First Crash

[Steve Rogers]

Well after a couple of months of learning & trying real hard not to the inevitable finally happed . Bad part is I think it was over something stupid.
I sat her down, practicing smooth easy landings since the training wheels have only been off for a day or 2, & upon lift off I think I jumped her up a little to quick getting spunky ( no revo mixing & not using H.H. yet) & it spun around & I couldn't keep my orientation & over she went. :oops: I check all my gear & it still works fine so thats all I can think of that caused it.

Oh well off to replacing parts :mrgreen:

Man fixing these things are so much better than planks. Not necessarily cheaper but better!

[Espeefan]

Bummer about the crash, but I guess it happens to everyone sooner or later. Guess there's something to be said about being able to just swap components out vs. having to rebuild balsa structures and recovering them! Hope you didn't break to much. :glasses:

Simulators are invaluable for learning the different orientations! Best thing to do is put a bunch of flight time on the sim for learning nose in and side hovering. I hear you don't want to become overly firmilar with tail in before trying nose in since it will almost be like starting all over again with hovering! You get so used to the flying controls from the rear, it's hard to learn the different orientations. I've yet to fly an actual heli, but I've become really proficient with all the different hovering angles on G3. Best $200 I ever spent on the hobby.

[DebianDog]

no revo mixing & not using H.H. yet)

Why?

First crashes suck but they will get fewer and fewer as you keep flying. At least thats what they tell me ;)

[Steve Rogers]

I've been working on the sim quiet a bit even before I started helis & I have the orentation down pretty good but not good enough when its pyroiting!

I havent set up the Revo mixing just yet because I dont know that much about it & I've pretty much had to figure out what little I know on my own. No excuses though! As for H.H. since I'm no where near 3D ready I havent fooled with it to much. I like the way it flys in F.F. in normal much better than heading hold.
I need to go ahead & swallow my pride & get back down to the sheep & ask for some help from the pros!
I meet you down there D.D. a few months ago when you were down with Will doing video stuff I guess but I dont know if you would remember me or not. You were trying to get a main shaft out of a heli in the shack when I got there. Hope to see you there again some time.

Steve

[Espeefan]

Wouldn't a hold heading gyro eliminate the need for revo mixing? A hold heading gyro gives you that much less to worry about and if you're new to flying helis, like me, I see it as a big help! One less thing to concentrate on.

[WillJames]

Yes you do not need revo mixing Steve. Call me when youa re going flying and I will tyry my best to get out there and help. Did you figure out hte drift problem with your 401? Sorry I am working about 60+ hours a week right now, but I am about to slow my event schedule for a while to pay some huge bills so I'll be available a lot more. When is the next time you guys are flying?

[DebianDog]

I meet you down there D.D. a few months ago when you were down with Will doing video stuff I guess but I dont know if you would remember me or not. You were trying to get a main shaft out of a heli in the shack when I got there. Hope to see you there again some time.

Steve

At the Sheep? I think... If not. I have the memory of an ant. Don't take it personally.

I am going to go to the Sheep again soon.

[OzarkCopterBum]

RS: Ya paid for the heading hold, why not use it? Too bad on your first mishap but its happened to ALL of us. Theres 2 kinds of R/C heli pilots, those that HAVE crashed and those that WILL crash. It only gets better from here.

The only crashes that are caused by stupidity are the ones that could have been prevented with maintanance that you were either too lazy or in too much of a hurry to do. The rest is just the learning curve we all go through.

[WillJames]

The only crashes that are caused by stupidity are the ones that could have been prevented with maintanance that you were either too lazy or in too much of a hurry to do. The rest is just the learning curve we all go through.


Very well said. Very well.

Call me Steve, lets fly. Wife is out of town all week, and son is in school from 8-5. Where and when?

[Gary O]

These things are hard enough to fly even in HH. Use it, it makes it that much easier if you had been in HH it would not have spun on you when you got a little aggressive with the collective. Either way, don't let the crash bother you, they happen. There will be more, hopefully they just get spread out.

[DavidH]

Use it, it makes it that much easier if you had been in HH it would not have spun on you when you got a little aggressive with the collective.

That is only true provided the throttle and pitch curves are setup correctly. The model can still spin even in HH mode when aggressive with the collective. If the throttle and pitch curves are not set up and matched.

