Getting my CP flying again

nostalgia · 02-18-2012, 01:31 PM

Hi all. It's been several years since I've had my little BCP in the air. I remember having some issues before I stopped flying, so I'm trying to get it back in good trim.

I took the whole head apart and started over, making sure the mainshaft and feathering shaft were straight. I leveled the swash (Eflite aluminum swash), went through Finless Bob's videos on CCPM setup. Blades (super durable plastic symmetrics) are balanced and tracked. It also has the Microheli main gear and shaft setup.

So today I took it out for the maiden flight. As it popped into a hover, I felt like I had almost zero roll authority. It was very slow to react to control input and kinda felt like I didn't have a lot of control over it at all.

I remember when I switched main gears, I noticed this (thread here). The gear is physically bigger than the original gear, but has the same number of teeth. I'm wondering if I may want to go up a tooth or two on the pinion, too.

So what else should I be looking at? I've upped the swash mixes until I get max range without binding from the servos. I have no expo in any of the controls, and all are 100% range.

I do notice that the mounting for the main shaft seems flimsy. The shaft moves around when I move the aileron/elevator stick around. But I guess that's normal for a BCP? I was considering upgrading to a full aluminum head, but I'm not sure it's even worth it at this point. I may be better off selling it an concentrating on my Trex 450.

Speaking of servos, mine seem to make noise like they're binding even when sitting still. I wasn't sure if this was just how digital servos work (my Trex does it, but not as bad), so I made a video. Let me know what you think. I can make more videos if that would be helpful getting this guy flying.

Anyway, I know that's all tl;dr, but I wanted to make sure I included enough info. I hope someone is bored enough to help out

Thanks!

-Joe

Imzzaudae · 02-22-2012, 12:00 PM

I think the serves are ok.
Seems to be plenty of swash movement. Have you been flying another larger helicopter?
CP is designed to be quite stable and slow responding. You could move the push rods out farther on the servo horns reset up helicoter and see if it responds a little more crisply.

nostalgia · 02-22-2012, 12:13 PM

Thanks. It's not that it doesn't respond crisply, it doesn't seem to respond at all. It's bad enough that I was afraid to lift it into a hover - it tipped right as it was lifting off and left aileron did almost nothing to stop it.

I'll try to make a video of it next time I fly. I don't have anything to measure headspeed, unfortunately.

-Joe

02-18-2012, 01:31 PM	#1
nostalgia Registered Users Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North NJ	Getting my CP flying again Hi all. It's been several years since I've had my little BCP in the air. I remember having some issues before I stopped flying, so I'm trying to get it back in good trim. I took the whole head apart and started over, making sure the mainshaft and feathering shaft were straight. I leveled the swash (Eflite aluminum swash), went through Finless Bob's videos on CCPM setup. Blades (super durable plastic symmetrics) are balanced and tracked. It also has the Microheli main gear and shaft setup. So today I took it out for the maiden flight. As it popped into a hover, I felt like I had almost zero roll authority. It was very slow to react to control input and kinda felt like I didn't have a lot of control over it at all. I remember when I switched main gears, I noticed this (thread here). The gear is physically bigger than the original gear, but has the same number of teeth. I'm wondering if I may want to go up a tooth or two on the pinion, too. So what else should I be looking at? I've upped the swash mixes until I get max range without binding from the servos. I have no expo in any of the controls, and all are 100% range. I do notice that the mounting for the main shaft seems flimsy. The shaft moves around when I move the aileron/elevator stick around. But I guess that's normal for a BCP? I was considering upgrading to a full aluminum head, but I'm not sure it's even worth it at this point. I may be better off selling it an concentrating on my Trex 450. Speaking of servos, mine seem to make noise like they're binding even when sitting still. I wasn't sure if this was just how digital servos work (my Trex does it, but not as bad), so I made a video. Let me know what you think. I can make more videos if that would be helpful getting this guy flying. Anyway, I know that's all tl;dr, but I wanted to make sure I included enough info. I hope someone is bored enough to help out Thanks! -Joe

02-22-2012, 12:00 PM	#2
Imzzaudae Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Ontario Canada	Hi I think the serves are ok. Seems to be plenty of swash movement. Have you been flying another larger helicopter? CP is designed to be quite stable and slow responding. You could move the push rods out farther on the servo horns reset up helicoter and see if it responds a little more crisply.

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02-22-2012, 12:13 PM	#3
nostalgia Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North NJ	Thanks. It's not that it doesn't respond crisply, it doesn't seem to respond at all. It's bad enough that I was afraid to lift it into a hover - it tipped right as it was lifting off and left aileron did almost nothing to stop it. I'll try to make a video of it next time I fly. I don't have anything to measure headspeed, unfortunately. -Joe