Axe CP separations and setup journal

[MiniBichus]

Hello,

I've been working on the Axe for a while with a friend of mine and we setup a VP tail driven with a Medusa 5300 kV motor.

Frame:
-Axe CP unibody frame with battery tray setup identical to T-Rex 450 angled battery plate.
Main rotor:
-Microheli CNC center hub. silver.
-Microheli CNC flybar assembly. silver.
-Microheli CNC swash plate. silver.
-Heli-Maxx bell-hiller upgrade. de-anodized.
-Microheli 250mm carbon fiber blades.
-Replaced bushings with solid aluminum collars.
Boom:
-Carbon fiber tube, enlarged 1/2 inch over the stock purple boom.
-T-Rex 450 boom support and horizontal stabilizer.
Tail rotor:
-T-Rex 450 variable pitch tail system driven by a brushless motor.
-T-Rex carbon fiber tail blades.
-T-Rex silver carbon fiber vertical fin.
Receiver/Radio:
-Spektrum AR6100.
-Spektrum DX7.
Main motor/ESC:
-HiMaxx 2025-4200KV brushless motor.
-E-Flite 20amp BL-ESC.
-12T pinion.
Tail motor/ESC:
-Medusa Afterburner 12x30mm 5300KV brushless motor.
-E-Flite 10amp BL-ESC.
Cyclic servos:
-3x Hitec HS-65HB
Gyro/Tail servo.
-Logictech 2100T gyro.
-Logictech 3100G tail servo.
-ESky servo tester to adjust gyro gain thus freeing the gear channel.
Battery:
-2x ThunderPower 1320 mAh packs.
Landing gear:
-T-Rex 450 chromed braces widened 1 inch.
Navigation lights:
-MPI lightweight LED kit.

I also put a complete list of the parts involved in this conversion on my blog.

If anybody is interested, the "Official Axe CP thread" on RCG contains some of the details on how this thing was put together and a couple of videos of the heli in action.

Cheers.

MB.

[Ray K.]

What does it weigh?

[markind]

And please post the headspeed and current draw, thanks!

That is one mean looking Axe! :flamedevil

[Edwinssiv]

From the post above he would be running almost 2797 rpm calculated...
Just from what MiniBichus has posted in the RCG forum...he has a 45 gram lead weight in the nose to help with the balance on this bird :shock: So his weight has got to be up there.
I like his set up to a point...the price is right and from the videos it flies well...with all that weight I would be curious to see how well it does inverted maneuvers and basic stunts...
With my set up I am exploring more stunts a little at a time...I have completed flips and rolls with this little heli as it is set up with no problems...The GSoFA is flying very well right now...I still need to get tail boom support and will probably order that next week. I may try out some carbon fiber blades for it as well to see how they do...not sure of continuing the $ on this bird...but darn if I don't like it :D
It is still my first baby and is the reason for my addiction now....maybe I should burn it and bury it with a crucifix?!?!?!?! :nanabobo

[markind]

Well looking over this thread we have seen Axe's lost to drowning in a lake, stuck up in trees, run over by cars, chicken danced and just abandoned on dusty shelves. Can't say that burning at the stake would be completely out of the question... :flamedevil

Speaking of Barbeque, my local flying club had the occasional regular BBQ and fly meet this weekend.

I took the Axe up for a spin and it did fine but then the wind picked up, and I had to set her down with some great effort. She's fine just need to get those symmetical blades on and get to fine tuning the Pitch and Throttle Curves. I tried, as an experiment, to mimic the TREX curves in the Axe program. Nope, no worky. Not the same bird. Was fun to try though. :D

The club's reaction to it was "Meh. Ok, so bring out the TREX!" :roll:

I got in 6 TREX flights at the BBQ (windy and warm) and 4 flights this morning (nearly dead calm and nice) oooh dude my circles are looking nice in either direction, fast and slow, and I almost got down the Nose In Hover! A few more flights in the calm and I think I'll have it. :thumbup:

[Edwinssiv]

I decided to not burn the GSoFA...Took it out and flew a couple of packs this evening...practising my side hovers, a little nose in, and slow circuits. Then a breeze kicked up....poor little Axe gets blown around still pretty severe but it has much more control with the high head speed...so it is a little work to get in and down but it handles it so much better than it use to.
Took the Black Hawk after and it really does much better in a breeze...so I flew that for a pack...I have 2 more just calling me to go fly...so I am off again.

