need major newbie help

[Dinky]

i am completely new to heli's and so far all i have accomplished was to get it off the ground 3 feet and crashed it right about 50% of the head is broken in peices, but i am very confused on my radio set up, i have the manual but i am not totally sure what all of the controls do or even how to set it up, and i am not sure if the gyro is set up correctly. to be honest it is all japaness to me. i dont know anyone in my area who flies heli's so i really have no one to ask so far everything has been trail and error but like i said earlier my first time actually getting it off the ground resulted in a crash 2 sec. later. so i guess what i am asking is what is a good starting point for a radio set up i am not worried about 3d right now i want to learn how to control it first and 2nd how do i set up my gyro, any help or links to help will be greatly appreciated.

gear

Heli - MS composite 3-D
Radio - Futaba 7CHP
Gyro - Futaba GY401
ESC - Castle Creations Phoenix-10
Motor - MCP320 w/25 tooth pinion
Battery -3cell li-Po 1250mha

[capebob]

Well, you picked a very difficult helicopter to get started with. It's very small and very agile, but you can learn with it but it won't be easy or cheap unless you follow the next two suggestions. First of all if you don't have a simulator get one. Then get with a knowledgeable person in your area and get some help. Helicopter setups are far too difficult to explain adequately in a few words. There are several "Freaks" in VA that I'm sure will be willing to help.

Bob

[Clintstone]

Get with Robert and Zak. The sim would be great and I would second getting with an experienced pilot and get some help. Good luck, be safe and have fun.

[Robert Johns]

Dinky,

Where are you located in Virginia? PM me your phone number and a time to call you on Tuesday evening - we'll chat about your setup.

-robert

[ClayK]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Dinky.

I'm really new. I have the following:

Heli - MA XCell 60 SE (we think
Radio - Futaba 14MZ
Gyro - Futaba GY401

I've done about 30 hours of sim time on G2. Unfortunately, I've realized after my first flight that it's not as real as I would like. So, I'm going to get XTR.

Everything else I can find out when I get home.

[Ivan]

G2 is good enough to learn on. I learned on CSM V9, so G2 will definately work. The biggest problem with sims is they don't teach a lick about setup. This is a critical step in the flying of helis. If the setup is not right, the heli either will not fly, or be terribly hard to fly. The biggest step after the sim is finding help from someone that is knowledgeable and patient. They need to be able to explain every adjustment they make in a way that makes sense to you, so you know how and why to do it next time. Those that just set the heli up and say "There it is, go fly it" are almost doing an injustice, as you will have no idea what to do when something is out of whack.

I can't stress enough that you need help with setup. It is well worth a days drive and a hotel room to find someone that can help you.

The third step is not to get discouraged. Parts aren't cheap, and you will buy a lot. No one is a world class pilot overnight, so don't think that you will be doing pirouteeting vertical 8's by this time next week.

Now, with all that said, the last part is to have fun. In the words of my good friend Howard Terrill, "Helicopters are the most fun you can have with your pants on." :mrgreen:

[Dinky]

thanks for the info guys, my biggest problem right now is i dont understand the radio set up options and how to set the gyro correctly i guess i am better off waiting till i return home from vacation nd can look at the radio and have the heli back together and from there ask questions about specific set up options on my controler

[Robert Johns]

wck3,

You can either contact Ben Minor or PM me your phone number and a time to call in the evening so we can talk about your setup.

-robert

[agoodman]

Dinky,

Robert is outstanding and in Va it doesn't come any better than Robert. Robert is in Va. Beach. I am in Petersbur/Richmond area and would be glad to help. Where are you located? If we can help just PM me.



Tony

[savage]

Sim does help, and experenced pilots help alot too. I thought I had mine set up alright just to learn. Met an experenced pilot at the airfield, and he smoothed it out alot.

[ClayK]

I spent a couple hours at my local field last Saturday and I learned something about every 2 minutes. Everytime one of the heli pilots there mentioned something, it was something I hadn't heard about/considered/etc. Not surprising considering I'm a n00b.

They said they didn't know how to setup a bird, but they could fly. The closest place I can take my birds is to HobbyHangar in Chantilly when I go out there to get parts for my XCell. I'll try and do that Friday. I'm trying to get my Raptor up on Saturday.

[Rcer22]

:D When it comes down to it everybody can always learn something from someone else. :) There are also books you read for the setup and the flying.

[sabregooch]

I'm Japanese - but grew up speaking only English. Found a very easy Japanese translation rule: everything in Japanese (the squiggley characters) says this:

"We should not try to destroy Godzilla, we should try to understand him...."

:wink:

But seriously - radio setup - there's a guy called Finless on this board with a ton of really easy to understand downloadable videos. They are for the Trex, but he has one for programming that Futaba, another vid about pitch/throttle curves which are universal to CP helo's and I think you'll get a lot of new insights out of watching them.

I'm going to guess by your description of the typical flight that that getting into a steady hover is the immediate challenge.

My recommendation is do your best to get a basic understanding of pitch/throttle curve. I suspect what's happening to you is what I went through on my micro FP Sabre. It's not so much the cyclic getting you in to trouble, rather its getting off the ground predictably and then being able to stop the climb - can I guess also that the moment you back off the throttle is when it all goes to hell?

It's hard to control the bird enough but when there are radical changes in headspeed and pitch, it makes it way worse. If your radio has a default p/t curve, it's not a gentle, predictable power/hover management combo - if you've got that default curve, let's say -10 to +10, back off the throttle, you're not only losing head speed, your actually drilling the helo back down, not allowing it to gently float down.....

Watch the pitch curve vid a couple times - do play with your pitch curve to "soften" it so the negative isn't so agressive and I'll bet that helps tons....

[Rick Rotorhead]

Hi Dinky, I'm just half a dozen hours into flight and know exactly what you mean - in fact if I try to take off nose-in then I suffer the same fate...... As the heli gets just to the point where its about to lift free of the the ground it starts to pitch and roll and yaw on its own, to make matters worse it is now very vulnerable to just tripping over if it slides semi airborn into the smallest lumpy bit of ground. The best advice I've picked up for that very first attempt at flying is make sure that you use a training undercarriage (I'm still on one). Use a flat, smooth hard surface to train on (parking lot or similar) and ease the throttle open very slowly just until the heli gets light in its undercarriage, if tries to lift off lower the throttle just a notch or two so it can't fly. Now it will be skiddable all over the place like a toy hovercraft. Use gentle stick movements to keep it in a 3 foot square area. Master keeping the tail pointing straight at you first then worry about controlling lateral movement. This will help you develop the coordination skills for hovering later. When you get good enough to keep it in one place, try sliding it about deliberately to a new spot then back again so you're controlling it and keep control of that tail. As you get more confident an extra notch open on the throttle will start the heli kind of slow bouncing, 'now I'm flying, no I'm not, now I am, not', This makes it even more laterally mobile and wobbly, if it gets too exciting throttle back and start again. Finally yet one more notch of throttle should see it lift clear of the ground and you will hopefully at least have developed the skills needed to prevent it taking you by surprise and zooming up and off. Remember in the early stages whilst its on the ground or just a few inches above it you can safely practice just throttling back calmly to bring it down without incident. This approach worked for me. Anyway, this is just my quick version of advice I followed - have a look on the internet at 'Radds school of Rotary Flight' amongst others. Regards Rick