i'm flying!

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:35 am

eeeyup!

got me one of those cheapy 3 ch counter rotating helicopters.

couldn't resist the tempting innards.

it's powered by 2 motors, one for each main rotor and a smaller than bit sized motor for the upward facing tail rotor. also comes with a 450 mah lipo cell. there's an included charger but i don't think it was working for me, or it was charging waaaaay slow.

one channel controls main throttle, next channel controls the left/right rotation (by varying the speed on one motor) and the third controls forward back with the tail rotor.

the propo is plenty good, at least as good resolution as an iwaver. range is supposed to be 100ft, i'm yet to test it out fully but so far so good.

it's probably 100 times easier flying a counter rotating heli compared to a regular one but it still takes time to get the hang of 3 channels. i've only clocked about 30 minutes air time so far and i'm only just getting the hang of moving forward.
but hovering is piss easy, it just naturally hovers like those rc ufo's.

weighing in at 65g you need absolutely dead still conditions to fly in, even the slightest whisper of a breeze will bring it down in a hurry so it's ideal for indoors.

of course it wouldn't be mine without a couple of mods

first thing to go was the polystyrene fuselage (canopy, cowling?), shaved some weight and now it looks less like a toy and more like a serious rc.

to solve the charging prob i soldered a standard servo plug directly onto the cell so i can use my charger.

and in the hope of helping range i replaced the stock aerial with a longer length of enameled copper wire.

i've been wanting a heli for a while now but figured i'd be better off learning on a cheapy first, i'd rather smash this $50aud "toy" than a $300+ one! but i really like the simple design and small size of this little bugger. it'll be a shame when it's broken beyond repair

thoroughly recomended first time heli

crazydave · Post by **crazydave** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:12 am

That's great, especially for the money. I'm sure the electrics will have use long past the life of the heli.

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:19 am

betty.k wrote: it'll be a shame when it's broken beyond repair

Ha! you can still use that little lipo for a bit or ZZMT right? Making everything piss fast with lipos are a way of life.

beanoman · Post by **beanoman** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:12 pm

I believe you now have Aircraft Addiction Disorder.. Have fun spending tons of money with the rest of us with the desease

.

One thing I want to say- what stick is the rudder on? I don't know if yall's use mode 2 or mode 1 there, but you should check what mode is used and switch around some guts in the tx if needed. It dosn't help learning when you get the 4 channel copter and find out one or more of the channels is on a different stick, lol..

Also, clip the ring off of the tail rotor for a bit more speed.

Heres one of those helis I had, may have even been from the same company judging from the blades and tx: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/ ... C00943.jpg

crazydave · Post by **crazydave** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:57 pm

beanoman wrote:I believe you now have Aircraft Addiction Disorder.. Have fun spending tons of money with the rest of us with the desease .

You're just trying to lure him in. He just bought this for parts so he could build one hella fast car., right betty? .... betty? You still there?

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:22 am

crazydave wrote:
beanoman wrote:I believe you now have Aircraft Addiction Disorder.. Have fun spending tons of money with the rest of us with the desease .

You're just trying to lure him in. He just bought this for parts so he could build one hella fast car., right betty? .... betty? You still there?

sorry dave, he's right! symptoms first appeared after getting that rc ufo

One thing I want to say- what stick is the rudder on?

main throttle is the left stick (up, down), rudder (steering?) is the right stick (left, right) and forward back is the right stick (up, down).
when i get a better one i'll still get a counter rotating model so learning different controls shouldn't be too painful.

Also, clip the ring off of the tail rotor for a bit more speed.

i had a feeling that would help, thanks

it actually came with 2 different tail rotors, that one with the ring and a larger one without a ring. the larger one spins straighter so i've been using it instead.

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:29 am

got a short vid:
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/phpGa ... =415&pos=0

the central heating was on at the time so flight conditions were a little windy but that's one of my best flights to date!

i made another cool discovery.
the trim adjustment wasn't enough on the steering channel, it would spin to the left even with the trim all the way right.
so i popped open the tx and found that there's a trimpot for every channel inside.

they're easily accessable from the front panel after removing a little plastic window

TallduDe · Post by **TallduDe** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:14 am

wow!

nice man nice.....

now to get 1 for myself!

