joizeex

thanks guys. i'll get something with at least 20%. i can't wait to fly already, things keep getting put off for various reasons. hopefully this weekend though.

do any of you write your AMA number on the heli like it says in AMA safety rules? i understand why that rule is needed, but was wondering if everyone adheres to it.

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, of course we all do.

joizeex

hahaha

another thing i keep noticing is the pitch servo buzzes about 60% of the time when everything is on. after i move the stick up/down it goes away, but sometimes comes back. if i hold the blades up a little bit to support them, the buzz will disappear usually. is this normal? does it buzz because the blades put a load on the swash plate, making the servo work to maintain its position? the ball links are not too tight.

Patto

That is probably exactly what is happening. I wouldn't worry about it if it moves freely and doesn't bind when you move the linkage by hand, (not attached to the servo).

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, it's normal for some servos to buzz a little. It's just working to hold center. If it all moves freely, don't worry about it.

joizeex

well, i bought some power master 20/20 fuel and today was my first tank through.

the engine started right away with main needle set per OS manual at 1.5 turns out. everything ran very smooth, blades tracked perfectly, no vibrations. i like how the blades whistle like on a real chopper. the engine held a steady idle and the throttle hold/0% throttle and throttle cut points were all spot on. at idle the blades don't spin at all until about 5% throttle. revo mix in rate mode was almost perfect, but it needed small adjustment; i won't know for sure till it's in the air anyway. i basically just ran the engine on the ground while going between 0-40% throttle. then it got dark.

the cyclic is very sensitive and for the fear that i'll overcorrect a lot, i'm going to change expo from current -25, to like -40.

best part - nothing got dirty. it was the cleanest run i've ever had with anything nitro. not a single stain anywhere. did have to tighten one of the exhaust bolts as it started to get loose.

on sunday i'll see if i can get to take off. i'm also gonna help my buddy set up his co-pilot that he just bought.

joizeex

So i just got back from the maiden flight! was absolutely awesome to finally see this thing in the air.

here are some comments:
ENGINE
The engine was still "factory settings" rich, so the throttle response was delayed. The engine took about 10 secs to fully match rpms with stick position, so during most of the hovering i was overcompensating in throttle and readjusting 10 secs later.
COPILOT
You guys will be proud to know that i did not use co-pilot, except for about 3 secs twice, to test it out. The wind was drifting the heli with copilot on, or maybe it's because i turned auto-trim off, so i decided to let my nervous hands handle it anyway My friend videotaping kept asking if it was on because of how stable i held it most of the time.
CONTROL
Cyclic was not as responsive as in G3 sim, due to expo of -40, and i didn't like that, so i'm turning it back to -25 because i'm already used to making tiny motions with my thumbs (i'm still a thumb-man!)
SETTINGS
The heli was sooo incredibly easy to lift off and land, which i could never do with my HBK electric one. Also, training gear saved it from tipping on the first landing due to heli gliding sideways as it came down. (vid clip later) I flew in HH and in rate mode and i'm sooo glad that i spent so much time perfecting my mechanical and Tx settings, as it did not need any trim or anything! I could do hands off once settled into level flight!
FLIGHT
I did a couple of hops and some short hovers. Had to land a couple times due to sun being in my eyes or training gear slipping off. Last 2 flights were the best, with one close call where it came to 10' from me because i'm not used to having to row with the sticks due to high expo.
Well that's about it for now. I flew in a small local park next town over, that my gf found on the map. I can't wait to show her how it flies! I wasn't too nervous with it once i got the hang of it. It's incredibly stable in wind gusts of 10-20mph.
videos are mostly short, but take upward to 200mb, so i'll have to compress and put them on myspace for you to see.

Patto

Congrats man, I was beginning to think you were just going to hang it from the ceiling and stare at it... glad to hear that it flew and it flew well!

-Pat

joizeex

haha no way, this thing cost too much to just let it collect dust!
but now my gf wants to fly it too! lol []
here's a vid. this was my 5th lift off on tank #2 (i'll prolly post previous attemps later). it was the longest continuous hover and no co-pilot used.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoID=12103705
thanks to everyone on these forums for support!

