JPEE

Hey Mark,

Food for thought. We all have had issues with the double stick tape on our gyros at one time or another. But my opinion is.............if you secure the gyro with a zip tie you are promoting the vibration from the air frame to be directly transfered to the gyro? The whole idea of the foam sticky it to isolate it of course. Whats your take on this opinion?
I think the whole issue can be (for the most part) aleavetated with good pre flight checks??

I am sorry for the crash forsure, I missed when I read the post early this morning.
JPEE

PS: Glenn, I read about the 500. All of my helis (right or wrong) have liner throttle and pitch curves and "the" 500 handles it.

Aframomum

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JPEE,

Another online bud also hit me with the vibration issue if using zipties, so decided to forgo that idea. May consider wrapping it several times with scotch tape since I have the boom off - any initial thoughts on that?

I remembered the Logitech gyro that I have on my Pro I nearly had to pry off when moving it from my old 450, and that was using the same double sided tape that I used on the CPP2. I just think the small surface area that is in contact with the double sided tape (since the gyro is positioned on its side rather than on its back) doesn't give much holding power over time.

Have to wait for parts anyhow so still have time to consider different options.

Hey, guess I'm part of that 'losing-your-gyro' family now huh?

Glenn,

Glad to hear you got to fly...well, sort of. Yeah, those little heli's I would imagine have there limitations, esp after getting used to flying 450 and 500's.

Sorry to hear the 500 didin't quite work out, but better to bring them home in one piece to look over rather than have to rebuild.

The weather is going to be playing the guessing game in the morning so I brought my batts all charged just in case.


Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn and JPEE,

Just wanted to know if you fly your 500ESP from grass or concrete - wondering how close your tail blades come to the ground? I've noticed with my 450 Pro that the tail blades come close and if I ever have to fly from a grassy field I do worry about the TT. Right now its not a concern since I take off from a paved road but it's something I think about.

BTW, how do you get that list of heli's in your signature below your name? I don't think I would ever come close to yours but it would be nice to list.

Nevermind, figured it out all by myself. Imagine that!

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

I use an old door mat to take off and land on grass with my 450 and it works pretty good.

Nick

evdreamer

Guys,

I had a fun time flying for the Boy Scouts today. They came to our field and watched me fly and another person fly a 3D plane. They seemed to have a good time. They also had a simulator for them to practice on before they flew the Trainer plane on a buddy box. It was a little windy, but the temp was pretty good. I forgot how much fun it was to put on a demo for people. I also forgot about some of my moves, since I haven't been doing them lately. When I was done filling my tank up I was trying to get the last bit of fuel out of the fuel pump lines, but I had the switch on fill and I got fuel all over my face.[X(]

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Had a chance to fly this morning in between the rain. Tried my first nose-in takeoff - a bit hairy I must say. Didn't do anything spectacular just some flying around.

http://www.vimeo.com/10499156

Mark

jroo

Hey all,
Just checking in and saying howdy. I've been AWOL mainly because my MacBook Pro died. My company replaced it but unfortunetly it's an IBM T510 with Windows 7. Ugh. Oh well, it's a damn fast laptop, but it pales in comparison to my macbook. Ipersonally cannot stand windows, but what can you do...

Anyway, I've been flying every chance Iget. It's been windy here as well and I've been slammed with work, so Ihave not even had a flight in over a week. This next week I am taking off to my folks house for the Easter weekend and taking the 400 and the 250. Across the street from my parents house is a grass farm. Hhundreds of acres, or beautiful grass; a heli dream. If I'm not there Iwill be at my home golf course, again with the heli's.

I'll take some pics.

I'm also super excited about the Heli Fun Fest in a few weeks. I can't wait to see some pro's do their thing!

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Not much new here....didn't fly today, did more selling than anything else...my eBay auctions went well, the MCX brought $57, and the CNC head brought $50...not too shabby I guess...

I listed the other MCX, and the MSR today.

Mark,

I went to watch the vid, and it comes up as a "private" video....

When I went to my heli club field for a complimentary flight session last year, the grass was really tall....and I flew the 450 Pro, and just plopped it in the tall grass, and spun it up...and was OK. I would have felt better to have like Nick said, an old mat or something.

I used to have a mat I bought at Walmart for like $6, but I left it at a field one time...

Congrats on the nose in take off...I have done a couple of those, and some nose in landings as well....it'll keep your attention...[X(]

Nick,

Sounds like you had fun putting on a show for the kids...and I'm sure they had a good time too, the buddy box seems to be a great way to get them interested in the hobby at a young age.

Sorry about the fuel in the face....owww...not good, esp if it gets in your eyes, methanol tends to burn a bit in the eyes...

You'll get more comfortable with all the new power panel controls as you use it more, I'm sure...

jreue,

Welcome back...sorry about your computer.

Hope you can get some flying in at the parents place, sounds awesome.

Once you see the pros in person, you won't forget it for some time....they will make you sick with how good they are!




Some good weather headed this way mid week or so....maybe I'll sneak some flying in then...

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Got the video privacy settings fixed, guess it defaulted by mistake.