MotorGong · Post by **MotorGong** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:20 pm

Very Cool! Doesn't seem painful like you stated, looks like you're getting the hang of it quick!

I was checkin' out some $200-$300 Helis at the LHS. There's even an older guy there named Dave, neat guy, who works only the flight section for the store.

I like how snowy took off out of the room, probably saying to him/herself "there goes my owner with another of his weird toys."
I'd expect snowy always takes off now, especially after the HPI Buggy chase down last year!

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:04 pm

snowy usually gets the hell outta here when he hears the tx aerial being extended

although he does like to lie on the track when we're racing the z's!

steelwoolghandi · Post by **steelwoolghandi** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:28 pm

looks like that will get a lot more use then my Honey bee I have been crashing my copter more then flying.

so whats the farthest it will go without loosing a signal? is the Lypoly standard or was that extra? is it eaier to fly with a body or without as I noticed you fly without mine flys better without it seems?

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:54 pm

so whats the farthest it will go without loosing a signal?

the manual says 100ft, i haven't had it more than 15ft away from me yet. so far so good.

is the Lypoly standard or was that extra?

standard

it's not a very good one though, i only get about 3 - 4 mins fly time before the voltage drops and i'm not even half draining it.

is it eaier to fly with a body or without as I noticed you fly without

i'm not too sure. i just like the look!
but it reduces weight and the profile so i'm assuming it's better without. it's easier to fiddle with naked too

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 9:18 pm

been flying and tinkering some more

the kit came with 2 tail props, a large one and a smaller one with a ring on it. i cut the ring off the smaller one, was wobbly with it and as beanoman suggested it spins faster.
i've found the larger prop makes the heli move forward/back alot slower than the small one and is more stable. if you get a kit with the 2 rotors i suggest using the larger one in the beginning then graduate to the smaller one.

i also learnt about counterbalancing.
at first it would move forward slightly on take off. i added small amounts of weight (blu tac) to the end of the tail (boom?) until it took of vertically.

i also tried out an 850mah lipo but it was twice the weight of the stock cell and required a lot of counterbalancing which made the overall weight too much.
it flew but was only just getting airborne so i just put the stock cell back in. i only get about 4 - 5 mins before i need to charge, just enough time to get the hang of flying again!

there's a big downside to this heli though, it's a nasty gateway drug

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-4Ch-XRB-LAMA ... dZViewItem

i'll letcha know when it lands

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:29 am

Snowy didn't want anything to do with that ugly canary

"Soon as I get some room, I'm outta here!"

It must be cool to have an object fly under your control. Must've been erie the first flight (with the ufo?)

Maxx

beanoman · Post by **beanoman** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 12:20 am

betty.k wrote: there's a big downside to this heli though, it's a nasty gateway drug
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-4Ch-XRB-LAMA ... dZViewItem

i'll letcha know when it lands

yep, your fuckered

Welcome to the club, lol....

The original design of that heli is a great and stable flyer, you should have a pretty good time getting used to 4 channels on it. I had the original of that heli.. Hirobo didn't even have any RC version yet, it just had a cable going to it.. Lots happens in few years I spect, lol.
I wasn't able to get the brand of that heli from the auction with a quick check, but most parts from all the clones and original are generally interchangable, so you shouldn't have any problem getting new parts. Ussualy you will just need tons of blades, and possibly a inner/outer shaft or two.

Wonderin, are you planning on getting a fixed pitch single rotor(then maybe a collective pitch after that)? Me and nasphered both have or had a Sabre/Walkera 04 fixed pitch heli.. Walkera being oem at about 90 USD shipped offa ebay, Sabre has different stickers for $150 at the hobbyshop

lil markup there....

Anyways, better not discuss any more stuff to tempt your wallet.. hehe..

bean

bitPimps.lixlink.com

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