a corker of an installation, mate !

Bet it pays for itself several times over.

Never heard of the copilot before now, the website says it senses infrared from ground vs sky.

Does that mean you need a clear optical path from the unit or does it work through the canopy ?

Barry

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 2:51 PM   
bjett80


 

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Status: offline 		Allen,

What happened on your ESC & battery ?

No flight damage I hope.

Barry

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 3:11 PM   
a68fan


 

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Status: offline 		Nope... Happened on the ground... Hooked up the battery, ESC smokin' and the end of the battery glowed orange for a second...

I have several ESC's... I'll pop in another....

Allen

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 6:10 PM   
Gary Morris



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Status: offline 		Wow, sounds just like a dead short, that's not good, ruined your speed controller and a battery! That should fall under warranty, I'd contact Hobby Lobby and tell them what happened.

Gary

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 7:04 PM   
bjett80


 

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Status: offline 		Gary & all - Allen's smoked battery

I've seen recommendations to install fuses at the battery.

Would this be a case where a fuse might have saved the battery ?

Any downside to installing a fuse (other than the weight) ?



Barry

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 8:00 PM   
Gary Morris



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Status: offline 		I wouldn't recommend a fuse since there's a change it could blow under load when you need the extra power. The weight wouldn't be and issue since you could use and automotive blade type fuse. Maybe if you put say a 35 amp fuse in it might be ok since it would be far more than the stock motor could pull. Art-Tech is getting feedback from Hobby-Lobby on all issues with the Falcon so that they can continue to improve their product. That's why it's important to report back to Hobby-Lobby if you have problems that were beyond your reasonable control.


Gary

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 8:56 PM   
bjett80


 

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Status: offline 		Well, this is a fine kettle of fish !

Looks like Art-Tech slide the backorder shipment another week .... now 9/8 .

I'm starting to think communist plot, here !

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 8:59 PM   
evoIX


 

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From: , KS, USA
Status: offline 		what's happening man , now i feel like goin for another heli , this is just ridiculous when they said 1 date then shifts it again.....

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RE: New Mini Electric is here the Falcon 3D!! - 8/28/2006 9:43 PM   
bjett80


 

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Status: offline 		evoIX,

This is what, the 3rd time they have slid the stock date ... 8/25, 9/1, 9/8 ?

I can't help but wonder if there is a factory problem.

Doesn't seem like such a good deal when you have to sit here and wait .

I'm starting to think about an alternative myself... maybe the Esky Cool or
CP2 with the new belt drive ...


Barry

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