Axe CP separations and setup journal

[Edwinssiv]

Well....since I could not go outside and fly because of our winds here...I played some more with the Axe inside. I noticed that I was getting a very slight tail drift with the Keytech gyro after about 4 minutes or so...I thought, it's time to buy a Futaba 240...then I remembered something I had recently read about adding expo...not knowing anything about it...of course I started playing around with it :shock: Luckily I did not crash or break anything :YeaBaby:. Adding Gyro-Rudder 3% Left and 15% Right the Keytech is now locked in solid for the full 8 minutes of flight time. :thumbup:
I love this programmable TX!!!!! :noteworthy
So sacrifice a small animal to the wind gods for me so I can get out and fly tomorrow morning...we have wind advisories again for the afternoon but maybe I can get a pack or two in before work. :)

[Edwinssiv]

So this morning was absolutely beautiful! :woohoo I grabbed the GSoFA out of guilt :oops: of ignoring him the other day and headed out my back door. My home sits on a half acre lot and over the weekend I worked on making a heli pad area for me to fly from...has more to be done to it but it is working well for now.
So the winds were non-existent this morning. :flyI decide to work on my orientation flying for a pack because I have been over compensating on my nose left hovering...I was a little nervous because the set up with the Axe is very responsive. The last time I had it outside was in 7mph winds and it was a little difficult for me to control because I was over adjusting...but I have been practicing and hovering inside a lot with it lately, so I was a little more confidant this morning. :) I was having a blast just puttering around in different orientations and flying little circuits, nothing major.
Then....I decided to go for it....another attempt at a flip... :wow2:
Into idle up I go...fly around a little to make sure everything is good...do a couple of little punch outs, the Eflite 400 with the 14 tooth pinion is very, very impressive...I bring it back to nose out hover...at this point I am ready to call it off because I am shaking so much :confused: My last two attempts at a flip has resulted in crashes...severe crashes...I say to my self...helis crash...can't learn if you don't try. So I punched up and went for it...it was not pretty but I did it! :WOW I had to land right away...which was tough because I was shaking even more at this point...but the GSoFA performed amazingly.
I am so very happy with the set up on this little heli at this point...I can hardly wait to get out and practice some more!
Sorry for the long post....but I am still so giddy that I had to share!!!!!!!

[markind]

So this morning was absolutely beautiful! :woohoo

Saturday morning was perfect here too! Here are some pics of the now freely flying Son of Franken Axe and his big sister :D

I like that they both fit in the Wing Tote! :Bliss

[Edwinssiv]

Is that you in the picture Mark???? If so what the heck are you looking at??? Both your helis are on the ground!

[JEB123]

His other hobby is bird watching. Hope there's a chiropractor in the family.

[markind]

Is that you in the picture Mark????

Nope just some other guy at my club field, flying a glider that is way up there, leaving me most of the airspace clear for helicoptering hehee

I got in 4 nice TREX flights today at lunch, but just a little too much wind to risk the Axe. Also, I need to get the plastic trainer blades replaced with stock woods...

[JEB123]

Now I'm jealous. Hey, do you know of a cheap replacement blade for the Axe CP? The stock woods are killing me at $14.99 a pop. I even strip them and run them without the covering until they're totally trashed.

[Ray K.]

Jeb-

I don't really know of any cheaper ways to get blades. If you shop around online you might find a deal- but then you have to wait for them. For the longest time, I was ordering my blades from Tower Hobbies, and getting them 2 or 3 sets at a time. When I got down to one last virgin set, I would order more. Of course, the smartass answer is simply DON'T CRASH! ;P When compared to the prices of other blades, $15 is about par for the course, so I guess I don't feel too bad about it. Gotsta roll with the punches, no?

Mark-

I had to laugh when I saw the picture of your WingTote with both helis stuffed in it- I do exactly the same thing! LOL.... batteries and the charger in one pocket, tools, spare parts, and other field crap in the other. That WingTote was probably some of the smartest money I've spent on this hobby. Nicely constructed with high-quality materials, and surprisingly stout! Good stuff! I also went to the local gun store and bought a case that works perfectly for my DX7- $20 was a small price to pay for some armor for my $300 radio! I also keep my owner's manuals and my AMA card in the radio case. This way, I only have to grab the case and the bag when I go to the field. Considering that I drive a Honda Civic (2006 Si Coupe- SWEET!), I don't have a ton of room in my trunk for fragile stuff. 2 simple items makes life easier.

