RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Thanks Flypaper:

I already trashed the blades, next time I will glue and tape the blades that is such a great idea and plus it will save money

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Have you had a look at Rick's page regarding blades etc. I think the laminating of the blades is a good idea.
go back to page 10 Post#125 for his site. Also follow the thread
CHAKA

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Gord, My trim is set dead center. I've got two packages at the post office I'm going to get later that I hope are my parts. (gotta plug in the truck today about 27 below) If it is the parts I'll replace everything, trim, and see how things go from there otherwise I'll try turning the screw then using the trim as you mentioned. Skip

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

--27 !!! All of a sudden it feels balmy here although I just came from sore thumbs on the sticks. Tried to get some picsof the swashplate up close but came out blurry in macro. Have to play with it some more.
Drapam:
couldn't find the spot for Ricks page. Must be going blind:)
Used to work for a bushpilot in Chapleau Ont. Wanted me to stay through the winter till I found out, not far away is White River, which holds the record for the coldest place in Ontario at --60 F No thanks :D This was around 1955.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Here you are
http://geocities.com/rickyblaze_rc/
see what you think
CHAKA

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Thanks Chaka. Good stuff.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

This web site is great I am going to tape my blades it seems that it will work and make my blades more durable and save me money.
thanks

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Gord,
Got all my parts today! New upper rotor head, main shaft, new flybar with lightweight ends installed. Trimmed it out at the house in a pretty small space but I'm getting the same "slowing top or gyro" like action just above or at ground effect where the whole machine moves around. Now I know the main shaft wasn't bent after all because it's doing the same thing. Tomorrow I'm going to the gym to see how the forward flight reacts to the new parts. Skip

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Ok I have a semi big problem with my XRB... Ill be flying and I notice that the heli wants to drift one way-no problem probably just rotor wash off some furniture, until i try to get some left rudder in, but no response what so ever even with my rudder stick all the way to the left, it evens slowly starts to turn to the right!! Sometimes it drifts towards furniture and i need to turn left or correct my patch so i dont hit anything, so far i have been lucky and have managed to not hit the couch or table by just slowly cutting down the throttle and landing softly (kind of ;) ) Once the heli is on the ground and the throttle is off i start the blades up again and voila it turns to the left again. I am thoroughly confused to say the least. I think this tends to happen when i have about 5 minutes of the battery left. Any ideas? Anyone have this happen to them before? Ive tuned the heli pretty decently and it stays in or about in the same spot for 8-10 seconds.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Skip:
I find, unless I get above at least a foot off, it will go off in any direction. If the tail swings around, try tweaking the upper blade screws instead of the rudder trim on the trans. If it drifts fwd., back, or sideways, try the screws under the plastic cover on the side. Good luck.
Wildjones:

When the batt. gets low the nose will tend to go to the right. In order to turn, one blade speeds up and the other slows down. If there's not enough batt. left, the one blade, the bottom blade, can,t keep up, so the nose will rotate to the right. With a fresh batt., tweak the screws on the upper blades as on page 21 so the trimmer on the trans is in the middle and it will hover without yawing. Then use the trim on the trans. for fine tuning.What it's doing is lowering or raising the blade pitch to raise or lower the torque. Less pitch, higher RPM, = less torque. Hope this helps.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

No, the rudder is fine, just certain points in flight i totally lose the ability to turn to the left and start to spin out of control....It happened again tonight. Maybe the motors just get hot? I do take breaks in between but am thinking that just may be the problem...I let my dad try out my heli (heh bad idea) and the rudder just stopped....well im glad to know that the xrb takes a drop from about 6ft up quite nicely =P lol

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Michael:
When your father was flying it, did both blades stop or just the one set. If only one set stopped it should head for the ground still stable but rotating in one direction. Are you sure the problems are not in the trans. Might check the batts. after the episode before with the batt cooking. :) Red light on the left should stay on solid red. Have you tried adjusting the blades as they show on page 21 ?. How long will it run before it starts acting up ? Should run for around 8 mins. with no glitches.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Not sure about the blades, it fell from six feet pretty quick (as it fell i didnt look at the blades because i was worrying if it would hit anything on the path down.) pretty fast hehe. It fell stable though as it has all the times so far. Im sure its not the trans because the battery light glows bright green and the power light is solid red. Ive adjusted the blades according to page 21 as well as balanced them and did the tracking (bottom blades dont track EXACTLY but are pretty close and the top tracks perfectly). Today when my batt. is done charging ill time how much flight time i get before i start getting the rudder glitch.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Ok heres the update. Just flew my XRB and i noticed i onlt get about 10 minutes of fly time... about 8 minutes in the rudder starts to act up. it turns to the left noticeably slower than it does to the right. I kept on flytime just to see if it it would happen. Sure enough i lost left rudder entirely. I looked at my trans and both lights are glowing on steadily and are bright. it seems that this happens about 3 notches of throttle left (roughly from the little lines to the right of the stick). I took a break 5 minutes into the flight and started after a 5 minute break. Three minutes later after the battery was dead i felt the motors and they were warm but just barely. I think this was all that i noticed...

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Don't worry about it Michael. It's just your batt. giving you fair warning that it's ready to poop out. Mine does the same thing.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Hehehe ok i thought so but ive just had too many close calls, but i think ive learned how to fly it and make it turn to the left now hehehe

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Gord,
Made it to the gym yesterday, all new parts installed with lightweight flybar hooked to the short end. Liked the quicker response! I'm going to try RickyBlaze's mod for faster forward flight......but still got the cross control problem. The turns to the right are a little smoother with all the new parts and blades, but it is noticeable that right turns are not as smooth as the left. While flying away from me with the stick pegged full forward full right I noticed that the blades were close together (nearly touching on the "left" and wide on the "right"). I can live with it because I really enjoy flying the thing.

