Axe CP separations and setup journal

[Ray K.]

alucard-

There's a lot of people out there that are using the T 6EX FASST and really like it, and I think that it would make a great radio for you! That's most of the reason that I chose a DX7- it's probably the last radio I'll have to buy. The ESC that uses the program link is made by Castle Creations. Good luck!

Ed-

That cartoon was pretty funny! At my apartment complex, there's a security guy on patrol on the weekends. I've often thought of making my Axe a night flyer, will all the lights and stuff. Maybe even some strobes for added effect. I wonder what that guy would think if I were to just mess with him a little bit one of these nights... If you didn't know it was an RC helicopter, it would probably be a little startling!

-Ray

[Iceman140]

alucard-

From someone else's experience, a little note of safety. Programmable electronics are great. But to save the 5 or so quarts of blood you have in your body, take off the blades and/or unplug the motor leads when programming them. Computers have funny ways of sending the wrong signal to your electronics that can cause your motor to start up at full speed should your radio battery die unexpectedly. Just thought you might want to know that. :mrgreen:

Have Fun

Ed

[Ray K.]

This is getting really frustrating!!!

My T-Bird 18 main ESC crapped out on me tonight. I was out doing some final validation test flights, and my main motor started rapidly turning on and off. I should have seen it coming, as partial-throttle settings on the motor have been acting a little weird lately. Definite changes in the way the motor sounded. Well, tonight, it finally got so bad that I couldn't fly anymore.

A couple weeks ago when I crashed because of my failed tail motor, I noticed something but didn't pay much mind to it. After the helicopter ate itself and crashed, my main rotor was still spinning very slowly, even with the throttle hold switch on. I thought maybe I just jarred it pretty bad in the crash, and it temporarily went stupid on me. Also, while trying to stuff the ESC into the interior part of the rear frame, I damaged one of the wires in the Rx lead- I accidentally ripped the orange signal wire off of the ESC's PCB. I repaired that, and it worked fine for a couple days, but now this.

I thought that maybe I was putting too much load on my LiPo, considering that I just did the BL tail. But then I did the math, and figured I should be okay. I'd still like someone to check my math though... My batteries are 1250 mAh, 15C continuous / 20C burst. I came up with 1250x15= 18.75A safe continuous draw. Max draw on the main motor is 9A, max draw on the tail motor is 4.5A, and I think that my BEC pulls another 2A. That makes 15.5A maximum draw. So it can't be the battery getting hit too hard, right? It gets warm after flights, but not hot. And there's no signs of swelling either.

I think I'm just going to get a new ESC. I don't trust the solder joint that I made, and it's been acting stupid anyway. I'm thinking that I'll just get another CC T-Bird 18, but I'm not sure at this point. Maybe an Electrifly SS25. I don't know.

Helicopters are way more fun when you're flying them...

-Ray

[Iceman140]

Ray-

I highly doubt the battery is suspect. Batts can't push current, you already know that though. Rough landings are rough on electronics too. I recently had an ESC refuse to power the motor on a planker. Checked wiring and then like the good electrician I am, I tapped it two times and presto! I can only guess the GWS cheapo ESC I had may have bad solder joints.

A little story:

I knew a woman in FL, Kissimee to be more exact. Seems she was the head of her department in an Orlando firm that made weapons guidance systems for the military. Ours I hope, but I didn't ask. All systems had to be checked and tested and it seems hers were the only ones that passed every time. She had the SOP and followed that book for wiring to the letter. Whenever a unit failed it was because someone assembled it in a hurry and the wiring was a mess. She re-wired it and it would test perfect. Everyone had a college education, but her. She drop out of school in the 8th grade. The US military owed their sucesses using this equipment to someone that took their time and paid attention to every detail of their wiring.

