The Story of My SR UH-1 Huey.... Oh Dear Lord.

[munozj]

RIDiCULOUS!!!

So, I jumped into this addiction know as collective pitch helis about 2 months ago. Bought an SR UH-1 Huey (mostly because it looked so damned cool). Naturally, as it is an SR, it came "ready to fly". YEAH, RIGHT!

Maiden flight, bird whips around clockwise uncontrollably; never get her off the ground. Took her back to hobby shop for a checkup. When I returned to pick her up, hobby shop "heli pro" tells me that all is well and good. He's even been so kind as to glue the fuse back together where it had been damaged... huh? After a polite confrontation he admits the heli may have fallen off the table or some such crap. Agrees to get me a replacement fuse, free of charge.

Next, it's test flight time. "Heli Pro" spools up my Huey inside and tries hovering. Tail wags all over the place and he nearly crashes into the wall, but okay, it's not spinning CW uncontrollably. Heli-Pro now informs me that the stock TX is crap and I should definitley buy a DX6i. Fine, bind it up and get me flying, Heli-Pro! Except he can't figure it out, and HE OWNS ONE!!!... 2 hours later, I tell Heli-Pro to forget it. I buy the DX6i and head home to figure it out myself. A few hours on HeliFreak and I've got the TX bound to the bird and ready for... crashing.

Second "maiden" flight, bird lifts off. Yaws uncontrollably to the left and destroys the blades, main gear, blade grips, spindle, tail boom, and (of course) the cool Huey fuse explodes into pieces. Awesome. Back to hobby shop for parts, and hopefully advice. Parts, YES! Advice, "cp helis are hard to fly, have a nice day", not so much...

More reading on HeliFreak, more tweaks, including tail motor break-in procedure and extra shims to the head.

Back to the field for... more crashing. Bird lifts off, yaws left again, but now also has a tail motor blow out that sends heli into crazed spiral straight into the ground. Besides the usual parts, I also break the frame! Lovely. Back to the hobby store. Repeat this process multiple times...

By now I'm thoroughly depressed. So I read HeliFreak forums like i'm cramming for an exam, Finless Bob's videos are my new favorite passtime. I even break down and call Horizon to ask for advice concerning the uncontrolled spinning and tail blow out (once again, "cp helis are hard to fly, have a nice day").

Now armed with my new education, I setup the head (thanks Finless Bob!), pitch, swash mix, curves, all of it, and head out to the field ready to fine tune my 2-1 mixer... And to my astonishment, SHE HOVERS!! But, th tail wag is borderline epileptic. Cannot get it to go away to save my life. Tried extra foam tape, 2-1 adjustments, gyro gain adjustments (through DX6i), everything I could dig up. Tail is so damned twitchy that simply hovering, bird is constantly on the hairy edge of disaster.

But then, finally, FINALLY, today, I UNPLUGGED yellow remote gain wire of the gyro from the RX and adjusted the gain manually, and viola! Stable tail, stable bird! I ran through 3 packs and had the best moments with CP helis in the past 2 months!

I'm assuming I have a defective gryo since I could get no noticable response to gain adjustments through the TX. Also, I've got the 2-1 gain turned down to nearly 0, approximately 1/4 turn in the +. Gyro gain is set very low as well, 9 o'clock position. I know, this is supposedly rate mode, but tail is holding firm through pitch-pumps and in a 5-7mph breeze.

Now if I can just get past the $1000 in heli, TX, parts, upgrade parts, and frustration... (and the fact I could have easily had a very nice Trex 450 Pro with the DX6i for this price) But on the bright side, I can now field strip and assemble an SR in 10 minutes flat!

[Hoppy1]

Munozj....I,m sure your story has been repeated by every one of us who has bought the Blade Sr-Huey...A very big dissapointment from the get go...When it says begginer helicopter ....it should read...begginer helicopter repair kit...cause thats all you do is repair the thing...I too was very dissapointed with the tail wag issue, and when the fuselage busted all apart on the first landing from a blade boom strike/ and then the front canopy flys off in flight getting hit/ causing a crash , and destroying the rest of the canopy...Which was probably good anyway, as this now let you have access to repairing the heli...I sure wonder how many huey,s it took to make Blades video...the one where it,s flying thru the creek/jungle area...cause even a top notch 3D heli pilot would have had his hands full with this one...I own all the Blade heli,s to date, and have been happy with them all, I think this huey was sold during the Christmas holiday so they knew there SR sales was down, so they threw a huey body on and sold it as a fun/first time helicopter...Worst is they still don't have parts/huey body's out at the LHS to get to repair....So now they have three new heli,s coming out, the 450X, 500X,300X...I think I,ll wait to read the reviews once the other guys buy them before I invest in another Lemon...my advice to you, move up to a 450 size since you can fly already...goodluck friend.

