Help needed for my Lama v2
04-27-2014, 06:32 PM
#1
Help needed for my Lama v2
Hi guys,
Before I go any further, I simply can't fly two bladed helis. Coaxial is about my limit. I purchased a Lama V2 some years ago, I remember it wasn't all that cheap but it came with plenty of extras, including a controller. Not long after I bought it I noticed just a tiny whiff of smoke creep out of the cowling during a pre flight test.
Since then I haven't been able to fly it due to one set of blades being markedly slower than the other. I pulled it out of storage on the weekend and find that 2nd set of blades has given up altogether.
I believe it's the controller receiver board at fault, at least that's what had that unmistakeable smell. The remainder of the heli is in great condition and I really don't wish to scrap it. I've been keeping an eye on Ebay but all I see are smaller plastic parts or blades. Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'm building my 25th 450 Trek. Not for myself to fly although every time I build one I promise myself I'll learn to fly it. As usual someone finds out I'm building one and decides he wants to buy it. Obviously I don't intend to practice on someone else's heli :-)
Is the Lama worth saving? or should I chuck it out. Maybe sell it for the parts and buy something else. It still owes me $229.00 worth of flying. I've only had about $2.00 worth :-) Stu
Before I go any further, I simply can't fly two bladed helis. Coaxial is about my limit. I purchased a Lama V2 some years ago, I remember it wasn't all that cheap but it came with plenty of extras, including a controller. Not long after I bought it I noticed just a tiny whiff of smoke creep out of the cowling during a pre flight test.
Since then I haven't been able to fly it due to one set of blades being markedly slower than the other. I pulled it out of storage on the weekend and find that 2nd set of blades has given up altogether.
I believe it's the controller receiver board at fault, at least that's what had that unmistakeable smell. The remainder of the heli is in great condition and I really don't wish to scrap it. I've been keeping an eye on Ebay but all I see are smaller plastic parts or blades. Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'm building my 25th 450 Trek. Not for myself to fly although every time I build one I promise myself I'll learn to fly it. As usual someone finds out I'm building one and decides he wants to buy it. Obviously I don't intend to practice on someone else's heli :-)
Is the Lama worth saving? or should I chuck it out. Maybe sell it for the parts and buy something else. It still owes me $229.00 worth of flying. I've only had about $2.00 worth :-) Stu
04-29-2014, 11:29 AM
#2
Stubaz...out of curiosity...you said you simply can't fly two bladed heli...when was the last time you tried? The reason I ask is the technology now days has made it a lot easier. I am amazed at how easy the mSR(fixed pitch) and the mCPX(collective pitch) are to fly. I am no expert but I have let many a beginner(absolutely zero flying experience) fly my mSR and they were all able to at least hover the heli right from the get go. Even if you crash a few times it's no big deal because they are so durable. I'm not sure if the Lama is worth repairing or not but there surare a lot of good heli's on the market at a reasonable price.
04-29-2014, 07:50 PM
#3
Thank you for answering my query. You could well be right. I haven't actually tried for at least 8 years. Being confined to bed can be a bummer. My wife complained about my micro coaxial helis messing up the curtains in my bedroom. They were forever being attracted to them for some reason. I'm not kidding. Every time I tried the darned things would head straight for the curtains. I went through 3 of them and all the same. I eventually figured it out. No matter how still the air seems it was always coming in my bedroom door and moving toward the window, I hate having windows closed so the warm air from inside the house was using my bedroom as an escape route to the outside. Also when we opened the back door the problem increased. Being out of the draft I didn't have a clue the were any air currents. Those tiny little things don't need much to push them. Now when I feel like flying I shut the door :-)
A good friend of mine, gave me an almost as tiny single blade, a little smaller than the Lama. To be honest I don't wish to damage something I've been given, and I've shied away from flying it. The helis on all my flight sims used to be impossible to fly and I always put it down to either the speed of my computer being too slow or maybe the software itself. I've discovered recently, that I'm not setting up the joystick correctly. I have a couple of Saitek X52s and I was setting it up for planes but didn't have a clue how to set them up for helis. This obviously gave me no hope of practising flying them.
I will take notice of what you said, maybe todays helis are easier. Thanks for the ideas. I wasn't really expecting much feedback on the Lama. It's a shame it died. From memory I think I paid about $299.00 for it. It came in a very large flat box. There were heaps of extras with it, charger, batteries, controller etc. At the time I thought it was a good price. Unfortunately, the guy I bought it off on Ebay completely vanished and any thoughts of warranty were dashed. I thought he had a hobby shop, just goes to show how easy it is to get fooled.
Hopefully it's not me after all. I know I can fly a quadcopter, in fact I was amazed at how simple they are to fly. I took all of 2 minutes hovering and getting a feel for it's reactions before I racing away from a friend who drove 500 miles to help me learn to fly it. :-) He's still a good friend after that.