[JEB123]

From the post above he would be running almost 2797 rpm calculated...
Just from what MiniBichus has posted in the RCG forum...he has a 45 gram lead weight in the nose to help with the balance on this bird :shock: So his weight has got to be up there.
I like his set up to a point...the price is right and from the videos it flies well...with all that weight I would be curious to see how well it does inverted maneuvers and basic stunts...
With my set up I am exploring more stunts a little at a time...I have completed flips and rolls with this little heli as it is set up with no problems...The GSoFA is flying very well right now...I still need to get tail boom support and will probably order that next week. I may try out some carbon fiber blades for it as well to see how they do...not sure of continuing the $ on this bird...but darn if I don't like it :D
It is still my first baby and is the reason for my addiction now....maybe I should burn it and bury it with a crucifix?!?!?!?! :nanabobo

Hey Ed, sorry for the dumb newb question, but, how did you calc that headspeed? I know its motor rpm X pinion T / main T, but what voltage are you using to get the motor speed?
4200 X ? :thinking

[Ray K.]

Man...

I finally get a real day off, and it's windy as Hell here. No telling when the next chance I'll get to fly is... I'm moving over the next couple weeks, so between that and work, I'll be surprised if I get a chance to squeeze in a flight. The new place won't have a good place to fly, either.... bummer. Guess this means that I'll be at the field more often! I always seem to fly worse at the field... performance anxiety, probably. There's guys there that have been flying for years- Raptor 50 Titans, Sceadu EVOs, TRex 600s, and Panteras abound. It's exclusively a helicopter club, which is cool, but it's also a little intimidating. None of these guys are electric-bird fans, and there's only one other guy there with a 'Rex 450, and he's crazy good at 3D. I'm no doubt the new kid on the block there, but it's what I've got. Fortunately, all these guys are pretty friendly, and none of them give me a hard time, so it's all good. One of them even buddy-boxed me on his Rap-50, so I think I'm in good company there. I think that's why I'm so Hell-bent on getting into nitro next... That thing flew GREAT!

Mark-

It's funny that you bring up the helicopter-caught-in-a-tree thing again... last time I was flying, I had another near-miss that I didn't mention. Same tree, same orientation, except this time I missed the tree, if only by a couple inches. I really should fly at the field more- there's really not any room, even for the Axe, to build any kind of speed up to fly proper circuits. Unless of course you're not afraid of trees....

I tried some of my TRex settings on my Axe also, and the fact that they're two different animals was pretty obvious to me, too. Speaking of radio settings....

We've all shared our mechanical setups, but we haven't really talked about radio settings at all. Since most of us are using proper computer radios now, maybe we should start talking about how we've got that stuff set up, too. It should be pretty obvious at this point that radio setup is equally important as mechanical setup. Maybe we'll even find some new tricks for ACP performance based on radio setup...

So here's what I'm doing:

Spektrum DX7 with AR6100 Rx

Throttle curves:
Normal mode-
Point L- 0.0%
Point 1- INH
Point 2- 80.0%
Point 3- INH
Point H- 90.0%

This makes hovering pretty docile. I'm thinking about upping the throttle a little though- landing in windy conditions is pretty tough, and a little more headspeed might make that a little easier.

ST1-
Point L- 100.0%
Point 1- INH
Point 2- 90.0%
Point 3- INH
Point H- 100.0%

90% throttle at zero pitch (at least with my motor/pinion/ESC) seems to strike a good balance of cyclic feel between high and low collective conditions. I haven't really played with cyclic-throttle mixing, but maybe that could liven up the cyclic at the extremes a little... sort of like reverse expo, but without making the bird too nervous around center. Maybe I'll try that out....

ST2-
Just like ST1 (this will make more sense in a minute)

Pitch Curves-
Normal Mode-
Point L- 42.0% (something like -3° or -4° collective)
Point 1- INH
Point 2- 50.0 % (you have no idea how long it took me to make 50.0% exactly 0° pitch!)
Point 3- INH
Point H- 85% (about 10° collective)

Again, this setup makes hovering pretty tame. I figured that reduced pitch and throttle would make the heli a little softer, and it did. Maybe too much though.

ST1-
Point L- 0.0% (-12° collective pitch)
Point 1- INH
Point 2- 50.0%
Point 3- INH
Point H- 100.0% (+12° collective pitch)

ST2-
Just like ST1, and again, it'll make sense in a minute.

HOLD-
Just like ST1.

Now for the goofy stuff....

I have my Dual Rates set up such that the D/R's are only active during ST2. While I was setting up the helicopter, I made it so that in the swash menu my aileron and elevator (coincidentally at 100% exactly) would provide maximum mechanical deflection of the swashplate. When the D/Rs are active, they give the full 100% mechanical ability of the swashplate. In Normal and ST1 modes, I have the D/Rs set up so that I get 80% of maximum deflection. This helps to calm down the Axe a little, but when I want more throw, I just switch over to ST2. I think I'm getting an idea here.... cyclic to throttle mixing is the answer twice now...

For expo, I have everything set flat. I solved that problem with my throttle curves, and I kind of like a more direct feel toward center- at least with the ACP. I have 15% expo on the 'Rex.

I'm feeling like there's better feel to be gained with careful radio setup, and I also feel like my radio settings are somewhat less than ideal. I think that I may have answered some of my own questions, though- cyclic to throttle mixing could be helpful, and maybe playing around with that in conjunction with some expo could really set the heli off...



What are you guys doing with your radios?

-Ray

[MiniBichus]

Weight is ~570 AUW, and thats with the 42 gram weight in the nose. I recently purchased a Flightpower EVO20 1800 mAh that will replace the weight with more battery capacity. This battery fits perfect on the tray system and the heli is perfectly balanced with it on it (without the weight)

Head speed is very close to 3 grand, I used the Venom's car magnetic speedometer to 'measure' the 'speed' and if the math is right its spinning about 29xx.

With a 1320 mAh the heli flies for about 8:30 minutes before the motor changes pitch tone and its time to land it. You have literally 15-20 seconds to land it otherwise the thing just falls from the air. :) (been there, done that!)

With the 1800 flight time should be close to 12-13 minutes. These EVO20 are rated at 20 amps and there is no additional weight for the battery (as the 42 gram ballast goes away)

I am exteremely happy with this helicopter. It has a very solid hover and the forward flight characteristics are as good as the RCT-450 that I just purchased. Granted, is no 450 powerwise but it is very quick when you need it. I am using more of a bell head than a hiller head as the mixing arms on the bell-hiller system are shorter on the direct swash link than the stabilizer link.

Cheers.

MB.

[MiniBichus]

I have no doubt that this heli will do inverted stuff no problems, I just don't have the skill to do it, or at least, not yet. Most the weight is located on the upper deck of the frame and its very close, heigthwise, to the main rotor blade height line which makes the heli extremely neutral for roll/pitch manevuers and pretty docile for hovers, even with 20 mph winds the heli is rock solid. If doesn't pendulum around like it did when it was in original trim. Powerwise, this heli pops pretty good too, at 100 percent throttle (stunt mode 2) I it can do up-downs slamming the collective up and down and the heli just pops up and down like its bouncing of a wall. Best of all is that the tail holds 100% perfect.

Weight is pretty much irrelevant if you have the power to move it. TREX450 weights 800 AUW and it moves pretty good... :)

Cheers.

MB.

