Almost back in action!

I just got my replacement Center Hub (snapped during tests on the test bench) from Tower and have re-built the whole rotor head, re-installed the upgraded Feathering Shaft, put fresh O-Rings in there and cleaned and lubed everything.

Now, I can finally start hacking on my new DX7's program for this little beast. Check it out - when you first start almost everything is Bass-Ackwards - I had to carefully go over the Servo-Reverse settings AND set the CCPM Mix to -60 / -60 / +60 for everything to work right.

OOOooohhh man! Such fine and precise control of the pitch and throttle curves now! I just tested her, firmly held in-hand, to get the tracking just right, and I can already tell I'll be able to get a very smooth and controllable hover going soon. I can target the 'zone' of the stick movement where I want to initiate the hover, and make sure that stick response around that area is very gradual for collective and throttle response - SWEEEEET!!

I am putting the Training Gear back on, as for now, we are back at Square One with a totally experimental and unpredictable model (been here several times!). But I am confident I can get the program down just right to allow for smooth liftoffs, hovers, and landings.

Its been too windy lately to think about any outdoor action but I have the clubhouse available and should be able to get enough indoor play time to get the hover dialed in again.

I will post some pics and DX7 settings once she's up again.

PS: My buddy just crashed his TREX - nasty, dude. He was doing some nose-in and just brain farted and lost it. HE shoulda hit the throttle, and bought some more time to re-orient, but instead dumped it. The freaking flybar was WRAPPED around the rotor head. Somehow, his Jeti ESC ($99) SMOKED in the process. A set of CF blades shattered. Tail boom wrecked. Many small parts to replace. Ugh... He's a good pilot too - he's looking to go inverted pretty soon - but first must learn the Nose-In Hover!!!

No thanks, I'd rather crash an Axe. ACtually, I'd rather NOT crash and will do everything practical I can think of to avoid this doom!!

I am very comfortable with the Nose In Hover now - on the sim anyway. I can hover any heli in FS-One or Realflight nose-in. I can even slide the heli around and around the observer keeping the nose-in orientation. TRY THAT!! Try it Left, then try it Right - a very tough exercise!