Chopper "wiggle" and other newbie questions

[ClayK]

Hi, my name is Clay and I'm a newbie.....
That being said, this is my first helicopter (Xcell 60). Most of my time is on a sim. I can do basic hover, hover slide, beginning forward flight. I'm currently working on nose in hover. I can do a loop, but I'm only brave enough to do it on the sim.

Engine questions:
Do I pull the glow plug and use after run oil or WD-40 on the carb and glow plug port after run?
How do I get any remaining fuel out of the tank? Should I worry about this?
Will flying the chopper in cold (45F or so) weather be bad? I'm running it really rich right now.

Chopper "wiggle":

Bird seems a little sloppy on rise and initial hover. I would say that it appears that the blades look out of balance, but alas, I crashed her.

Not my fault though, the training gear (rotopod) lost two legs on a wind induced touch down and I was forced to land with three legs left. This forced me to throttle down with a full nose pitch forward. As throttle down occurred, she rocked back and broke her fiber blades. I'll replace the blades and check her out again.

Thanks for any help you guys can give.

[DavidH]

Do I pull the glow plug and use after run oil or WD-40 on the carb and glow plug port after run?


Not really nessecary to do this unless your going to store the heli for several weeks or months. Just at the end of each flying day, close the fuel supply to the engine and allow it run dry( out of fuel).

How do I get any remaining fuel out of the tank? Should I worry about this?

You should pump the remaining fuel out, just like you pumped it into the tank. Just reverse the process you used to pump it into the tank. Not really a worry, but I suggest pumping all the fuel out of the tank at the end of each day of flying.

Will flying the chopper in cold (45F or so) weather be bad? I'm running it really rich right now.


Flying the heli in cold weather is not bad. I have flown when it is 0 degs. Just have to make sure the mixture is adjusted properly. Colder weather= richer mixture, warmer weather = leaner mixture.

Bird seems a little sloppy on rise and initial hover. I would say that it appears that the blades look out of balance, but alas, I crashed her.


I would think the rotor rpm is too slow as the heli is coming off the ground. The rpm for hover would need to be the same sitting on the ground right before lift off. As it is when it is in a hover. Only thing that really should be changing is the collective.

As throttle down occurred, she rocked back and broke her fiber blades. I'll replace the blades and check her out again.


Also check the blade axle and main shaft for straightness. If you broke blades, there is a good possibility those two items are bent also.

David

[tnreefguy]

David hit the nose on each one of the topics in my opinion.

[ClayK]

The blades didn't shear off, but they are cracked/split midline/midblade. I'll pull the shaft and roll it.

Keep in mind, this was bought used so my understanding is minimal. I'm working on that by reading online documentation and drawings and by being here.

[DebianDog]

"hook up with a local pilot" would be my suggestion

[Tom Fiddler]

I am about 2 hours away from you.
PM me for a number and maybe we can get together for a good flying/tuning session.

[WillJames]

Get with Tom. He is very knowledgable and can help you get it all setup.
David is 100% right on all points. Low headspeed will cause the oscilations you are talking about every time. The tighter your head dampening, the more it will oscilate like that.