From the post above he would be running almost 2797 rpm calculated...
Just from what MiniBichus has posted in the RCG forum...he has a 45 gram lead weight in the nose to help with the balance on this bird :shock: So his weight has got to be up there.
I like his set up to a point...the price is right and from the videos it flies well...with all that weight I would be curious to see how well it does inverted maneuvers and basic stunts...
With my set up I am exploring more stunts a little at a time...I have completed flips and rolls with this little heli as it is set up with no problems...The GSoFA is flying very well right now...I still need to get tail boom support and will probably order that next week. I may try out some carbon fiber blades for it as well to see how they do...not sure of continuing the $ on this bird...but darn if I don't like it :D
It is still my first baby and is the reason for my addiction now....maybe I should burn it and bury it with a crucifix?!?!?!?! :nanabobo

[Edwinssiv]

MiniBichus-From the videos it does look like it would do well with inverted...if you are able to remove that weight in the nose with a bigger battery, well then no worry about losing your canopy and control of the heli...having it balanced without weight would remove lot of concern I would have about your set up...It does look good!

JEB-http://dhrc.rchomepage.com/calc.htm I use this calculater now...so much easier and gives me estimates on what I can run...

Ray-I know I have posted my set up in here somewhere...just woke up so too lazy to go get my radio ROFL...I will post them tonight again.

[MiniBichus]

MiniBichus-From the videos it does look like it would do well with inverted...if you are able to remove that weight in the nose with a bigger battery, well then no worry about losing your canopy and control of the heli...having it balanced without weight would remove lot of concern I would have about your set up...It does look good!

JEB-http://dhrc.rchomepage.com/calc.htm I use this calculater now...so much easier and gives me estimates on what I can run...

Ray-I know I have posted my set up in here somewhere...just woke up so too lazy to go get my radio ROFL...I will post them tonight again.

Thanks. The only bad thing about this setup is that its expensive, and it sadly proves the statement that in RC you, usually, get what you pay for.

The canopy is firmly attached, specially after we replaced the very thin pins with a 2 1/2 mm thick carbon fiber rod capped with 3 mm ends and we put heavy duty servo rubber grommets on the canopy so it stays in place even under severe conditions. I agree tho, the battery is a much better route than the canopy weight :)

I would've tried the Spartan gyro on the Axe but I got the 450 the same day so I didn't do it, it would've been nice to take pictures of an Axe with a Spartan DS760 gyro on it :) :banana

Cheers.

MB.

[Edwinssiv]

Well MiniBichus...I have a spare Axe that is grounded for now until I decide what I want to do with it...it was suppose to be for my wife to learn on but she has not taken to this hobby like I have ROFL...
I have the Black Hawk 450 now and it is easy to fly and I am progressing very quickly with it...I do want to always have a second heli to fly and the Axe fits the bill as long as the wind is down...
I really want to get the Gauzer Mars 480...I have been working on the wife for it...so hopefully she gives in soon ;)

[MiniBichus]

Well MiniBichus...I have a spare Axe that is grounded for now until I decide what I want to do with it...it was suppose to be for my wife to learn on but she has not taken to this hobby like I have ROFL...
I have the Black Hawk 450 now and it is easy to fly and I am progressing very quickly with it...I do want to always have a second heli to fly and the Axe fits the bill as long as the wind is down...
I really want to get the Gauzer Mars 480...I have been working on the wife for it...so hopefully she gives in soon ;)

There was a few things that caught me on the Axe, one was exactly what you described in your post. A friend of mine had it and it was grounded and ready to hit either the trash can or the ebay lot. At that time I was still working on my heavily modded, full brushless 2 cell Walkera 4#3 and I needed something to move on and do the jump to CCPM and the Axe fitted the bill. Took me a while to decide and it required me to fully decomission the 4#3 (MB-1) The 1st running Axe 'prototype' that I built ran on two micro Feigao 6 amp ESCs and it flew for ~15-16 minutes on the same TP1320 that now yields 8:30 minutes....
AUW was ~460 grams, with a HiMaxx 2015-3600 KV main motor and a baby feigao 12x22 mm as tail motor. It had no variable pitch tail yet.

