Hi all,

Been lurking around this forum and mainly this thread for the past few weeks. First post.

I picked up an Axe CP-L about 2 weeks ago from Tower. This is my first hobby-grade heli. I also picked up the G4 Simulator and have been using it quite a bit to try to aide in cost avoidance

Anyways, I think Im ready to maiden my Axe... So tonight, I took it outside to a nice grassy field. I was pretty nervous at first, but then I thought to myself, the worst crash will only cost me $200

No crash tonight, but not because I am a great pilot or anything... For some reason, my Axe wont get off the ground, even at full throttle. I dont yet own a pitch gauge, but Im thinking I need one.

I was checking it out at home after the failed flight, so I disconnected to the main motor leads and gave it throttle to check the pitch on the main rotor. I notice that the pitch does not change all that much from no throttle to full. When I am at full throttle, it appears I am getting pretty much a zero-pitch. At no throttle, I seem to have what I think is negative pitch. That is, the leading edge of the rotor blades are pointing down, trailing edge up. Im not sure if this is right or not, but I would think I would need positive pitch thru the throttle up to produce lift. Is this correct?

One other question I have for you guys... Should the swash plate be parallel with the top of the main frame when at no throttle? Mine appears to be in such a way that the front of the swash is lower towards the nose of the heli, and the rear is higher.

Can anyone shed some light for me?

Always appreciated!
Greg