I worked with a boss in the computer networking industry that put the "run" in running cable. And always, the job would require many more hours while he waited for me to fix his mistakes. Sometimes patiently, sometimes not. If you watch me work, you'd swear I wasn't moving I'm so slow. But I only do things once. Take your time Danielsan, do good job. Getting another ESC to replace that one couldn't hurt either. :D

BRING IT HOME RAY!!!!! WE'LL BE WAITIN'

Ed

[Iceman140]

Ray-

Just a question. Have you see or heard about a Falcon 3D from Hobby-lobby's website? I looked at it yesterday and was just wondering. I also have to get another photo of the Heli-Maxx Kinetic 50 I saw reviewed in Model Airplane news. My old one is soggy from drool already. :oops:

Where did you get your EFlite Park 370? Online or LHS?

A also found some possible reason why I'm not flying too good lately. Seems the "Nut" attached to the control sticks of my radio needs tightening. Or more sim time.....

Gotta go.....life calls.

Ed

[Ray K.]

Ed-

I got my Park 370 online for something like $47. My LHS has them at a similar price, and normally I would be happy to support a local business. Thing is, I was already ordering some other stuff from that online vendor (Todd's Models.com I think), and it just made sense to get the motor from them.

Falcon 3D. I've read a couple reviews about it, and it seems to be a pretty tight little chopper. I don't know anybody that owns or has flown one, but it appears to be a pretty good deal. I was considering one for a short time, but something about the collective being actuated by a wire inside the mainshaft was a turnoff for me. I'd prefer to stick with a CCPM setup, but that's just personal preference. It probably works fine. As far as the Kinetic 50, I guess it's the same story as the Falcon. I've read reviews, but that's about it. HeliMax has won me over as being a decent quality outfit, and I have a hard time imagining that you could go wrong with it. I've been eyeballing Audacity's Pantera 50 for my first nitro heli, though. Or maybe a Raptor 50. I'm getting ahead of myself though....

I hear you loud and clear on the wire thing, as well as with the nitwit boss. I work as an automotive test lab technician, and very much of what I do deals with electronics and wire management. And dealing with jerk bosses that want you to move faster than accuracy and quality would permit is something that I deal with every day. That's probably why I took it so hard when I screwed up the Rx lead- I'm always much more mindful than that- obsessive even. And then, the fact that I did an inferior repair kinda sucker-punched the ego too. I pride myself on doing top-quality work and doing it right the first time. Oh well. At least I can take solace in knowing that my ESC was very likely damaged in the crash- continuing to run with no input signal telling it to do so is probably a good indicator that it was terminally damaged. I get paid on Friday, and a quick trip to my LHS with $35 should get me airborne again.

And practice practice practice!!!!! That's why you got your sim in the first place, right?!?! Just take it slow, and build upon skills that you already have. Learning is progressive, and takes patience. I've had to remind myself of that a million times since becoming a heli pilot. Rome wasn't built in a day....

Until next time...

-Ray

p.s.- Thanks for the encouragement- it helps!

[Iceman140]

Ray-

Just saw the movie transformers last night. From the first action scene , I will never look at my heli the same way again. Now I know why my innocent little AxeCP all of a sudden turns into this lawn mowing, weed wacking, concrete digging, blood letting horror story every time I give it cyclic in the wrong direction.

They talk Ray. The machines are all against us. Think about it. The machines make tools for us to do what? To FIX THE OTHER MACHINES!!!!!!!!! Don't let them get you too!!! Run Ray, run.

Ok, gotta go get my prescription filled.....paranoia big destroya......la-la-la-la......

:lolol

Ed

[Ray K.]

I'm sorry that my writeup has been so badly postponed.

In all honesty, doing that BL/DD setup put me in the poorhouse for the last week, and when my ESC crapped out... let's just say I've been a little preoccupied with being broke and irritated over the last couple days.