I originally bought the Logictech gyro/servo for whatever 450 I was going to get next but I really liked the Axe flying characteristics and I started going nuts with it and the Logictech ended up being its final gyro/servo combo.

The best mod I did to it was the bell-hiller rotor head upgrade and the variable pitch tail. It is a completely different helicopter now from what started, it started as a calm day only helicopter to now that I don't have to wait for wind to go down anymore. I've flown it time after time on 20 mph winds and it is as nimble and solid as it is when flying it on a calm day. I am sure the ~2900 RPM head speed helps a lot with that too. I am also using MicroHeli carbon fiber blades which are a tad longer, 250 mm long, which probably help on stability a lot.
If Heli-max would've put a shaft/belt on this chopper I think it would've been one of the nicest RTF kits on the market.
BTW, the frame of the Axe reminds me a lot of the first TREX XL with plastic frame and mechanical mixing. Kinda cool :)

The bell hiller upgrade is only 34 bucks and its all Aluminum and you'll never break these grips ever again so no more stacking on blade grips that break. I barely crash it anymore, (last crash was 2 weeks ago) and I fly it every day for ~3/4 hour. the heli is a lot more predictable too, so that helps.

If you have your eyes on a 450, but you have an Axe now, start buying the stuff you want to put on your 450, it all fits on the Axe. Radio,servos,gyro... the only thing that you'll come behind are the motors, which you'll most likely have to leave behind if you decide to scrap the Axe after getting a 450. The VP tail is fully compatible with a TREX450 so there is no problems there either. The initial investment on the 450 can be done gradually rather than taking the 800+ dollar plunge in one day. Buy the 65MG servos, put them on the Axe, yeah, its overkill, but you have a heli to play with while you get the cash to buy the rest of the 450.

Cheers.

MB.

[MiniBichus]

Well MiniBichus...I have a spare Axe that is grounded for now until I decide what I want to do with it...it was suppose to be for my wife to learn on but she has not taken to this hobby like I have ROFL...
I have the Black Hawk 450 now and it is easy to fly and I am progressing very quickly with it...I do want to always have a second heli to fly and the Axe fits the bill as long as the wind is down...
I really want to get the Gauzer Mars 480...I have been working on the wife for it...so hopefully she gives in soon ;)

Wanted a separate post/response for the wife comment. Not sure how much adveturous your wife is so that might be the determining factor on this. My GF has shown interest in cars so I built her a neat pink VW Beettle/Bug (1/10 scale) on one of my open modified racers and I then tuned the 3PK with her profile so she feels comfortable with it. If you want my advice on trying to get her to like it, I'd sayu get something along the lines of helicommand or similars. That will take care of the hovering part and stabilization part and once you hook her up, she will like it. My GF likes driving the bug around a lot and I don't see no reason why your wife wouldn't like it. Gals want instant gratification (no pun intended, please) when it comes down to stuff like this as they are way more likely to give up (not as stubborn) whereas guys (us), we tend to be more stubborn and we usually don't quit the 1st time we crash, on the contrary, some of us go for more! :)

Cheers.

MB.

[Edwinssiv]

My wife has taken to the Blade CX2 and enjoys flying that...but she has not shown that she really wants to move beyond that to the CCPM helis.
I to loved the Axe from the day I bought it and I agree that they should come out with a belt driven tail!!!!! It was a challenge to learn to fly it until I figured out how to set it up correctly. After that I was having lots of fun! But was frustrated about the tail motor and it's lack of responce...but I learned. So in hopes to make a stable helicopter that maybe my wife would have an easy time learning with and to make a more responsive heli for myself I started the upgrades...first with a HH Gyro...fried the 3-1 first...so then I went to separate ESC's with a brushless motor on it...started frying stock tail motors after an hour or two of flying time...my guess was the gyro was running the tail motor so much to keep up...went with the Bell-Hiller upgrade and I loved that! After the 4th tail motor...I was ready to give up but decided to go with the belt driven tail...I was finally happy!!!!!!! I am planning on getting longer carbon fiber blades for it and I think you are right and it will be better in the wind with them...but right now it is controlable just not able to do much more than basic FF and hovering because it still gets blown about still. In no wind...I have plenty of power and can do flips, rolls and should be able to do more intense 3D as I learn.

