thirdkid

Ive been playing with a cx2 for about a year now and am pretty comfortable with it. The only time I crash it or break anything is doing something I know I shouldnt when I get bored. So I decided I would step up and got the new blade 400. Holly crap I cant fly this thing. The first time I killed the blades within 30 seconds. The second time I lasted about 10 minutes doing little bunny hops. First question is what is hover. With my cx2 hover means it will stay put forever with very little input. When I tried to hover the 400 it was all over the place. Before the 2nd flite I went thru it again checking the pitch and tracking and screw tightening and so on. During the 2nd flite (of which I made a set of training bars hoping it would help) I was hopping trying to set the pitches. When finally I got it to somewhat hover (still moving around) it would go crazy with the slightest input. Does this sound normal at all. I expected to have some trouble but I also expected to be able to hover a little. Did I step up too much and is there a better step up from the cx2 that would get me better ready for the 400. By the way, during the second crash I killed a blade grip, a tail strut, tail boom, feathering shaft, blades again, training rods I made, and probably other stuff that isnt visable till I tear it down, all from 2 foot above the ground (ya me). Please hurry and come out with the aluminum upgrades E-flite. Thanks for any help.

Druss

any single rotor heli will provide you with a lot of difficulty when first learning. trying to hover a single rotor heli is like trying to keep a ball bearing in the middle of a glass plate.

I suggest you look up radds school of rotory flight and go through it. Also, think of getting a flight sim, it doesn't cost anything when you crash.

thirdkid

love the ball brg thing. Thats exactly what it seemed like. Are any of the free sims any good?

ct420

When you've never flown a small single rotor heli before, it feels more like trying to balance a marble on the point of a pencil

The dual-rotor helis, such as the lama, CX2, etc. are inherently stable, and will basically just hover by themselves. That's not true with a 'real' heli

Also, as you have noticed, the cyclic controls on the CP heli will be 1000X more sensitive than on a lama style heli. It just takes lots of practice and patience, but you will get used to it.


Good luck!

Druss

the free sims are ok but not as realistic as the better ones. the one thing you should be able to do is turn on the exp function on the radio, try it at 50 and see if that makes a difference. exp reduces the amount of servo movement near the center but does not reduce the total throw of the servo.

so basically, instead of a straight line relationship between moving the stick and servo movement, you have a curve which starts out shallow and turns upwards and ends at the same point.

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

After reading this is feel like a Jerk now...i have a Blade CX by E-Flite and just got it like 4 weeks ago....i crashed it twice..i'm getting a little better but just trying basic turning goin to a corner and coming back and landing in a certain place is a challenge for me...or when i go faster or higher, i panic..For the most part i Fly pretty well but i do panice a little and get a bit nervous hoping i dont crash it to the ground.........Well here's the weird part..When i went to the Local Hobby Shop, i saw a guy Flying a T-Rex 600 in the Parking lot and i said to myself,,,,,hmmm, I WANT ONE.....So i went out and bought a similar size one..i Purchased a Hurricane 550...It's not the exact same size but it's damm close...AND,,,,, at the same time it's a night and day difference than a Blade CX...i went from 1 extreme to the other....I havent gotten it yet..I will have it by this Friday......but what's the chances of me Hovering this large Heli sucessfully..........So i can feel your frustration...i think i did much worse than you....i should have gotten a Blade 400 or a Blade CP Pro or something.....This large Huricane 550 is way in a difference class of Helis than the blade CX, CP or CP pro or anything in this class....I was stubborn and i loved the size so i said what the heck i want one........Now i'm wondering Is it a Obvious chance i will crash? or can a novice like me still hover sucessfull without crashing...I'll know once i get it in the mail this week...

Reggie

jaketrouble

here is a couple free sims you can try... better then nothing for a start... jake.


[link=http://n-old.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html]http://n-old.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html[/link]


[link=http://www.marksfiles.net/HeliSimRC/index.htm]http://www.marksfiles.net/HeliSimRC/index.htm[/link]


here is radds school... stick to the course and it will help and save you some cash!!

[link=http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html]http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html[/link]

NYJR13

rhampton,
I hate to tell you this, but yeah, 99% odds are you are going to crash that thing over and over spending lots and lots on parts for it. The blade CX is a GREAT heli for learning, I got one and have had all my friends fly it. I would recommend getting something cheap, possibly a fixed pitch, conventional heli with a seperate motor on the tail (cheaper). They sell rtf for around 150 I think. Some examples are teh GWS dragonfly, the century hummingbird, etc. Anyway Shelve that nice big heli for later.
Now, I taught myself how to fly by hovering a gas heli (a Nexus) in my courtyard for hours. The secret I used was setting the blades to their minimum practical RPM. It reduces the amount of control you have in both cyclic and collective, which is a big help. For all you blade 400ers (I have one too) thats something to be careful of, you have TONS of control with the blade 400. Way more than most beginners should. Experiment with dialing down the control throws.
As for single rotor (conventional) helis, the biggest difference is whats called "translational tendancy". This is a net force that pushes the helicopter in the same direction as the tail rotor pushes out air. This is caused by the fact that while the tail rotor counters the torque generated by the main rotor, there is still a net force in the opposite direction as the air coming off the tail rotor (you will see this if you draw a free body diagram of the heli in a hover) this is why many helicopters have their main shafts at angles of 2 or 3 degrees off of vertical, and why a model heli will be slightly tilted in one direction while hovering. You will notice this as the heli trying to skid one direction or the other while on the ground. To counter this, simply be ready for it, the moment the heli lifts off. Its not major, but it requires correction. Please note DO NOT INPUT THE CORRECTION WHILE STILL ON THE GROUND. I say this in all caps because, while spooling up, the blade 400 has negative pitch, meaning that the force will be opposite what you input (i.e. it will further the translational tendancy problem).
Good luck with it all of you, and get PLENTY of training on crappy, cheap helis first. Then move up to complex ones.

