rob_jones
11-22-2004, 10:16 AM
I finally had a chance to put the Rex through it's paces this weekend! Folks, I think we have a winner!
It is not overpowered by any means, but it has enough. I let 3D Lee take the sticks and he really put it through its paces. I wish I had thought to bring my camera to get a shot of him mowing the grass inverted! For the first time I was able to relax and have fun flying an electric heli. I wasn't worried that it was going to fly apart or just drop out of the sky.
I also measured the flight time and 10 minutes is pretty safe. I would fly for 5, let it sit for a little while and then fly for 5 more minutes. When I charged the battery afterwards, it would take 1800-1900 MaH. This is on a 2100 MaH pack, so I'm getting most of it. After each flight, the pack is warm to the touch, but not hot at all.
This is the current (get it? "current") setup:
Align 2800kv Motor w/13T pinion
Thunder Power gen2 3-cell 2100 (with Dean's Ultra connectors)
Castle Creations Pheonix 25 ESC
JR R700 reciever
Bue Bird servos
MS-44 gyro
Align stock wood blades
I got the USB PC interface for the ESC and it is well worth the $25. It allows the ESC to be connected to a computer and works with software downloaded from the Castle Creations web site. I upadated the internal ESC software to the lastest version (which fixes a known issue regarding the governor mode with outrunner motors) and set all the parameters. It was very cool to be able to see all the settings and easily change them to experiment. I ended up changing the motor timing to the "High" setting and it really helped boost power.
I'm currently running a throttle curve of 90% straight across in IDLE UP. But I'm going to try the governor mode next time out.
There was an inpromptu crash test Saturday which unfortunately ended the action for the weekend. Jay was flipping it back and forth from upright to inverted very low to the ground. He did it several times but misjudged and put it in the dirt. But amazingly, there was very little damage: Only a bent spindle and main shaft. It didn't even break the blades! The spindle is very soft and was bent like a pretzel. But I have to assume that Align did this one purpose because it prevented the damage from being much worse. This crash happened with a head speed of about 2200 RPM and both blades dug into the ground. It looked like a really hard hit!
I'm going to order a handful of spindles and try it again. I'll bring the camera this time!!
It is not overpowered by any means, but it has enough. I let 3D Lee take the sticks and he really put it through its paces. I wish I had thought to bring my camera to get a shot of him mowing the grass inverted! For the first time I was able to relax and have fun flying an electric heli. I wasn't worried that it was going to fly apart or just drop out of the sky.
I also measured the flight time and 10 minutes is pretty safe. I would fly for 5, let it sit for a little while and then fly for 5 more minutes. When I charged the battery afterwards, it would take 1800-1900 MaH. This is on a 2100 MaH pack, so I'm getting most of it. After each flight, the pack is warm to the touch, but not hot at all.
This is the current (get it? "current") setup:
Align 2800kv Motor w/13T pinion
Thunder Power gen2 3-cell 2100 (with Dean's Ultra connectors)
Castle Creations Pheonix 25 ESC
JR R700 reciever
Bue Bird servos
MS-44 gyro
Align stock wood blades
I got the USB PC interface for the ESC and it is well worth the $25. It allows the ESC to be connected to a computer and works with software downloaded from the Castle Creations web site. I upadated the internal ESC software to the lastest version (which fixes a known issue regarding the governor mode with outrunner motors) and set all the parameters. It was very cool to be able to see all the settings and easily change them to experiment. I ended up changing the motor timing to the "High" setting and it really helped boost power.
I'm currently running a throttle curve of 90% straight across in IDLE UP. But I'm going to try the governor mode next time out.
There was an inpromptu crash test Saturday which unfortunately ended the action for the weekend. Jay was flipping it back and forth from upright to inverted very low to the ground. He did it several times but misjudged and put it in the dirt. But amazingly, there was very little damage: Only a bent spindle and main shaft. It didn't even break the blades! The spindle is very soft and was bent like a pretzel. But I have to assume that Align did this one purpose because it prevented the damage from being much worse. This crash happened with a head speed of about 2200 RPM and both blades dug into the ground. It looked like a really hard hit!
I'm going to order a handful of spindles and try it again. I'll bring the camera this time!!