gyro for swift 16
11-12-2010, 01:03 PM
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gyro for swift 16
I bought a used Century Swift 16. I set it up using my Futaba 9cap radio.
It came with this gyro called an Imax g192. It wasn't mounted properly on the heli and when I spooled up the heli, right before it lifted off the ground, it spun around so quickly that before I could stop it, the tail brushed the ground and broke a blade.
So, back to the drawing board. I took the gyro off, and found out that the thing was mounted vertically on its axis so naturally it did not work. I then played around with it and found what was the front and the back. I re mounted it correctly, replaced the blade and took the heli outside. I spooled up and checked my servo direction with the stick and it was not reversed so I went to lift off. The heli piroed to the right so quick again that I couldn't compensate quick enough to stop it and the blade brushed the ground again breaking the feathering shaft, both blades, bearings went flying etc. GRRRRR. Most helis that I have delt with before on a maiden, if something was wrong, you just set the bird back down and adjust accordingly. This one is super fragile and I cannot fly, break, fix, over and over again until it is airworthy!
After trolling around on the internet for days now on this gyro, there is very little that I have found on it other than people either hate it or like it. I cannot find an instruction manuel for it anywhere.
I know I need to flip it but which way?
Also, there is only a gain control on it, no reverse function or limit and it is a hh gyro.
What do I set the pot at and what gain do I set in my Futaba 9cap radio? Which combo would work to start out with and how do I adjust from there?
I cannot afford to go out a purchase and new fut gy 401 (is what I would like to have) for this bird so I would really like to get this one working correctly.
Your ideas and responses are greatly appreciated in advance.
Jeff
It came with this gyro called an Imax g192. It wasn't mounted properly on the heli and when I spooled up the heli, right before it lifted off the ground, it spun around so quickly that before I could stop it, the tail brushed the ground and broke a blade.
So, back to the drawing board. I took the gyro off, and found out that the thing was mounted vertically on its axis so naturally it did not work. I then played around with it and found what was the front and the back. I re mounted it correctly, replaced the blade and took the heli outside. I spooled up and checked my servo direction with the stick and it was not reversed so I went to lift off. The heli piroed to the right so quick again that I couldn't compensate quick enough to stop it and the blade brushed the ground again breaking the feathering shaft, both blades, bearings went flying etc. GRRRRR. Most helis that I have delt with before on a maiden, if something was wrong, you just set the bird back down and adjust accordingly. This one is super fragile and I cannot fly, break, fix, over and over again until it is airworthy!
After trolling around on the internet for days now on this gyro, there is very little that I have found on it other than people either hate it or like it. I cannot find an instruction manuel for it anywhere.
I know I need to flip it but which way?
Also, there is only a gain control on it, no reverse function or limit and it is a hh gyro.
What do I set the pot at and what gain do I set in my Futaba 9cap radio? Which combo would work to start out with and how do I adjust from there?
I cannot afford to go out a purchase and new fut gy 401 (is what I would like to have) for this bird so I would really like to get this one working correctly.
Your ideas and responses are greatly appreciated in advance.
Jeff
11-12-2010, 02:33 PM
#2
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RE: gyro for swift 16
I am sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations. I feel sorry for your Swift. Any heli will be as good as its' weakest link.
I have had a Swift 16 now for over 5 years and I have lost count of mow many great flights it has had on it. Of course it always has been used with radio and gyro equipment for its' size and capabilities.
First off, that gyro is one of the most basic and low performance units one can get conned into purchasing - that is why you have so much trouble finding a manual. Any manufacturer of consequence will always have their own web site with a customer support area, where they have all of their pertinent manuals available for their customers to download if they have lost the one that came with the item purchased. It is more of a gyro for a mini or micro heli, not for a much larger and high performance heli like the Swift 16.
Your problem is definitely not one with the helicopters, it is definitely one with the gyro needing to be reversed. Even these most basic gyros can be reversed. Once you have figured out the axis orientation of the gyro, you just have to flip it upside down to reverse it.
Assuming you purchased it used and it was set-up as you described, I wonder if some of the other components the previous owner may have included with it??
As these low cost/low quality gyros have a relatively high failure rate, I would recommend you go to one that is not only more dependable and easier for a novice to set-up, one from one of the major radio manufacturers like JR or Futaba. My recommendation would be for the Futaba GY-401
I have had a Swift 16 now for over 5 years and I have lost count of mow many great flights it has had on it. Of course it always has been used with radio and gyro equipment for its' size and capabilities.
First off, that gyro is one of the most basic and low performance units one can get conned into purchasing - that is why you have so much trouble finding a manual. Any manufacturer of consequence will always have their own web site with a customer support area, where they have all of their pertinent manuals available for their customers to download if they have lost the one that came with the item purchased. It is more of a gyro for a mini or micro heli, not for a much larger and high performance heli like the Swift 16.
Your problem is definitely not one with the helicopters, it is definitely one with the gyro needing to be reversed. Even these most basic gyros can be reversed. Once you have figured out the axis orientation of the gyro, you just have to flip it upside down to reverse it.
Assuming you purchased it used and it was set-up as you described, I wonder if some of the other components the previous owner may have included with it??