[markind]

Cheers. MB.

We'll I think I can safely say you've taken the Axe to a whole nuther level.

The VP tail is very interesting and shows some real out of box thinking. I am staying with the Belt Tail for now. :Stay

As for me, I just got my symmetrical plastic blades from HeliDirect, and had to put a little tape on one to balace them out, and installed them.

I just got done with some tests and they seem to be tracking perfectly. I spent some time on the Pitch and Throttle Curves and am ready for some more calm day test flights. She is still very experimental but I will savor the effects of each mod and hopefully fly around a few times with no crashing before I go for the next step - Plastic Bell Hiller. (I already munged up a purple CnC kit, grrr) :Fan

[MiniBichus]

Thanks Markind.

The only real advantage over a belt driven tail is the fact that you can change the speed of the tail rotor without changing the main rotor speed. This will probably work very well for larger scale muti bladed helicopters where
lots of power are needed at the tail to keep the thing straight.

The plastic blades will survive the accident but they have a lower performance point and the heilcopter will be too mushy and they required constant tracking adjustments. Once you crash them, they will never track straight again. I suggest you get the wooden ones or even better, get the Microheli 250 mm carbon fiber blades that I am using. They will make the helicopter a lot more stable and less mushy, so when you tell it to go, it goes instead of sitting there thinking (mushing) wether I should go or not.

Cheers.

MB.

We'll I think I can safely say you've taken the Axe to a whole nuther level.

The VP tail is very interesting and shows some real out of box thinking. I am staying with the Belt Tail for now. :Stay

As for me, I just got my symmetrical plastic blades from HeliDirect, and had to put a little tape on one to balace them out, and installed them.

I just got done with some tests and they seem to be tracking perfectly. I spent some time on the Pitch and Throttle Curves and am ready for some more calm day test flights. She is still very experimental but I will savor the effects of each mod and hopefully fly around a few times with no crashing before I go for the next step - Plastic Bell Hiller. (I already munged up a purple CnC kit, grrr) :Fan

[Edwinssiv]

Well....something is up with my Axe again...I think either my niece or nephew messed with it...I got home from work and they wanted to see the helicopters fly...so I told them ok. Took the Black Hawk outside and flew around for them....then they wanted to see the little one. So I told them I would have to fly it in the house because it was windy out. Went to spool it up...and it just flopped over on its side, no lift at all...so I think they bent the feathering spindle on it when their grandmother was not watching them...she comes and cleans house for my me and my wife and these kids can not keep their hands off of anything...jammed up our antique slot machine last time they were here...I am a little upset.

[JEB123]

Wanna buy an Axe (haha)? :YeaBaby:

[MiniBichus]

I posted it over here.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9798033&postcount=6761

These comments are not intended to start any war. I own them both and I like them both. I am glad I didnt' decomission the MB-2 (Axe) to build the MB-3 (RCT450)

Cheers, and enjoy the read. (pics on the post as well)

MB.

[MiniBichus]

Sorry to hear. I am not using the Axe CP's feathering spindles anymore. I think I am using Blade 400 ones. (comes with two in a packet for less money) To make this work I used a small brass collar from a TREX parts bag that I bought when the VP tail was built and it has the same OD than the feathering spindle of the Axe. I think you might be able to use TREX v1 feathering spindles with this trick b/c they seem to be identical length to the Blade 400 I think. (haven't bent one in a while so I can't tell for sure)

Cheers.

