Maidoned the 550

[skigolfmike]

The 68T front main gear came in today, which was the last thing I needed. It took about 5 minutes to put that in, then I figured on about 15-20 minutes to get the gear lash to the motor right. Get this, I dropped the motor plate in and it was right on the money. Put in the side screws just to check, how lucky is that. Tightened everything up and I was almost ready to go.

First I set the normal curve to 0-0-0-0-0 (DX7 radio for reference), move the stick to 50% and I bumped up the curve stopping to check head speed. At 50% it was 1700, so I went up to 60% where it was ~1800. Decided to try something like 0-50-65-80-100 to start. spooled up, lifted off and it flew. Set it down and tried it again and on spool-up I got a funny noise. Found the belt was way loose.

I went back, tightened the belt and tried it again. Still flew the same, very nice in hover compared to my B400. It was starting to rain, so, I called it quits.

On spool down it got quite a shake out of the bird. Doing a little research, I may not have the blade grips tight enough. Main blades and tail blades are balanced. I also discovered I could tighten the TR belt some more too.

One other thing I had a problem with was the heli spinning around twice on spool-up. One thing I did was to switch into rate mode on the gyro and I needed a lot of right rudder to hold the tail. I got a pretty good look at where the slider on the TR is and it was off center towards the boom where it was neutral. I had it centered, so I put in about 4 turns on the ball link. Should be closer next time.

After that I took the bird back to my workshop and went through the whole thing looking for anything loose or not right.

My initial impression is I have a keeper here. I'm looking forward to getting it dialed in and putting some time on it. I may have to wait a while since I have a few honey-dos stacked up. going to Toledo Sat. for the day won't help in that department.

One thing I did get from ReadyHeli that I think will help keep the batteries synced is the Kong Power dual balance lead. I can charge and balance both batteries at the same time. Now all I need is another pair of battery packs and I'm good.

[mysticmead]

glad to hear that everything went smoothly... I hope mine will go as nice when I get a chance to order it (will May 16th EVER get here).. I thought I was going to get lucky and be able to order mine this week.. but my youngest son had other ideas for that money.. he thought it would be much better spent at the emergency room getting his broken arm put in a cast... kids... don't they understand that heli's are better than broken bones...

[vicrc]

I went back, tightened the belt and tried it again. Still flew the same, very nice in hover compared to my B400. It was starting to rain, so, I called it quits.



Its so funny when I got my Hurry, my B400 was left hung up collecting dust for weeks, so I sold it. Glad things went smooth, check that OWB or replace it with the 20T. You don't want to learn auto rotatin too soon.

[Hawk18052]

Dear Jonathan Schuler,

Order ID: 707639

Thank you for ordering from RC-Expert.com (http://rc-expert.com/). Your item has been shipped today via Air.

Watch the flinless setup videos. Can't wait to get my Hurricane, but I'm gonna rip it all apart and do everything in the videos. I bet they don't even have locktight in Hong Kong.

Hawk

[istandalone]

^^, you're right. i think they just use thick CA.

[bearwood]

Dear Jonathan Schuler,

Order ID: 707639

Thank you for ordering from RC-Expert.com. Your item has been shipped today via Air.

Watch the flinless setup videos. Can't wait to get my Hurricane, but I'm gonna rip it all apart and do everything in the videos. I bet they don't even have locktight in Hong Kong.

Hawk

WTF does this have to do with skigolfmikes joy at his maiden flight?

skigolfmike,
if you change the length of the tail too much (by tightening the belt) then you may have redo the mechanical setup of the tail again. I am going through this process now after a rebuild due to a unscheduled meeting with terra ferma.

[skigolfmike]

if you change the length of the tail too much (by tightening the belt) then you may have redo the mechanical setup of the tail again.

Not if the tail servo is mounted on the boom.:)

[skigolfmike]

Its so funny when I got my Hurry, my B400 was left hung up collecting dust for weeks, so I sold it. Glad things went smooth, check that OWB or replace it with the 20T. You don't want to learn auto rotatin too soon.