I'll give you this much though:

PARTS USED-
Great Planes Ammo 12-30-3850 BL Motor
Great Planes Silver Series SS8 ESC
GWS 3.25x3 scimitar props
E-Flite 3.5mm bullet connectors

SETUP NOTES-
Getting the 3 motor leads through the tail shaft is a *****- I won't lie about it. I ended up trimming the motor wires down to about 3/4", and then soldered 24g wire on as extensions. I was a little leery about such thin wire, but when I stripped the insulation off of the motor leads, all that was there was 2 little strands per lead, and 24g wire was more than enough. I think that 24g is good for 5A, and the motor has a peak draw of 4.5A, so it works out. Also, I had to bore out the tail shaft up to 9/64" ID to accommodate the wires- and it's still a pretty tight fit. I used some 3.5mm bullet connectors from E-Flite to make the connection to the ESC. As far as the ESC goes, prep was exactly the same as in the brushed setup. I pulled the red (BEC power) lead from the connector that goes to the gyro, trimmed the wire all the way back to the ESC, and capped it off with heat-shrink tube. It even initializes the same as the C7- give it full throttle (full right rudder), then full stop (full left rudder). I did notice that I have to run this process twice before it actually takes, though.

As far as the motor itself, you have to use the screws that come with the motor to mount it- the stock ACP screws aren't the right size. The stock heat sink fits perfectly, though- the motor is the exact same size as the stock unit. The motor and mount must be flipped over so that the tail prop is on the opposite side of the boom as stock. The reason for this is so that the pushed air from the prop blows over the motor and heat sink, tremendously contributing to cooling- the motor gets pretty hot. If you're looking at the helicopter with it's nose to your left, the prop should rotate counterclockwise. If the motor is spinning backwards, just reverse any two motor leads and you're in business. The motor leads from the SS8 aren't color coded (they're all black), so you have a 50% chance of getting it right the first time. My first guess was wrong. The prop has a 1mm mounting hole, and the output shaft from the motor is 1.5mm. I was able to simply press the prop onto the shaft with some kung-fu grip, a tool that every modeler should be familiar with. Just make sure that you do it right the first time, 'cause it's *really* hard to pull that sucker off again. The prop is going to look like it's way too small to get the job done, but it actually works really well. I'm even considering experimenting with slightly smaller props. The only other thing is to be sure to move your tail fin up the tailboom far enough so that it doesn't obstruct the flow from the prop- it actually matters. The shape of the tail fin is such that the "meat" of the fin is in exactly the wrong spot for a prop this size- it dramatically inhibits the output of the prop if it's in the way.

I'll have some photos to share very soon, detailing what it should look like when you're done as well as the nifty mounting system that I made to mount both ESCs. I'll make a revised wiring schematic too. I'm also going to update my radio settings- I'm giving it more throttle and a touch less collective range.

I still don't feel great about telling all of you to run out and do this right now. I was only able to get a handful of test flights in before my main ESC died, but while it was working, there was definitely an improvement in tail response, holding power, and authority. I just don't know about the longevity and reliability of this setup yet. But I have a feeling that I won't have any more problems....

See ya!

-Ray

[Iceman140]

Ray-

It lives!!!!!!!!! Igor....my FRANKENAXE.....it lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lolol

Some people have all the fun.......

I don't know if you seen McMasters website yet, but it has all kinds of neat Alu tubing for cheap if they'll ship to an idividual.

Cool beans though Ray. You are a persistant little bugger......... :mrgreen:

Ed :glasses2:

[mashburncs]

Ray, Iceman,

The time stamps on your posts always look like you stay up too late at night. Do you guys work the graveyard shift or something?

I have ordered from McMasters before, they shipped to my house without a problem. Also, I have seen tail booms made from carbonfiber and aluminum arrow shafts. It might be cheap and easy to run out to Walmart or Academy with your micrometer, and buy a cheap shaft, rather than order from McMaster, pay shipping and wait for delivery.

Curtis

[Iceman140]

Mashburncs-

hey thanks for the info. I get up at 4:30 AM for work everyday, but yer right, we do stay up way too late. I try counting helis, but when they crash I always wake up. :mrgreen:

I'm not sure where the Web server is for this site. Can't imagine it could be east of MA without being in the UK.....hmmmmm. Wonder where I could find that.