If you punch a lot of collective at once and the throttle is not setup correctly. The torgue from the head is going to overide the tail compensation.

David

[Steve Rogers]

Thanks Guys,
The crash definatly dosent bother me. I've been in the hobby flying planks long enough to where if I dont get dirt in the TX the crash wasnt good enough!! :mrgreen:
A friend of mine, Howard, got started about the same time as I did in helis & he really uses the HH & when I tried out his heli in HH I still found that for simple foward flight I like normal better. To me it was actually easer to fly in normal than HH. I'm used to using the rudder stick though. When I advance further I will definatly be using it cause as I once heard theres no way some of the manuvers can be done with out it & I believe it. Just as with my planks I like to fly the aircraft. I dont depend on any type of mixes. That makes me a better plank pilot not a good programmer. I know thats impossible on helis but I still want to be able to "fly" the heli as much as possible. I think in the long run it will make me a better heli pilot as well.

Thanks Guys
Steve

[timxx4]

Just a thought but is the gain set right on your gyro? I dont use HH mode or revo mix eather and my tail only moves a tiny bit when i hit full collective. I have a JR 410T gyro and with the gain set as high as you can before tail wag, it flys reasonbly good. The rest of the time i just hold the tail with the sticks :mrgreen: I am just a learner too. Only flown my heli 3 times.

[Kab1sg]

I had my first crash yesterday as well. All part of learning. Doesn't bother me and I will probably be flying a bit tomorrow if the weather is okay. After the crash, I spent time with the simulator, trying to improve the part where I crashed. I told my son as I was cranking it up that I shouldn't be flying anymore today. Either my instincts were correct or I jinxed myself. Either way....it is all part of learning.

[spork]

as with my planks I like to fly the aircraft. I dont depend on any type of mixes


Nothing wrong with that. 99% of my heli flying was done with a mechanical rate gyro, and no revo mix. Seemed natural to me. I recently switched to HH. I like it, but it did take just a little getting used to.

RC

[jschief]

Another thought on the gyro, make sure you give it time to set in when you turn on reciever power. Give the gyro about 3 sec to set itself before doing the rest of the radio check. Yesterday I did not give the gyro the proper time and the minute I went into the air the heli started spinning and I panicked. Second crash.

Everything was going well before this. I guess this shows that all the start-up steps are important. A little newbie error.

[DebianDog]

I went into the air the heli started spinning and I panicked. Second crash.

:lolol :rolling -I- did the same thing except I tried to save it while in a mad pirouette! Everyone watching thought I was doing sloppy 3D or something. LOL

Throttle hold is the "right answer" BTW :?

[ClayK]

DD, would have been good information to know prior to my gyro failure at the Precision Fly :P At least I put her down without incident :)

[DebianDog]

DD, would have been good information to know prior to my gyro failure at the Precision Fly :P At least I put her down without incident :)

Sorry :oops:

[ClayK]

Of course, it's not like it comes up in casual conversation.

"Hey, if you are trying to pick up that hula hoop or skid target and your gyro goes out, hit throttle hold"

or

"Can you pass the ketchup please? Oh yeah, the other day I heard if your gyro goes out, hit throttle hold"

:lol: :lol: :dontknow

[jschief]

"Hey, if you are trying to pick up that hula hoop or skid target and your gyro goes out, hit throttle hold"

Do you hit throttle hold when the heli is spinning uncontrollably or do you do something else. Just wondering. I have run 2 gallons thru my first heli and these things you can't learn from the simulators. I figure you just need to keep flying and learn from your mistakes.

[spork]

Do you hit throttle hold when the heli is spinning uncontrollably


Yup. Hit throttle hold and bring your collective down quickly. The heli will stop spinning and begin to auto down. If you keep just a bit of forward speed the tail will simply follow the nose. Auto as usual (or if you've never auto'd, auto for the first time in your life - just fly it down and bring the collective in nice and smooth as late as you can without smacking the ground).

RC

[jschief]

Thanx's for the info. I will setup my throttle hold because I do not want this to happen again. I have throttle hold inhibited because I thought that would something else to worry about. I have the 9C figured out pretty good so I will work on the throttle hold the next time I fly.