You know what's fun?

[skipper1]

Flying rc helicopters when they'll fly. I do believe I have fallen into a bottomless money pit with little to no satisfaction.

I thought I was doing everything the correct way. Reading forums, books, watching videos and so on. The first week of December I purchased the new Spektrum DX7s and the Blade mSR. Crashes are gonna happen and replacing parts is just part of the deal. After the second week my mSR will only fly counter clockwise and backwards, if you try to correct it, it goes completely out of control. I have read and read and no one seems to have the solution. I have replaced every part and still flies ccw and backwards. I called Horizon Hobby, what nice people, send it in and we'll let you know how much it'll cost to get to work the way it's supposed to. WHAT!

Then I purchased the Phoenix simulator. That's a pretty cool tool to learn on, I guess. What I see is every helicopter is tuned perfectly and your DX7s has everything trimmed out perfectly and you can fly just about anything, I'm exaggerating a little there.

The second week of December I purchased a Blade MCX 2 because I figured I was in over my head. Fun little heli for about 13 days. Like most people, I purchased a sack of batteries to go with it so I could rotate them and learn to fly. What I didn't know and neither did a lot of others, the motors get hotter than a pistol, you crash and the frame gets distorted and your gear for the lower blades wears down to the nub. The band-aid fix is to put a new $2.99 gear on just to have it wear out in another 10 days or so. HH is sending a new helicopter.

My goal was to work my way up to a big heli so I could mount a camera to do some videos. It just looks like a bunch of fun, and how could you ever get videos like that. After spending over $1000 buying tools, extra parts and helicopter stuff, I think it's time to toss in the towel.

I'm not sure if I just need some guidance or it's time for a reality check.

Thanks for taking time to read and be watching for a sale.

[InFocus]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

The mSR. have you looked at the tail rotor. If it were pointing slightly upward, (ie the tail shaft twisted counter clockwise just a bit), this would cause both a tail hold issue, and also cause the heli to want to pitch backwards.

Also, be sure the swash is pressed in good, use the little red tool to press it back together.

Hopefully this can get your mSR back operational and you can progress into the fun category again.

You have a modest and attainable goal, but depending on how many hours of practice it would be very feasible to spend 4 to 6 months before you'll be comfortable enough with a 450 size heli that can haul your camera up for videos.

However, I think you have been exposed to several facets of the hobby. Flying or learning to fly is just one part. The other part really is the maintenance aspect, and the cost of doing so. As the heli's get bigger, the costs of crashing will also increase.

Basically at least $15 per crash on a 450, and that assumes you use low cost EXI blades.

I have a very long way to go before I'll be able to do the advanced 3d flying that I see others do, but I'm having a blast every step of the way.
For me, the thrill of flying, learning, and the progression as I'm able to do new things is very satisfying. I also enjoy working on mechanical things and problem solving so even the maintenance aspect is fun.
No, I did not particularly enjoy dumb thumbing my 450 into the ground, but I understand, thats part of the deal.

If your ratio of enjoyment to frustration is not positive, then I would recommend that you put it down for a while, because this is a hobby, meant for you to have fun.

[skipper1]

Infocus,
Thank you for your input. Your suggestion on the tail has helped some but still not quiet there yet.

[duckhuntrr]

skipper one thing you might consider is to try some fixed wing action for break from the furstation that can be heil's. I have a mcx, msr, blade sr 120, blade sr and cp 125 in my heli barn and got frustrated with trying to make the transition from fixed pitch to collective pitch so I took some time off from heli's and bought some horizon ultra micro planes and a few bigger ones as well. Now I am getting ready to pick back up my colllective pitch heli's and give it another try as well as look into the new blade mCP X. The time spend with successful hours of flying the fixed wing planes has kept me flying and helped develop confidence in stick skills with the dx6i. Just a few thoughts from where I'm sitting .. good luck with your persuits of what is an awesome hobby.

[CrashCanuck]

After having my MSR for a month or two and lots, I mean lots of crashes mine would only fly backwards and seemed like I had no control. Shelved it for a couple of months after replacing some parts that didn't help. Finally borrowed a buddies tail boom and motor assembly, flew great. So whenever it starts to fly lousy, even with a new battery I try a new tail rotor and if that doesn't fix it, a new tail motor. Has worked every time for me.

[skipper1]

Thanks Crash,
Believe it or not, switching out the tail & motor helped tremendously.

I've been on the simulator the last few days flying the Gaui 330X quad. I think I kind of like it. I'm keeping an eye on that new mQX that's coming out. Might have to try it out. Those things are really fast.

[Imzzaudae]

MSR
Look at the mast just above swash plate from the rear. See the little forks sticking up.
Is the pin from the swash plate inside the forks where it is supposed to be? It tends to get knocked out of place in a crash. The pin on the back of the swash plate needs to be in between those 2 fork like tongs. If it's outside the tongs, this is what causes the symptoms you mentioned.

You may have separated the swash itself in a crash and need to put it back together with the red swash tool. See youtube video.

MCX2
I have an MCX2 that has been through 4 students and myself flying and crashing the thing 10 times a day for a year. Only ever broke 1 landing gear. Did someone step on your helicopter to bend it?

We all have issues when we start out. Give the guys here on Hellifreek a chance to help you get up flying. Every guy here has been in your shoes. Every one of us.

MSR can be a hand full for a 1st helicopter. But seeing you have sim time.
Once we get it sorted for youy.

Hover hover hover the MSR until you can do it in your sleep. Then we can get you a little help flying it around.

A Real Basic Way To Learn To Fly Your Blade MSR (6 min 19 sec)

[skipper1]

Imzzaudae,
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I've done a lot of reading trying to figure out what is wrong with mSR. I've been aware of the swash plate getting separate and the forks in the rear. Never had a problem with either. I rebuilt the mSR, except for the tail section. I replaced that last night and that fixed it. How stupid can I get?

The mcx2, like most around here, when I got it I flew it a lot and crashed a lot. What I wasn't aware of is the motors get hot which softens the frame a bit. When that happens and you crash, the frame becomes distorted. You can't see it but what happens is it's distorted just enough to get the top gear and pinion not to match up and the gear wears down to a nub. The only fix is new gear and new frame. Being such a noob, I didn't know to look for something like that. Live and learn. I can't wait for my light to come on.