Anyway, it's RayK's FrankenAxeCP the scares me and keeps me awake at night too. "Igor......screwdriver please." "Yes master......should I hook power now master?" "No Igor...I still need abrain for this one. It has plenty of heart though...hahahahahaha!"

:lolol
Ed

[Ray K.]

Yeah, I work second shift. I get home around midnight.

MicroHeli.com has CF tailbooms for like $15- the same or cheaper than the stock aluminum part.

McMaster is one of our vendors at work- I can *easily* piggyback my stuff onto one of our weekly orders.... but I'd rather stick with stock parts for now.

-Ray

[Ray K.]

FrankenAXE.

That sounds about right. I was just sitting here reading through the last week's worth of posts, and got to thinking about how heavily modified my "Axe" is. I say "Axe" because it's way more aftermarket and custom parts than stock. Absolutely none of the stock electronics remain, and many of the hard parts have been modified or otherwise changed from stock.

At first I found it amusing, but then I got a little sad. I really need to become a better pilot. I've turned an entry-level heli into one very capable and powerful machine. It kinda seems strange that I did all this work and I still struggle with nose-in hovering and flying straight and level. Anything inverted is out of the question, and even "simple" stunts frequently end in disaster on the sim. It's like putting a 16-year-old kid with 45 minutes of driving experience behind the wheel of a Ferrari Enzo. I almost feel guilty not using all of the capability I've built into my helicopter.

But the trip sure has been fun to this point!

-Ray

[Iceman140]

RayK-

It's the trip buddy, not the destination. :mrgreen:

I just ordered a Dragonus II from Hobby Lobby. Check out Bob's 14 vids on assembly. NICE!!!!! Still gonna fly my Axe though. I too haven't really flown much. What's a hover???? Oh, you mean standing still? Ain't got no time for that. Got places to fly, near crashes to go. Know whata mean?

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!!!!!!

Ed

[alucard]

Hello ray Well I just keep flying with my aling gyro and is working pretty nice I crash really bad try to land the helicopter on the roof of the old car and was a disaster. Dont feel bad about all those modification on your heli I start to fly in a blade cp and I change it because here the wind is too heavy and the helicopter can stand it so I need a heavier one o sometime is necessary to make a good product better to use it properly. So all these is just time and practice and a lot of sim hour. Hey what a about a HDX is as good as the T_rex450 se I just looking on the web And there is Like 3 million of different helicopter with different stuff. Well thanks again

[Ray K.]

alucard-

Thanks for the encouragement, buddy! Still undecided about my next bird, though... been eyeballing the Mikado Logo 10....

Again, my apologies for taking so long with the writeup. I've had some drama with my credit card- my online payment didn't get through on time, and my order for replacement parts has been... postponed, we'll say. Crappy. That, and working 127 hours on my last pay period has kind of put recreational activities on hold. We (at work) have a HUGE dog and pony show for Ford Motor Company on Wednesday, and that's been taking up a lot of my time too.

Hang in there- I'll get it done soon!

Thanks!

-Ray

[Ray K.]

Alright guys, thanks so much for your patience! I finally got my replacement main ESC installed, and had the opportunity to do about 10 more test flights. At this point, I'm confident in telling you all to go ahead and do this mod if you want. So with no further ado, here's how to make a brushless direct drive tail for an Axe CP:

MOTOR:
I chose an ElectriFly Ammo 12-30-3850 motor (Tower Hobbies; $25). The motor can dimensions are exactly the same as the stock motor, the mounting points are in the exact same spot, and the stock heat sink fits perfectly. I can't really say why I chose a 3850 kV motor, other than it was an educated guess. I tached the stock tail rotor, and figured that the stock tail motor turns somewhere around 2000 kV. Knowing that the new tail prop was going to be smaller and have less aggressive pitch, a motor that spins twice as fast seemed about right. Figure in the gear reduction on the stock setup, and the new tail prop will spin almost 12x faster than stock.

