J-MICHAEL

No way man, punch that sucker to the moon........

evdreamer

Jeff,

That is cool you can program the BEC with the Castle Link. I think there are some new servos that can handle 7.4V already and there might be some above that. I know JR just came out with a High Voltage line of servos, but I haven't checked the specs on them.

Nope there is no magic smoke. Nothing is even warm. I did all my calculations right and nothing is close to becoming magic smoke. I got some cool free software from school to make schematics and that makes it much easier to understand what is going on compared to my hand drawn schematics.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Well, the wind died down...a little...so I couldn't resist going back out and finishing off the battery that I started this morning.

It was still windy, but not gusting like earlier. I sort of had enough time to get the cyclic trims set, but it's kinda hard with the wind....

No training gear this time...I am in the ballpark with the trims, so I know what it's going to do when I lift off.

I used the throttle and pitch settings on a HF sticky, and it seems pretty close. It's got quite a bit of headspeed with these settings, which makes it stable but at the same time, very responsive as well.

Jeff, I am SURE that the stock powertrain will have enough "punch" for ya!! I cracked it about 3/4 collective/throttle once, and it headed for the moon!!!! Awesome amont of power, gobs of power, almost sick power compared to the B400!!

So, as best I can figure, I flew for about 4 minutes combined...so I am anxious to see where I am at battery wise...they are charging now...

At least I got to fly it a bit more...and I'm pretty comfortable with it...although I may dial in a bit of pitch to slow the headspeed a tad....it's pretty aggressive right now...and sucking up the juice really fast, I'll bet too!

Nick, have fun at the fun fly thing...

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

Well that's all good to hear then about the 500. Hey.... I was just thinking, but I know it would be maybe hard to tell on the 500 since its bigger with different noises blasting at ya, but could you tell at all if the Torque-Tube Drive might have made it quieter than if it was the belt version at all ? I guess it would be hard to tell though maybe just because you haven't ran the belt in it... But I was just wondering and such...

Also I can't wait until they have a conversion for the 450, as I think Nick said they were in the making of them or something... Which also had me thinking, but I'am thinking (Scary...LOL) that maybe we would also lessen the chances of stripping the main gear also in the event of a crash also ? Dunno... But I'am betting perhaps... Once you get a decent flying day, you'll have to shoot up a video of that beast. Boy I'am tired ! I was just on Heli-Freak and visiting the "Old-Farts" section... I was in tears laughing my you know what off ! Those guys crack me up...LOL...


Alright, I need to go take it easy, I'am beat tired...

~ Jeff

evdreamer

Glenn,

Cool to hear you got to fly a little bit more with the 500. Hopefully it will be calmer some time this week.

I had a lot of fun at the fun fly, but I had a crash before I got to use all of my batteries. Those FRP blades aren't as strong as the originals which I can't find. The Gaui drew a lot of attention since no one has ever seen one. I had to dodge a lot of airplanes since they were flying in my space.

Jeff,

Guess what I got to fly at the fun fly? A Vapor. The club president let me fly his Vapor after he saw my crash. Those are a lot of fun to fly and fly better than my super cub. There was also a MCX. Those things are small!!! Another person brought a 450 sized heli which I thought wasn't allowed, but he crashed that pretty bad. And another person got their airplane stuck in the ceiling supports which I thought was pretty funny. I have to go to the rest of these fun flies while they last this winter.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Sounds like the fun fly was fun!! Cool. Glad you got to fly a vapor, and got to see an MCX first hand. The MCX was smaller than you thought, I see....it's amazing until you actually see one.

Sorry to hear about the Gaui crash. I know the stock Gaui blades are tough, since they are quite flexible. I guess the FRP blades just snapped? I had no idea that the Gaui blades were hard to find?

Yeah, mine got alot of attention when I took it up to the field to show Rob.

It was good to get a little more time with the 500. I was worried about the batteries....when I charged them, they only took 620 or so milliamps. So, I had alot more time on them...but I wanted to err on the safe side.

I think I am really going to like the 500 when I get a chance to actually fly it.

