Axe CP separations and setup journal

[Ray K.]

Jeb-

If you've tried all the stuff that everyone mentioned in the other thread and none of it worked, I guess I'm mystified. The CCPM mixing happens in the radio, and not in the 3-in-1 or Rx. There is a possibility that there was a change in the actual electronics manufacture.... have you tried calling HeliMax directly? I've heard that their customer service is actually quite good. Their "upgrade" parts might be garbage, but I understand that they're pretty helpful folks.

So, Murphy is once again in full effect for me. I work the afternoon shift, which means that flying during the week is pretty much not possible, unless I get my lazy ass out of bed before noon. Even then, there's no guarantee that there'll be anyone at the field. It sucks, especially considering that the weather all this week when I get my lunch break has been PERFECT for flying. Looks like I'm just gonna have to skip eating in favor of flying during my lunch break! The parking lot at work is big enough to fly at 80% effort.... beats nothing, I guess!

Speaking of work, I got my review today. Drum roll please..... I got a raise, but they say that it's still too soon to make me the Super of my department (which is fair- I've only been there for 4 months). They're very pleased with my performance, and they made mention that there could be some other possibilities for me in the future. Our biggest customer is Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), and they would like to have RCO (my work) take over all of their in-house testing within the next couple of years. I was told with a wink and a grin that if I'm able to keep up my very good performance, there's a strong possibility that I'll be the leader of RCO's crew at JCI- and that would be a permanent and important gig. They also said that in a couple of months that Toyota is going to be needing our assistance at their Ann Arbor test facility again, and that they would like me to be part of the group that gets assigned to that job. It'll last about 3 weeks, but there's no special pay or anything like that involved. Oh well... I guess I'll take it as a compliment that they want me to represent RCO, though. So it's all good. I'm only 29 years old, and I don't have a degree in anything, so I guess I really have nothing to complain about. If I can keep up like I have been, I should be a pretty valuable person to whoever I'm working for by the time I'm like 90.... :P

Laters!

-Ray

[Edwinssiv]

I think we got JEB all fixed up on that other thread....
Sorry you are not finding much flying time there Ray. Our winds start up in the afternoon pretty good here lately...20-30mph...so I have been trying to get a pack or two in the mornings...beautiful days and yucky evenings :bawl...just my luck...lol

Congrats Ray on the review! It sounds like you have made a good impression on them! :cheers FWIW...I never graduated from High School and I have managed 3 restaurants, one kitchen and the final prep dept at a door company...now I am the Qualifying Broker and manager of the Real Estate Company I work for...all by 45 :wow2: SO I think you are doing well at 29, you young pup you ;)

I have new servos coming for the Axe...if they get here today or tomorrow the Axe will be up and flying this weekend again...plus I have some spindle shafts coming for the Black Hawk...so I should have that up and flying again as well...the Rex is just awesome...I do love flying it! I should have 3 flying and capable helis this weekend if all the parts come in :banana I ordered a new canopy for the Trex and will post pictures when it arrives.:Bliss:glasses2: Man what a hobby

I am still in debate as to selling the Axes or not...I really want to get the Gazaur Mars 480 very bad....but to part with the GSoFA is a difficult choice....kinda like giving up your first born or right arm or something...so we will see.

[JEB123]

Hey guys, yeah Ray, I get the idiot award for the month. When I installed the Bell-Hiller mod :oops: ...grips where on backwards. What threw me off and that Edwin corrected me on was that the Axe swash works backwards. I never would have guessed that in a million years, I thought it was a strict rule - up swash, means positive pitch. Well, that dog will never bite me again. Although it bit me pretty damn hard. Flew my TRex a little after work yesterday.I won't say it's better, but it's close to sex. I love it. My girlfriend doesn't, she says I pay more attention to my "little planes" than to her. Probably true. How many helifreaks wouldn't agree? With sex when it's over it's over. With heli's, when you're done flying, you want to keep playing with it. Oops, better watch my wording. Anyhow, congrats Ray, sounds like you're moving up in the world! What kind of work do you do? It sounds technical. I'm 45, been a FCC licensed electronics tech for almost 20 years now, about 5 years ago I got my MSCA and MCSE. Well, speaking of work, I'd better do some. Talk to you guys later and thanks again for all the help.

[Edwinssiv]

JEB...you just forogt the quirks of the Axe is all...
All my parts came in to repair the Axe...so that will happen this weekend.
I went and flew 3 packs on my TRex...I just love this Heli!!! I was doing back flips, front flips, sationary rolls with no problems at all. Practising more on my foward flight control now and keeping the heli in a straight line...lol. Tried to practise a little backwards flight as well...that was fun, I need lots more time on that one ROFL.