Thanks again for your post, much appreciated ... Stu
A good friend of mine, gave me an almost as tiny single blade, a little smaller than the Lama. To be honest I don't wish to damage something I've been given, and I've shied away from flying it. The helis on all my flight sims used to be impossible to fly and I always put it down to either the speed of my computer being too slow or maybe the software itself. I've discovered recently, that I'm not setting up the joystick correctly. I have a couple of Saitek X52s and I was setting it up for planes but didn't have a clue how to set them up for helis. This obviously gave me no hope of practising flying them.
I will take notice of what you said, maybe todays helis are easier. Thanks for the ideas. I wasn't really expecting much feedback on the Lama. It's a shame it died. From memory I think I paid about $299.00 for it. It came in a very large flat box. There were heaps of extras with it, charger, batteries, controller etc. At the time I thought it was a good price. Unfortunately, the guy I bought it off on Ebay completely vanished and any thoughts of warranty were dashed. I thought he had a hobby shop, just goes to show how easy it is to get fooled.
Hopefully it's not me after all. I know I can fly a quadcopter, in fact I was amazed at how simple they are to fly. I took all of 2 minutes hovering and getting a feel for it's reactions before I racing away from a friend who drove 500 miles to help me learn to fly it. :-) He's still a good friend after that.
Thanks again for your post, much appreciated ... Stu
04-30-2014, 04:49 PM
#5
Yes Flyingmerritt I've heard they can help. I have clearview and it works well but it's OK to learn how to reverse control when the aircraft is flying towards you and simply using the controller but I don't think it's very lifelike in feel. Plus not having to worry about smashing the aircraft into the concrete makes things much easier on the mind. That's the major let down of Sims I think, no fear factor.
Plus I don't have things set up for helis. I was intending to search for a tutorial in how to set my controller up, but I'm not sure Clearview is up to the task, it's pretty basic and hasn't been updated for years, unlike the expensive ones. I bought Reflex at $111.00, I saved what I could out of my pension to get it and the dongle was faulty. I told HobbyKing (that's where I bought it. and now I'm wondering whether or not I'm going to see any replacement or refund. They seem to be messing around. Having to shoot a video of a dongle which won't work is rather a waste of time and I get the feeling they ask that simply in hope you walk away and don't bother chasing them, my mistake for buying it from them in the first place. I also wonder if anyone can honestly say a sim taught them to fly the real thing. I can understand it can help but can it be entirely the sim's task?
Plus I don't have things set up for helis. I was intending to search for a tutorial in how to set my controller up, but I'm not sure Clearview is up to the task, it's pretty basic and hasn't been updated for years, unlike the expensive ones. I bought Reflex at $111.00, I saved what I could out of my pension to get it and the dongle was faulty. I told HobbyKing (that's where I bought it. and now I'm wondering whether or not I'm going to see any replacement or refund. They seem to be messing around. Having to shoot a video of a dongle which won't work is rather a waste of time and I get the feeling they ask that simply in hope you walk away and don't bother chasing them, my mistake for buying it from them in the first place. I also wonder if anyone can honestly say a sim taught them to fly the real thing. I can understand it can help but can it be entirely the sim's task?
04-30-2014, 08:08 PM
#6
Banned
I have sympathies
Yes Flyingmerritt I've heard they can help. I have clearview and it works well but it's OK to learn how to reverse control when the aircraft is flying towards you and simply using the controller but I don't think it's very lifelike in feel. Plus not having to worry about smashing the aircraft into the concrete makes things much easier on the mind. That's the major let down of Sims I think, no fear factor.
Plus I don't have things set up for helis. I was intending to search for a tutorial in how to set my controller up, but I'm not sure Clearview is up to the task, it's pretty basic and hasn't been updated for years, unlike the expensive ones. I bought Reflex at $111.00, I saved what I could out of my pension to get it and the dongle was faulty. I told HobbyKing (that's where I bought it. and now I'm wondering whether or not I'm going to see any replacement or refund. They seem to be messing around. Having to shoot a video of a dongle which won't work is rather a waste of time and I get the feeling they ask that simply in hope you walk away and don't bother chasing them, my mistake for buying it from them in the first place. I also wonder if anyone can honestly say a sim taught them to fly the real thing. I can understand it can help but can it be entirely the sim's task?
I share your feelings.
Any smoke coming from the PCBoard is a sure sign of a burnt component. Only a new board would cure that if you could find one.
About simulators _ _ _
I have the Phoenix version 4 that came with a Spektrum DX5e transmitter.
I was never able to make any progress with this system.
Perhaps it is just me but my recent look at helicopters ended up unable to see the heli big enough on my 19 inch monitor (diagonal dimension) to even judge its attitude. The softare is in my computer and the DX5e is sitting on a shelf . . . the best place for it I think.
Zor