Jeff,

By far, the loudest thing on the 500 is the main blades...can't hear much of anything over them chopping the air....so it's hard to answer your question...what I do know is that the TT is exremely free wheeling, much more so than a belt. When you get yours all together, check it out...it's very nice and friction free.

Yeah, I will get you guys a video, but right now, I'm still sorting the basics down....I still havn't been able to even check the blade tracking. Just havn't had the time.

Jeff, do you balance your blades?? I was bored earlier, so I took a look at both B400's, and checked blade tracking, and noticed both had a good amount of vibration (I'm holding the heli down on the table while spinning it up)....so I got the balancer out, and took a few minutes, and man, what a difference! Nice and smooth after the static and dynamic balancing!

I'll be in and out this evening, got a few things to do...

Glenn

HeliStyle

My Feedback: (2)

congrads on the first flight with the 500, sounds like its an amazing machine, will be even better when there is no wind. It is still extremely windy here, 30mph winds if not higher. I wonder how evan is doing with his b400

evdreamer

Glenn,

Yeah the MCX looked a lot bigger in yours and Jeff's pictures. A guy flew the MCX for the first time with no problems.

I never saw the plastic blades before, but I was looking at Helidirect's site and they have those and the FRP blades. I must have over looked them before.

Cool to hear you can have some more flight time with the batteries. What did you calculate for your estimated flight times?

I lowered the headspeed on the 600 today because it had more power than my 450 and I didn't need it all. And hopefully I can get some more flight time. I was at 2000RPM's and lowered it to 1800RPM's, but the heli is shaking a little so I need to bump up the headspeed some more.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey Heli,

Yeah, you must be getting the wind we had here today...it was over 32 MPH here in gusts....not good for RC heli and plane pilots! Thanks for the congrats...I am sure I'll love the 500 when I get a chance to really fly it in better weather.

Nick,

Yeah, I let my boss at work fly my MCX at work, and he had never flown a heli before, and did pretty well with it.

Glad you found the plastic blades, they are very tough, whatever kind of plastic they are...I have yet to break one.

I was thinking that I would get about 4 minute flights, since my packs are only 2100....but then again, I wasn't really flying, more like hovering and testing. Once I start flying, I'm hoping for 5 minute flights...

How did you figure your headspeed, with a chart or calculator? I'm just guessing at mine, but according to my setup, I should be in the 2150 range according to the manual.

It's seems high to me, but it's probably because I'm not used to the noise the bigger blades make...I think it exaggerates the sound some.

At any rate, I'm planning on slowing it down a litte bit, not much, while I get used to it at first, and for a little bit longer flights.

Yeah, poor Evan, wonder what's up with the new B400?

Glenn

Evan T.

haha yeah well im back in the saddle again lol wewwww i flew five packs in the 400 today and no crashes but a few hard landings and a tiny chip in one of the tail rotors from flying in the street lol wont be doing that again but other than that its pretty good and fun hope to get two or three packs in tomorrow after school

Evan T.

hey wat should i have my expo, throttle curves, and pitch curves at right now i have expo at 25% for aile and elev and 1% for rudder and throttle curves at 0-20-40-60-80 and havent messed with the pitch curves yet

rotarydoc

Evan,

COOL!

Glad you got to fly the new B400, and better yet, no crashes too!

Congratulations!

Sounds like you are doing really well with those settings, if they are working well for you, I wouldn't change them....

I see you reduced the throttle curve, that should help slow things down a bit..the expo looks good, especially for a newbie...

How long are you flying the pack for?

Good to hear you are doing well with it, everyone was wondering!