[DKS_ONE]

Originally Posted by munozj

I'm assuming I have a defective gryo since I could get no noticable response to gain adjustments through the TX. Also, I've got the 2-1 gain turned down to nearly 0, approximately 1/4 turn in the +. Gyro gain is set very low as well, 9 o'clock position. I know, this is supposedly rate mode, but tail is holding firm through pitch-pumps and in a 5-7mph breeze.

If you have gyro gain set to the 9'oclock position on the gyro itself with the yellow wire unplugged, that's still Heading Hold mode as when that yellow sense lead is unplugged, the gyro ONLY operates in HH, which is good! Dunno if I would suggest gyro is defective so much, perhaps with the sense lead but depends on the gain you're running from your tx and the gain on the esc pot. Still, if it works, LEAVE IT! Hahahaha! Sorry to hear about the crappy luck, I think many MANY beginners can relate. I know I spent a big chunk of change on my SR when I first started (not huey model). +1 to it being a beginner's crash repair instruction tool...

[skyl3r_2k]

So glad to hear you stuck with it!! I had the same problem ... Purchased the Blade SR after hours and hours on the simulator, 9053 volitation co-axiel and a smaller one I still sucked hard on the cp. Would have been worse without my simulator and coax training. I also spent 200.00 on the heli, and in the first week spent another 200.00 probably on parts. At doing this I learned A TON though.

Personally I think your at a point where you just need to enjoy hoovering and take it slow slow slow. Are you using training gear? That will sure save alot of heartache.

People at my LHS are a little more helpful then yours, but their still trying to rush me out the door lol. I dont even ask them questions anymore. Just come here and read read read :-)
Stick with it ... We all have spent a ton of money on this lol. When you wanna spend some more money, check out the thread I started on Parallel Lipo charging. https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=386281 IMO ... This will help a ton. Get 6 batterys and they all charge at once. 6 packs charged in an hour :-) hard to beat!
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=16678 - Theres the batterys I use. Stuck with the 1000mah didnt wanna take the chance of a heavier battery and cause me to wreck again. Simple, easy flying and not breaking stuff is what im into for now

BTW - Once you total the huey body, just take it off and make it an SR. Easier to work on, less stuff to break etc. I seen a guy buy a 4channel heli for 160.00 once. He took it up in the air, crashed and tore the whole body slap off it. I then said to myself "Ill never own one with a plastic body until I no longer wreck"
The huey seems to me that it would add alot of difficulty to its flight. SR is already pissy ... I could only imagine how it is being new to it and having that body on it.
BTW #2 - I GOT IT!!! Take the body off until you no longer wreck anymore!! Just use the stock SR canopy. Much more user friendly.

[Bikersurgeon]

ahahaha! I hate to laugh, because your path in heli initiation really sucks, but you have an excellent writing/composition style lol. Yep, I agree with the above, I expect we've all been there....I bought an SR and promptly drove it into the ground and said screw it. a few months later got another and almost drove it into the ground....found this site and after a lot of work hovered it...then flew it...then flew it a lot. I still fly it on occasion. It still is a quirky biatch but I consider it a "trainer for the unexpected"....and I am fond of it.

[skyl3r_2k]

Originally Posted by Bikersurgeon

ahahaha! I hate to laugh, because your path in heli initiation really sucks, but you have an excellent writing/composition style lol. Yep, I agree with the above, I expect we've all been there....I bought an SR and promptly drove it into the ground and said screw it. a few months later got another and almost drove it into the ground....found this site and after a lot of work hovered it...then flew it...then flew it a lot. I still fly it on occasion. It still is a quirky biatch but I consider it a "trainer for the unexpected"....and I am fond of it.