[Ray K.]

Jeb-

Yeah, that qualifies as a meat-headed mistake, but I did that too, so don't feel too bad! The learning curve for our "little planes" is VERY steep... you're going to mistakes. Just learn from them instead of getting pissed off about it, and you'll do fine. There's probably 101 different little f-ups that I've done setting up the ACP, and I'm sure there'll be more. I figure it like this- take the number of moving parts on the heli, multiply that by the number of beers that you've had, and then add 37. The result is how many times you'll screw up the setup!!!! And try not to let the old lady get you down- If I had a dollar for every time I got *****ed at for screwing with my bird and not hers, I'd be flying an Aurora by now. And helicopters are almost better than sex, IMO- no compromise, you get what you want, and you can do it however you want without getting an attitude. Perfect!

As far as the work that I do, my official title is "Level B Product Evaluation Technician". Basically, it's my job to scientifically destroy car parts. At my old job, I was specialized in shock absorbers, but I really did a little bit of everything there. Fatigue testing on door latches, vibration testing on catalytic converters with simulated hot exhaust gas flow, water splash testing on hot mufflers, and all kinds of stuff. The new gig is strictly car seats. Robotic ingress/egress testing, vibration simulation durability testing, and trim wear testing. It's a pretty cool racket- I get to program robots with a big metal ass on the tool end to get in and out of seats with a very specific movement and load pattern. The department that I'm in is the Trim Group, which means that we're not so interested in the structure of the seat as we are the leather/cloth/vinyl trim that covers them and how well they hold up to things like IR/UV exposure, extreme environments (heat, cold, humidity), the aforementioned ingress/egress testing which evaluates how well the trim holds up to friction, and things like destructive testing to see how much human knee force is required to blow out a trim cover seam. I also set up robots to fold and unfold stow-away seats a gazillion times to see how badly the seat foam deforms over time. It's cool stuff, and I really like what I do. The best part is that my industry is more or less immune to the woes that the Big 3 are having right now. As long as there are new models coming out, as long as you can get a warranty on your car, and as long as there are lawyers, there will be testing work. It's like I'm a mechanic (my first love), an engineer (a close second), and a scientist all in one. I love it! But enough jibber-jabber...

I'm moving this weekend. I'm only going about 10 miles up the road, but I won't have cable from Monday through Thursday, so I won't be around for a few days. I'm sure that there'll be plenty to catch up on when I get back online...

Talk to you guys soon!

-Ray

[Edwinssiv]

Have fun moving Ray!
Sounds like an interesting jobs you guys have! All I do is rent and manage property all day...
And I have to agree...almost as god as sex...the nice thing is you don't have to please the heli...it's there to please you :rolling

[Edwinssiv]

We have had very nice weather this weekend so far so I have not worked on the Axe at all :roll:
The good news is I have been flying my TRex like a wild man :fly
I flew 10 packs Saturday and I am up to 2 so far this morning.
Here are some pictures of my new canopy for the TRex.
I am still afraid to crash this canopy so I don't fly it when I am trying new stunts...rofl I am such a chicken :oops:

[JEB123]

Cool canopy! Chicken hell, that's being smart. Today I flew mine about 3 min, set it down and pulled out the Axe. It's flying pretty well. I love the BH mod, you were right it makes a big difference. I wish I could put in more time, I'm not progresssing a lot right now, It's been pretty windy here lately and it just won't die out. Today was a lot better. Gonna hit the sim a little more now. BTW, did you secure your landing skids? Mine twist when I land cause I just use the silicone tubing, but I don't wanna get glue all over'em. Maybe some tiny screws?

[Edwinssiv]

I think the B-H head is the best upgrade that HeliMax has put out for the Axe...now if they will come out with a belt driven tail...I think they would have a phenominal product. I still have to put my servos into the Axe...with all the flying I have done, I have not taken the time to repair the Axe.
No...I don't have mine secured...they twist once in a while but it does not bother me at the moment. Little screws would be the best way to go...I may do that myself. These are the super skids from Ka-Planes on my Rex....I could not get the skids into the landing gear on my TRex so I pulled these off the Black Hawk and put on a pair of Blade 400 land gear on the Black Hawk which I was going to try to retro fit to the Axe...it all works out.

[JEB123]

So maybe the superskids fit tighter in the gear than the factory TRex ones? I just power up to take off and I get a little yaw movement on the ground which twists them. Maybe I need more gyro gain so it doesn't yaw?