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

Yeah I also make sure I balance my blades also. Everything from the MCX up ! I've found with my 450 that the better quality CF blades I've tried like the $69.00 MAH's and the $60.00 SABS were right on the money on there balancing... The CPP's CF blades however did need some fine tuning though... I won't ever run woodies on a heli if I can help it. There all garbage in my eyes...LOL... So much better performance and results with CF blades. Kinda like why have a Ferrari with some cheap crappy tires on it huh ?! And then having the right tire pressure is pretty much the same as making sure your blades are balanced or what have you... I haven't had the chance yet to still balance the Align 500's CF blades yet, but I'am betting there not perfect but maybe... We'll see... I wish there was more of a selection on the market for the 500 size heli with some of the more popular reputable manufacturers out there... There's a few, but not many at least not yet ! I might try out the MS-Composites for starters and see how well they do... For a year and a half of having the Trex 450 I've only destroyed one set of the CF blades whuch were the MAH 315mm ones... I've only flew with the woodies for a couple flights, and that was enough for me and my tastes... In fact, my first spool ups with the 450 was with the MAH CF blades as you can see on my You-Tube vids... There stronger than ya think... My last major crash with the 450 when the sun blinded me, remember... I fell from the sky pretty high up, and landed smack down with those SAB CF blades, and only came out with a scratch...

Oh..... Don't forget to balance your tail rotor blades to ! Just as important, as also having the tire pressure accurate on a trailer your towing with your car or truck...

Here is a headspeed calculator below... Keep in mind these charts are never accurate, and usually off by 400 or so RPM's... Guys have used the charts before, figured there headspeed, and then grabbed there tach, and reported back it was off... The Trex forum here went over that last year...


http://www.readyheli.com/Online_Head...lator_s/81.htm



Nick ~

Cool you flew a Vapor ! There a fun little beast... Funner than the MCX in my opinion for sure, and will even handle a little breeze in which the MCX has no chance whatsoever ! I've got 115 flights on one of my Vapors and still have had not to replace a thing on it... And I beat it... There tough, which is also why the president probably let ya fly his, as you really can't hurt to much with something that weighs only about 12 grams... I still have another one that is brand new I also got a few months ago with just a 2 minute flight on, and saving it for a back-up someday... That day may never come however !

I snipped off my whole landing gear assembly on the Vapor I do fly, and so now I launch it by hand, and catch it for a landing... Pretty sweet, and looks cherry in the sky with no little feet dangling from it...LMAO... Who needs the landing gear anyhow ? You only use them a couple times during the course of the whole flight...

Here's a video of the throw launch and catch method below : I'd watch it in high quality though or its a bit blurry if ya don't....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88k6NrdhZ5A



Evan ~

Sweet deal on your flight success ! You'll have lots of fun with that heli for a long time to come... Tell everyone ya want a Trex 500 for Christmas now...



Cheers,

~ Jeff

Evan T.

Thanks guys I've been flying for 5:30 minutes could I go to 6 and no more or is that to much the b400 bible says I can

rotarydoc

Evan,

First of all, good for you in reading the B400 bible, lots of good info and links to info on there for sure, I have referred to it alot myself.

If you are using the throttle curves you mentioned last night, and are basically hovering and such, you should be OK with 6 minute flights.

Ideally, you would want to check how many millamps you are putting back into the battery after each flight to make a determination...but the stock charger won't tell you that.

I definately wouldn't go over 6 minutes. Not even a few seconds over, to be safe.

Have fun!

Glenn

Carljw

Even
I dont know if this will work for you but I use these pitch curves
on mu B400 so I dont come down hard and smack the landing
gear.
L 42% this setting will soften your landings a bit..
2 45%
3 50%
4 75%
H 50%
As I got better at landings I would lower it a little at a time untill
started comeing down softer when I got into trouble.
I do have the X Gear landing gear with the springs and love them.

Carl

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sorry I didn't post anything last night, but I fell asleep in my computer chair and woke up 30 minutes before I normally do on Mondays.

Since I am using a governor I just put in the headspeed I want and it keeps it at that speed.

Cool you are slowing down your headspeed on the T500. I have mine about 700-800RPMS lower than most 3D pilots do on their 450's and it seems like the perfect headspeed for me since I like to do medium speed and smooth moves than fast and jerky moves (stick bangers) that some do.

Evan,

Cool to hear you are having a great time with the B400.