MB

Well....something is up with my Axe again...I think either my niece or nephew messed with it...I got home from work and they wanted to see the helicopters fly...so I told them ok. Took the Black Hawk outside and flew around for them....then they wanted to see the little one. So I told them I would have to fly it in the house because it was windy out. Went to spool it up...and it just flopped over on its side, no lift at all...so I think they bent the feathering spindle on it when their grandmother was not watching them...she comes and cleans house for my me and my wife and these kids can not keep their hands off of anything...jammed up our antique slot machine last time they were here...I am a little upset.

[Ray K.]

Wow...

Who said anything about starting a war?!?! MiniB, I think what you've done is GREAT! I agree that it's outside-the-box-thinking, and that's precisely what I had in mind. My only concern about your setup was the total flying weight of your configuration. While you've got a point that anything will fly if it's got enough power, it's also worth considering that an appropriate size-to-weight relationship is important. Truth be told, I'm pleased that at least someone was able to make a BL motor work on the tail!

Ed-

Sorry to hear that your Axe was likely sabotaged.... little bastards! The day that Hell freezes over is the same day that girlfriends, wives, children, nieces and nephews, and alcoholic roommates understand that model helicopters- regardless of their size or expense- are finely tuned and very fragile instruments of aviation. That sucks, bro.


So how come nobody else has included their radio setups (I'm looking at you, MB, Mark and Ed...)? Despite the fact that we're all running different setups, it's safe to say that we all have hot-rod ACPs. It seems to me that we've (collectively) pretty much exhausted all the feasible mechanical configurations for an ACP, and it's possible that radio setup is where it's at for all of us now. Let's compare notes and see what we get!

-Ray

[MiniBichus]

Thanks Ray, greatly appreciated. The MB-2 was a joint effort between a friend of mine and I. (Friend being the one who owned it and had it collecting dust on a shelf.) It has turned out to be a really awesome and fun helicopter to fly, the perfect backyard raider. :)

I'll post my radio setup tonight, pitch curves, throttle and mixes and everything.

I finally tried the 1800 mAh Flightpower EVO20 on the MB-2 (Axe CP), I don't think it was fully charged as I used it to test the RCT450 tracking for a couple of minutes sometime earlier. Without being fully charged it lasted a little over one minute more than the 1320 TP prolite packs. Which leads me to believe that the Flightpower cells are perhaps not as good when compared to the Thunderpower cells.

I am sure I have a little more overhead on the power consumption b/c I am running a tail motor. I figured that if I get about 8 minutes of flight out of a 1320 pack, it must be guzzling somewhere around 15 amps between both motors.

Ed.
Certain people have asked me to try it, my answer was a straight NO. It hurt their feelings b/c it looked so easy that they could do it without a problem... ha... keep the helis away from those mentioned on Ray's post. :)

Cheers.

MB.

Wow...

Who said anything about starting a war?!?! MiniB, I think what you've done is GREAT! I agree that it's outside-the-box-thinking, and that's precisely what I had in mind. My only concern about your setup was the total flying weight of your configuration. While you've got a point that anything will fly if it's got enough power, it's also worth considering that an appropriate size-to-weight relationship is important. Truth be told, I'm pleased that at least someone was able to make a BL motor work on the tail!

Ed-

Sorry to hear that your Axe was likely sabotaged.... little bastards! The day that Hell freezes over is the same day that girlfriends, wives, children, nieces and nephews, and alcoholic roommates understand that model helicopters- regardless of their size or expense- are finely tuned and very fragile instruments of aviation. That sucks, bro.


So how come nobody else has included their radio setups (I'm looking at you, MB, Mark and Ed...)? Despite the fact that we're all running different setups, it's safe to say that we all have hot-rod ACPs. It seems to me that we've (collectively) pretty much exhausted all the feasible mechanical configurations for an ACP, and it's possible that radio setup is where it's at for all of us now. Let's compare notes and see what we get!

-Ray

[Edwinssiv]

Ummmm...because I forgot to post them?
I will try to get them up tonight...I have had some nice evenings to fly...finally!!!!!