Indeed your writing style is great. Actually wasnt even boring to read. Yea im pretty sure ill appreciate a more proper heli when I upgrade after flying the SR 1/2 out of tune all the time It is a fun heli though. Im cutting my teeth with it and its going really well. Torn between 300x and 450 ... will be a couple months before im ready to upgrade though. Hopfully summer.

[Velislide]

I dont see why LHS's always con people into buying a DX6i or other expensive TX, saying the stock sr remote is crap and you'll need that to fly. Its so false, lol. If you cant fly your SR with the stock remote, you sure as hell cant fly it with a DX6i. In my opinion its easier to fly my SR with the stock TX, and easier to make gyro adjustments with the knob, then it is using my friends DX6i. Yea the programmable cpu tx is nice, but it sure as hell isnt needed. Bugs me with all the LHS's tricking people into thinking they need it, when they really dont. I suppose they are just trying to make that extra sale though.

[Bikersurgeon]

I still use the stock TX as well...I have a JR 9303 that I use with the titan x50 that would bind with the sr but I don't see the need.

[skyl3r_2k]

Originally Posted by Velislide

I dont see why LHS's always con people into buying a DX6i or other expensive TX, saying the stock sr remote is crap and you'll need that to fly. Its so false, lol. If you cant fly your SR with the stock remote, you sure as hell cant fly it with a DX6i. In my opinion its easier to fly my SR with the stock TX, and easier to make gyro adjustments with the knob, then it is using my friends DX6i. Yea the programmable cpu tx is nice, but it sure as hell isnt needed. Bugs me with all the LHS's tricking people into thinking they need it, when they really dont. I suppose they are just trying to make that extra sale though.

Yea I know it pisses me off too. Thats horrible he said it was because the tx and to buy a 150.00 one. Looks like LHS's would try to help people into the sport and get a customer who comes in all the time. Instead alot of them just wanna make the sell and say goodbye. Weird business ethics they must not like money as much as me My hobby shop people are ok once they figured out I wanna be good at the hobby and not a "1 heli wonder" lol just made that up.

[JookSing]

Love your wit and humor! I feel your pain. I was going to convert my SR to the Huey once the new SR Huey kit came out but after about 50 hovering sessions the tail motor blew out. I replaced it but after experiencing how unpredictable the tail can be with all the twitching, I didn't want to put any more money and time into it so sold it as. It scares me that the tail motor can blow out at anytime! Will use the proceed from the sale towards a Blade 300 X.

[skyl3r_2k]

Originally Posted by JookSing

Love your wit and humor! I feel your pain. I was going to convert my SR to the Huey once the new SR Huey kit came out but after about 50 hovering sessions the tail motor blew out. I replaced it but after experiencing how unpredictable the tail can be with all the twitching, I didn't want to put any more money and time into it so sold it as. It scares me that the tail motor can blow out at anytime! Will use the proceed from the sale towards a Blade 300 X.

Yep .. selling my sr also. It was fun hoovering but the tail does unpredictable things like you said ..and im tired of sinking money into this thing. The sr may be a good small yard bird for a pro, or a noob that needs its forgivingness ... but not the average guy who wants to pick the heli up, wreck, and fly again. This thing is a money hole. I loved my sr until the tail started being dumb ... im done with it. Today instead of taking off it tilted to the left, killing the blade grips, maybe feathering shaft doubt it though. This wasnt because of the tail i guess it just stuck to the ground. This was the final straw .. want a reliable indoor heli i can wreck and keep going. May trade for 120sr

[DKS_ONE]

Originally Posted by skyl3r_2k

Yep .. selling my sr also. It was fun hoovering but the tail does unpredictable things like you said ..and im tired of sinking money into this thing. The sr may be a good small yard bird for a pro, or a noob that needs its forgivingness ... but not the average guy who wants to pick the heli up, wreck, and fly again. This thing is a money hole. I loved my sr until the tail started being dumb ... im done with it. Today instead of taking off it tilted to the left, killing the blade grips, maybe feathering shaft doubt it though. This wasnt because of the tail i guess it just stuck to the ground. This was the final straw .. want a reliable indoor heli i can wreck and keep going. May trade for 120sr

Consider the mcpx, it's pretty durable, I dunno how many times mine has hit the dirt and I just pick it up and maybe re-attach a link, push the main gear or maybe just fly it again. It's a CP heli so you still get that aspect of it and I fly mine in the house to practice orientations. I can't quite invert it in my living room yet, but maybe one day. The 120sr is good for the orientation practice and what have you, but won't give you the feel of a CP heli, but still has it's place. Whatever feels right for you!

