How are the 550's going? Time for an update

[pjones]

Hey guys,

I check this thread most days, but haven't had an update as to how people are going with there setups. I still haven't got mine in the air yet, still waiting on parts - listed below. I would like to know how peoples run times are, are the z20/z30's still going strong. Any more people moved to HV setups like UKGroucho?

I like hearing this stuff, keeps me interested as I am too far from a club.

My Setup

550ep + metal head + 500mm carbon blades + plastic frame + standard gears
Stock gaui 850kv motor
Hextronik 80amp ESC
2 x Polyquest 3700mah - 25c
3 x DS821 (spektrum) servos
Futaba 401 + 9254
AR7000
Still have to decide on bec

Regards

Paul.

[WhirlingBladesOfDeath]

I just finished my build, and it's sitting on my counter looking all pretty. The only thing I need now is a charger for my battery. DOH It's one the way, and hopefully I can maiden it this weekend. I'll take some pictures tonight and list out the specs on it.

[Kepler]

My Z20 is still going perfectly. Just went to a 15 tooth pinion up from the 14 tooth. Z20 handles it well and give the heli a bit more pop. Only lost about 1/2 a minute flight time so I think I can live with that.

[cd5]

I finall y got my system sorted on 8s. I had a few problems but they did not relate to the quality of the heli. On 8s i burnt up the stock motor which i knew would happen so i made the switch to the z20.
I use the revvco gears but the 18 tooth pinion was to small and the only one in stock was the 21 tooth . It flies ok and the z20 only got to 50 degrees c on this setup .The head can bog alittle if you get to carried away and i think the 20 tooth pinion would be on the money. I just cant by an 8dollar pinion and pay for shipping. I will wait till i need a couple of things before i place the order.
I had dramas with ccpm interaction also .When i flipped aileron roll would also happen. I found that one servo was moving qicker than the other when you applied collective , so as you could imagine things got ugly from time to time.
I dialled this out by reducing the epa on the offending servo.
I actually just flew it and all ican say is that I HAD A LOT OF FUN!! The cyclics are surprisingly quick on this heli, although i think the 8s adds to this characteristic.
I have nearly finished my first nitro (trex 600n) and this heli has always been to get me used to flying the bigger birds. I was even going to take the gyro and reciever out of the hurri and put it in the nitro but not now . I will keep this bird flying and throw as much at it as i can . I was a bit turned off by the slow servo but now that is sorted i like this heli a lot.
Hopefully i will get out on the weekend and post some more flight times after flying this machine properly. I just put 5 and a half mins on my 2500 but have a feeling this may have pushed em a bit far. What can i say this is the fist time i really had fun with this heli and i got a bit carried a way .When the cells cool ill chage em and will see what goes back in .
Cheers
Simon

[Jungle Bob]

My 550 is pretty much stock but stillthe best heli I have ever flown, rock solid, responsive and my flight skills improved on my very first flight. Good alround chopper for beginner to intermediate. Can't wait to get it out again

[ukgroucho]

My 10S beastie has not had much air time in the last few weeks as I've been travelling with work - or the weather has been terrible.

I had a set of incidents which were gear related... I was throwing it around very hard and managed to destroy the revco gear. I'm wondering if the mesh was too tight and the gear over-heated... Anyway that resulted in a crash 'cos I completely screwed up any attempt at an auto. Next flight it went in again - one way bearing issue but at least I fumbled an auto there.. although into long grass with ruts which busted a new LG leg.

I've put another 10 or so flights thru it since then running in some new packs so hover and FF / FFF but nothing too agressive. I also dropped the HS a little to around 2200 and with hovering and steady FF / FFF with 2300MaH packs (2x5S) I can see 8 minutes (or a little more) would be possible.
I tend to fly 5 - 6 mins but this is fine even if you thrash it.
5 mins of hover and smooth FF/FFF is ~1100MaH.
5 mins of thrashing it is more like 1500 - 1600MaH

It is very powerful. Peaks up around 2000 watts and 55 amps. Climb out is balistic and relentless... I only run around 11 or 12 degrees pitch. Don't really want any more as it will pull even more amps I guess.

The cheap Hextronik packs seem to be holding up pretty well, with some caveats.

I killed one pack by shorting it out. Not going to explain, embarassing and scary... lesson learned. Another pack died in the gear failure 'crash'. It was unmarked (not damaged) but it seems the jolt did something to the inards of one cell because it suddenly became a 4S. That pack has gone back to United Hobbies. I hope they will honour their warranty as I've never seen a pack do that without visible damage.

Up until that point the pack had done over 30 cycles. It and it's buddy pack were delivering pretty consistent performance. Voltage was dropping a little more in flight than early on but I suspect that is partly due to me hitting the packs much harder as my confidence grows.

My only surprise / disappointment was that the first 'crash' did some minor damage to the top frames in the CF frame set. Both sides of the CF top frames developed cracks where the frame meets the top of the motor mount plate. I reinforced these areas with some CF splints as I could not be bothered to strip and rebuild - and they were not 'broken', but I'm somewhat disappointed.
We'll see how the frame sides stand up to some aerobatics and 3D when the weather clears a little.

[oppie]

I upgraded to a Z20 with Align 75A ESC CF 500 blades Align 600 tail. I run EVO 2500s and I just got 3300EVOs but haven't tried them out yet. The problem is the weather has turned bad in the upper States here the US. But before ti turned bad the Hurri flew great! The piros are insane, faster than my Trex! Flight time with the 2500 is around 5 min but I haven't wanted to push them $$$. Climb out is also very fast the Z20 is onlt the 980KV but I think it is strong. I think I'm getting 200 head speed with the Revco white gears and a 23T pinion. I have noticed the Hurri takes a larger flight area than my Trex but it is just as agile. The cyclic is good for basic 3D I can't wait until the weather improves so I can ring it out agin. (I my have a long wait)

[mjdee14]

I had my stock Hurri out about 4 times now and am still getting used to it. Running stock blades, 15 tooth pinion and the ugraded motor...1100? But I love it so far.:lol:

Just bought a set of 515 CF blades and am looking forward to trying them out.

Using 2500 and 3300 Polyquest 25c packs. The 18c 2200 packs that came with it could not handle the load...they got hot and puffed. The 25c Polys have no problems at all.

i have been flying an ECO8 for about 2 years and this heli "Rocks" compared to the ECO.

Also went to a DX7 at the same time as the Hurri so i'm trying to get the hurri and the ECO dialed in to where I feel comfortable and in control.

Also just bought a used 75a Align ESC due to the fact i think the upgraded motor may be geting close to the limit of the ESC.....anyone have any good data on max amp draws with a similar set up?

I have and Eagle tree V3 on my Christmas wish list so i will be able to get good data...in the meantime I'll switch to the 75a just to be sure.

Liked this heli so much on first impression and a few front yard hovers that i bought the CF version when on sale.

I see this will be my "main" heli for a long time...i am not a 3d pilot even on the sim...

Just hope we have support parts for years to come.

Mike :lol: