Axe CP tips

[jcwing123]

Hey all,

I just wanted to post a few Axe CP tips... I am by no means an expert, but only stand in the shadow of people like Finless... At any rate, I currently own 2 Axe CP's, a MX400, a MX400 Pro, and a MX450 XS. This spring/summer I plan on getting a Trex 600... The reason I got an ACP is because I bought one of my future son-in-laws one for Christmas, and since they were so cheap, I bought 2 of them... :) I figured if I was going to help him get into the RC heli hobby, I better buy one so I could learn the in's and out's of the heli... Ok, I admit, buying him one gave me an excuse to get myself another heli :)

Just fyi, this thread is only for folks thinking about getting an ACP, and not for all of you experts out there. :) Any way, after flying the ACP for a while, I've learned a few things...

1. Use the training gear at first even if you have flown other heli's, especially larger ones. The first time I flew the ACP I left the training gear off and completely waxed the blades, the rotor head, blade grips, feathering spindle, and main rotor shaft. Though I have my training gear off now, this heli is lighter and more sensative to input than the larger ones and if you're used to heaver heli's like me, this one WILL get away from you... :)

2. Buy the plastic blades. First good hit with the wood ones and they are history. The plastic ones are way better concerning abuse.

3. One of the main issues with the ACP is that you have to just about constantly trim the tail via the radio to keep it pointed in the desired direction. One of the ways that I sort of cured this issue is that I adjusted the gyro gain to max(clock-wise), then adjusted the tail rotor trim (clock-wise) to just the point where the the tail motor SOUNDS twitchy when in a hover. If you adjust the tail trim too much to the right, the tail will actually BE twitchy in a hover.

4. The stock green NiMH battery does NOT give a constant current flow. This and the fact that the stock battery is heavy affects the ACP to the point that you are fighting the heli the whole flight. My recommendation is that you buy the Thunder Power 1320 mAh/11.1 volt Lipo. This is a great battery for the ACP and it weighs less than the stock battery. Any battery other than or heavier than the 1320 gives horrible flight performance. The output current of the 1320 is clean and steady and believe me, the flight performance difference
is amazing.

To all the experts here on Helifreak, if I am off in any of these tips, please let me know.

That's it for now... If I think of anything else I'll post, and thanx for reading this...
Joel

[skunkworx]

Looks good to me! You have to set 'center' with this heli. That's the only part I saw that you missed. If you get it dead on, the gyro holds like a HH gyro and you can fly completely with your right hand (mode 2) with little drift.

I posted some stuff about some upgrades you can hock off the Trex 450 to use on the ACP. Other than that, it's best to post your probs, and someone will help out!

[eppy]

Just in case you guys didn't know.

Got my hands on the Esky tailboom ( part EK1-0563 (http://www.rc-spareparts.com/ek10563-8317mm-tail-boom-set-p-684.html) ) packet of TWO for 6 Euros at LHS.
The original ones are 12 USD at Tower for ONE piece.

The Esky one fits 100%, no mods/hacks needed. :thumbup:

[jcwing123]

Thanx SkunkWorx,

What do you mean set "center"? :)

Joel

[jcwing123]

Thanx Eppy...

Joel

[skunkworx]

On the gyro settings, you have two potentiometers; one is for gyro gain, and the other is for 'center' having to do with the mixing of the main/tail motor.

To better explain myself: When the two motors are engaged, the tail motor is given a percentage of thrust. If too much is given, it will overdrive the tail, and it will spin the nose to the right. If it's not given enough thrust, it'll spin to the left requiring you to constantly fight the rudder to the L/R making it tough to fly. If you get it centered really well, it stays where you put it regardless of other stick inputs.

The stock gyro will hold well enough, but you would be better off getting a separate heading-hold gyro altogether. For most, this is not very cost effective because a good gyro costs more than you could pick up the whole heli for! :DOH You would definately need to get a better radio as well because the stock one doesn't give you very many options. The airframe itself is really good to me, and quite worth it to try putting better electronics in it, but most people don't see it the way I do. Here's a link I like to share with anyone looking to upgrade their helis with separate electronics:

http://www.helihobby.com/html/separate_electronics.html

[jcwing123]

Thanx Skunkwork... :)

Joel

[racer526]

My last Axe stock tail motor went bad on me the other day. Looking thru my box of parts I came across a stock tail motor for my Blade CPPro. I put it on the Axe and it works great. I think the tail holds better with the Pro tail motor. It also spins allot smother than the Axe tail motor. If anybody has a CPPro tail motor laying around try it on your Axe and see what you think. By the way the Pro tail motor is lighter so you my have to add some weight to the back of the heli.