outtamyway

Update on the Blade CP parts experiment:

The Plastic CP Pro replaement blades weighed in at 15.9g compared to the factory Blades weighing in at 14.2g. The factory Axe Paddles weigh 2.2g and the Blade paddles weigh 3.9g. I increased the rotor pitch by one full rotation on the linkages in an effort to generate more lift at the same head speed and compensate for the shorter narrower blades. The results were the same as before. Just not a functional combination. I'm going to try the Blade CP Paddles with the stock blades today. I am guessing that the heavier weight and smaller surface area will make them less responsive. If it doesn't work well with the Blade paddles, I am going to drill a hole in the Axe paddles for a scew/nut locking system like the blade paddles and see if it is not a bit more durable.

DscottM83

So is that correct, there really isnt a charger for these Great Planes LiPo 11.1V 910mAh 3S 15C batterys for under $150? Whats DC mean, i can charge it off my car Battery? Also will that power supply work with "Great Planes LiPo 11.1V 910mAh 3S 15C Discharge Deans & a Great Planes PolyCharge Lithium Polymer DC Charger"

THANKS!!!

COPO

This charger is probably the best bet for cost savings. Between this and the power supply I provided the link for, you will into this for about $75..
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHNW5&P=M
D.C. stands for Direct Current. The power supply converts your household 110 V. A.C. (alternating current) to the D.C 12v. needed to run the charger. Very simple set up that works well. and IMO is pretty cheap..

DscottM83

Ok cool i already have this charger/battery on the way from Tower. So that " Pyramid PS-14KX Regulated 12V 14Amp Power Supply" you showed me in the link will work for sure with the "Great Planes LiPo 11.1V 910mAh 3S 15C Discharge Deans & a Great Planes PolyCharge Lithium Polymer DC Charger"? Just making sure. This battery stuff adds up quick, and i went the cheap route

COPO

Yes that power supply will work fine for your needs. Now you don't have to use your car battery and can charge the Lipo up in your warm house. lol..

DscottM83

haha thanks for the quick replys, you must be busy at work also
The charger says "250 and 500 and 1000mA selectable charge current" which should i charge that LiPo @? Do i need any special connector to connect the charger to the power supply?

COPO

heheheh. yes I am work, and the college I work for has not started yet so I do have some free time.

You''ll have to see what they give you for leads with the power supply ( if they give you any at all). If they don't give any, just get some banana plugs with a lead on each. Strip one end end to expose the wire and clip the alligator clip that is on your charger to the banana plug lead. WHALA! Charge to your hearts content.

As far as the Mah charge rate setting on the Great Planes charger I am not sure. Maybe someone that has this set up can chime in on what you are supposed charge the Lipo at. I am also interested to know what the setting should be as this is the route I will be going too.
Good Luck and let us know what your outcome is.

Two Handed Axe

I believe from what has been said on here it would be best to do it at 500, from that rate you get a better charge than at 1000. The slower the better.

DscottM83

Thanks.

ElectricHead

LiPo's charge rate is the same as the capacity of battery. For 910mA the max safe charge rate is 910mA. You would have to use the 500mA setting as the 1000mA is too high for the battery on that charger.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

I need some help here...

I just replaced my blades and blade grips tonight (repairs from my last crash), and the blades were balanced very nearly perfectly dynamically and statically right out of the package. I installed the parts and fired the heli up to track the blades. At first, the blade I marked was high. I fixed it, then started inputting left/right and fore/aft cyclic while the heli was still sitting on the ground. As I was spooling down, the heli started wobbling side to side just below 1/4 throttle. I took the head off and the spur gear off, pulled out the shaft and rolled it on the countertop (I thought I could see the button moving at slower speeds as if the shaft was bent, but I might just be seeing things), and it was straight as near as I could tell. I re-assembled everything and tried to track the blades again. I got them tracked okay and input more cyclic. Guess what? Yep, tracking was off again.

I tried rotating the blade grips, and one made sort of a popping sound as I turned it back and forth. I pulled off the pitch control linkage (I think that's what it's called, the linkage that attaches to the blade grips to the seesaw), I could wiggle them back and forth (in the direction of the screw in the middle), and I could pull them apart by hand! I could screw them back together again, but the threads inside one of the ball links are effectively stripped out.