Glenn,

Good that you were able to have a successful sale. More moolah! Nice to hear the good weather heading your way.

Nick,

Congrats on the heli demo for the scouts! Nitro fuel tastes so nice doesn't it? Yep, watch your eyes with that stuff.

Thanks all for the mat ideas for grass takeoffs.

jreue,

Welcome back! Good to hear your getting some flight time in.

Mark

JPEE

Mark,
I don't know about the scotch tape? I do that when I have a gyro I am in question of. I will scotch tape another one on top and fly the bah-geebbers out of the heli with no issue. So that's all I can offer to you.
Regarding the 450 and its tail dragging in the dirt or grass YES that happened to Choppersrule (dave) from the Wheeeeee thread that has moved to RC Groups at: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209917
He landed in the grass, got caught and stripped his tail gears. So he just mounted the T Rex 450 Pro on T Rex 500 landing gear. Looks killer too!

Nick, sound slike you had a great time putting ont he air show for the Scouts. WOW fuel in face, I cannot even imagin that, must burned and scared the crap out of ya to boot.

Glenn............KA-CHING$$$$$$ glad your stuff is selling so fast, I wished you got more money, man we take a loss on used stuff don't we!

Jreue, I kinda like the new 7 Windows. I started out on IBM. But them my boss was a MAc fan so we all made the switch over so I got one for home too. I liked it. Then he left and the State of Cal prograsm we used within the 27 State Univ was all IBM driven so we came back and the Mac fell by the side.

JPEE

evdreamer

Mark,

That is great you were able to take off nose in. Your 450 is pretty quick.

Jreue,

Have fun flying.

Glenn,

Luckily I had sun glasses on Sunday, so I was able to just clean the fuel off them.

I unsoldered the main components on my power panel, so I could see all the components inside. I was also able to make a schematic of it and that was interesting to see how it was designed.

JPEE,

The fuel just irritated my skin for a few hours.

Nick

JPEE

Nick,
I am so glad your eyes were protected! That could have been a horrible experience, I mean more than it was..........
JPEE

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Wind is kickin' here, good 35 MPH gusts...but, the weatherman has good things to say about later in the week and the weekend, maybe in the lower 80's!


Mark,

Nice nose in take off...it's a bit tricky, eh? Good job!

Looks like the Tarot isn't huring for power, that is for sure! That thing is fast!

I see you were getting a little side in practice there too....I am OK with that side (the left), but I still have a bit of trouble with right side in hovering, have been working on it lately....

I still like your field! Maybe I can get some more time in at my big field before the Little League guys get going...

Nick,

Glad you had some form of eye protection on, so you didn't any in your eye...I think I've managed to get some in my eyes back in the nitro car days...not alot of fun...and then at work, we use brake cleaner, which is REALLY bad if it gets in your eyes, or carb cleaner....nasty stuff!

Cool that you took the power panel apart for a look and took some time to make the schematic.

Not a whole lot new here, just listed the old faithful CX2 on eBay....and honestly, I won't miss it a bit! I guess it has some sentimental value, but not much...lol...


Hope everyone has some nice weather and can get some flying in!

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,


I had to adjust my signature!

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Alright Glenn,

I'll take a shot at it. Let's see...is it the Hirobo XRB, Gaui 200, and an old CP Pro?

Oh, oh - did I win, huh ... did I win???!

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hey guys,

Thanks for the comments on the vids.

One thing I noticed is that I tend to fly in one direction: CCW. I think I spend much of my sim time practicing my rolls and flips that I really don't get in that much "circuit" time. Going to have to work on that. I heard some other guys talking about trying out very slow, controlled stationary piro spins. Kinda forces you to tack down any orientation issues you may have let lag.

Isn't it a wonder, the days I don't bring the camera I wind up crashing in one way or another. My earlier mishap, no camera. Yestersday morning, no camera and for the second time I have a 450 get out of controllable sight from me. [:@] The last time this happened was over a year ago and I thought I had that problem taken care of.

But guys, a miracle really did happen. I was doing a nice large loop when she got too far away. I saw my Pro wind up inverted (I had hit full negative collective to slow her down) before I hit throttle hold ... she went in some thick grass. What damage did I see? A slightly bent flybar. Nothing else. Closer inspection shows no bent shafts, no gear damage, TT is fine. Truely devine intervention right there, I think.

Nick,

Good to hear that you had on sunglasses. One thing to bring with you is paper towels or napkins, keep them in your pocket - they really do come in handy to wipe off any fuel spills on your skin.

BTW JPEE,

Gyro mount checking has been included in my regular pre-flight checks. Good thing to know the Pro's tape is holding nice.

Mark

JPEE

Mark,
Man....... you do have a guardian angel for sure! Congrats on a good SAVE. Sounds like you have the gyro tape nail now.

JPEE

JPEE

Hey Guys,

Today, I sanded the other side of the main frame to make ready for assembly. I mounted the servos in the main shaft/servo block too. What a job, I see why they have you do this outside of the frame and then hang the unit inside the frame.
I ran into an issue that was unexpected. After I mounted the servo arms after centering them I noticed the balls on my H65MGs are for Eflite and smaller and do not fit the linkage rods on the swashplate. So a trip to the LHS is in order and I am stopped at this step. I have not found so far any stripped screws in the plastic or metal pieces, in fact the head parts were Loc-tited too. But as we all know on a build, you tear it down and rebuild it yourself so you little voice inside knows its right.