As these low cost/low quality gyros have a relatively high failure rate, I would recommend you go to one that is not only more dependable and easier for a novice to set-up, one from one of the major radio manufacturers like JR or Futaba. My recommendation would be for the Futaba GY-401
11-12-2010, 03:29 PM
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RE: gyro for swift 16
Rotor 9,
I am glad you are the one that read my post first. Thank you for your quick reply. I do agree with you it's not the heli but the gyro and the way that it was mounted on the bird. I have read and seen alot of videos on the swift 16 and there are nothing but great reviews for this bird. I destroyed alot of parts on the tail but when I ordered more parts, I doubled everything on my order and it still only came to $60 with shipping! So when I get my parts, I am going to fix it and turn the gyro upside down. I also have a very heavy stainless steel stool with a ball bearing seat on it that I am going to bolt the helicopter to for preflight to make sure that everything is working properly. I can fly helis but the gyro thing always gets me.
I do have a futaba gy401 that is currently set up in my trex 450xl but I really don't want to have to swap them out between flights. That would be a reall pain in the *****. I would like to get this gyro running smoothly for now and in a month or so get another 401 or a quark.
So, if I am going to use this basic gyro, what do I set the gain on it at and what gain should I set my transmitter at. Currently my transmitter is:
Futaba 9 cap
mode: gy
mix: act
rate-up: avc 70%
cntr: avc 70%
down: avc 70%
The gain screw on the g192 is full on clockwise
Thanks again for your reply and answers,
J
I am glad you are the one that read my post first. Thank you for your quick reply. I do agree with you it's not the heli but the gyro and the way that it was mounted on the bird. I have read and seen alot of videos on the swift 16 and there are nothing but great reviews for this bird. I destroyed alot of parts on the tail but when I ordered more parts, I doubled everything on my order and it still only came to $60 with shipping! So when I get my parts, I am going to fix it and turn the gyro upside down. I also have a very heavy stainless steel stool with a ball bearing seat on it that I am going to bolt the helicopter to for preflight to make sure that everything is working properly. I can fly helis but the gyro thing always gets me.
I do have a futaba gy401 that is currently set up in my trex 450xl but I really don't want to have to swap them out between flights. That would be a reall pain in the *****. I would like to get this gyro running smoothly for now and in a month or so get another 401 or a quark.
So, if I am going to use this basic gyro, what do I set the gain on it at and what gain should I set my transmitter at. Currently my transmitter is:
Futaba 9 cap
mode: gy
mix: act
rate-up: avc 70%
cntr: avc 70%
down: avc 70%
The gain screw on the g192 is full on clockwise
Thanks again for your reply and answers,
J
11-13-2010, 11:32 PM
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RE: gyro for swift 16
I agree comletely with rotor09 and the sooner you get a better gyro the better off you will be.
From your post, you are planning to strap your heli to the ground before your next attempt. I strongly suggest that you do not as this has a bad tendency to cause some drastic control issues due to ground resonaces in any helis. As the heli cannot lift off these will cause increasing the amplitude of these resonances. They can get so bad that they can damage the heli.
This phenomenon is much more critical when one tries it with an FBL system as they cannot compensate as well cyclicly as can an FB system.
From your post, you are planning to strap your heli to the ground before your next attempt. I strongly suggest that you do not as this has a bad tendency to cause some drastic control issues due to ground resonaces in any helis. As the heli cannot lift off these will cause increasing the amplitude of these resonances. They can get so bad that they can damage the heli.
This phenomenon is much more critical when one tries it with an FBL system as they cannot compensate as well cyclicly as can an FB system.
11-14-2010, 11:46 AM
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RE: gyro for swift 16
Thanks for your imput rotordoc1,
I was merely going to attatch the heli to a swivel seat on the spool and spool it up using NO cyclic + or - . I want to do this to test and see if the gyro is mounted and working properly for correct yaw. Yes, I have seen people attatch them to the ground and apply full cyclic and that would be bad. I could easily see the heli tearing it's self apart. The very heavy stool has a swivel seat on it and it would be great for testing to see if the gyro was mounted correctly and not destroy the tail rotor on spool up. I have thunder tiger 30 sized landing gear legs on my bird so they are stronger than the stock ones. Hmmm, maybe if I would have had the stock ones (taller) I would be flying now intead of waiting for tail rotor parts LOL!
J
I was merely going to attatch the heli to a swivel seat on the spool and spool it up using NO cyclic + or - . I want to do this to test and see if the gyro is mounted and working properly for correct yaw. Yes, I have seen people attatch them to the ground and apply full cyclic and that would be bad. I could easily see the heli tearing it's self apart. The very heavy stool has a swivel seat on it and it would be great for testing to see if the gyro was mounted correctly and not destroy the tail rotor on spool up. I have thunder tiger 30 sized landing gear legs on my bird so they are stronger than the stock ones. Hmmm, maybe if I would have had the stock ones (taller) I would be flying now intead of waiting for tail rotor parts LOL!
J
11-15-2010, 10:02 AM
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RE: gyro for swift 16
Your idea of using a swivel stool seems to be a good one, and timely too. I have such a stool and was about to put it out on the curb. Once my 600 clone is built I was going to put a 2x4 through the skids to test it. The stool is a much better idea.
I remember ahelitest rigI briefly saw inthe late 70's (yeah I'm that old). IIRC, they had a platform mounted to a spring loaded rod, topped by a ball joint. Shock cords held the platform level. I haven't seen anything like it recently.
I remember ahelitest rigI briefly saw inthe late 70's (yeah I'm that old). IIRC, they had a platform mounted to a spring loaded rod, topped by a ball joint. Shock cords held the platform level. I haven't seen anything like it recently.
