PDA

View Full Version : Newbie Success Here!!


Ziggy2711
01-11-2007, 10:26 PM
Hi guys!

I know it's been a really long time since I have made any type of significant post, but I wanted to chime in and thank all of you for your generous help since I first started on here a couple months back. If you can remember, I had absolutely no experience flying a "real" RC helicopter and wanted to try my hand at potentially building an AP business from scratch.

I am proud to say that I have finally flown my first major RC helicopter. It is my E-Raptor 50 with DJ's mount included! Remember, my only prior experience was the Blade CX and Blade CP Pro. In addition, I spent almost a year perfecting my technique on Real Flight. (there is a special way I did this, just ask if you want to know).

For all you newbies out there, I would more than recommend spending a LOT of time on Real Flight if you have no heli experience. The only RC experience I had was in planes for about 10 years. While working on Real Flight, I would definately recommend the Blade CX as a beginner aircraft to get you oriented with nose out, nose in, basic forward flight, basic backward flight, side to side, and a combination of all. Then, move up to a a heli that won't be too much of a hand full. For me, it was the Blade CP Pro. I didn't want a heli that was too much for me to handle as I was learning. I also wanted something that I could repair easily if I crashed. I was thinking about a TREX or something similar but didn't feel it was a smart investment since I didn't have much experience with helis. With all of this "overkill" in learning how to fly, I have had absolutely no crashes, near misses, or incidents of any sort. Perhaps I am just lucky?

Anyway, after all the help from Gary, DJ, Askman, John from Larry's Hobbies, Mark, and many others on here, the Raptor is completed and I have about 4 or 5 flights on it. For me, words can not describe how easy it is to fly the thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Compared to the squirrley CP Pro, the Raptor 50 is a Lexus!! I love the thing and feel I have made a smart investment as an additional tool for my portrait business. www.AgardPhotography.com

So, here is what I have:

Rator 50
Jr 9303
3 9252 Servos
1 9254 Servo
The good futaba gyro (I forgot which one it is at the moment!)
12s Emoli
Hacker A50 16S Motor
HV 85 Controller
TT 600mm carbon fibers
DJ's camera mount

By the way, what happened with the buzz about the emoli's and the Hacker motors? Although I have not posted for a while, I have been reading the forums almost every other day and it seems as if A123's are the batteries of choice and the Zpower motors are it for motors. SHOULD I CONSIDER SWITCHING????

I know this is getting a tad long, so can you please recommend what I should add to optimize my setup? Is there anything I should do to help smooth out my flying? I have gathered from other posts that I will eventually need the following to optimize my setup:

AP2000i
FMA sensor (how does it work??)


I will post some images a little later. Again, thank you all for your help and I am looking forward to joining the club again here at the freak!

Ziggy2711
01-11-2007, 10:45 PM
Let me know what you think and please share what you think I should add to optimize my setup.

Thanks! :D

AZ ChopperCam
01-11-2007, 11:08 PM
hell yeah! you've got a CLEAN ship there!

One word of advice... ditch that stock landing gear and get a Vario Benzine set. Part #125 I think. About 1.7" taller and 2" wider. Will protect your cam in an auto situation. Ask me how I know :roll:

That's a nice ship but maybe in the future drop that Hacker and get an Actro or Z power!

cbergen
01-11-2007, 11:25 PM
AND TAPE THAT JR CRYSTAL IN!!

Yes I know I was yelling. :lol:

Tonystott
01-12-2007, 12:16 AM
And add a Spartan AP2000i too :)

herethere
01-12-2007, 09:23 AM
hi ziggy, in retrospect do you think you could've gone from the SIM only to flying the raptor and skipping the smaller heli purchase in the middle?

MLaBoyteaux
01-12-2007, 10:58 AM
I noticed the crystal, and it's already been suggested to tape it in!

You would also benefit from adding a set of flybar weights to help dampen the flybar, this will add to the overall stability.

It looks like your white battery pack has already been rubbing against the case on the Hacker motor. You might want to make sure it is secured so there's no way it can migrate forward and rub on the outter can of the motor.

Other than that, you have done a nice job tyeing up your wiring, very clean job!