Here a few pics

JPEE

JPEE

Hey Guys,

HOT SALE "email" prices HobbyPartz for today only!
A deal on 450 Carbon Fiber Blades

http://www.hobbypartz.com/hosa3.html



I forgot to say I took "all" TT components apart as well as the main frame bearings out of their carriers and "greased them".
You guys are gonna be mad at me but...........I told you all above I needed the balls for the servos arms. Well once there at the LHS I bought the Align 520 tail servo that comes on the 450 Pro and the Align 35 amp ESC. I have a Fatuba 401 left over so I'll plug that in and my wish/goal is to make this Clone fly as good as the real thing. To back up a step, I had a Blade 400 ESC and motor I was gonna use. But then I thought it over for the above reasons and jumped off the bridge $$. The motor is new in the box for an Exceed 450 Pro and is 3500 kv. If I find there is a lack of power I'll upgrade the motor. I know I will fly it often in 3D Mode so it has to be fairly strong.

JPEE

evdreamer

JPEE,

Have fun with the build.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE,

Looking good on the build! Shouldn't be long now.

A bit of advice before you get too far: mount your motor and mesh the gear before you get your servo's nicely installed. Otherwise you'll be looking down that little slot between the airelon and pitch servo and trying to gauge the mesh tightness. I speak from experience...not a fun task.

Also, don't know if you are planning to use the supplied screws for the frame (the 2.5X5mm) ... I found a link from the guys at Helifreak for a supply depot that sells harder steel screws at an outstanding price of 100 for $2.94. [link=http://www.mcmaster.com/#91292a009/=6gvsj7]Linky here.[/link] I used them on my frame and they are great. OTOH, I have a bunch left over so if you want some to try out just let me know and I'll ship them to ya - this goes for you too Glenn.

Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

Thanks for the tips and the offer to send some test screws. Hummmmmmmmmmm I have already loc-tited one half of the frame complete now. I hate to tear all of that work apart.

About the what looks like heat shrink that is glued around your servos wires, is that what it is or black elec tape?

A question for you and Glenn, my "understanding" is the 520 tail servo can run at full voltage and does not need a step down? I havent opend the box yet but that was a question.

Thanks John

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Well, I'm here at work waiting for the Mazda service website to come up...it's been down for half an hour now...and yup, I do need internet access to fix cars these days! I need a security code for some immobilzer keys...

Anyways, looks like the build is coming along nicely there JPEE...and Mark's suggestion about the gear mesh is right on...these are great helis, but not the most fun to work on, due to the design, everything is kinda packed in tightly for sure...

I am pretty sure I did not use any step down on the 520 for the tail...my kit didn't come with one, so I didn't use it...I'll double check when I get home, if I remember, but I'm pretty sure no step down is on mine...

Mark,

Thanks for the offer on the screws...they look like they are stainless steel??

Great save on the downed aircraft!! I have seen something very similar happen to a guy at my club field a while back...his Trex 450 went down hard in some tall weeds/brush, and when we finally found it (which wasn't easy!) it was pretty much intact, I think he had a broken landing gear strut or something minor...but the blades and what not were all good...

I almost got to fly at lunch, gorgeous day...but a guy with his kids on bikes were at the park...oh well, maybe I can still get a fight or two in later on...

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE,

I am using the Futaba S9650 so can't help you with your 520 question. The black covering on the servo wires is electrical tape. I used tiny dabs of superglue to help route the wires exactly where I wanted them and figured the electrical tape would protect the wires from the glue, esp when I have to remove them ... it wouldn't take part of the wire sheath off with it.

The reason for the glue was IMO the wiring had to be a bit more precise to route around all the gears and so zipties weren't giving me enough control - I found some wires were still moving around and could possibly get caught in the TT gears ... so superglue time.

Glenn,

Hope you had a chance to fly later in the day.

Yep, the screws are stainless steel and they use a 2 mm instead of a 1.5 mm hex driver. Very, very nice. I already stripped one of the 1.5mm into plastic screws and had to replace that - happy my kit came with several extras. You really have to be careful with the screws for the front battery cover, anti-rotation thing, and tail servo holder - as they all use -into plastic screws and are a tighter fit.

I really try to keep the 450 on a tight leash b/c being the size it is, not too hard to loose sight of orientation. I really did get lucky and am looking forward to some flying this weekend. Can you believe temps in the lower 80's - yeah baby!

Mark

P.S. - Had to show you all our trip to the beach yesterday with the little one.

evdreamer

Glenn,

The whole East side of Nebraska didn't have LAN lines yesterday.[X(] They went down around 6am and still weren't working around midnight. Some how cell phones still worked, but no one could get ahold of 911. They sent people with HAM radios to major intersections, so people could get ahold of 911 that way. It caused a lot of problems at my job and I had to use cell phones to get ahold of everyone.

Mark,

It looked like your kid was having a good time.

Nick