Jeff,

Yeah I really liked the long flight times of the Vapor compared to a Heli. He just said stay away from the Helis and that he once flew for 20 minutes with it. I might ask for a better airplane than the super cub for Christmas just for that reason of long flight times. I wouldn't do any 3D with it just have fun cruising around.

I still haven't balanced the main or tail blades on the Gaui, 450, or 600. LOL

Nick

JPEE

Hey Guys,

Well finally the smoke cleared and the fires are of no threat what so ever. What does theat mean....... FLY DAY..... OOO-RAH!

Burned two packs at 7:00 am. 60 degrees at the local Park. Just to fly again was awsome and not smell smoke was even greater! The 401 was a dream but a short time later the dog walkers started coming out so its was time fold up and get out before I get a complaint. The Park Staff never say anything to me. But here again, I use good judgement. When they come to pick up trash or mow and work on the ball diamonds I fold up and always make sure I say hi to them and have a good day. Hey...........a little PR goes a long ways.

JPee

evdreamer

JPEE,

Good to hear the fires are not a threat anymore and that you got to fly again.

Nick

Carljw

Well I just off the phone with HeliProz and the Trex500 CF was in stock $479.99.
so I upgraded the shipping and they said I will have it Thursday
so now I can breath a little easer LOL.
I found a PDF of the owners manual on line so I will be reading that
to keep me busey.
I was at two Dick,s yesterday and no Dosco Se 44 cases. I went to Gandermountain and
they dont list them eather. Amazon has them for $45.00 little high when they
seem to be avable for around $30.00.
I got my Hola Hoop training gear made, little heavy 260 grames, I just want to use it till
I can get it trimed out so I dont flip it over.
Carl

JPEE

Hey Carl,

You have been writing about your 500 purchase but I have seen is it the 500 Df or the 500ESP model.
I am year behind you in age and I noted that you ride a Night Train, I sold my Ultra but still have my BH 350 415 HP. Lets hear it for the older guys hey!

JPee

JPEE

Hey Nick, thanks for the good wishes.

How is the balancer coming out. I saw you did some updating to it. Also is the 600 now worthy and the hiccups out of it?

With my morning flights today I had a surprise. I have been flying back at factory settings now for a month. I was flying low head speeds and was getting 8-9 minutes of flight. Now back at stock pitch and speeds I have been trying for 6 min. The last time I was out after 3 batteries my tail started waggin left to right at the end of the flight and she became unmanageable. So today I tried two things. I let here sit on the trunk for a 5 minutres until I felt she was used to the 60 degrees outside temp from the house. Then I flew my first pack 1,800. She flew fine and just as I brought her in the tail was starting to wag again. So then I put in a 2200 pack and flew again. This time just as I saw the wag she came down under the ESC guidence of low head I would speckulate on low battery. What surpised me was if the 1800 could only barely last the 6 min I thought the 2200 would handle it without issue, nope! So next time out I will chop a minute off and fly for 5 min and see if the tail starts to wag. I'll bet that is the issue, low battery. Yes I have checked my belt he he he.
JPee

Carljw

Jpee
Right on with the old guys as they say you have to grow old but you don't have to grow up.
I have an 2003 Black 100 anaversity model bought it new and have $23,000 in it. I use to ride in San Bernardino in the 1960s. I ride with the PGR alot. I dont think I could handle a Boss Hog.
Been retired 3 years and got into the Hiles last Christmas so far I got MCX CPP CX2
B440 and now the Trex 500CF supose to be here Thursday.
Carl

JPEE

Carl,

PGR??? Police ? ?


Is your 500 the ESP TT model?

Older boys get bigger toys!

Carljw

Patriot Guard Riders , a group that rides to Milatary funerals and guards aganst
protesters from a religes group head by a reverand Phelps that are agenst the
Irac war and hold up signs that they were killed becouse they are fags and crap like that.
Use megaphones and yell profanaty at the famleys.
I dont like the war myself but no need to do what they do to our men and women
that die for our country.
The Trex I am getting is the corbon fiber frame and blades.
Carl