PROP:
I went with GWS 3.25x3 Scimitar props (Tower Hobbies; $4 for 6). I experimented with some other props with absolutely unacceptable results, but these seem to work pretty well. I read an article in one of my old issues of RC Heli magazine, and found a guy with a Blade CP Pro that has a DD tail. He's using GWS 3x2 Square props, and I'm thinking about trying those out once I can find some. The Scimitar props work fine though, so if that's all you can find it's okay.

TAIL ESC:
Great Planes / ElecriFly Silver Series 8A (Tower Hobbies; $25). I picked this one not only because it's relatively inexpensive, but also because it's one of the smallest BL ESCs I could find. The new motor has a peak draw of 4.5A, so this ESC should handle it with no problem without being too much overkill. I've had pretty good success with ElectriFly stuff, so I also felt good about knowing that I was buying a reliable piece of equipment. The only problem that I encountered with this ESC is that the connectors that come with it didn't jive with the tail motor connectors, so I simply used some E-Flite 3.5mm bullet connectors that I got from my LHS for about $5.

SETUP AND ASSEMBLY:
First thing first- you're probably going to have to modify your tail shaft and tail motor mount in order to get the three tail motor wires to pass through, unless you're okay with running the wires on the outside of the tailboom. I found that the magic size to bore that hole up to is 9/64", although you might be able to get away with 1/8" if you can find thin enough wire (more on this in a minute). The way I did it was like this: First, go ahead and press the tail shaft into the motor mount. Then, using a drill press, bore out the two pieces as one unit. I can't recommend using a drill press strongly enough! I'm afraid that using a hand drill will not have the precision required to punch the hole totally plumb, but you're welcome to try it. Also, don't go any larger than 9/64", as this will remove too much meat from the tail shaft and make it dangerously weak- don't ask me why I know this!
:arggg:

Now, it's time to prep the motor. It's going to feel wrong to do it, but cut the motor leads down to about 3/4" long, and strip the insulation back so that you can solder on some extensions- this is where the thin wire part comes in. I used 24g PVC insulated wire for this, and I suspect that you could probably even use 26g. You may think that this is kind of thin wire for 4.5A, but you'll see when you strip the motor leads that the stock wire has just 2 tiny little hair-strand wires per lead, so 24g or 26g will be more than enough to handle the motor's load. The idea here is to make the solder joints for the extensions close enough to the motor that they won't have to pass through the tail shaft, and be sure to make your leads longer than they'll need to be to make it up the tailboom and to the ESC... making things shorter is easy- see where I'm going with this?

Now comes the tough part- stuffing all 3 leads through the tail shaft. It took a little sweet-talking, but I was able to feed the 3 24g leads through the 9/64" hole with some patience. Next, mount the motor to it's mount, but be sure to use the screws that came with the motor because the stock ACP screws aren't the right size. Here's the twist, though- when you go to mount the tail shaft/motor mount/motor assembly to the tailboom, mount the whole mess upside down- I'll explain why in a minute. Then, temporarily mount the tailboom to the fuse and determine exactly how long you want your leads to be based on the location of the tail ESC, wire routing, etc. Trim the leads, and solder the MALE bullet connectors to each motor lead. Solder the FEMALE bullet connectors to the ESC, and this would be a good time to pull the red wire out of the Rx/gyro connector, just like with the brushed/separated tail ESC. If you don't do this, you're going to immediately ruin your gyro when you power up the helicopter, because the ESC is going to send 5v of BEC power intended for the Rx directly into the gyro. Bad stuff. Mount the ESC and install the tailboom. Finally, it's time for the prop. Since these are scimitar props, they are designed to spin only one direction, and this is part of the reason that I had to flip the tail motor mount. The prop should have the textured surface facing away from the motor, and will spin counterclockwise. Now, the motor has a 1.5mm output shaft, and the prop has a 1mm hole. It's going to take some kung-fu grip, but it can be pressed on by hand. It's actually a surprisingly secure fit- which is why you need to be sure to do it right the first time. These little SOBs are really tough to pull back off again without wrecking them. If you discover that your motor is spinning backwards, simply swap any 2 motor/ESC connections. Unfortunately, this is pretty easy to get backwards, because the output leads from the ESC are not color-coded. This particular ESC arms just like the C7 ESC- you have to give it full right rudder, then full left rudder before it will arm. I should note that I've discovered that you have to do this process twice before it will take, though- I'm not sure why. Also, it connects to the gyro (I'm using a Futaba GY240 @ 65% gain) the same way as any other separated tail, and I'm still using a Dean's Micro connector to provide power to it.

