David867

Haha, ya sometimes I feel the same about my dremel, you can't live without it, it does everything you need! The right tool for ALL THE JOBS!

Good luck on the first flight! I'm sure it'll be great!

axel8000

Well I lied! I couldn't resist.. I took a shower and then sat there watching TV and kept peeking over at the heli and my new TX just sitting there calling me. So I went over and put on the paddles and the blades... made a few final adjustments. Plugged in the gyro and the rudder to the RX, and decided to go for it!

I still need to work on the tail. the servo binds at a point, so i gotta set my end points tomorrow. I didn't really fly it, just brought it to hover up to eye level. Know what I saw? One solid blade baby! Oh my it was so beautiful. It was so responsive, there is a WORLD of difference! Oh it was beautiful. But I set it down before I broke it. I need to work on the tail before I fly it, and that will be done tomorrow. It's dark and cold outside.

David867

Haha, good job man, we all know that feeling.
We can all share similar stories.

I got the new powerful scorpion motor, and in the middle of the night I went out to the mall UG parking and hovered it there. Just HAD to get in that hover.

It sounds like you've got it pretty much tweaked, sounds like it's performing well too, that's always good, you'll have to do some flips to celebrate!

dooleyje

Hi folks. Yes the little nubby antenna should not be pointed at the model as my manual stated and so did the Futaba module. manual. A FM/PCM radio will have the same problem also. But,,I really think that the 6100 receiver was flown out of range and went into lockout. The 6100 is a park flyer and not full range. With an airplane you can get it out of range in a hurry. We tend to fly helicopters close in.

Aaron great job on the modifying. We know, it is hard to sit and look at it. "Fly me fly me"

Jay have fun today. We have had nasty winds and low temp here for several days so the only flying I have done was on the SIM. Enjoy you day tommorrow..... BACK TO WORK!!

Jim

axel8000

Hey everyone! I got up this morning, made myself a cup of coffee, and trimmed out the tail rudder. Set the gyro on "head hold" and got it all set up. This bird just purrs! I don't have to struggle to keep it in one spot, I can let my fingers off the knobs and it'll just sit there for a few seconds.

You know you did the setup on the head good when your aileron trims are both at 0 and it sits still! I love this new TX.. absolutely love it! best decision I ever made.

Anyways, official test flight 1 is complete, and it went well!

I am kind of disappointed though... I don't have anything to work on today! I seriously have more fun adjusting/repairing/modding than flying.. although flying is like the icing on the cake, but everyone knows the icing isn't the best part, at least for me it isn't! It's the raspberry filling in the middle!

I think I'm going to get another RX for my Dad's bird and add his heli to my TX. We never fly them both at the same time anyways, and it will be a lot easier to set his bird up to fly as well as mine. Even tho he's all plastic... yes.. that's a good Idea Aaron!

Sorry, just thinking to myself, my brains always running!

later rotators!

axel8000

for anyone interested.. here's the completed pic

axel8000

test flight number 2 complete.. Man I love this bird! Aluminum makes such a huge difference! It's so much more responsive now. Oh and the pitch.. omg it's perfect! Can you guys hear the excitement in my typing?

I did pre-flight and post-flight checks.. but i'm just curious. What all do you guys check post and pre flight? I check all the llinkages, and just wiggle the head pieces and check for too much play, and the tail as well. Then I check the blades, make sure they are snug but not too tight. Just wondering if there is anything else I should be checking? Or should I physically check each hex nut and make sure it's secure?

drobin

It looks like my trex 450 is done.Everything looks good.I am just playing with some of the set points on the transmitter.DX6.I'm hoping they are close.The weather for the next few days is suppost to be windy,cold and snowing.So it will have to sit until I can get it outside.I have been flying my df4 in my family room so I'm keeping up with the controls.Plus the sim.Looks like alot of sim time coming.

axel8000

ok.. so i got an awesome TX and RX.. a killer aluminum setup.. a set of good servos. An alright gyro (seems to work great)

The only thing that sucks still, is my tail servo. My gyro will support a digital servo, so what is a good digital servo for a good price? I'd prefer a servo that's worth keeping, in case I ever get a 2100t or a gy401 to use with it later.