[Edwinssiv]

So when you take off the skid rails twist?
Now mine does not do that but they are not tight in the landing bracket frames either...but they do twist at times when I pick up the heli...land a little hard...but not just because I take off.

[JEB123]

Yep, sometimes when I take off and the tail yaws a bit, the skids end up sideways. They're pretty darn loose.

[Edwinssiv]

That is too loose I would think...I think your idea about small screws would work the best...I like it alot and will probably do it my self.

[Edwinssiv]

Ok Ray...have you moved yet????
This morning I started working on the Axe...I have all the servos switched out and ready to go...just need to change the feathering spindle and get some new blades on and the GSoFA will be flying again.
I have been considering the sale of GSoFA and it's lowly cousin...I think I am going to get them flying and sell them...I will then pick up the Gauzer Mars 480 that I have been drooling over...it was a decision that was not easily reached... :( I have put a lot of myself and money into this heli...I know I will never get it out...but it is time to move on I guess...a sad day in my hanger...

[JEB123]

:bawlGotta do what you gotta do. You're right, you should move on. Now I have to go see what all the hubub is over this Gazaur to see if I need one (hehe). I'll get back to you on it.

[JEB123]

Oh yeah! Now I remember seeing that bird on the HLobby site. Looks very cool, don't think much of the landing gear or the shaft driven tail (heard bad things about that, can't be sure,never owned one). I prefer not having different birds. That's one reason I got 2 rex's, is to have parts available that fit either bird, gets you back in the air quicker. This hobby's expensive enough as it is! But hey, whatever floats your boat! Go for it! You only live once! :cheers

[Ray K.]

I moved!!! I did it!

The cable guy was here this morning, and I hardly remember it, but I'm back in action now. I'm still going through all the pains with my girlfriend of unpacking and trying to decide where everything goes, but we're getting through it okay. She's even letting me buy "whatever you need" to set up the ultimate heli workstation, so it's all good! Gone are the days of tearing apart my heli on the kitchen table! We got through the move with nothing broken, nothing missing, and only minor cuts and bruises. I have a whopper of a bruise (it's starting to turn green) on my left forearm from a wayward armoire whilst moving it up the stairs, but that seems to be about the only bad thing that happened. The most important thing, of course, is that both helis and the DX7 made it without a scratch.

So onto business...

There's no way that your skids should be rotating upon takeoff- that's way too loose. Maybe a dab of CA in just the rear skid support only so that the gear assembly will have a little give upon landing, yet still keep the skid tubes from rotating?

Gazaur.... what a cool looking little helicopter! I must admit that I really like them too, and even thought about getting one myself. Finances really don't allow for it right now with the move and all (U-Haul trucks get like 4 gallons to the mile- at $4 a gallon!), but it certainly looks like a pretty nice little bird. I haven't read any reviews on either model, but they seem to have all the right numbers and all the right specs- the only thing left to question is the quality of the parts, but I have a hard time thinking that they're anything less than acceptable.

Ed-

I think it's really too bad that you're gonna off the ACPs. Sure, they're not the BEST helis out there, but they have character. You should at least keep one of them.... Remember that it's the bird that got you into helis, and that they're always pretty fun to fly, no matter what the level of modification. That, and you'll now have 2 450's instead of something different, and maybe bigger.

I ought to get to bed now- I'm not as resilient as I used to be.... I'm still playing catch up from last weekend's efforts....

Talk to you guys later!

-Ray

[JEB123]

Wow Ray, sounds like you had quite an adventure! Glad to hear your heli's are ok. I'm setting up a new workstation now and it's great. There's nothing like sitting down to work and having the right tool for every job sitting in it's place every time, no more get up and go get this or look for that, or lugging a box around with stuff. It's very satisfying and rewarding and makes doing repairs fun and easy. I made a nice side table with wheels that I can roll around to work on. That way you sit with your side to the bench and have all your tools at hand and the heli on the rolling table. Otherwise when your bench gets full of tools (which didn't take me long), you won't have room for your heli! Hey thanks for your input on the skids, I'd thought about the CA, but I hate that white haze it creates when it outgasses. I was telling Ed I might use some tiny self-tapping screws through the plastic. That way they would be more easily removable. BTW I received my new Loong Max batteries from China today. I don't know if you guys are familiar with these, but I learned about these at a local airfield and they're supposed to kick butt. The guys out there told me they were lasting longer than their TP packs! I got a pair of 3S 2250mAh 15C for $19.99 each! Check them out at hobbycity.com. They have a lot of cool stuff..
Enjoy your new place man! :thumbup:

[Edwinssiv]

Congrats Ray!
Glad you made it!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome on the heli work area! I have my pool table covered in heli parts and tools...lol.

