Clement7
Posts: 135
Joined: 6/4/2006
From: Manila, PHILIPPINES
Status: offline
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Hey Bruce! Thank you!
I started with DF's SAVS but the AP requirements of my clients demanded at least 3CCD if not HD and most of the time shoot during windy conditions. I had no choice but to move to using a NITRO-powered 90-size Hirobo Freya which was locally available in our country with good LHS support on parts and service. The concerns I had with my Freya is fuel economy and the one-way bearing would tend to give-up easily when my payload exceeds 4 pounds and during high speed flybys. But surprisingly, it held on for a year as my AP platform till I decided to make the switch to gassers. Almost half of the shots in my demo reel are by my Hirobo Freya which proves that nitro-powered helis can pass for an AP ship. I just had to find a way to redirect the exhaust pipe and bling it a bit to handle the 4 pound payload of my camera mount.
Now to answer your question, I would go for a gasser. My gasser is proudly Philippine-made.. It's a MAXUM. Those exotic shots in the mountains and beaches and covering motoring events are so demanding that you wouldnt want your batteries to quit on you when it's your turn to fly. Good thing my receiver battery packs are cheap and I can get a lot of those and just swap them when I need to. But for my work, longer flight times is a major requirement. There was one event I had to fly for 4 straight hours and just land to refuel then go again. I can easily gauge how much flight time I still have through a quick visual inspection of the fuel tank while the heli is on the air. There are times I have to land, keep the motor running and wait for the cars to start the race... the safety officers of my team keep constant watch of my fuel tank.. with electrics, it's hard to estimate how much flight time you have given the same situation. There is simply no time for me to charge higher capacity batteries on the field.. and again, shorter flight times of electrics won't do.. and I can't afford to buy more battery packs.
But wait, there's more! (hehehe I'm sounding like an infomercial here)
....There's a generator available already that you can attach to a gasser to continuously charge the rx battery pack while on the air. That means, I only have to land to fuel-up, no more swapping of rx battery packs. Cool!
For your next question...
When I got my gasser 2nd hand, it came with a 23cc Zenoah 2-stroke engine.. The owner of the MAXUM shop was so kind enough to replace the defective carb and help me tame and tune-up the engine. It flew smoothly without any other modifications done to the engine. Then someone sold me a 26cc piston head and I had it installed. It was a major mistake. Vibes were all over the tail, horizontal and vertical. No matter how much tuning, needle tweaking we did, it just won't go away.. We were able to minimize it but it was still there.. and lo and behold, during one of my AP shoots, my gasser pirouetted uncontrollably. I had to chop it to save it from hitting the car we were shooting. The tail servo gave-up. It overheated. The high-frequency horizontal tail vibes was too much for it to handle. Crash cost me about $200, main blades, tail blades, fins and tail rotor assembly had to be replaced, plus the tail's digital servo. I was so lucky the main mast, spindle and tail boom were all intact. The camera and the camera mount survived, no damage.
I read somewhere that having it balanced would be your best bet to minimize the vibes further.. but that facility is not available in our country and I'm already happy with how my gasser flies. Well you saw my clips, vibes were not that obvious anymore..
I look up to VOLOVISIONE, SKY HIGH and Scott of SLCITY. VOLOVISIONE uses gassers and SAVS. SKY HIGH, he really flies HIGH and loves his SAVS! . . . And Scott's success in maximizing his SAVS with real-estate applications and flying while monitoring the shots through his EYETOPS, now that's something to really look up to.. takes a lot of guts and practice to master what these people can do.. 
Cheers!
Clement
www.aeroeyeasia.com
< Message edited by Clement7 -- 8/19/2007 1:49:24 AM >
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All Forums >> RC Helicopters >> Draganfly Innovations Products >> RE: NON-DRAGANFLYER / OFF TOPIC DISCUSSION 
RE: NON-DRAGANFLYER / OFF TOPIC DISCUSSION - 