Don't know what I'd do without all you guys! I'd probably have a bunch of crappy junk in my heli that my local no-nothing hobby shop talked me into! lol

David867

Jim, you're right, I pushed the AR6100 to the limit, it was a good slap in the face that luckily didn't end in disaster. They developed the AR6200 with the dual link for further flying, so I should get myself one of those, I'll also never point the antenna at the model, like taught in school, NEVER POINT! A lot of people complain of range for the AR6100, maybe they were pointing. I have gone 3 times as far with the plane and have never lost control, pointing the antenna REALLY reduces the signal being received by the RX. Anyways, lesson learned, let’s all keep those antenna pointed politely, and models in the air.

Aaron, we can hear the excitement, and that's exactly what this hobby is all about! We like to have our cake and eat it too. For preflight checks, I make sure everything's working as it should, and tight. I put a little resistance on the flybar cage, swash, and feel for any play, or broken servo gears, I know as long as the head and linkages and servos hold together, I'll be able to control the model for an autorotation. One thing I found out about the hard way, if there's any tension on the deans connector, it could pop loose. I had my friend's eagletree in there, and the deans connection to it wasn't all that tight, and it popped out after 1 minute, so if your battery leads aren't long enough and it's pulling just a tiny bit, DON'T CHANCE IT! You'll be amazed at how much you find, I've found broken servo gears, swashplates falling apart, loose screws, tight belts, loose pinions... list goes on.

Nice picture of your heli, gotta love that scorpion! Where do you put your battery? Do you put it on the lower plate? Does it fit on the upper diagonal plate that you've got your power wire strapped to? If it's like the 450SEV2, if you put your battery there, it'll have better roll rates since the weight is closer to the main blades. But ya, that's one sweet lookin heli, I can imagine how nicely it flys.

Fly on.

matty_p80

Aaron: the Futaba 9650 is a perfect servo that, on it's own isn't that expensive and will work well with the FY401 and the like!

i'm off to entertain my brother's future parents in law who're coming in on one of the cruise ships today. great, earning brownie points for me bruv!!!!

laters rotators

M. )<}}}}]@>

dooleyje

A JR 3100/3400 is a good choice. If you use the 2100 the Jr is a perfect match. For the Futaba I like a futaba tail servo that will work at the same frame rate and the 9257 is the best choice in a small 450 heli and the 9254 for nitro helis. The JR servos will work with the 401. Now Futaba has a 520 gyro thats coming out in Dec and its really small so that would be a good one to consider. The Spartan 760 gyro is wupping up on all gyros at this time and is probably the best so far. Problem is that it is hard to get and always sold out. The Spartan is programable for any servo. Be carefull though. Most tail servos do not like 6 volts and will burn out fast. Good looking heli bud.

Jim

dooleyje

OHHHHHH so you are going to go HOB- NOB with the rich and famous eh?

LOL Jim

ShadowFox

hey guys any on have some insight on either the specktrum or futaba TX are better, I am getting to the point of getting a new TX and I dont want to pay out that much and find out I could have done better for the same price ya know.

As for tyler it has been a very busy couple of days here lately so we havent been able to do much with fitting him with a heli. I did get him on the sim yesterday and he did nwell for his first time out. His mom told me that he would not stop talking about it, seems the young one had a hard time sleeping he was so fired up over it.

Just out of curiousty is there a good heli that has more space on the frame. I askthis because my baby has a front mounted camera, I have this extra servo that I want to hook up to the gear switch. I tested it all out and it will work, switch up camera looks forward, switch down the camera looks down. But I cant find a place to mount the camera. really cool idea but she just does not want to wear the extra servo. any ideas on this subject???

Well I hope you guys are getting some serious air time out there the days are windy and cold here in Germany but the sun sets are a thing that makes you pause and think about some of the more simplier things in life and how some times we all just need to slow down and enjoy life ya know and then the nights are cold but no wind so I can get some flight time once my nw servo gets here. Take care and thank you all for being so warm and supportive.