Cambo

My Feedback: (2)

Wow, that is a low hs

Sounds like it is around 1500, remember to pump it up when i start to fly around!

joizeex

Today i flew another tank. This time i did even better and more controlled. Had a couple of times where it came pretty close to me and my gf who was recording this time. But nothing that some cyclic correction couldn't fix.
I was landing periodically and leaning out the engine. It's about 1 and 1/5 turns out. How far do you guys usually have these OS ringed hyper engines out on the main needle (at 80 degrees F and somewhat high humidity)? I'm talking about slightly rich from optimal. I just don't want to go too lean.

Both days that i flew, whenever i tried calibrating co-pilot pre-flight, it counted 10 ticks (which is not good) and today when i turned it on about 20' above, the heli oscilated in pitch and roll and after adding some roll input, didn't seem to auto level after i let go of cyclic. I'm not sure *** is going on, it responded fine when i was messing with it indoors, but now the swash plate doesn't move to compensate for pitch stability[] Could be that the surrounding trees are too close? Hence the co-pilot has been off for all flights (SEE, i am learning without crutches )

Another thing happened and i feel very lucky. After getting home i noticed that 2 tiny M2 nuts that hold 2 bolts which attach pitch control balls to the tail blade holders, have loosened themselves and parted their ways with the heli while in flight, yikes! [X(] Fortunately, the force on those bolts from linkage, held them in place and one fell out only after the heli was in the back seat of my car (i would otherwise not know about it!). I could've sworn i had loctite on those sons of bees!! Oh well, now i have to hunt local stores for those tiny nuts... haha.

Overall it's been awesome seeing this thing in the air and my gf loves it, so does her grandma lol.

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Good deal! On the linkage ball problem, locktite should be plenty, but linkage balls are cheap so if your not sure just put some thin CA on the threads when you screw them in. If you ever have to replace the arm then you might need to get a new ball but they are cheap. I've had places where I couldn't use the 2m nut on the back of a servo arm so I used CA on the screw threaded into the arm with no problems.

joizeex

yea, i put some of my plastic model cement on the ends of the bolts for now (hobby stores closed today), but i'll look around for those M2 nuts the next couple of days. Too bad it's raining here AND i have to do full brake replacement on my gf's car. So no flying till Saturday.

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, you better take care of the girlfriend, you never know when you might need another helicopter. If you can't find the nuts and that's all you need, let me know and I'll send you some.

joizeex

busa, lol true that!
Found some nuts at the same LHS where i got the other bolts . He also has an account with Hirobo with a $50 minimum order, so i'll have a local place for parts. Thanks for the offer!
another clip is posted from tuesday:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoID=12357653

chazdraves

Looking pretty slick, man!

- Chaz

joizeex

thanks. My training is coming along pretty well.
I figured out that i installed the copilot's Z-sensor upside down, Dee dee deeee! So after flipping it, it worked fine, although in the air it oscillated again, most likely due to tall trees.
Today was another tank of hovering and moving around with cyclic. The wind was 25mph the whole time and i could see the heli being pushed up and down by the turbulence and drifting from wind. I held it just fine, but didn't want to risk flying side-in or nose-in or forward flight.

The main needle is now only 1 turn out. Can i turn it in any more or what? There's plenty of smoke and some fuel/oil coming out still.

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

one turn out sounds kinda lean. I have 2 50 Hypers and I don't think either of them are less than 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 out. I'll check later. Do you have a temp gun? If not put your finger on the back plate as soon as you land from hovering. If you can hold it there comfortably you are rich, if it takes skin off, you are lean, lol, If you can hold your finger there for a few seconds before it gets hot then you are about right. Not a perfect way to check but it will work.

joizeex

yea i was trying the backplate and it was about 2 secs before i had to go "ow!" The engine sounds and feels, powerwise, (judging from how my nitro cars run) like it's almost optimal, but not quiet there. The OS manual says to start at 1 1/2 for break in; that's how i started and that's what u see in the first vid, it's filthy rich. Perhaps i need to lean out the low speed and then richen the main needle a bit.
I just don't know yet how it runs at wide open, since i only hold it midstick and maybe a little more. So if i lean low speed and richen main, then i'll get more power at midrange, without running lean. I'll see how it goes tomorrow.
i would like to know how you have yours.

