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macdad · 05-19-2014, 08:27 PM

I have been tracking progress on another thread, here:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=606236

But I can't change the title. I plan on keeping my journal on this thread.

helicray · 05-19-2014, 09:05 PM

Use youtube, record your flights for better monitoring your improvements. The Samsung Galaxy S5 or the Sony Xperia Z1 both have nice cameras. If you are planning for a Gopro Hero 3, just hang back for awhile in getting those as the Gopro Hero 4 is about to be released with better specs.

macdad · 05-20-2014, 05:19 AM

I've been thinking about a camera. Main problem is... I am spending all my excess money on helicopters

I will keep an eye out for one though. My wife has recorded some on her Iphone, though. I would like her to record some more and a bit closer, but she is a bit intimidated by the heli.

macdad · 05-23-2014, 07:02 PM

I couldn't wait for the new motor any longer. I took the time to pull the motor from the helicopter that is waiting for a new head and put it in the heli with the fried motor. I am up and flying again!
Some day, I will have two helis that will be capable of flying instead of one always down for parts

Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s and wind less than 10 mph. Hopefully I can get some good flying in between the yard work!

macdad · 05-24-2014, 08:22 AM

Flew two batteries last night and had a hard landing. Broke my autorotation gear. Good news: I had another one. Fixed this morning. 4 more batteries this morning and still flying.

salrica · 05-24-2014, 02:54 PM

You need to go to heliaddicted reunions.
No way to stop this addiction.

macdad · 05-24-2014, 03:10 PM

Well, it is a little embarrassing, but here is a video of one of my flights today. I normally don't have the problem of maintaining altitude, but the camera made me really nervous. It is also embarrassing to think of how many times I have "flown," and this is all the better I am. Regardless, I am still making progress.

[ame]http://youtu.be/G6NB_Yu5iRw[/ame]

macdad · 05-24-2014, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salrica

You need to go to heliaddicted reunions.
No way to stop this addiction.

Agreed. I can't wait till I am at the point that I am spending money on Upgrades instead of crash replacements

Total packs flown today: 8. Starting to make some progress. I notice that it is actually much easier to handle and react when I have some speed. Problem is, this thing is fast and it makes me nervous! Only way to conquer that is to keep flying. Heck, a couple months ago, lifting off made me nervous.

kenkadish · 05-24-2014, 04:06 PM

Looks like you're doing great! That train whistle sure can't help with the nerves

Keep at it, and you'll be amazed at your progress. I may be slightly smoother, but I've also been at it for four years!

I also encourage you to make and save videos...you'll be able to look back and see your progress.

I think the most important factor is persistence; we've all been there, and crashed time and time again.

If at first you don't succeed (and you are succeeding).....well, you know the rest.

Ken

macdad · 05-25-2014, 07:28 AM

Flew 2 more batteries this morning. Pretty rough... I am starting to get a little more comfortable with the speed, but not enough to keep from overreacting at times. Had a couple close calls. Don't know why it didn't wreck the heli, but I'm glad it didn't

.

Ken, thanks for the encouraging words. I think I need to adjust my throttle stick a little more... There is a little too much tension which causes it to stick once in a while. That is part of my problem ( I think ).

kenkadish · 05-25-2014, 10:24 AM

Some people open their transmitter and put a piece of teflon ironing sheet on the tension strap to smooth out the throttle stick.

Ken

macdad · 05-25-2014, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenkadish

Some people open their transmitter and put a piece of teflon ironing sheet on the tension strap to smooth out the throttle stick.

Ken

That is a great idea! It is like the throttle gets a little "sticky" once in a while. I think that will help! Thank you!

kenkadish · 05-25-2014, 01:17 PM

Not my idea

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=601785

Ken

macdad · 05-25-2014, 11:01 PM

A snippet from one of 4 flights today. Going a lot smoother. I lost it at the end and had to bail. I couldn't tell which way the heli was moving with my controls... Anyway, it lived to fly another day!

[ame]http://youtu.be/iaP6rcawX_g[/ame]

macdad · 05-26-2014, 08:48 AM

2nd battery in this morning and... I wrecked it

Don't really know what went wrong yet. It was out a little ways, and up about 20 feet. The tail started to rotate on it's own and became unresponsive. It wasn't spinning real fast, but it wouldn't rotate. Anyway, I had to bring it in, and panicked slightly

Hit throttle hold at about 15' up.

Side note, I need to practice autos a lot more. I put so much focus into keeping it level as it was screaming for the ground, that I forgot to do a pitch pump before impact.