ShadowFox

This is an example of the sun sets around here, just enough to make you slow down and enjoy life ya know.

chris6414

My Feedback: (10)

Nice for some LED flights.

axel8000

David,
Ya I put the battery on the bottom plate. It fits nice and snug down there. I'm not too worried about roll rates just yet.. lol... Haven't done much rolling... Only on the sim! lol

I get on the sim and try to learn new things... It's just tough. The SIM doesn't feel "real" too me. It doesn't feel anything like flying my heli in real life. Ya the controls are the same, it helps get my orientation right. But even just regular hovering and flying on the SIM I crash often. But in real life, doing those same things. I don't crash! I think it's because there is no nervousness there on the SIM. If I crash I hit CTRL + L and it reloads. I find myself getting really bored on the SIM and I just start doing flips and flying inverted and going around doing crazy stuff. Flying the heli around like a plane, doing loops and flips.

Jim,
Thanks for the advice, as always! I think the JR 3100/3400 will be the best bet then. Because I can use it with either servo. I've heard great things about the 3100 already, and it's the one I was leaning towards. I just wanted to make sure my thoughts matched the Guru.

and about the 6 volt thing... Do I have to worry about that? I don't know how many Volts are going to my tail servo! lol

David867

Hey Aaron, which SIM are you using?
I was using FMS first, and it was horrible, but after I switched to a clearview demo, which had much better physics than FMS, I learned everything on the computer and brought it over to real life with the Raptor G2. I had to find a model that flew like the Raptor G2 in clearview first, that's how I learned pitch/cyclic management. After I moved to the Trex450X, I got G3.5, and that had very good physics, and I found that the heli flew and bogged just like the 450X, so everything I learned in the sim could be done in real life. It's VERY important to match the sim's model with how yours flys in real life. When I learned how to do funnels, I had to make sure the tail held strong, cyclic/piro rates were exactly like the sim, because if the rates are off just by a bit, I'd easily crash in real life, so setup is key. Also, when you try new things in the sim, you need to learn all the bailouts, so you can save your heli if you lose orientation or fail to perform the maneuver properly.
It's good that you're learning flips and rolls in the sim, once you've learned all the bailouts, and can fly around like that without crashing even though you have no pressure, you'll be ready to take it to the sky. You're right that you crash more in the sim, but that's because you're trying new things, learning new tricks, that's what it's there for. A magazine once suggested that you should put a money jar by the computer, and put 5 bucks into it every crash(which you will give to your family), that should help you put a monetary value on your crashes, and help you stop the bad habit of crashing.

What BEC do you have? It should say if it's a 5V or 6V BEC. You can also measure the voltage with a voltmeter, black and white wires going to the RX, or any of the black and white wires from the RX, the entire (-) and (+) terminals are common on the RX.

Shadowfox, if you have any old tail booms, you can use that aluminum to build a bracket to hold the servo and extra things. If your camera runs on 2.4ghz, you won't be able to use it when you switch to a 2.4ghz radio system. I tried a 2.4ghz camera with my DX7, it works, but there's a lot of interference. There are 5ghz cameras out there which would work, but cost twice as much.

Hope everyone's having a good day!

flyachopper1

Hello adrenalin driven dust dodgers,
I am back to being a working man and I am a happy guy. The flight to Okie City went well. It was pure heaven to be free of the planet again and get to see all the wonders of the sky and the planet below. Until you have floated above our wonderful blue marble you haven't really seen its beauty. I got right back in the swing this morning and spent four hours buzzing over the heads of the highway workers. I am on a two hour break and will be back at it for about two hours in a bit. Got here at 9 PM last night and just quietly slipped into town. This morning when I strolled into the hangar/shop area of the airport it was like a family reunion. All my Okie friends were there and had spotted the black beauty sitting on the tarmac. They had a big pot of coffee and a pile of doughnuts waiting. It took fifteen minutes just to get through the handshaking and how are yas. They had retrieved my snake friend from the hospital, took it someplace to have it skinned and cured and had it made into a hat band. They presented it to me by hiding it in a box of doughnuts. I popped the top on the box and they all had a good laugh at my reaction. I kinda jumped back with several expletives I won't repeat here. It was funny after the first ten seconds or so and that skin will look real nice on my black gambler style western hat. These Okies sure are a fun loving, thoughtful bunch.