Will do on the OWB. I can't see getting rid of the B400. I have too many places I can fly it and mine flies pretty well. Plus, I only have 1 (1 pair actually) battery for the 550. Will be looking for a deal on a 2nd pair of batts at Toledo tomorrow.

I think the 550 would actually auto pretty well compared to the B400.;)

[skydude]

I do not know what a B400 is but if it is comparable to a 450 size and you have not flown a larger heli yet you are in for a treat.

I get chills just thinking about on flying my Hurri, let alone what it does to me when actually flying.

When I think about it I realize I am in a low, to mild. to high, adrenaline rush the whole time it is in the air.

Yee Haw

--

[skigolfmike]

The other heli is a E-Flite Blade 400 with lots of mods. I've got servo, gyro and ESC upgrades on it.

Just in hover, the 550 is about an order of magnitude better than the B400.

Also, I got a chance to spin the heli up last night again with out the TR and main blades to check for vibration spooling up and down. No shakes, so I think it's just a matter of getting the main blade grips tightened correctly.

[mjdee14]

I get chills just thinking about on flying my Hurri, let alone what it does to me when actually flying.

When I think about it I realize I am in a low, to mild. to high, adrenaline rush the whole time it is in the air.

Yee Haw

--

Like 5 minutes of "legal heroine".....SD I know what you mean.

[skydude]

Like 5 minutes of "legal heroine".....SD I know what you mean.

I swear to god. If we could bottle this stuff and get it to the John Q Public we would be billionaires. (The world's first trillionaires?)

It gets me buzzed like nothing I have done. Hang gliding is the only thing that comes close. But I can be completely relaxed with this. The fear just starts to take the edge off the buzz HGing. ( I am a naturally lousy pilot. Am working towards being able to relax)

But with the Hurri. The ability to be able to relax with the injections of adrenaline is like nothing I have ever experienced.

--

[skigolfmike]

Yeah - having more fun that I legally should.

I have about 6 flights on the 550 now. Only getting about 2 a day since I only have 1 battery pack. so far. I plan to rectify that situation this week.

I'm running 0-55-70-85-100 in normal and 100-75-100 in idle-up. I had the biggest problem getting the tail setup. I just about have that dialed in At this point I have the gain set at 58% on the JR 770 gyro. Seems to be holding well. At 5 minutes of hover I'm putting just under 2700 mAh back in, so I'll leave the timer at 5:00 minutes.

I'm having trouble on start up with the heli spinning around twice. Servo is going the right direction and the gyro corrects the right way. Anyone put anti-skid tubing on the landing skids?

Also, has anyone tried the FlightPower EvoLite 4750s? It's an 18C battery, same price as the 3200 30C. Rated for 78A continuous and 98A bursts.

[xodarap1]

Anyone put anti-skid tubing on the landing skids?

Yup, I run it on all my helis. It's great after the tail is set properly.. not while you are setting it up. ;)

[mjdee14]

4750's seem like an awful big battery to use and get a good cg...3300 poly's on my plastic frame is about as big as i want to go....

What motor and gearing are you using? if it's the stock gaui, go to a Z20 or 30 depending on your level...you will get longer flights.

I find the Gaui ESC to start up real slow if you bring it up gently.....I get no turns of the heli at all even on gravel....

try it until it just starts to turn...if it still spins you might have something else wrong with the set up...

[skigolfmike]

Speed control is a Phoenix HV85. I have the soft start set at 1 and motor start power set at low. Still spins the heli. I may call CC and ask them about settings.

The EvoLite 4270 3S1P is about the same size as the Evo30 3200 3S1P. It does weigh more though 320g v. 272g. That would be 96 more grams flying weight on the nose with the EvoLites. Might be an option if I was tail heavy, which I am not.

The upgrade motor appears to be a power hog. The Z20 980kV might be a good option for the way I am flying right now.