Macdad's flight progress

[Mr. Rmz]

The 130x flies like what you would expect, it flies closer to TT helicopter because it is. It's more mechanical then a BNF nano/mcpx size but it flies much better. The 130x is my sim after the sim, Lol. I don't want to crash it so i fly it as such because your micro habit of hitting the TH at any sign of trouble doesn't work well with a bigger machine. The 130x helped me break that habit. It's not cool to crash but it survives more often then not when flying over some grass.

[macdad]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Believe it or not, there have been a few moments of frustration, but otherwise it has been a fun journey to this point. I really believe I have rounded a corner and the wrecks will be few and farther between (knock on wood ).

The main problem now is, the wrecks may be a little more spectacular due to the increased speed of flight.

Regarding quality of the models (HK and Gartt). I believe that would account for only about 10% of my issues. The rest is learning to properly build, setup, and fly the helicopter. As a matter of fact, the quality of the Gartt model is great! No issues with misaligned holes, or stripping screws. It flies like it is on rails, and it introduced me to KST servos (that cost me another $100).

I have replaced most of my parts with Tarot parts as I broke them, so a majority of my crashes only cost about $20 or less. That is not including the unnecessary upgrades (see KST comment above).

I will probably get a nano to fly in the house over the winter to continue to improve, along with my practice on the simulator.

I have a goal to be flying well forward and backwards by the end of the summer. I would also like to be flying simple loops by the end of the summer.

[macdad]

4 more batts yesterday. All is well. Bird still flies! Tonight I am practicing backwards flight on my sim. With a little more practice, I'll give it a go on the real thing.

[macdad]

Flew 2 batts last night. Preflight checks this morning found a loose tail grip. I re-loctited the tail grip and flew for a couple more batteries this morning. I attempted some backwards flight and had a close call. I got into trouble and over corrected. Then, took a half second to calm and gather myself, and pulled out of it. No wreck, No Damage. Whew, that was a close one!

[macdad]

1 battery last night and 2 this morning, so far. Forward flight and standard banked turns are getting pretty good. I am not making as many mistakes with my thumbs now.

On the second battery, I attempted some backwards flight... I have been practicing this on the simulator some (apparently not enough). It is really sketchy. Apparently muscle memory is alive and well. I am making quite a few mistakes while attempting backwards flight. It feels like learning all over again. At this point, I can't even imagine learning inverted flight. I need a lot more practice on the simulator!

[macdad]

I wrecked it on the 4th battery. Flew it backwards right into a tree. I was simply flying too fast for my level of skill. Damage that I can see:

Feathering shaft
Main shaft
Main gear
Canopy shattered
Canopy mounts bent
Canopy mount stripped in upper bearing block

Parts I don't have: Canopy mounts, upper bearing block, and canopy. I can fix it and fly without a canopy till parts come in. I will get it flying again before the weekend is out (hopefully). Too much to do today.

Edit: Actually, looking at the upper bearing block, I think I can just swap the upper with the lower.

[macdad]

Just completed the rebuild on my FB heli. Let's see if I can fly the rest of the weekend without wrecking.

5 batteries today. I'm getting pretty good at rebuilding and dialing these things in. Practicing backwards flight without the turns. Just trying to keep it in a straight line and to retrain my brain. Wind was gusting to 10-12 mph (estimate). This made things a little interesting with my FB heli!

Flew 2 more for a total of 7 today. This thing is really difficult to fly backwards in a straight line. I need a lot more practice... It still flies though, no crashes. It was a good day and I had a blast!

[macdad]

Total Crash count = 7 (counting Friday's)

I think I will create a spreadsheet to track my crashes, flights and battery usage. I may also track average crash cost, but that could be held against me later

[macdad]

Originally Posted by macdad

I wrecked it on the 4th battery. Flew it backwards right into a tree. I was simply flying too fast for my level of skill. Damage that I can see:

Feathering shaft
Main shaft
Main gear
Canopy shattered
Canopy mounts bent
Canopy mount stripped in upper bearing block

Parts I don't have: Canopy mounts, upper bearing block, and canopy. I can fix it and fly without a canopy till parts come in. I will get it flying again before the weekend is out (hopefully). Too much to do today.

Edit: Actually, looking at the upper bearing block, I think I can just swap the upper with the lower.

It flies again!!! Actual parts replaced: feathering shaft, main gear, top bearing block (will save the other one for a bottom block replacement if needed), canopy mounts, and canopy. I found some canopies for under $7. Great deal for a beater. Hovered for a minute without issue. All I need to do is drill holes in the canopy, adjust the mesh on the main gear and blade tracking.