'Cuda, how's that Evo build/review coming along? I'm still learning without co-pilot

Cambo

My Feedback: (2)

Joizeex

It really depends on how hot it is outside. Here in phoenix i have been flying in over 100 degree weather. With my engine running any richer (and it is still running pretty rich) I loose to much power. I can hold my finger over the backplate for 3.5 seconds.

joizeex

Cambo - that must suck. Today we have 100 degrees heat wave actually, and i was sweating just from standing around lol. What's really bad about NJ is that it's humid, where as it's dry in Phoenix. Humidity = leaner setting, but high heat = rich setting. I know from my nitro cars, it's a pain to get it right when it's hot AND humid. So today i'm staying inside with AC set to 70

suzz

Oh stop crying like a baby about the heat [sm=bananahead.gif]

I think that I'm ready to fly now. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. You flew it on your first try why can't I??!!. I know how to put fuel in and start it, plus the transmitter looks pretty intuitive, SHIFT UP DOWN LEFT AND RIGHT...maybe I'll browse through the manual

anyhoo, while you're out, this weekend it will be just the Heli and I. It's a good thing I have keys to your apartment [sm=tongue_smile.gif][sm=kiss.gif] I can hardly wait...

I'll let you know how it goes[sm=shades_smile.gif]

joizeex

well, this past saturday the inevitable happened - my blackhawk went down waaaaa!

I was on my 6th tank, trying to fly side-in and keeping the heli at a distance in order to have enough time to correct it if it headed for us or the ground. As i was making small inputs, it slowly got further away and i was tempted to run up closer. I ended up staying in my spot and continued to fly, when i realized that it was a bit too far to see its orientation. Trying to figure out where it was pointing, i ended up flying to an area where trees were in the background, further making it difficult to see the orientation. At this point i made an erroneous input on the cyclic and sent the heli straight into the woods [X(]
I was flying without the co-pilot, as the trees on both sides of the field were confusing it, like i said in earlier posts. There was no way the copilot could save it. It smacked into a tree and fell about 20' unto bushes.
I had to make a 50 yard dash to the trees and then stomp over and push through some thorny ivy crap, all while wearing shorts (ouch!). The whole time i was mashing on the throttle cut switch to no avail, as the engine still ran at about 50%, slowly decreasing rpms to 20% and finally stalling just as i reached the heli.

From the damage assessment i think the crash went something like this:
Heli ran into a thick tree, smacking a blade into it and splitting the blade into top and bottom halves. Canopy impacted the same tree and broke off the body mounts and was thrown aside. Throttle gets jamed by something and the throttle servo breaks the horn on the engine while trying to close to throttle. The battery followed the canopy's example, but never to be found. At the same time, one of the blades smacked the tail boom, tearing it just past the rudder servo and ripping the copilot sensors clean off, which were also not to be found. As the heli layed in the bushes for a minute or 2, the clutch lining was vaporized and its smell and green powder on the heli were all that was left.

Damage:
Frame cracked in 3 places, servo tray cracked in 3 places, tail boom broken, tail supports bent (already straightened out), some pitch control rods bent, pitch servo wheel cracked, one blade totally pwned, main gear teeth stripped; main mast, spindle and flybar all bent to various degrees. Clutch lining is gone and there's some scoring on the bell, but no significant amount of aluminum was removed. Clutch shoes were scraped tiny bit, but they weren't stuck and still have good springing force and are not blueish in color from the heat. I had to open up the carb to find out why the throttle jammed, and found a tiny fibre that prevented the little round chrome looking piece from rotating inside that copper (?) cylinder piece (which is seen from outside with a flange). It rotates fine now.
Damages total $82 + $55 for new blades, heliproz prices. Not too bad...if the damn sensors weren't lost! Those are like $70, ugh. We searched for half hour, but the stupid thorny ivy thing and dry leaves made me lose hope in finding them.

So, the moral is, if i'm going to try flying anything other than tail-in while i learn, i have to be in an open field so that i can actually turn on the copilot when in trouble [] The lame thing is that my PC's power supply went out some time ago, so i couldn't practice on G3.

i'm a bit confused on which clutch lining to get. Can someone look on heliproz and advise me on that please? Stock one was this blueish-green in color, non metal. Not sure which one fits the Evo50 bell.

pics of n00b pwnage!

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Can't help you on the clutch but wanted to say sorry about the crash. I know it sucks but you'll get over it and get back in the air in no time. Good luck and go cut the tree down for payback!

srdavis

Marry Her!