For all you new XRB guys who got these things for Christmas. Good advice would be to read this whole thread. Laminate your blades with either hockey tape per Flypapers post awhile back or packing tape, you will save lots of time repairing and ordering new blades. There is a post in this thread that will direct you to Rickyblaze's web site with the details. I also would recommend getting the battery extension he sells as you won't have to take the canopy off every time you charge the thing or switch batteries. He is great and ships really fast! He also sells a battery that is much more reasonable and from some other posts appears to work well. Skip

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Glad it's working better Skip. If you just give forward with no roll control, will it roll off to the left ?I still think it,s the pitch adjustment on the upper blades thats causing the problems, but if your satisfied with it I'd just fly the H out of it and enjoy :D

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Gord,
Yup, with just forward stick it rolls to the left. I have tried the pitch fix so many times I think my little yellow screw driver has about had it. So, I'm gonna fly the thing till the motors fry or the batteries die, then move up to a single rotor fixed pitch that is upgradeable to CP. I kinda like the looks of the Hummingbird, and it has several cool scale like bodies that can be purchased for it to. Thanks, Skip

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Skip:
looking down on top of my chopper, I noticed the tail boom is off to the right a little bit from a previous wreck, rather incident:) Glued back on a bit crooked. I was wondering if that made it a bit heavier on that side causing me to have to put in left stick trim to pick up the weight. Was going to tape a finishing nail or two to the left runner to see if it will simulate what yours is doing, But I havn't had time. Maybe, if you want to experiment, tape a nail or two to your right runner. this will cause you to put more left bank in it, as you were saying, just hovering, the upper and lower blades were close together, doing this should trim them more even. What bugs me is why one will fly straight and the other won't. Maybe i'm wrong but it's something to check out with little effort. Catch you later.

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Hey does adding the lighter paddles reduce or make the XRB not bob so much ...Like because they are lighter will it make it so you dont have to get an exact speed to the point where you wont slightly gather altitude or lose it? And also by changing them how much better is the respnse time? I was thinking about changing from the old ones pretty soon, as I have gotten pretty good but i still cannot fly very vell with it facing towards me. I have to think about which way to move the stick and by that time its too late heh. Also after i change the paddles and make the flybar shorter (wait i dont think that right but i cant remember the name) the thing that you twist to control tracking for upper blades but you make it so its shorter, will the XRB be able to fly outside betteR? I tried it outside with zero wind but found that i didnt get any respnse whatsoever except that it rose higher and backwards...I got a closer to a fence that I would have liked :D. I was hoping that if making those 2 changes helped outside flight then i might be able to do some fast forward flight as I have only been able to go forwards for about 10 feet or so in my house. I also am anxious to see if i have the same problem as Articflyer .... Normally ill go forward as far as i can then come back backwards. I think that as i start to experiment with forward flight or learning to fly with the heli facing me that Im going to break my first pair of blades very soon :D. So far they have lasted well though they havent struck anything to hard but they are also laminated with clear packing tape without the threading like Ricky has on his site...

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Wildjones, I am a little ahead of you in the learning curve so I hope this will help. I just switched over to the lightweight paddles and the short end of the flybar. I do like the response difference although is is not "radically" different. This heli likes to bob and constant attention to the throttle is necessary the lighter paddles make some difference but you still have to jockey the throttle a bit. If you come from RC planes like I did this is foreign because hey, you jam the throttle full and fly till the thing runs out of gas. As you progress you begin to jockey the throttle automatically. MY advise to you would be to get really good at hovering and maneuvering nose in before you switch over. Otherwise you will be buying more blades like I did.[:@]
This is not an outside heli by any stretch. Air currents from the heating system in the gym where I fly sometimes take mine on a scary ride with no amount of control bringing it back. A bigger more substantial heli would be advised for consistent outside flight. If you can get to a gym or open warehouse it will be great help in learning forward flight, figure eights, and nose in maneuvers.
Forward flight with this particular heli is not fast even with the stick jammed all the way. Rickyblaze's site has a mod for faster forward flight that I am going to try this week where two new holes are drilled which increases the throw at the swashplate.
Hope this help's:D Skip

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Heh well when i said i thought id start breaking blades soon, I was right =( I had my first pair just actually like break on their own... Lost one from the top pair of blades with a soft little pop and start spinning and falling... Heli rolled over with throttle not all the way off and crunched all the blades... 1 blade falls off and they all go =/ lol . The first one to break whoich landed away fromt the other 3 borke up towards there it connects to the rest of the heli and the rest were broken in about that same spot. Just thought I'd share so everyone could have a good laugh =)

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Wild:
Do the hot glue and hockey tape bit and your chopper won't even know what happened. :D

RE: Hirobo XRB PICS!!! and build info.
 

Gord, Do you know of a good XRB parts supplier here in Canada? Busted my little control arm assembly today[:@] Helihobby is out, Heliproz doesn't stock them and any other supplier would be appreciated. That part has a built in weakness in that is has second hole in it beside where the ball link screws in. Got no idea why that hole is there![&:]
I tried Ricky's mod with drilling the holes higher and it does make quite a difference in the forward control response. The problem is if you neutral the stick to fast after fast forward it appears like the thing actually stalls the blades and down she comes "hard". [:@] It took some getting used to! I have to learn to be smoother on the sticks. When I was switching the control arm back and forth between the new holes and the old ones for comparison purposes that arm snapped on me at the second hole. Still has the same ole cross control problem.
Skip