Ed-

I think I (okay, not really... I DID) dropped a deuce in my pants on my first attempt at a flip. Like you, I had to land immediately after the stunt for fear of "dumb thumbs" taking over. It must have taken 5 minutes for my pulse to return to normal! The fact that I had practiced the maneuver HUNDREDS of times on the sim didn't seem to matter when it was actually happening. Scary stuff! I'm so glad that you've made this milestone, though! I know that at least for me, after pulling that stunt my confidence reached a whole new level. Flying circuits, simple aerobatics (stall turns, loops, etc...), hovering nose-in, and everything else that might be considered "intermediate" level flying became much easier. The longer I fly, the more it becomes apparent that flying a model helicopter is 25% setup, 25% skill, 25% concentration, and 25% BALLS. A healthy bank account doesn't hurt, either.... LOL! Congratulations!

I get the feeling that this is going to be a good summer for all of us....

Keep 'em rotor-side up, gentlemen! Happy flying!

-Ray

[Edwinssiv]

Thanks Ray...I think I agree with your assessment on flying helis. rofl
I still need to add tail boom supports to the Axe...I am sure that is going to help with the stability of the tail in acrobatics. Geez, I said no more $ into the Axe...lol...but it is really flying very, very nice now in it's current form...Oh well, can't take it with me, right?

Mark...I have the wing tote as well. But I have one for each of my helis. I may have to arrange them into one...plus I have a monster field kit with 2 batteries, chargers, adapters, parts and all the tools I need to work on a heli in the field. Funny thing is when I crash, it is so bad that I have to take everything home and order parts...lmao.

Jeb...Heli direct has plastic blades you can use. They are a little smaller than the stock and they will increase your head speed for better cyclic control...they work great if you are flying the stock motor. I had to stop using them when I went brushless on my motor because they did not have enough surface area to work with the higher head speeds I was running. They bogged down severely...it was an interesting sound when I would hit the throttle and the air was rushing past the blades trying to lift the heli.

[JEB123]

How well do they take a hit (hopefully they won't!)? Won't they do more rotorhead damage than the woodies since they don't give?

[Edwinssiv]

I had hit them a few times...boxes mostly but twice into a bookcase in my rec room. You could not even tell I hit them. Plus, I have the Bell-Hiller upgrade and Micro Heli CNC parts on the head which shatters the woodies. The thing I have to replace is the feathering spindle...I was bending those any time I touched anything with the blades under power...but I have improved in my flying, so not as big a problem as before.
Edit: If you are still running the stock plastic parts...you will still have as much damage I think with the plastic as with the woddies...the plastic head parts are designed to give in a hit...that is why I think you can still run your woodies longer...with my set up one hit and the woodies are gone.

[JEB123]

I had hit them a few times...boxes mostly but twice into a bookcase in my rec room. You could not even tell I hit them. Plus, I have the Bell-Hiller upgrade and Micro Heli CNC parts on the head which shatters the woodies. The thing I have to replace is the feathering spindle...I was bending those any time I touched anything with the blades under power...but I have improved in my flying, so not as big a problem as before.
Edit: If you are still running the stock plastic parts...you will still have as much damage I think with the plastic as with the woddies...the plastic is designed to give in a hit...that is why I think you can still run your woodies longer...with my set up one hit and the woodies are gone.

Hey is the Bell-Hiller upgrade worth the money? I was thinking of getting it. How much more stable does it make the Axe?

[Edwinssiv]

It makes the Heli more responsive...a lot more responsive!!!!!
I personally love it. Not exactly crazy about the purple blade grips....but it works well. It made the Axe easier to fly for me. Stick input equals heli movement...no waiting on the flybar to react to make the heli move. So no trying to be one step ahead of this heli, which I always felt I was having to do because of the sluggish response.
My Grand Son of Fraken Axe is heavily modified...But it flys extremely well and is now more of a real heli. At one point I was going to put it back to stock and sell it for cheap...but because I am bull-headed...I kept going, throwing $$ into it and now have a heli that I can fly and I really, really like it again. It still struggles in any wind above 5mph...but it does much better now than in the stock form.

[JEB123]

Dang, now I have to get it $$. Oh well, that's my practice bird so I need it to be flyable.
Thanks Ed!

[markind]

I don't really know of any cheaper ways to get blades. If you shop around online you might find a deal- but then you have to wait for them. For the longest time, I was ordering my blades from Tower Hobbies, and getting them 2 or 3 sets at a time. When I got down to one last virgin set, I would order more. Of course, the smartass answer is simply DON'T CRASH! ;P When compared to the prices of other blades, $15 is about par for the course, so I guess I don't feel too bad about it. Gotsta roll with the punches, no?



Yep, the path to success is paved with shattered blades, stripped gears, fried electronics, bent helis. Its all part of the initiation fee into this elite club. :DOH

I bought into the flat plastic trainer blades because even though they are $20 they survive the heli tipping over in the grass - the most common crash mode while I was learning. The wood blades would shatter so after my 3rd set I stuck with the plastics.

