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View Full Version : First flight! No crash! whoo hooo!


troxelb
01-14-2008, 05:11 PM
Hello!

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I bought myself a Blade CX2. After about one week of playing with that I went and bought myself a Trex 450 SE v2. (Yeah, I was hooked...)

So I end up doing most of the build and setup right around Christmas time but living in the Northwest has some drawbacks...It basically hasn't stopped raining until yesterday. I did get a dry patch a couple of weeks back where I spun my Trex up but did not lift off. (Gyro was reversed...."look at it spin!" "Is that suppose to do that?")

So I finally get a wind-free dry day and start doing Radd's school of flight. About that time I realized that I am a little better than I thought I was. (I have Realflight G4 also and have been practicing with a Trex 450 every day) So after my second battery pack I decided lift it off the ground. Right up in the air and into a stable hover! I almost dropped my Tx. Heh.

So I do another two batteries hovering and landing. The only issue I had was that my rudder servo was a little too far forward. I realized this when I did my preflight because I noticed that the ball link on the rod was way out on the threads. So I cranked it on a few more turns and all was ok. (Lesson learned there is ALWAYS DO A THOROUGH PREFLIGHT!) This easily could have turned into a "First Flight, First Crash post."

I would like to thank Finless and a lot of other people for the setup vids and just being knowledgable on the forums. I spent a LOT of time just reading the forums and watching the vids before I had a chance to fly. I believe that this website is a BIG reason why I had so little problems on my first flight.

So now all I have to do is adjust my rudder servo and I should be good to go for the next dry, windless day.

Oh, I do need to adjust my swashplate at some point. It is mechanically setup for about -12 degrees to +9 degrees. I set my curves up to just be -3 to +9 while I'm learning, so I will wait until I decide to idle up before spending too much time fiddling with it. (and who knows, I might have to tear it all apart before then anyways. Hehe)

Thanks everyone!

Happy rotoring.....

Brian

TheBum
01-14-2008, 05:22 PM
Congrats! I remember the thrill of my Diablo lifting straight up during what started out as a simple no-flight spin-up test. As it got light on the skids, it was remaining level and before I knew it, there was air between the skids and the ground.

troxelb
01-14-2008, 06:13 PM
My un-planned flight was kind of like that. I did go into the battery pack knowing that I would be bringing her up though.

I had done some of Radd's flight school with my CX2 and on the sim. So doing it again in real life wasn't really needed. Now I put the training gear on and start my hovering practice... Or should I go straight for 3D flight? Hehe

I was suprised at how stable it was. I would have put money on the fact that I had goofed something up in the setup. (Not that I haven't...I just don't know it yet...) So I was half expecting the heli to just flop over and crash or something.

B

Skarn
01-14-2008, 11:34 PM
Congrats bro! I had my first TREX hover this past weekend as well....it was a blast! I can hover my Blade CP pretty well so that definitely helped along with my sim. Now I'm fiending to fly, but by the time I get home from work it's dark and it's supposed to start snowing tomorrow :( Oh well, time for the sim again.

Good luck!
Skarn

TheBum
01-14-2008, 11:44 PM
I was half expecting the heli to just flop over and crash or something.

Those exact thoughts went through my mind the first time. My chin was probably scraping the ground when it didn't happen.

darkchiild
01-15-2008, 05:37 PM
I'm afraid mine DID just flop over and crash first time around. But thanks to the advice of lots of folks here, the second flight went a little nicer. I took it to the parking garage at work last night after hours, and figured I'd just keep it close to the ground and burn a pack. But I'm happy to say I was able to get it up to around 2ft, and keep a relatively stable hover!

Sounds stupid, but what a rush! I've got the bug. All I thought about at work all day was how much I was looking forward to tonight, when I get to take it back. I got the battery recharging now, and people should be pretty well cleared out by 8:30 EST. 5:30 now. Waiting patiently...

troxelb
01-15-2008, 06:52 PM
darkchild,

Sorry to hear about that. Do you know what ended up causing that first crash?

I'm glad to hear that you have it flying well now! It is a blast, isn't it?

I'm doing the same thing here at work...waiting for quiting time. It's dry, 42 degrees and just a slight breeze...I'll make sure and let you guys know how the second flight goes.

B

darkchiild
01-15-2008, 06:59 PM
Yeah the swashplate was tilted severely to the right, and blade pitch was only 5 degrees at full throttle. "Flight tested at the factory" my butt. Wasn't really a crash though. Just chewed up the tips of my blades.

troxelb
01-16-2008, 12:24 PM
My second day of flying was as good as the first. No crashes. I had my home made training gear on this time.

I need to get someone to listen to my heli though. It was making a sound that I'm not sure is normal or not. Kind of a higher pitch change at different throttle/collective positions on the stick. Is that normal?

I did notice that I should probably realign my pinion. It seems to be a little high (the flared part is too high touching the gears a little.

B