The Gazaur helis have been really liked by those that have them...parts support is the biggest issue with them...the only place to get parts is at Hobby Lobby or from the manufacturer directly...

JEB...the Gazaur helis are belt driven, not shaft...the tail actually has 2 gears that the belt moves between a s the speed changes so you have more tail authority at lower head speeds...it is really cool! The frame is built with little or no screws...so the landing gear is attached without screws so in a crash it pops off and reduces breakage...or at least that's what they claim.
My wife said that if I sell the Axes I can get the Gazaur...so that is the only reason I am going to sell them.

I did not finish working on the Axe yet...I got the parts for my Black Hawk and have been working on that...I had it flying fine or at least it seemed it was...I took it out last night to check it out and there was a terrible vibration that was not there the night before...so I have been checking for the problem...I am now at the point of going back to the beginning and re-set up the head...tracking was off and set that right...now my pitch is off...so I am going to tear it down and rebuild it to set it right.

I took my Rex out this morning...I was trying to get a pack in before work...I was doing my front & back flips, rolls, working on my circles and I decided to go inverted...I did not give it enough negative collective and it started coming down like a rock! I got it flipped over but not enough room to recover...so I have crashed my TRex for the first time :bawl But first look as I walked back to the house...it looks as though I got very, very lucky...it hit more towards the front part of the canopy and landing skids...lost a tail support, scratched up my CF blades bad...bushes, and scrub brush...but the fly bar looks fine, the main gear is fine, blades looked even so I don't think I bent the feathering spindle, main shaft appeared straight, tail boom is fine...so I will break it down this evening and find out for sure...

[JEB123]

That sucks, but look at the bright side, you got one out of the way on the road to better flying! Sounds like you did get really lucky though! You can't complain man, I'm still trying to get my FF down. I don't fly a lot, that's why I haven't wrecked more! Wow, that Gazaur does look very futuristic. The rotorhead mech looks kickass! You know what, I like the stance of the Poseidon better. It stands a little higher, looks like it's ready to jump into the air! Doesn't the Mars look like the main shaft is angled forward a bit more or is it an illusion? Well, they're the same price. Take a closer look at them side by side.
Hey what kind of mech is in that BlackHawk you're always talking about?

[Edwinssiv]

Thanks JEB...you are right...the first one is over...I can fly free now without the worry of crashing for the first time.

The Poseidon tail ratio is just a little different from the Mars...both are very capable but I like the look of the Mars canopy...

The Black Hawk is Helipros 450 size...very nice and stable little heli...the stock motor is under powered I think...but it has been a great learning heli. Ka-Planes http://www.ka-planes.com/ has them...I bought mine RTF for about $325 shipped...I have been very happy with it. I just have to get it set up correctly again...I dropped in a new motor with a 13 th pinion to bring my head speed up to around 2900rpms. It give it better cyclic control...it has always felt sluggish in doing flips, rolls and punch outs...it should be a little beastie now...it is a little heavier than the Trex but I think it will be a good trainer/beater heli

[JEB123]

Ahhh, I didn't know that! No wonder you're an advanced pilot. That's looks like a much more flyable bird than an Axe, so you've gotten a lot more practice! No fair! Looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do!

[JEB123]

Hey Ed and Ray, help me out here. I'm thinking that I could sell my Axe CP to help finance what's left of my 2nd TRex( about another $400 to go!). Wouldn't it be better to have my 2nd TRex flying to practice on than the Axe? There's a RC flea market this weekend at a local club and It's the perfect opportunity to sell it. I'll be selling several planks and a RC buggy, as well as a bunch of parts, motors, etc. Does this make sense? I'm kind of torn between options here. Should I move on like you did Ed? I was a professional drummer for over 20 years and I know for a fact that you play better on a good quality instrument, I believe that theory applies to almost everything in life including flying!
What do you guys think? :thinking (they need a smiley pulling his hair out)

[Edwinssiv]

What do you guys think? :thinking (they need a smiley pulling his hair out) I agree!

I am torn...the Axe is what got me into remote controled helicopters in the first place. But I have advanced much faster because of better more stable helicopters...without them I would still be hovering and FF only...maybe. The Axe was a challenge to learn on...a challenge to upgrade and work on...I think I have met the challenge...but I can pass on a heli that would be all set up, hopped up and ready to fly to someone else...

[JEB123]

1 for 2. How about you Ray?