[theRASTAFeARIAN]

Originally Posted by munozj

RIDiCULOUS!!!

So, I jumped into this addiction know as collective pitch helis about 2 months ago. Bought an SR UH-1 Huey (mostly because it looked so damned cool). Naturally, as it is an SR, it came "ready to fly". YEAH, RIGHT!

Maiden flight, bird whips around clockwise uncontrollably; never get her off the ground. Took her back to hobby shop for a checkup. When I returned to pick her up, hobby shop "heli pro" tells me that all is well and good. He's even been so kind as to glue the fuse back together where it had been damaged... huh? After a polite confrontation he admits the heli may have fallen off the table or some such crap. Agrees to get me a replacement fuse, free of charge.

Next, it's test flight time. "Heli Pro" spools up my Huey inside and tries hovering. Tail wags all over the place and he nearly crashes into the wall, but okay, it's not spinning CW uncontrollably. Heli-Pro now informs me that the stock TX is crap and I should definitley buy a DX6i. Fine, bind it up and get me flying, Heli-Pro! Except he can't figure it out, and HE OWNS ONE!!!... 2 hours later, I tell Heli-Pro to forget it. I buy the DX6i and head home to figure it out myself. A few hours on HeliFreak and I've got the TX bound to the bird and ready for... crashing.

Second "maiden" flight, bird lifts off. Yaws uncontrollably to the left and destroys the blades, main gear, blade grips, spindle, tail boom, and (of course) the cool Huey fuse explodes into pieces. Awesome. Back to hobby shop for parts, and hopefully advice. Parts, YES! Advice, "cp helis are hard to fly, have a nice day", not so much...

More reading on HeliFreak, more tweaks, including tail motor break-in procedure and extra shims to the head.

Back to the field for... more crashing. Bird lifts off, yaws left again, but now also has a tail motor blow out that sends heli into crazed spiral straight into the ground. Besides the usual parts, I also break the frame! Lovely. Back to the hobby store. Repeat this process multiple times...

By now I'm thoroughly depressed. So I read HeliFreak forums like i'm cramming for an exam, Finless Bob's videos are my new favorite passtime. I even break down and call Horizon to ask for advice concerning the uncontrolled spinning and tail blow out (once again, "cp helis are hard to fly, have a nice day").

Now armed with my new education, I setup the head (thanks Finless Bob!), pitch, swash mix, curves, all of it, and head out to the field ready to fine tune my 2-1 mixer... And to my astonishment, SHE HOVERS!! But, th tail wag is borderline epileptic. Cannot get it to go away to save my life. Tried extra foam tape, 2-1 adjustments, gyro gain adjustments (through DX6i), everything I could dig up. Tail is so damned twitchy that simply hovering, bird is constantly on the hairy edge of disaster.

But then, finally, FINALLY, today, I UNPLUGGED yellow remote gain wire of the gyro from the RX and adjusted the gain manually, and viola! Stable tail, stable bird! I ran through 3 packs and had the best moments with CP helis in the past 2 months!

I'm assuming I have a defective gryo since I could get no noticable response to gain adjustments through the TX. Also, I've got the 2-1 gain turned down to nearly 0, approximately 1/4 turn in the +. Gyro gain is set very low as well, 9 o'clock position. I know, this is supposedly rate mode, but tail is holding firm through pitch-pumps and in a 5-7mph breeze.

Now if I can just get past the $1000 in heli, TX, parts, upgrade parts, and frustration... (and the fact I could have easily had a very nice Trex 450 Pro with the DX6i for this price) But on the bright side, I can now field strip and assemble an SR in 10 minutes flat!

That Huey prefers a higher head speed. The faster you go the less wobble you'll get in the tail. I'm having trouble setting it up to receive signal from a DX6i. It appears to be fine until you throttle down. Then it JUMPS UP about 3-4' and falls slowly. Idkwtf.