Axel,
You enthusiasm is obvious and great. It's real satisfying to all of us when we see someone get a bird built, flown, modified, etc. and part of it is because of the generous souls on this thread. That is exactly why I am here too. We all learn from each other and the mix of experience and brains is nothing short of wonderous. This thread was started by JD just for that. A place to be real people as well as heli people. I find it a lot easier to learn and enjoy in a relaxed environment like this thread versus some of the other "purist" threads where some get irritable if the precise topic isn't adhered too like a bunch of monks. You belong here with us and are no doubt a free spirit with a good outlook. Your excitement bolsters the rest of us and vice versa. On the subject of sims. I too was using a lesser quality one for a long time and I began feeling bored with it. I jumped all the way from a basic sim right to the Realflight G4 (because of the advice from forum members) and there is no going back for me now. There is a universe of difference. I can enjoy flying on the sim nearly as much as the real thing. Yes, the good ones of course cost more but that's how it goes. You can buy a Dodge Neon, paint it up real cool, add some wheels and a loud muffler. You are still driving a Dodge Neon. Or you can save up, buy a Corvette and have a real ride. Kind of a far out example but I know you get my point. I may be an oddball, but I can get into the same kind of zone on the sim that I do flying at the field and get similar sensations from the close calls and trying new tricks. I forget all about the fact that I can just reset from a crash and maintain a mindset that crashing is not allowed even on the sim. A suggestion, if you want more realism from the sim try it with headphones. That helps shut out other diversions and puts you right in the middle of the action. I kinda like that idea of a money jar but just for crashes. If I make it a cuss jar I'll be putting a house payment a week in that jar. For what it's worth to you, I use the Futaba S9650 servo on the tails of all my helis. I switched over to all Futaba 401 gyros recently and they pair up perfectly.

I think we have a fine example going with Donica in the value of simming. She has never had the thrill of actually flying yet but is turning into a whizz on the sim. When she gets here and takes her bird out we will know then if the simming makes a difference. I'm betting we are going to see that it does.

Yah, I learned the hard way on the antenna positioning thing a couple of times myself. I even arrange the rx antenna wires so one angles up and the other angles down on the heli to insure that no matter which way the heli goes that there is never a straight shot to the tips. Did you ever wonder why you see radio antennas on real helis mounted at an angle out of either the top or bottom of the fuselage? I'm betting Matty has noticed this. That is so they broadcast and receive side on from the ground and from other aircraft at different altitudes. Some even have an array type antenna that points out at different angles.

Shadowfox,
The Futabas and Spektrums are both great systems. You can't really go wrong either way. Read up on them both as much as you can and just go with your gut feeling. You'll end up in good shape either way. I personally gravitate towards the Futabas but only because I have years of experience with them with cars, plane and helis and never had a failure. Those that use the Spektrums are just as dedicated. There are threads in the forums that are specific to radios and you can read a lot of real good info. If it helps any, many of the pro flyers have gone to Spektrum and have a lot of good things to say about them. Typical of any hobby you will nearly always buy something and then later find out there may be something a little better out there. That is mostly due to the rapid advancements being made, especially in the electronics. Don't let that intimidate you. Just get a good one now and it will serve you well for a long time. We all drool over the neatest and newest doodads but trying to keep up will ruin most budgets.

Hey, The clock is catching up with me here and I have to get my tail back up in the air.

Later head spinners.

Magic Hook

Well we had a nice day and I had it off so I took advantage and flew eight packs. After changing the pinion on my T 500 to a 13T it has become a Rocket with a rotor. Took me a while to get the new feel but its really a powerfull machine. Full collective take offs with full rudder create quite a lift off moment. I moved the idle up1 on my T 600 to 90% flat curve from 80%. Seems to run a bit cooler on the ESC and performs fantastic loops, rolls, flips, and is pretty fast in FFF. Almost no change in battery use. Spent some time with the 450 working inverted and nose in landings, mutiple circles trying to work into feeling comfortable with a funnel. My son in law took some pictures of the 450 in flight. If they turn out I will post one.

Drobin, sounds like you are doing it right. I wish I had that kind of patience.

axel8000

well.. of course my local hobby store didn't have any digital servos worth buying.. The guy didn't know what the 3100 was.. and he said he could get the 9257 by thursday. Forget that.. i'll just order it online! lol

Now Jim, just to clarify.. you said JR 3100.. I assume that's the same as the logictech 3100 that comes in the kit with the 2100t?