[macdad]

Hovered for a couple batteries. I had a mariad of issues tonight... The collar came loose on the main shaft on spool up. I think I need some shims, because the set screws line up with the step on the main shaft. If I tighten them too far, the collar jumps up and allows the head to move significantly.

As I was fixing that, I noticed that the screw for the elevator servo horn was missing. Luckily, I had another one on hand.

After going through setup again, I hovered for a trim flight. After the trim flight, I checked everything over and noticed a loose tail grip. Tightened that up, but it needs to be loctited.

Then I flew for a battery. It is a little bit squirrely. I need to turn down the cyclic gain (I think). However, I believe there is more slop in the swash than there should be. It may have been damaged in the last crash. This may have been causing some of my wobbling while hovering.

[macdad]

I busted out the dremel and made a couple flat spots on the main shaft for the set screws. Put it all back together and flew 2 batteries. It flew like a dream. I was practicing my circuits and lost it in the sun. I don't know what happened, but, the next thing I know, it is screaming towards the ground. My instincts kicked in... I gave it some throttle and pulled back. It pulled out just fine. Whew! On the second battery, I flew a couple backwards circuits in both directions. It went much smoother this time. Even 30-45 minutes on the simulator has helped quite a bit.

edit: Flew 2 more batteries. More backwards figure 8s. A lot better than a week ago. Long way to go to be comfortable, but at least I am much more controlled now.

[kenkadish]

MacDad, where do you live, or do you wish to keep it anonymous?

Ken

[macdad]

Hi Ken, I live in Northwest Ohio.

[macdad]

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

Hey Ken, I finally did this about a week ago. Man did it make a difference! The left stick is real smooth now! It doesn't catch anymore. That really helps on the gusty days!

[Mr. Rmz]

Keep at it. Always check your thread out.

[macdad]

Originally Posted by Mr. Rmz

Keep at it. Always check your thread out.

Thanks Mr. Rmz! I really enjoy learning in general, so I have a tendency to jump around on hobbies. This hobby has a great deal of things to learn. It should keep me busy for a long time. Plus, it hasn't totally killed the budget like some other hobbies (i.e. reef aquariums).

[macdad]

Joined a local flight club today. They seem like a pretty good bunch of guys. Mostly planes. There is supposedly 1 or 2 good heli pilots. I will have to hook up with them at some point to learn some pointers.

I flew 3 batteries while I was there. It was a little nerve wracking at first. I'm not used to an audience! At one point, one of them was talking to me while flying. Surprisingly, I was able to carry on a conversation and not wreck the heli. Of course, I don't know how intelligible my response were

Didn't try anything other than forward flight and circuits. I really didn't want to wreck in front of the group on the first day as a new member.

Overall, they said I am doing well for being self taught and starting this year. They may have just been trying to be nice, though,

[kenkadish]

Getting used to flying with other people around can be unnerving at first, but almost everyone remembers what it was like when they started, and in my experience, everyone is supportive. Also, even though it seems as though everyone is looking at you, they probably are not!

Two weeks ago, my club held Helijam6, and there were some top rated pilots there, including Kyle Stacy. A little nerve racking flying when they were there, but as I said, everyone was a brand new pilot once.

Good luck!

Ken

[Pitch-Itch]

Originally Posted by kenkadish

Getting used to flying with other people around can be unnerving at first, but almost everyone remembers what it was like when they started, and in my experience, everyone is supportive. Also, even though it seems as though everyone is looking at you, they probably are not!

Two weeks ago, my club held Helijam6, and there were some top rated pilots there, including Kyle Stacy. A little nerve racking flying when they were there, but as I said, everyone was a brand new pilot once.

Good luck!

Ken

This. I actually enjoy watching people with very little experience fly. It's awesome seeing them try new things, learning, and having a good time!

I'd bet money that they aren't sitting there watching you thinking about how much better they may be. Well, not unless they are just terrible people on a fundamental level. Lol

[macdad]

Originally Posted by DavisBladeWorks

This. I actually enjoy watching people with very little experience fly. It's awesome seeing them try new things, learning, and having a good time!

I'd bet money that they aren't sitting there watching you thinking about how much better they may be. Well, not unless they are just terrible people on a fundamental level. Lol

I don't know. I would bet that the first time I took off, they were all looking to see if they had to duck and cover Fortunately, I am a little better than that.

Next weekend they will be doing some buddy box flying with planes. I think I need to stay away. I don't need anything digging into my helicopter budget

Although, if I can get one of my kids flying planes, we could have a common interest. That would be awesome!