Anyway, the reason that we flipped the motor over is so that the thrust from the prop will blow over the motor and heat sink, greatly improving cooling. On my first test runs, I was having problems with the ESC shutting down because of thermal overload. Flipping it like this fixed the problem, and I haven't had any more issues with it. Finally, be sure to put the tail fin far enough up the tailboom that it won't interfere with the prop's thrust when you re-install it. This is what it should look like if you did it right:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/FinClearance.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/Tail.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/TailWire.jpg


Now, because my LiPos are huge and a little heavy, it best suited the balance and CG of my helicopter to put the main ESC and tail ESC in the aft portion of the fuselage. Lacking sufficient options to do this with the stock fuse, I made a little mounting shelf out of carbon fiber strip and some CA glue ($7 total parts cost at my LHS). I shaved down the right half of the fuse enough so that when the fuse was assembled, it would provide a little bit of squeeze on the shelf to provide more stability to it. I only glued the gussets and shelf to the right half of the fuse so that I can still split it without having to break the glue bond. This is how it came out:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/ElectronicsTray1.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/ElectronicsTray2.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/TightSqueeze.jpg

Finally, I took some more of that CF strip and made a "tongue" for the battery to rest on, which is glued and bolted to the front skid support. I put down 2 layers of servo tape to provide a little padding, and then put some Velcro over it. I put the loop side on the mount, and the hook side on the bottom edge of the battery. This mount allows me to slide the battery forward or back a little bit, making it possible to get the helicopter's CG perfect. Velcro is very good at resisting shear movement, but not very good at resisting tension, so I still use a rubber band to keep the battery squeezed down onto the new tray. The combination of the Velcro and the rubber band keep the battery from going anywhere- it's quite secure.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/BatteryTray1.jpg

Here's a couple shots of the FrankenAXE with my snazzy new canopy (please refer to my previous posts on how to modify the canopy to fit over the battery):

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/Proile.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/Nose-On.jpg



All in all, I have to say that I think this tail setup is pretty kick-ass. The tail feels much more locked in than stock (and even the original separated setup), it responds much more sharply, the piro rate is moderately improved, and the peace of mind that I get from knowing that BL motors have a virtually infinite lifespan make this mod totally worthwhile. I changed my radio setup a little bit as a result of the more powerful tail- I've changed my throttle curves (all 3 modes) so that my mid-stick throttle is 80%. Simply put, this is the mod that made this helicopter a formidable 3D machine, and easier to control too. Flying it is almost telepathic now...

If you have any questions about anything that I may have not described in enough detail, please feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to answer them.

Keep 'em airborne!

-Ray

[Iceman140]

RakK-

Nice!!!!!!!!!

Cool beans buddy. I originally thought the 240 would be a little big, but it looks like it fits fine. Everything looks great. Wish I was there to see it fly. I especially love how the name sticks. FRANKENAXE. I love it! Much better looking than the monster no doubt, but in one version the monster didn't get ugly until the end. Hmmmm........................but it was unstoppable!!!

Dragonus is coming along. 2mm tap for plastic is a must, but I've spent more on tools for RC in the last three months than on aircraft. Eflite gear puller is so nice I just had to buy it. And a 5ft rollaway toolbox keeps things neat and keeps me sane. I hate messy.

Ok, this one's done. Fly it once or twice and get to buildin' another one already. Time's a wastin'. I posted my most expensive repair in another thread of mine and I got embarrssed. Less than $10 for one grip and a stripped tooth in the main gear. So much for the self-destructing Mini RTF theory huh ? One tough little bird if you learn to fly first. All the BladeCP stories seem to end the same, not enough structural support. Nice to see your frame still intact.

GENTLE!! FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW!!! THERE'S A WHOLE NEW BIRD IN THE SKY TODAY..AND IT'S HUNGRY!!!!!

:fly :fly :fly :fly

eD (Stupid CAPS button.....Doh!!!!)

[Iceman140]

RayK-

Being a commtech I just had to notice. What you do with the Rx Ant wire? I no see it. Tell me you didn't bundle it up or shorten it.

Ed

[mashburncs]

RayK,

Looks great. I hate it when I get the itch to modify something, because it always leads to spending money. You have given me the itch again, but I am going to resist, at least for a while. I have not had much time for my Axe CP lately. My old 11 year old riding lawn mower finally pissed me off enough that I put in my truck and sold it for scrap metal at the local scrap yard. I got sick and tired of having to work on that POS MTD with the POS B&S engine everytime I got ready to mow grass. It was real hard to resist not taking it out back and shooting it full of holes and then burning it. I finally went out and dropped some serious coin for a commercial ZTR. Should have done it years ago, would have saved a ton of headache and time, that I put into that old POS MTD that I had.

Curtis

[Iceman140]

mashburncs-

Sorry to hear 'bout the mower. Yeah sorry you didn't call us to help you smash it, and shoot it, and break it, and burn it , and .........
Would have made for a great BBQ!!!!!!!!! Like anyone in Tx needs a reason for a BBQ. :lol:

Does flying a mower upsidedown make it a heli? :dontknow

Ed

[mashburncs]

Ed,

I successfully resisted the urge to shoot it and burn it. It would have been fun, but I would then have a mess to clean up, not to mention all the black smoke from the burning rubber and plastic. I am sure my neighbors are glad that I resisted the urge.

Curtis

[Iceman140]

Ok, how about a memorial BBQ in honor of fallen mowers all over the world? :mrgreen:

Ed

[Ray K.]

Ed-

I think maybe you missed the beauty of using a 2.4 GHz radio. The reason that you didn't see my antenna is because I have 2, and they're only about an inch long each. I was thinking about screwing with you and telling you that I trimmed it, but from one tech to another, that just seemed like a sin. So here're some photos instead:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/TopRx2.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/TopRightRx.jpg

Normally, my wire management would have been a bit cleaner if this were a permanent setup that I knew I wouldn't be taking apart again. But I've been learning that there's absolutely nothing permanent on a model helicopter, so I just made it pretty enough to be acceptable, and not too hard to undo.

And here's the metal head, sans metal blade grips:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z43/rkramer21/MetalHead.jpg



Curtis-

I'm sorry about your mower, man. Being the car guy that I am, I think that I might have ripped the engine apart and gave it a nice port and polish job. Then, I would have turned it into the fastest damn tractor in the neighborhood- actual ability to cut grass be damned! And then I would find the biggest oak tree around and test the frontal impact durability of the tractor, just for kicks. So have you flown your Axe yet, huh, huh, huh?!?!

-Ray

[Iceman140]

RayK-

You sneaky man....very sneaky man....

You're right, somewhere I missed the 2.4 Ghz thing and yes if you told me you trimmed it, I might have had to drive out there and solder some wire back on. :mrgreen:

Hey, did you check out the triple bladed heads yet, did ya huh, did ya huh?
Cool beans for $100.

Ed