475mm v 500mm main blades

[Mikej]

As I have mentioned previously I have two 550's - my original that is running ..

Futaba 3001's on cyclic
Futaba 3151 on tail
Telebee gyro :wow2:
std Gaui 850kV motor + Gaui 50a ESC
Trex 600 curvy skids
Short boom

the newer one is on ...
Spektrum DS821's on cyclic
Hyperion Atlas DS20GMD on tail
Gaui GU210gyro
Z20A 980kV motor + Gaui 50a ESC
Trex 600 3D skids
Short boom

I bought the newer one as a "beater" on which to try new things and keep the older one as a reserve so that I always have one of my favourite helis to fly. I have recently transferred the older one onto my Spektrum Tx on an AR600 so that I can use both on the DX7.

It is interesting to see the difference in how they fly on the different blades - on the 500's it is slightly more "floaty" obviously very stable and responsive. On the 475's it is more agile - can do 8's and turns in a smaller area, can be thrown around more, but is more prone to "falling out" of turns and drops quicker when collective is dropped (or that may just be my cyclic settings) - still very stable. I like both of them - they are just "different" rather than better or worse, the bigger blades make the heli feel "bigger" - obvious really I guess.

The other thing that I can confirm is that the Z20A runs noticeably cooler, as do the packs when using it (same packs) - although interestingly not that different in run-time.

Cheers,
Mike.

[worldofmaya]

My Hurri has too much weight for 475mm... I tested some CF blades I already had from an previous helicopter.
Do you notice any differnce between 3001s and 821s? Maybe hard to compare because of the difference between your two Hurris.
-klaus

[Mikej]

Klaus,

I don't notice any difference, but to be honest I am not a very good flyer (doing 8's etc. just moving on to racetrack circuits). I have a slightly different approach to many people - rather than buying the best stuff that I can afford I tend to buy the cheapest that I think I can get away with so long as it doesn't compromise ability - e.g. the Telebee gyro and cheapo tail servos. I'm sure that I will need to upgrade at a certain point but not yet :)

Cheers,
Mike.

[tnavressdog]

I like your style Mike! I also go for the most economical setup and when I outgrow a piece of equipment, I upgrade. I can outfly a GY240 so I upgraded to a GY401. My abilities outgrew the stock motor so I upgraded to a Z30A. I had an analog servo on the tail but outgrew that so I went digital. Collective servos are still analog and I don't think I'll ever change those since analog servos still respond much faster than human reaction time. On the other hand, a digital on tail makes a difference since gyros update much much faster. The heli is completely stock still! However I may need to upgrade the tail rotor soon since I'm starting to notice that the tail isn't as smooth as I'd like. You notice different things as your abilities grow.

My current skill level is flying upright forward, backward, and some sideways. Also I can do upside down hovers, upside down forward flight, some upside down sideways, and getting into upside down backward flight. So yes the hurricane is a well designed heli.