dennisef

I gave up and let the helis hang in the garage for 2 summers. I have a Blade, Blade Pro and an AXE cp. I also have a fp Hornet that I built in '03 or so that I never really got the hang of. This fall, I made it my job to get back on track and fly one of these things. I watched a video on youtube and something the guy said stuck with me. I can now hover all 3 for most of a battery. Most of the earlier problems manefested from the lack of really catching on about the swashplate and set up. My Blade Pro has the best hover of the three (until Friday). The last time I wrecked the plain Blade, it was on it's best flight ever (hit the AC unit).
When I hover, probably to low, I can hold steady, go side to side, back and forth and set it down. Most of the time, the bird gets away and I have a terrible time trying to save the flights. When I get elevation, probably the stranglehold on the throttle stick, we are headed for the trees, fence or house and I have a 2 acre lot. Each wreck is almost a total rebuild. I struggle trying to get the orientation back to save the heli. I just can't seem to get it after they climb to altitude. It has been suggested to throw the idle up switch to have more control getting the helis back down where I can control them. Good or bad idea?
My current problem is with the AXE. I replaced the ETR after a tail stabber that broke the contacts off of the motor. I still had it working but the heli ETR pulses or gliches during flight so I replaced the ETR. My disk is good and the ETR works with input but it pulses during the flight. I have read that the tail wag might be to high on the gain. It doesn't smooth out during the flights.
Any input would be appreciated. I want to move up to a 450 size because I was told that "bigger flys better". With so many wrecks, that may not be wise at this time.
I have sim but I seem to be able to fly the AXE better in real life.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi Dennisef,

Thanks for your reply about the axe in the other thread you replied in.

Concerning your question about your flying, are you or did you ever use the training gear (sticks with ping pong balls on the ends)? This really helped me during my progression from hovering to forward flight - heck, I kept the training gear on all the way to my first loop. Really helps save you during those uh oh dumb thumbs.

Another thing that may help is your flying field size. If your running into AC units you may want to find a larger more open field with less things to worry about crashing into. I used to fly in my back yard and with the size of a blade CP I thought it was enough room but only when I got to some wide open spaces was I able to get more daring with my flying.

With heli's, larger is better with stability. Also remember with the smaller heli's your depending on a motor to drive the tail and while this is ok, it leaves a lot to be desired. Belt driven or Torque tube driven tails coupled with a good gyro/servo combo really make for a locked in tail. A move to a 450 really will take your skills forward quickly. Look on the forums for people selling their older ones after they moved up or look to clones, their are many out there to choose from. Just do your research and know what servo's and gyro most are using on theirs.

Can't really help with your axe issues except I found messing with both the gain and main/tail motor mixing (at least on the CP) I was able to get a pretty good hold. Just do one adjustment at a time and it can be easy to go through an entire battery doing the adjustments - but patience does pay off. Good luck and glad your back at it!

Mark

P.S. - If you still have your Blade and Pro, Eflight made some great changes and got most everything right with the CPPro2 they have now. Sold my old CP and got one and have to say it is a very decent flying bird. Just FYI.

FILE IFR

Bad idea at this point in time.

LaserSVT

Yeah, dont switch to idle up untill you can hover the heli and transition from flight to hover without crashing.

This was my experience. I got an AXE CE Micro a year ago and flew it for several months and stopped crashing it (regularly) after a couple weeks. The heli is down right boring to fly now but its training was invalueable. A couple months ago I bought a 450 clone with a brushless setup, carbon frame and blades, all aluminum head and tail with the aluminum boom and landing gear.
Took it out of the box, charged the battery and set out to fly it with zero time on a CP heli and zero flight sim time. Bent the main shaft and feathering shaft. Watched a vid on youtube that said practice in idle up so I tried that. Before the battery was half dead I killed about $50 worth of parts. Couldnt get a new tail fin so I epoxied mine.
So I flew the sim for a few hours and went out to my field to hover it again after reading advice on here. I ignored the advice for more sim time, bad and expensive mistake. I hovered it very unstabley for a minute and then my horse came to inspect it at a full trot. I went to avoid the horse and the sim really helped me understand what the heli would do but my inputs were too much and it was up to over 100' and moving very very fast. I managed to bring it back to me but it was doing around 40-50 mph and when it shot past me it hit a pole and tree causing alot of dammage, about another $50.

I then practiced many many hours on the sim. After my new parts showed up I was able to hover the heli for four batteries with no problem and zero impacts. Unfortunatly on the 5th battery at lift off the epoxied rear fin went into the tail rotor and destroyed mt tail hub and links. I was still able to bring it down safely without dammaging anything else.

In the mean time while waiting for the new tail I ordered a mSR. I flew one at my LHS and it is a spectacular bird to learn on once you have mastered a coaxial bird. Its very stable and quick at the same time.


Ultimatly the best thing to do is practice on a sim. You can crash and hit the reset button to start over. It will make your next flight so much better. I was pissed about all the money I spent and couldnt fly.  was gonna give up on flying all together after my crashes. But then after using a sim and then getting my 450 to fly it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in years. I was extreamly happy and now every time I fly a single rotor heli I am excited and happy.

Dont let the crashes push you away. Use a sim then hover the heli untill you can keep it in a few foot circle without crashing at all. Then hover it to eye level after that. Then try some foreward flight. The big thing is keeping it low and slow in the beginning. If its only 1-2' up and it starts to fly away and you are too nervous to correct it then just set it down and reset. It has worked for me and I am really enjoying this hobby now!

Then again I kinda like working on my 450 cause it has taught me allot. Plus its been upgraded with Align parts as the stock ones break.

dennisef

Thanks for the input. I was able to fly a full battery to nothing today in hover, forward, backward and a little side action on the older Blade Pro. I am able to hold the cp in a steady hover quite comfortably now. It is as noted; practice on the heli is the key and work on the sim. I did move my flight zone to the open parcel of the property. I am flying the black 11.1v black lipo batteries from rchotdeals.com. They work well and seem to run a long time.
The LHS guy is going to work with me on the AXE that pulses the ETR. The machine doesn't actually pulse back and forth but you can hear it and see a little bit. During flight the AXE actually is pretty steady. I will take the heli over and let the guy work on it. He is going to help adjust the gain. A mildly experienced pilot can hover both of the machines now that I can get the setup right for flight. I have done test flights on both helis without the training gear and am learning to fly without it now. I notice a lot less vibration when the training gear is left off. I actually, in both cases, flew after a rebuild without realizing that the gear was left off. It will go back on the Blade Pro. I have eliminated the balls on the sticks. I use cf rods from a kite shop with a small chunk of fuel tube on the end of each stick. Less vibration and easier lift off.
I will do the rebuild and setup on the regular Blade on Monday and get it back in the air. I spent some time tonight to make a press for straightening those Blade main shafts. With a little effort I can get those almost straight again.