David867

Hey Magic Hook, that sounds cool. More power, more efficiency, so the same battery drain. Sounds like what I noticed between the EVO25/AirThunder batteries and the Rhinos/Zippys. The headspeed on the Rhinos is so high that it feels like the heli is in complete control, you hit positive pitch, and it just pulls itself through the air, it doesn't feel like it's blowing air and waiting for the heli to be pushed in that direction, it can just pull itself around the air since the headspeed is so high. Now that you've flown with that kind of control, you probably can't go back to the sluggishly low headspeeds anymore. Let's see some of those pictures!

Axel, I haven't used the JR stuff before, but I can tell you that the GY401 is a great gyro. The 9257 wouldn't be too bad either, it's got a 0.08sec/60deg(I saw somewhere that said 0.06?) transit time at 4.8V, so it's top notch. I'm using the 9254 and it's got a 0.06sec/60deg speed too, and it holds great, the Futaba stuff is rock solid, most people use it. They're around the same price, so it's all about preference. Here's the [link=http://cgi.ebay.com/Futaba-GY401-Gyro-S9257-Digital-Servo-GY-401-9257_W0QQitemZ280285541955QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRadio _Control_Parts_Accessories?hash=item280285541955&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318]GY401/9257 [/link]for about $200.
Wow, now I've been reminded why I keep the gyro UNDER the tail case.

dooleyje

Yes I was in error I was really talking about the 3100 servo that comes with the 2100gyro. The JR version would be the 3400G wiich is now the 3500G @ $79.95. Sorry for the confusion. Here is a super deal if you want a top of the shelf gyro set up http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=138520

Now my take on on the Futaba servos mentioned:

9254: Full size servo designed for the 401 works great on my EVO Sceadu with my 401. It is a bit too large for 400-450 helicopters. Limited to 4.8 Volts need step down
9257: Designed for the 401 and is slightly lighter than the 9650. Works fantastic! Down side is that you can not use it with the 6V systems and you will need a 4 buck stepdown regulator to 5.1V I use the step down.
9650: Was the only thing that was availible in a mini servo for a time and will work with 6V systems and has been a staple of Trex450 helis for many. Down side is that it is tooo slow when used with 4.8 volt systems. It is heavier than the 9257 but more powerful 1.1oz vs .9oz.
3154: (about 34 bucks) micro tail servo that is used with the 2100 or 401. It is only 7g and about the size of the HS65. I have this servo on my Trex Sa with a 401 and it works great but without the weight. Down side with all Futaba micro servos is the arms are flimsy and break plastic gears easily in a crash. It must be used with 4.8V only.

JR340og and 3500g great servos for gyros. The 3400 is used by most folks here for cyclic servos for the Trex500. I have never owned any but have flown many in 450 size helis and the hold as good as Futaba's offering when set up correctly. A bit more expensive at around $79 vs $54 for the 9257 and 9650

The 2100/3100 combo works just a good as the Futaba combo on the small electrics but the 401 works better on the .30-.50 nitros. But a lot more inexpensive.

Once again that's my persona take and what I have found in the field.

Jim

ShadowFox

jim thanks for the information. I am still earning all this stuff so information like that helps alot.

Got my servos in today so I am going to insal them and try her out tomorrow. Tyler wants to come so it will be a late flight after work. I am so excited about getting some air time. I looked at the idea you guys had about useing an old bar to attach the servo to the heli. Looks like it is going to work but I will need to get somekind of extension for the pig tialon the servos (short pig tail).

I do have a question (what else is new) Right now I am flying a raptor G2 so that is the 450 class right?? whenyou move up to like the 50 or 90 is there more space on the frame to add things in like extra servos, regulators, flight data recorders stuff like that? I enjoy the challenge but would like to know if the bigger size helis allow you to personalize them or are all helis tightly packed?

ShadowFox

Chris6414 you like that one take a look at this one, can you imagin your heli out there with that deep blue back ground and the mountains under it!!! I plan on making the climb again just so I can get a shot with mine in this location [>:], the wind drifts up there arn't that bad early and late in the day but mid day is murder.