Virgin Stinger 50

[kiwibob72]

Originally Posted by flyinfool

HA!
My ESP must be working.
My new YS 56 and Hatori pipe just showed up yesterday.
I can now get back to building.

SWEET!! ..... if you'd be so kind, keep us updated with the build/test flight pics and vids please!

[flyinfool]

I do not have vid capability.
I have not been able to find one with the features that I want at a price I can afford. I can try to remember to shoot some pics along the way, but I always end up really getting into the build and forget all about the camera sitting there.

I have a couple of other projects going on at the same time with higher priority so this build will be slow. I still have to disassemble the doner heli for the electronics.

[kiwibob72]

What a great start to the day, FINALLY had some luck re the weather for setup flights ...... got all the gyro settings right (too much gain with a little too much cyclic expo), heli is stable in the hover, managed two tanks through her in quick succession, and even with the training feet on, solid, stable and manageable even though it's been over a month since my last attempt at flying her and I was as rusty as hell.
All the doubt over ever being able to get her set up right myself is gone and now, I'm one happy camper to say the least!!!!!
Just a little roll to the right to sort, but I'm guessing that is the training feet balance needing adjustment, so will live with the 2-3 clicks of trim for the moment.
All that remains now is to get a few more flights under my belt to really feel comfortable with landing and takeoff, as well the general flight characteristics of this much bigger heli, and I'll be loosing those feet once and for all!!
I must say, there is a lot more time to react over my old 450 sized Belt CP heli, that thing is like a bumble bee on acid when compared to the way the Stinger almost telegraphs you what it is going to do before it does it, it's almost unnerving when flying the stinger as a result

[babyuh1]

I find that flying the bigger helis is almost relaxing compared to a 450 size! They don't take off with the wind and like you say you have a little more response time on the sticks.
It's just scarier to have that much more power and expense up in the air!

[kiwibob72]

Originally Posted by babyuh1

I find that flying the bigger helis is almost relaxing compared to a 450 size! They don't take off with the wind and like you say you have a little more response time on the sticks.
It's just scarier to have that much more power and expense up in the air!

Yes yes and yes .... that power and expense thing is SOOOOOO true!

[kiwibob72]

Another two quick flights after work, "tried" out the idle up to see what that was like ..... lets just say that was WAY too twitchy for me currently - I need to lower the head speed/throttle curves a 'little' before going down that path again.
Still, getting more comfortable with her now, so things are on the up and up ...... that and the council workers who showed up half way through the second tank didn't even give me any grief over flying in their little park (technically not allowed too) - one was even interested in my heli!! , so all in all a good effort I feel!

[babyuh1]

Any flight that ends with all of the parts still connected was a good one!

[kiwibob72]

Originally Posted by babyuh1

Any flight that ends with all of the parts still connected was a good one!

I tend to agree with you there!!

Currently still working on getting the feel for this bigger heli, as the characteristic is a little different than what I'm used to thats for sure.
Once I'm happy in my take off and landings, and that I have her to a level of control I'm happy with, I'll be getting rid of those training feet and seeing just how stable she really is vs my 450 electric - that said, I can do two full tanks in quick succession without a head ache, 7 min on the 450 is enough for it to start to hurt - that thing is like a bumble bee on acid!!!

[flyinfool]

The Stinger will liven up a bunch when you loose the extra weight of the training gear, so be ready for that.

It sure sounds like you are on the road to a good winter of flying.
I'm just coming off of a winter of flying.

[kiwibob72]

Originally Posted by flyinfool

The Stinger will liven up a bunch when you loose the extra weight of the training gear, so be ready for that.

It sure sounds like you are on the road to a good winter of flying.
I'm just coming off of a winter of flying.

As for livening up, I 'tried' the idle up switch for the first time ever (electric or otherwise) as well on Monday ......... scared the HELL out of myself it was so sensitive and responsive.
Being as I don't run a governor yet, I came to the conclusion that 55% was way to high on the throttle for mid-stick with the OS 50 hyper , I'll re-try it at 45% as per an article I have in a good heli mag and see how I go next time.
That said, even with that issue, I could see how the cyclic and pitch response were better given the lack of having to wait for the head to spool up when changing or correcting the helis height, so what I might look at is altering the curve for the normal mode to raise the head speed a little.