Now I am going back to woods and I think I'll be crashing less going forward (knock on wood - uh oh, that's an old broken Axe blade...), thanks in part to new skills gained flying my TREX and also because I finally figured out how the head, bearings, spacers, o-rings, grips really line up together to make the Axe fly well. I am sure I could have avoided some crashes in the past if I had really understood the fine points of the assembly. I was always confounded by the fact that the sim was so much easier than the model... :confused:

I also think the Microheli Flybar Control System and their metal swashplate also help make the Axe easier to learn on. Even more so - the Belt Mod with Gyro - take the Axe to a whole new level of control. :thumbup:

NOW finally she is flying much like the sim - so hopefully not too many more broken blades! :YeaBaby:



Mark-

I had to laugh when I saw the picture of your WingTote with both helis stuffed in it- I do exactly the same thing! LOL....


Great minds... :lolol

I put all the stuff in one pocket and my DX7 in the other pocket - then its just Grab and Go FLY! :D :fly

In other news,

Today is the first day of the first real HEAT WAVE we are seeing in San Jose, CA. My home is in a Heat Island so its likely to hit 107 in my back yard at around 4pm. It will be WARM around lunchtime but pretty calm so I should be able to get in another 3-4 flights today - and if its really calm, I'll spool up my SoFA! :flamedevil

[JEB123]

I'll definitely start with the Bell-Hiller mod and the plastic blades. Gotta stop flying on the asphalt, it's murder.

[Edwinssiv]

I think you will be pleased with the Bell-Hiller upgrade...it comes with good size weights to help...I suggest that you keep them out by the flybar paddles until you get use to the response...I have since moved them into the head and it increases the response even more.

[JEB123]

Thanks, I just ordered it along with the symmetrical plastic blades.

[markind]

Head's up on the Bell-Hiller mod. The purple aluminum bits and kits from Tower are not good quality. Check the bearings carefully before installing - if they are not smooth ask for a replacement - those bearings need to be glass smooth. Mine were 'clicky' - kind of like a rotary switch. They are nearly impossible to replace (I think they used a too-strong compound that probably requires a bunch of heat to loosen up).

I went ahead and ordered the cheaper plastic version, still on back-order:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXTXS8&P=7

Btw based on my last 2 flights I am not crazy about the Bell-Hiller mod as I was. She flew just fine without. The real treat is the Belt Mod - now that really kicks up the Axe's fly-ability. JMOHO.

Be extra careful once you get that Bell-Hiller installed - she may throw you...

[JEB123]

Whoa! I ordered it from HeliDirect. Why is that one in your link $14.99? Is it plastic? I'm paying $34.99, I would think that's the better kit? No? Now I'm worried...when you say she might throw me, in what way? This is the same as the Tower kit then, right?

http://www.helidirect.com/index.php?cPath=30_323_324

[markind]

. :soapbox

Yes I am neg on some of those purple bits, the worst is the Slide Block and See Saw. I just could not get it to work, and it requires a special Main Shaft. Plus, its fifty freakin bux - I got reamed. And if you can't use the Slide Block, you can't use their purple Flybar Carrier. Ugh... :arggg:

I have also heard of problems with the purple swash - but those maybe are fixed now. My silver one is perfect. :thumbup:

The purple blade grips are not great quality - lots of sharp edges and no polish but I my main complaint is that they must use the cheapest bearings they can scrounge up... What they call their "Precision" bits look to be better machined and polished but who knows about the bearings? :dontknow:

Cheap bearings suck. Good bearings are expensive. :DH

Yeah I'm thinking the plastic Bell Hiller should be fine and since she's flying well now there is no rush so I'll check it out and post. At least, I should be able to replace the bearings if I have to. :thinking

Thanks for linking this page - think I'll get me a set or two of the plastic symmetrical blades... :drool:

Edit: Hmmm, HeliDirect got the stock wood blades on sale for $8 each... should get a couple...

http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?products_id=779

[JEB123]

Aw crap I didn't see that! $8 bucks? I'll have to wait and see if the plastic blades are really "super durable" like it says. I wasn't really planning to upgrade the head to CNC fully, just trying to improve stability a little. How much was the belt mod again and who sells it?

[Edwinssiv]

http://freestyle-hobby.com
With shipping it works out to like $110.00
I luv the upgrade to the belt...I really, really do!!!!!! But I don't think I would do it again...I have a spare Axe in parts right now...I think I am going to buy a HBKing II for like $89.00 and put all the Axe servos and stuff into it...it already has a belt driven tail and is basically the same size.

[JEB123]

Yeah, but does it have the bullet proof frame?

[markind]

I love the model - and it is hard to justify a $110 belt mod on a $200 kit. Its a significant chapter in the Axe Book of Zen. The story is still progressing, and the cash must flow... I want to see where the Axe will take me.

I caught myself browsing at airbrushed fiberglass canopies... :drool:

geeeze... :roll:

Is that asking for a crash or what? :bomb: