Video - 10S Ion-X and Neu 1521

[Chachin]

Hello guys,

I was out yesterday practicing some aerobatics with my Ion-X (V1). I've had this heli for over 2 years now and it's still going strong. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showatt.php?attachmentid=1356446

Chachin..

[TomC]

Great flying Chachin, thanks for sharing.

Are you still runnng 20:1 ratio with single 50t secondary gear? What kind of gear life are you getting? Thanks mate.

Cheers,
Tom C

[Chachin]

Hey Tom, how's it going? Thanks man, really enjoy flying the Ion.

Yes I'm still running the 20:1 gear ratio using a 50t double-stacked gear. I only have 22 flights in the Ion-X (been flying other helis too) since I upgraded to this double stacked gear. So far it is holding up well :D. I only see very fine white dust on the packs after flying and the gear teeth are only starting to wear. At the rate it is wearing out I estimate that I will get at least another 22 flights or so before needing replacement. This is way better longevity than what I was getting with the single secondary gears hehe.

I saw your gear ratio post about going higher voltage with the Ion-X V2 and the Neu1521. You'll definitely need some tall gearing with the Neu.

I'm hoping that a 20:1 gear ratio is also available for the V2. If so, then I will upgrade from V1 to V2 and switch over entirely to 10S 5000mAh Extreme packs since they fit inside the canopy of the V2. In my experience, the 10S 5000 Extreme setup is kinda like adding an extra cell to the 10S 4600 Extreme setup, noticeably more powerful :twisted:. And as an added bonus you get 8min flight times. So I'm planning on trying that out before going 12S ( Actro, PowerJazz, new packs = $$$$).

Chachin..

[TomC]

Hey Tom, how's it going? Thanks man, really enjoy flying the Ion.

Yes I'm still running the 20:1 gear ratio using a 50t double-stacked gear. I only have 22 flights in the Ion-X (been flying other helis too) since I upgraded to this double stacked gear. So far it is holding up well :D. I only see very fine white dust on the packs after flying and the gear teeth are only starting to wear. At the rate it is wearing out I estimate that I will get at least another 22 flights or so before needing replacement. This is way better longevity than what I was getting with the single secondary gears hehe.

I saw your gear ratio post about going higher voltage with the Ion-X V2 and the Neu1521. You'll definitely need some tall gearing with the Neu.

I'm hoping that a 20:1 gear ratio is also available for the V2. If so, then I will upgrade from V1 to V2 and switch over entirely to 10S 5000mAh Extreme packs since they fit inside the canopy of the V2. In my experience, the 10S 5000 Extreme setup is kinda like adding an extra cell to the 10S 4600 Extreme setup, noticeably more powerful :twisted:. And as an added bonus you get 8min flight times. So I'm planning on trying that out before going 12S ( Actro, PowerJazz, new packs = $$$$).

Chachin..

Things are going great mate. My new (only ~10 flights on it so far) SS 100/10t Actro 32-3 Ion-x is lots of fun. Pulls like crazy compared to my Neu setup but the Actro is a bit of an amp-hog (~5-10 amps more draw on avg). Still, both helis are fun to fly on 10s 3700 Evo20's. I get 5 min with the Actro and 6 min with the Neu. Almost 1.5 years of pretty trouble-free performance on my Neu setup.

I'm actually getting some decent 50t (single) secondary gear wear right now (~50 flights) but I think a lot of this is to do with the softer 3700 evo's.

I think that the other thing the Neu needs is a little more support in the bottom casing to stop it from jerking back and forth, which I think (but do not really know) may be causing it to bite into secondary gears. I added quite a bit of back pressure on the bottom rubber ring and this seems to have helped a bit. I think my next step is to try to add another ring below this and add front pressure as well. Basically clamping the bottom of the Neu can.

I agree with what you're saying about larger capacity packs giving you more power. If I parallel 4x 5s1p 3700 packs to 10s 7400's on my Neu setup, the extra power feels like you've added 1-1.5 more cells. The problem is the secondary gear start shedding a lot of white dust! I have not tried this with the SS Actro setup yet, but I'd be worried that I would start to see a lot of 100t main gear white dust!. The 4 pack are a pain to hookup and keep balanced. Also, the weight penalty is high so I do not think that this is a valid option anyway.

After I go through my current stash of 50t secondary gears, I think I'll do the same as you and look at a v2 upgrade, initially at ~20:1, and go to bigger 10s packs (~4600-5000).

I got a note back from Tim at MA saying that they were going to use 100t main gears (doubled up ones, I believe) for the higher ratio Neu setups (10-12s). He did not give me any other details but I would guess that this would use a 12t up top and a 38/16t below for ~19.8:1. That's probably where I would start.

The beauty of the V2 is it looks like you could change pulleys in 5 minutes flat and try other ratios, like using a 39t for 20.3 ratio or a 37t for 19.3 ratio to see what gives you a personal sweet spot. A 44t would give you a nice 22.9 ratio for 12s.

The new V2 lightened landing gear (basically off the Razor) saves about 3-4 oz and is probably a good thing to try as well. I did see that Bobby Watts broke one on a bouncy touch-and-go, but of course you and I would not be so careless (haha)!

Better (V2) drive systems, better cells, and typical MA top-end quality means that our Ion-x's are going to be around for a long, long time imop!

All the best and cheers,

Tom C

[Chachin]

Yeah, I'm glad MA has continued improving and supporting the Ion-X. It is one awesome flying machine.

BTW, not only are the 5000 TP cells higher in capacity, but they are also higher in discharge rate (25C continuous) compared to the 4600's (22C continuous). I think the combination of the two is what makes the big "jump" in performance. There is 100rpm headspeed difference between the two. I'll try to get the 5000 cell setup on video (without the canopy) for comparisons sake.

Good to hear so many gearing options will be available for the Ion V2. I thought they had released the upgrade kit already, but I called them a couple of days ago and they said that it wasn't ready yet :(. My 50t double stacked gear is holding up, so I can wait :D.

Chachin..

[bob00]

Yeah, I'm glad MA has continued improving and supporting the Ion-X. It is one awesome flying machine

Yeah, same here - I thought the Ion-X was going to be history when the Razor was announced, I'm glad this was not the case.

My stacked 50T gear finally shed a couple teeth after about 65 flights on 11S - they didn't wear away - they snapped off - one tooth from the top and the other from the bottom of the gear, so be sure to keep an eye on things.

- R

[Chachin]

Thanks for the heads-up Bob. Now that I remember, the same thing happened with my original Hacker motor setup and 55t single gear. Before the secondary gear finished wearing out one of the teeth chipped off half-way, so I had to replace it. I will keep a close eye on things.

Chachin..