Ziggy2711
01-12-2007, 12:02 PM
It seems as if everyone is impressed with the wiring job! Thing is, I never wired it. A local RC flyer (Mark) wired my ship and also programmed my 9303. He is awesome! Thanks Mark!!!!

Can someone give me a reputable website link for the Vario landing gear? I definately want to add this!

I will definately tape the crystal in. I never even thought about that!

As far as the AP200i goes, I will order one soon but I am a little nervous about it. It looks like it is difficult to program but only time will tell.

How will flybar weights affect the flying and where exactly do I put them?

Yes, the white emoli pack was rubbing against the motor. The pictures I included are actually a tad old. (2 weeks or so). I modified it by adding velcro straps that insure it will not rub.

Herethere: To answer your question, I DO NOT think I could have successfully gone from the SIM straight to the Raptor. That is just me understanding my level of anal retentiveness and me being a perfectionist. I would much rather look at the scenerio like this: The raptor ship is a major, expensive investment which I want to keep for a long time. I did everything possible to insure I would not damage it and lose money. For me, the decision to fly the CX and CP PRO was the best decision I made in the entire process. Both of those ships gave me TONS of confidence. Once I started on the Raptor, there were absolutely no surprises since I had already accumlated "real" flying time.

Thanks guys!

MarkWebber
01-12-2007, 12:51 PM
As far as the AP200i goes, I will order one soon but I am a little nervous about it. It looks like it is difficult to program but only time will tell.

Don't be nervous. Especially if you've already got someone around to assist with the radio setup for calibration/gain feature. Even then, it's not that hard to set up.

Tonystott
01-12-2007, 01:49 PM
Ziggy, I can underline Mark Webber's comments... The installation of the AP2000i was a total breeze, and it does all that is advertised, and has made flying our AP Trex450 a piece of cake. On a larger heli, it would be the perfect thing to reduce stress! (maybe it should get FDA approval :))

Ziggy2711
01-12-2007, 02:00 PM
Sounds good Mark and Tony! I guess I will plan on ordering one sooner than I originally planned and be sure to get some extra help. Where should I get one from? Can you also include everything I need to get with it? (do I only add the FMA sensor??)

I should also mention that I strapped my wife's small digital camera on the gimbal. I was happy to find I had absoluetely no vibes whatsoever in the camera (thanks for the mounting diagram DJ), but found it difficult to get perfectly smooth flight for viewing later. I guess I really do need that AP2000i to help smooth things out.

Also, anyone have a link to the Vario landing gear?

Cool website Tony.

Thanks!

MLaBoyteaux
01-12-2007, 02:09 PM
I'm trying to remember where I got the flybar weights for my Raptor. I thought it was Ricks, but they don't show them. I think I got them from Heliproz http://heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=101720 but they show them to be out of stock.

The flybar acts as a gyroscope, adding more weight (mass) to it increases it's gyroscopic effect and requires more force to change it's plane of rotation. This in effect, makes the head more stable because the flybar is mechanically linked to the main blades. For AP, you want a rock solid, lean, mean, hovering machine!

The link to the landing gear is http://us.vario-helicopter.biz/shop/product_info.php?products_id=32103 but I'm not sure this is the correct one, because it's for 12mm skids. You can view several of their skids at http://us.vario-helicopter.biz/shop/index.php?cPath=22_129&sort=3a&page=2

MarkWebber
01-12-2007, 07:13 PM
Ziggy

The only thing I don't carry is the sensor. You can get that from fmadirecthttp://www.fmadirect.com/Detail.htm?item=1778&section=20
I believe there are only 3 left available for preorder. The order is due in later this month.

Ziggy2711
01-13-2007, 12:47 AM
MLaBoyteaux: Your explanation of the flybar weights completely makes sense. It would also make sense for me to get them. I will add them to my list of goodies to purchase. Also, thank you for the gear link. I will see if I can figure out which one to purchase.

Mark: are you saying you only have 3 AP2000i's left or the sensors?


EVERYONE: I have a REALLY important quesiton to ask. If my ship comes in a tad nose heavy (from a small video camera I have mounted) should I really worry about it? Or, should I not worry about it and add some up elevator in the trims to compensate? I tried to move the battery packs as far back as possible, but the nose still dips a tad when I try to balance.

Please let me know. Thanks!