Total visible damage:

Bent frame (think I can straighten by hand)
Broken link on the head (I have some of these)

I would guess that I also have a bent feathering shaft and main shaft. I have these as well. The main gear is surprisingly intact. Need to check the tail boom as well.

At this point, I think there is an issue with the Gyro. Either that, or my belt was slipping. After the wreck, the servo re-initialized and the tail servo works. Time to trouble shoot.

kenkadish · 05-26-2014, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdad

A snippet from one of 4 flights today. Going a lot smoother. I lost it at the end and had to bail. I couldn't tell which way the heli was moving with my controls... Anyway, it lived to fly another day!

http://youtu.be/iaP6rcawX_g

Posted at 12:01 am? You doing some night flying?

Ken

macdad · 05-26-2014, 06:58 PM

Wasn't paying attention to the time. It would explain why I am a little tired today :d

macdad · 05-29-2014, 09:45 PM

Finally had a chance to sit down and tear apart the head of the wrecked FB heli. I thought the feathering shaft was bent, but I appeared to be straight. There was a lose screw on the mixing arm that was binding the head. All fixed, so I took it out to spin it up.

After fiddling with the blade tracking, the rudder was unresponsive again. I unplugged the battery and plugged it back in. The gyro failed to initialize. So, I cycled the battery a 3rd time. This time the gyro initialized. I think my gyro is bad. I'm a little Leary to attempt to fly this again with the way it is currently acting. May get a new gyro and see how that reacts.

macdad · 05-31-2014, 12:33 PM

Rebuilt my 450 DFC this morning. Hovered for one battery. It has a wobble... I replaced the tail rotor shaft. Seems to be a little better, but still has a wobble.

Maybe the main shaft, which was brand new, is bent. I don't know. It does fly. It seems fairly stable in forward flight. Maybe a setting in the fbl controller needs adjusted. Something else to trouble shoot.

But, it is a nice day, so I have decided to fly it anyway. 4 batteries in doing figure 8s and a few forward circuits both CW & CCW. All going well so far, and my flying continues to get smoother!!

macdad · 05-31-2014, 04:52 PM

Played around with it some more. I figured it had to be the collective gain that was causing the wobble. Some additional research showed that some DFC heads have hard dampeners that require the gain to be turned way down. I reduced the gain as far as it will go. The wobble is still there, but no where near as aggressive.

Now if the wind would just slow down

05-19-2014, 08:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Join Date: Jan 2014	Macdad's flight progress I have been tracking progress on another thread, here: https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=606236 But I can't change the title. I plan on keeping my journal on this thread.

05-24-2014, 04:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
kenkadish Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Feb 2010	Looks like you're doing great! That train whistle sure can't help with the nerves Keep at it, and you'll be amazed at your progress. I may be slightly smoother, but I've also been at it for four years! I also encourage you to make and save videos...you'll be able to look back and see your progress. I think the most important factor is persistence; we've all been there, and crashed time and time again. If at first you don't succeed (and you are succeeding).....well, you know the rest. Ken __________________ Blade SR - 870 flights; Blade MCPX - 963 flights Trex 450 Sport - 700 flights; Trex 450 Pro DFC - 200 flights; Trex 500e - 240 flights; Blade 300x - 366 flights - Trex 550 DFC - 70 flights; Blade 130x - 234 flights........Learning every day!

05-25-2014, 10:24 AM	#11 (permalink)
kenkadish Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Feb 2010	Some people open their transmitter and put a piece of teflon ironing sheet on the tension strap to smooth out the throttle stick. Ken __________________ Blade SR - 870 flights; Blade MCPX - 963 flights Trex 450 Sport - 700 flights; Trex 450 Pro DFC - 200 flights; Trex 500e - 240 flights; Blade 300x - 366 flights - Trex 550 DFC - 70 flights; Blade 130x - 234 flights........Learning every day!

05-25-2014, 01:17 PM	#13 (permalink)
kenkadish Registered Users My HF Map location Join Date: Feb 2010	Not my idea https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=601785 Ken __________________ Blade SR - 870 flights; Blade MCPX - 963 flights Trex 450 Sport - 700 flights; Trex 450 Pro DFC - 200 flights; Trex 500e - 240 flights; Blade 300x - 366 flights - Trex 550 DFC - 70 flights; Blade 130x - 234 flights........Learning every day!

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05-19-2014, 09:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
helicray Registered Users Join Date: Mar 2014	Use youtube, record your flights for better monitoring your improvements. The Samsung Galaxy S5 or the Sony Xperia Z1 both have nice cameras. If you are planning for a Gopro Hero 3, just hang back for awhile in getting those as the Gopro Hero 4 is about to be released with better specs.