Druss

what radio did you get with the heli??

here is the thing, go to helifreak.com and register, then watch all the hurricane 550 build videos. since you're going from a co-axial to a ccpm you're not going to have any idea of how to set up the head properly for stable flight, the videos will help in that regard. find someone local if at all possible to help you.

Once the heli has been set up correctly, go through radds school of rotory flight. get a sim if you can afford it.

one thing you have in your favor is that the larger the heli the more stable it is (this is entirely based on the heli's being set up correctly). so it should actually be easier to learn on a 550 than a 400, that being said, any crashes you do have are going to cost more.

I personally think you should leave the 550 in the box, buy a decent belt driven trainer (like the esky belt cp), DON'T get the blade cp/cp+/cp pro, not sure about the 400 yet, never tried it. The belt cp is a $200 RTF heli which makes a great cheap ccpm trainer. If you can find one, get the arf kit version so that you have to build it, think of it as practice for the 550.

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

Thanks for the reply...What u said makes perfect sense....The Heli is already purchased so now i'm just waiting for it....Local shop had one but that wasnt the actual one I was buying,,..Mine is being mailed to me..I bought it off the Web on a Forum similar to this...it's already setup by a pro...Only thing is when he ships, some things will be unassembled of course but for the most part the Heli is already assembled with upgraded parts.....All i have to get is a Receiver and transmitter...I dont need the servos for they are already on there.......I was thinking a DX6??? or DX7? What do they call it a Specktrum if i'm correct? I cant afford much more money for this has exhausted my funds so is a DX6 good? i know the DX7 is better but all i'm going to be doing is basic hovering...I'lll probably never do any serious stunts...i'm not into that....i just like to fly in front of me an do basic flying, so i hope a basic Radio is good......
When i get in the mail, the guy told me to call him and he'll help me finalize the setup so i do have some support......

I also agree with what you said,,,,the larger the Heli the more Stable, so i have some confident that i might be able to just lift off the ground and keep it there without crashing..I want to start off like this and then i'll move one to getting it above shoulder level...but i have to learn the controls on the Receiver and what they mean before i even think of Flying....The Receivers for this Type of Heli is nothing like a Blade CX Receiver...Much more sophisticated....

I cant afford to buy another Heli just to practice either......The Blade CX is all i have to practice on...And now i am just awaiting with anxiety my shippment of my Hurricane 550...I'm really excited to see this big Heli in my living room and show my friends.....i cant wait....i just have to hope that nothing goes wrong when i turn it on and start Flying to hover......i want to be as carefull as possible......Anymore suggestions, please post.....i will also check out those web sites for training videos............

Reggie

rcmiket

"I'm really excited to see this big Heli in my living room and show my friends...."
Don't let them talk you into anything stupid. have you checked out the Radds site yet? Friends are good at that. Plenty of good info there and here.

http://www.dream-models.com/eco/index.html

http://www.helifreaks.com/showthread.php?t=41692

You going to have tons of questions and need set up help. As far as the radio I have the DX7 and really like it. The DX6 is a good radio also but has less features.. It all depends on what you want to spend. Another option is the DX6i that comes with the Blade 400 in the near future there will be plenty for sale since some guys already have radios and just want the 400. Rather than trying to go it alone find someone close by the can guide you through set up and initial tuning this alone will save you time and money. I also have tried the free sim fro the helifreaks site and it not bad as far as a free sim. Check it out. Good Luck. Mike

NYJR13

rhampton,
rcmiket said pretty much exactly what I was going to say, the DX6i (a radio I just got) is one of the best radios I have seen, it far outshines the DX6 and comes close to the DX7, and yet, its only 179.99 with a good quality reciever. I highly recommend it. as for the "see it in my living room" quote, ill be honest, that scares me a bit. Do not, under any circumstance EVER connect the battery to that machine while it is in your living room unless you have disconnected the motor first (bullet connectors probably). I cannot emphasize enough how powerful and dangerous these things are if used improperly. Get some help and try it on a day with almost 0 wind. But my previous recommendation still stands, get a cheap single rotor heli (either the belt/ccpm one that mike recommended, or an even cheaper fixed pitch (it will still be a nice intermediate)). The cost of the training heli will in the long run save you a lot of money in parts for the 550. And yeah, the larger they are, the easier they are to hover.
One more note about indoor flight, even after doing this for years, and happily flying CXs, and small ccpm helis in my living room, I would not even dare try the 400 inside (well, thats not true, I tried it, but it was so difficult to keep from colliding with objects, that it wasnt worth the risk, so DONT DO IT!!!!!)
Best of luck.