I'm most certain that this is causing the blade-tracking issues, but can it also be the source of the side to side vibrations? When the vibration occurs, it only happens just under 1/4 throttle and it happens when the blades are both speeding up and slowing down.
If I go to my LHS to pick up parts, (they have Blade CP parts) would the linkage set for the Blade CP in the picture below work? Here's a link to the part:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=EFLH1151

If they do, I'll probably change both out at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

JJP9398

No the linkage set for the Blade has a smaller ball stud. I stripped out one of my linkages too and picked up the Blade parts just to find out that the didn't work. So I had to order a set from Tower.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

ok, thanks

outtamyway

For anyone interested, The Blade CP Paddles with the Factory Axe rotor blades is a very stable combo for the beginner (and more durable). I only had about half a charge on one battery so the test flight was brief, but I could hover it in a 2' circle indoors which I have never even been close to doing before. I guess the added weight of the Blade CP paddles is similar in effect to adding extra collars to the fly bar. Oh, yeah, my Rotor blades were still set up with one full turn of positive pitch which looks like about 4-5degrees according to the pitch gauge. I have just returned them to the factory setting of 0degrees and will test it again when the batteries are charged.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

I was just browsing part prices at tower, and I think if something ever happens to my 3-in-1, and it's not covered under warranty, I'll just buy a 5-amp and 15-amp GWS speed controls (about $25 together) and use a Telebee HH Gyro I have laying around. An $85 repair to return the heli to as-purchased condition just isn't justifiable in my mind when such a cheaper alternative exists. Using the two esc's and a gyro, it would be easier to eventually swap out the main esc & motor for a brushless combo. Anyone know what kind of kV rating is needed?

About my post #36 above, the linkage set for the Axe is on backorder at three places I checked. So I just filled the stripped threads with 5 minute epoxy and screwed the linkages back together. I'm going to give the epoxy a full 24 hours to cure before I try anything.

Also, the crystal I ordered should be here tonight so I can finally set up the Axe in my Fut. 9C.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

I guess using seperate speed controls and an independent gyro wasn't such a novel idea; Helihobby has a long article about it:

http://www.helihobby.com/html/separate_electronics.html

PilotLight

My Feedback: (1)

Wow. Great article. Thanks for finding this. It could come in handy if we ever decide to upgrade to seperates.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

I my younger son got a hold of some food he's allergic to at daycare today (poor kid), so, after my wife brought him home from his allergy specialist, I had to leave work early and spend the day at home tinkering with the Axe while he napped (poor dad). I finally got the Axe set up and tuned in with my Futaba 9C. I used [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBFL2**&P=ML]this crystal[/link] and I haven't seen any glitching or bad radio behavior yet. I don't have a pitch gage, so I did a lot of switching back and forth between the radios/crystals to eyeball the pitch curves for the normal and idle-up modes. I just set the throttle curves by feel.

30% expo on the cyclic and DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!! It feels like a totally different machine; I thought it was stable enough before, but it's unbelieveably more so now. The outside temp has only crept up to -7 degrees Farenheit (at 3 in the afternoon), so I'm stuck hovering in the living room. I can hold the helicopter in what I would consider one spot (about 3 inches or less of movement in any direction) even in the ground effect.

If anyone else has their own heli-capable radio (negative shift anyway), I would highly recommend using it with the Axe. I can already tell it's going to be so much more fun. And if you're using a Futaba radio, please remember to reverse the throttle channel before you try experiment with the motor plugged in. I don't know if any other brands of radios are like this, but with my Futaba 6EXA and 9CAP, I've had to reverse the throttle channel for every single esc I've ever owned. If you're interested or would like a decent starting point, PM me for my recommendations on throttle and pitch curves.

MsDarla

Better radios & other electronics are usually so much better for control. Remote "Control".

calcop

I can't find the thread now, but someone said the tail rotor on the Blade CP is the same for the Axe CP. Is this true? The tail rotors for Blade CP are so much cheeper than the ones advertised for Axe CP. Even the carbon fiber one is.

dfalcon

My Feedback: (76)

Yep, the thread is called 'small heads up for the axe cp guys' here in the helimax forum. And yes, it slides right on and works just like the original one did.

Rotor13B

You mean Radio right?

MsDarla

Radio/Remote Control [sm=what_smile.gif]

bryon261

I bought an axe, the 10.8v batt. packs fail after about 5 charges, gone through 3 packs so far. thinking of up grade is it worth it, anyone.... taked to tech support about the cnc upgrades, told me that it is not worth it since the upgrades cost more than the copter told me to upgrade to the mx450

MsDarla

The stock battery packs are not good at all,Those packs are known for issues.
CNC parts makes it smoother but to bend one versus breaking plastic is something to consider.