AK (assembled kit) experience

[xspare]

Just got the AK (assembled kit) up and flying yesterday. For electronics I've used the following:

ESC: an original Turnigy K-Force 40 (aka HW Platinum 40)
Servos: HS-82MG
Gyro: E-Frite G110
RX: Orange 6ch

Warning: the servos should have hitec spline for compatibility with the unusual horns that are included with this bird.

Noticed that the rotor diameter is 700mm (not 770mm as advertised) which, given the tail authority, is probably a good thing in the end. The fuselage has a big presence though.

My ESC was set at its default 15 degree timing and the motor sounded like a jackhammer on startup. I dialed it back to 7.5 degrees and it was still a little rough, so I dropped it down to 3.75 degrees and now it sounds and feels much better.

I'm running a DX6i with heli model and 90 degree swash. I had to max out the gyro gain to get it to hold. Set the gyro channel to 100% and travel adjust at 125% - with no signs of wagging. I moved to the outer hole and backed the gryo down to 90% on 125% travel, but have yet to test this setup. Wow, not much tail authority with the headspeed coming off of the stock 5 degree blade grips they included.

The wire drive is very springy but, as others have found, the tail gears will shred at the first tail tap. I noticed the plastic on my replacement gears was a lot whiter than the originals, so I'm hoping these will be more robust, and meshed carefully.

I would not expect the blades to fair well when the temperature starts to drop. They are very flexible at room temperature but look like they will probably explode below freezing, and that could easily be a cloud of high-velocity shards. Be careful.

It's an odd bird but my first impression is that it sounds, looks, and feels pretty nice in the air.

[AtTheCross]

how's that g110 gyro working for you? I tried one on a corona 120 and found that it didn't provide enough hold :(

I have some 4* grips if you want more head speed, pm me if you're interested

[xspare]

The weather here is likely to be cold, wet, and/or windy until May. So the indoor season starts on Sunday and I hope to give it a go at that point.

The G110's are famous for drifting but it held fine on a blustery day with 125% gain, right up until I tapped the tail and shredded the aft gears. I put it up briefly after shredding the aft gears and it was still doing surprisingly well.

Multiplex claimed that the other pitch grips didn't make enough difference to warrant production, althoughI find a little difficult to believe.

ATC, I am curious to know if you've tach'd a hover with the various grips or if you have video of steady hover that I could analyse with the different grips.

[AtTheCross]

don't have a tach, but i can do the hover thing with the different grips

[xspare]

The tail seems to hold but it's still quite soggy. I'm using 90% gyro gain with 125% "travel" on the gyro channel, and using the outer hole on the rudder servo horn.

I'll max out the gyro gain to see if it tightens up a bit, but I might have to take you up on the 4* pitch grips.

[AtTheCross]

yeah, take it up to 100%, but still think that gyro is a little light

[birdmen]

Xspare

With this modifications the tail seems to hold, or continues soggy?

[xspare]

I recommend using better. The tail was definitely not quick or stiff when I was (stubbornly) using the G110 gyro with HS-82MG servo, but it was holding well while drifting mildly (the way they do).

In leaving the G110 gyro gain maxed out it was susceptable to banging to the pitch slider into the physical ends of travel since that gyro doesn't have any travel limit adjustment feature. This eventually loosened the collet that holds the tail rotor on, which led to loss of tail rotor control and a crash. Crash damage was limited.

In repairing it I finally gave up on the G110, and I am kicking my ass for not trading it in on a Quark when that offer was available last spring(?). I installed a Telebee gyro briefly but it had some kind of problem and was twitching intermittently, that was replaced with an HK401B gyro and it seems to work well. I also installed an INO-Labs HG-D261HB digital tail servo that I had on hand. I haven't had a chance to flight test with the new servo but I am confident that it is ideal. Lastly, I found the head/servo/expo combo was causing the thing wallow and I was chasing it with the sticks, so I moved the cyclic pushrods to the inner holes on the servo horns and have turned off expo on cyclic - it feels a lot better now.

Also, I suggest keeping an eye out on the new $10 Assan GA-250 MEMS gyro at HK, initial reviews seem good and it looks a lot like a Quark.