View Full Version : new b400 owner
hoverpunk
05-16-2008, 08:18 PM
after lurking here for quite a while, i have finally purchased a b400. just charged the battery for the first time, and i will more than likely go give it a test flight this evening if the wind dies down. i can hardly wait!
i am a heli noob but have lots of simulator experience, and some experiece with a friends axe cp. i am hoping that the b400 is a bit more stable than the axe.
not sure if i will make the initial pre flight tweaks that are recommended or not. i will definitely be doing them later this evening assuming i don't end up needing to go to the hobby store for replacement parts! hahaha....
wish me luck!
Good luck - but you could just put two wheel collars on each side of the flybar out on the end. It could help a bit the guys on this site have several hints to help newbies like you and I. Let us know how it goes.
yea definetaly wait for the wind to die down. I just trashed my first set of rotor blades tonight and it wasn't my fault. I had the heli setting on the drive way and the power was set at about 40%, when a gust of wind came up and tipped her over on her side damaging the rotor tips. So I'm going to have to go and get some new rotors tomorrow, maybe a few new sets...:arggg:
Vince CP
05-16-2008, 11:25 PM
Just don't bend your feathering shaft, they are on backorder right now.
yea my feathering shaft is fine. Luckly my blades just skimmed the pavement, but just enough to screw them up. Had I had carbon fiber or plastic blades I may have been ok.
old man ham
05-17-2008, 03:47 AM
Fingers crossed for no wind!, good luck mate.
hoverpunk
05-17-2008, 04:24 AM
well the first flight report is pretty good... with a completely stock heli, i was able to hover and do some basic forward flight. i wasn't able to get out to the field till pretty late so i only flew around for a couple minutes before i decided the lighting was going to cause damage. i was able to get it down without hurting it! first flight without training gear too. pretty cool, but i was jumpy as hell...
it had some trim issues with the tail, and i was forced to fly the tail at all times to correct. i was too jumpy to try fixing it in the short amount of time that i flew tonight though.
one thing is for sure, this heli is a lot more stable than the axe cp.
can't wait to get out and try again...
widower
05-17-2008, 05:30 PM
Glad to hear about your success. I usually have to add a couple of clicks of trim on the tail every time I change the battery. I usually trim before leaving the ground.
hoverpunk
05-18-2008, 11:42 AM
welp... i hate to say this... BUT! i am the latest victim of the dreaded "crappy servo failure" while in flight situation. unfortunately it ended in a blade strike, so now i have some repairs to do. i will also be upgrading my tail servo (and the others as soon as possible). i will do some searching around to figure out which will be the best tail servo for the job.
on the bright side, i found a great place to fly this morning. huge soccer/football/baseball fields close to my house. there were 3 open soccer fields this morning so i had plenty of wide open space for crashing ( i mean flying).
i haven't ever fixed a heli before... i have hands like hooves when it comes to working in tight spaces and i'm not very mechanically inclined.
wish me luck people!
misterg74
05-18-2008, 07:42 PM
Hey felt just fix your blades with some ca and rebalance them it is a lot easier to learn when you aren't afraid of trashing another new set of blades. oooo and if you do trash a feathering shaft the align version 1 .......... not v2 shafts work well WITH the spacers they come with. :Bang
hoverpunk
05-21-2008, 02:08 AM
ok... after doing a bit of reading here, it seems the way to go on the servos is a jr 3400g on the tail and hitec hs65mg servos for everything else.
i cannot seem to find anyplace online that has the 3400g servo in stock, and my lhs doesn't have them either (not sure i should get it at this point in my heli career anyhow).
soooo, can i use an hs65mg for the tail servo, and just get those for everything? also, what would the second best servo be for the tail?
while i am asking questions.... is there a thread detailing (hopefully with photos) how to upgrade servos to hs65mg. i have read there is some sanding or trimming. i did search, but maybe i'm just tired and not seeing it.
honestly the prospect of taking apart the neatly packed and zip tied wires has be a bit leary.
in other news, i successfully took apart most of my heli for the first time. in the crash i bent the main shaft, feathering shaft, boom, landing gear strut, and main blades. there may be more damage, and i still have to go through the tail parts to be sure it's all good.
Trucknut
05-21-2008, 02:36 AM
I have also been on here a few times and decided to sign up. I have had a blade 400 for around three mounths now and have been out of the heli sence for awhile. but it has been a great heli so far. i have few small upgrades and are working on getting the rest of my servos, and carbon blades. yes the stock servo have given me alot of trouble. and i had to buy a new receaver because the stock one went crazy. lol
Redfire SVT
05-21-2008, 10:22 AM
"soooo, can i use an hs65mg for the tail servo, and just get those for everything? also, what would the second best servo be for the tail?"
I'm using a HS65MG with stock gyro for the tail with great results. My thinking is to get past the crash n burn stage before I strap a high dollar gyro/servo on the tail. Once I upgrade the tail gyro/servo the HS65MG will be a spare for the cyclic. You can break a metal gear servo just harder to do.
hoverpunk
05-21-2008, 10:50 AM
I'm using a HS65MG with stock gyro for the tail with great results. My thinking is to get past the crash n burn stage before I strap a high dollar gyro/servo on the tail. Once I upgrade the tail gyro/servo the HS65MG will be a spare for the cyclic. You can break a metal gear servo just harder to do.
:cheers
sokal
05-21-2008, 06:16 PM
for the tail servo i recommend getting a servo desighned for the tail rotor
or hi speed and hi torque
hoverpunk
05-22-2008, 10:15 AM
for the tail servo i recommend getting a servo desighned for the tail rotor
or hi speed and hi torque
sokal, thanks and noted... since noone has the 3400G in stock, what would be a couple decent replacements for that one? I am going to the LHS today to pick up hs65mg servos for all the cyclic, and i am going to need to grab a tail servo as well while im there.
thanks to everyone for your direction! i appreciate it... :hug:
WizardKing
05-22-2008, 10:38 AM
The Futaba S9257 is another great tail servo, especially in the UK 'cos it's far more widely available.If (when) you decide to upgrade the gyro you'll really see a difference in flight characteristics by investing in the gyro, the 401 :thumbup:
As Sokal says, purpose-built, tail-rotor servos are the ideal option to look for.
hoverpunk
05-22-2008, 11:11 AM
thanks WK... i guess will just ask the LHS if they have something purpose built. they will more than likely have something for me!
YET ANOTHER QUESTION:
when i was testing servos yesterday, unplugged the engine, and plugged in the battery. it seemed like the esc was getting pretty warm in a short time. is this normal?
hoverpunk
05-25-2008, 01:38 PM
well i ended up going with the 65s all around because my LHS didn't have anything better suited for the gyro that wasn't going to be spending a lot more than i wanted to. the 3400 will be in soon, so i will get one of those when it does come in.
BUT that said. i tried the heli this morning with the new servos and what a difference! hovers much more stable, and i was able to use the tail much more effectively in forward flight than before. got through my first full battery today, and no crashing!
felt very good to fly and have the bird do what i told it... i can't wait to see the difference with the new tail servo/gyro combo whenever i get that upgrade going. until then at least i will be able to get some flight time in!