05-20-2014, 05:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	I've been thinking about a camera. Main problem is... I am spending all my excess money on helicopters I will keep an eye out for one though. My wife has recorded some on her Iphone, though. I would like her to record some more and a bit closer, but she is a bit intimidated by the heli.

05-23-2014, 07:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	I couldn't wait for the new motor any longer. I took the time to pull the motor from the helicopter that is waiting for a new head and put it in the heli with the fried motor. I am up and flying again! Some day, I will have two helis that will be capable of flying instead of one always down for parts Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s and wind less than 10 mph. Hopefully I can get some good flying in between the yard work!

05-24-2014, 08:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Flew two batteries last night and had a hard landing. Broke my autorotation gear. Good news: I had another one. Fixed this morning. 4 more batteries this morning and still flying.

05-24-2014, 02:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
salrica Registered Users Join Date: Jan 2011	You need to go to heliaddicted reunions. No way to stop this addiction.

05-24-2014, 03:10 PM	#7 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Well, it is a little embarrassing, but here is a video of one of my flights today. I normally don't have the problem of maintaining altitude, but the camera made me really nervous. It is also embarrassing to think of how many times I have "flown," and this is all the better I am. Regardless, I am still making progress. [ame]http://youtu.be/G6NB_Yu5iRw[/ame]

05-25-2014, 07:28 AM	#10 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Flew 2 more batteries this morning. Pretty rough... I am starting to get a little more comfortable with the speed, but not enough to keep from overreacting at times. Had a couple close calls. Don't know why it didn't wreck the heli, but I'm glad it didn't . Ken, thanks for the encouraging words. I think I need to adjust my throttle stick a little more... There is a little too much tension which causes it to stick once in a while. That is part of my problem ( I think ).

05-25-2014, 11:01 PM	#14 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	A snippet from one of 4 flights today. Going a lot smoother. I lost it at the end and had to bail. I couldn't tell which way the heli was moving with my controls... Anyway, it lived to fly another day! [ame]http://youtu.be/iaP6rcawX_g[/ame]

05-26-2014, 08:48 AM	#15 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	2nd battery in this morning and... I wrecked it Don't really know what went wrong yet. It was out a little ways, and up about 20 feet. The tail started to rotate on it's own and became unresponsive. It wasn't spinning real fast, but it wouldn't rotate. Anyway, I had to bring it in, and panicked slightly Hit throttle hold at about 15' up. Side note, I need to practice autos a lot more. I put so much focus into keeping it level as it was screaming for the ground, that I forgot to do a pitch pump before impact. Total visible damage: Bent frame (think I can straighten by hand) Broken link on the head (I have some of these) I would guess that I also have a bent feathering shaft and main shaft. I have these as well. The main gear is surprisingly intact. Need to check the tail boom as well. At this point, I think there is an issue with the Gyro. Either that, or my belt was slipping. After the wreck, the servo re-initialized and the tail servo works. Time to trouble shoot.

05-26-2014, 06:58 PM	#17 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Wasn't paying attention to the time. It would explain why I am a little tired today :d

05-29-2014, 09:45 PM	#18 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Finally had a chance to sit down and tear apart the head of the wrecked FB heli. I thought the feathering shaft was bent, but I appeared to be straight. There was a lose screw on the mixing arm that was binding the head. All fixed, so I took it out to spin it up. After fiddling with the blade tracking, the rudder was unresponsive again. I unplugged the battery and plugged it back in. The gyro failed to initialize. So, I cycled the battery a 3rd time. This time the gyro initialized. I think my gyro is bad. I'm a little Leary to attempt to fly this again with the way it is currently acting. May get a new gyro and see how that reacts.

05-31-2014, 12:33 PM	#19 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Rebuilt my 450 DFC this morning. Hovered for one battery. It has a wobble... I replaced the tail rotor shaft. Seems to be a little better, but still has a wobble. Maybe the main shaft, which was brand new, is bent. I don't know. It does fly. It seems fairly stable in forward flight. Maybe a setting in the fbl controller needs adjusted. Something else to trouble shoot. But, it is a nice day, so I have decided to fly it anyway. 4 batteries in doing figure 8s and a few forward circuits both CW & CCW. All going well so far, and my flying continues to get smoother!!

05-31-2014, 04:52 PM	#20 (permalink)
macdad Registered Users Thread Starter Join Date: Jan 2014	Played around with it some more. I figured it had to be the collective gain that was causing the wobble. Some additional research showed that some DFC heads have hard dampeners that require the gain to be turned way down. I reduced the gain as far as it will go. The wobble is still there, but no where near as aggressive. Now if the wind would just slow down

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