Oh how I love this educated trial and error portion of set-up .

As for winter ..... oh yes, how I am looking forward to the many coming months of frozen hands while I try to get the utmost out of this hobby ....... enjoy your summer!!

[kiwibob72]

Note to self .... 'acrylic paint and nitro heli are a bad mix!!'
After less that 3 ltrs of fuel through my heli, the paint has almost had it! ...... lucky for me, while asking the local car painter who fix my Co car what type of paint is best for this situation (after a "lovely" student decided he really just had to meet me while driving), I now have some 'professionals' looking to re-paint my canopy with some two-pot system that should see me in a better place with the paint finish for longer - AT NO CHARGE!!
Interested to see what I get back, could be a simple black on white job, or it could be close to the Raptor Se scheme as he wanted photos of that after I showed him what i really liked. Either way, I'm keen as pie to find out later this week!!

[flyinfool]

The two part clear is what makes it fuel proof.
I use a water base paint for the colors that will literally wash off with water, even after drying. It is the 2 part clear that goes over it that is what makes it shiny and fuel proof.

[kiwibob72]

Well, I got my canopy back from the car painters today, while still just a plain white with the same painted canopy with the fake carbon look i had before, it's now a two pack white and clear over everything, so should last a lot longer then my feeble attempt at painting using acrylics (it's also a much truer white that will better match my blades and tail fins - YES, I know .... I'm shallow and materialistic, but I'm OK with this fact - LOL).
Now just waiting on the replacement stickers kits to arrive - but weather permitting, that will not stop me running her at the field on Sunday!

[kiwibob72]

Originally Posted by flyinfool

The two part clear is what makes it fuel proof.
I use a water base paint for the colors that will literally wash off with water, even after drying. It is the 2 part clear that goes over it that is what makes it shiny and fuel proof.

That last bit I highlighted, is that 'fuel proof', or should it be (in my case) 'fool proof' re myself using acrylics ?? (no probs, I can laugh at myself)

[flyinfool]

Nothing is fool proof.
They keep making better/bigger fools.

OH WAIT,,,,,,,,,,, My screen name says I is one........lol

You should have seen some of my messed up canopies.

[kiwibob72]

Had a fly this morning, wipes clean, no fiber's left in the paint from the wipe down cloth, and just such a nicer finish ..... all in all, I;m somewhat happy with the result!

[kiwibob72]

FINALLY got my Mac to run the Phoenix sim demo via the Windows XP system I have running through Parallels (now on version 5), and as per the guys at Phoenix's online help, it should run the sim as a result.
So, I should be able to get it tomorrow from the LHS .... then I actually be able to practice flying this bird of mine properly without the crash costs (so far at zero) .... DAM it's been hard (nerve wracking) work without having the sim available!!
To say I happy with this prospect would be a HUGE understatement, as I have been wanting to get the most out of my heli for some time now, but just have not been able too as no one at my field who flies helis uses the same transmitter as I do (DX6i), so buddy boxes have been out of the question, and learning a nightmare as a result!

NOT ANYMORE!!

[kiwibob72]

GRRRRRRRR ...... stunning winters day here today, no wind, a 'nice' 13 degrees outside, and me with some time to unwind, so I test fired my heli at home before heading up the road .... no problems, even got the mid-range spool up running a little better after a quick adjustment.
Got to the field, could not start her, almost like she was locking up as I could not get the starter motor to turn (I had plenty of power coming from the starter battery), so I;m "guessing" it'll be either a flooded motor or something, as the clutch still worked fine.
So off I go to pull the motor out after I make where it was not something as simple as the cylinder being full of gas.
Not impressed.

[babyuh1]

I guess that you tried spinning the motor with the glow plug removed? These things are easy to flood.

[kiwibob72]

Lucky I did that first when I got round to looking at it that evening (being as I had not taken my tool kit that ONE TIME!!!), it was full of gas as suspected ..... being this was the first time I had done that, I was amazed by just how much came out!! Really glad I had an old cloth nappy (diaper) that I use for wipe down laid down under it and in front of it when I turned the motor over. Still .... all part of this 'nitro' learning curve eh!

On a side note, I was pleased to see that the motor settings must be good, as there was zero carbon/oil buildup on the plug or anything (unlike the glow plug in the 2nd hand 'trainer' plane I just brought - EWW!!)