HeadHunter flight review

bobbybe · 10-18-2009, 11:05 PM

ok got it flying!!! I'll just say now that it was awesome. more review later on, just thought i'd post these links so you guys can check out the first couple of vids. flying a bit gentle- don't want to crash it on the first couple flights

(sorry- roomie couldn't film that night so i just set the camera on the ground so the video is kinda crappy)

YouTube - HeadHunter frames test flight

YouTube - HeadHunter test flight 2

here's one more:

YouTube - HeadHunter test flight 3

dunkonu23 · 10-18-2009, 11:50 PM

Ha! That's just the way I take it easy, too! I ALWAYS start off an easy flight with a few flips, inverted hovering, and throw in some tic-tocs for good measure....

I wish!!! Great flying, man! What are your impressions so far?

Also, I've noticed something and I don't know if it's the camera or the helicopter, but there is a very audible click. Other than the click, the helicopter sounds awesome... on passes close to the camera you can almost feel it--the low frequencies really came through well.

Scott

Jerrymac · 10-19-2009, 02:06 AM

Lookin good Bobby, but who was flying your Hurri? It couldn't have been you cause you were not wearing your nice looking(snicker,snicker) flying hat.

Guess you were the one holding the camera huh.. Try following the heli with the camera next time you video your friend flying your Hurri.

bobbybe · 10-19-2009, 03:00 AM

yeah i can't wait till i get those packs worn in... they have awesome potential. i can't do tight, sustained tictocs with most of my current lipos from motor bogging. when i do harder collective manuevers the heli would always kinda stall for a bit which is a little freaky but i didn't really notice it so far with the new setup, although i wasn't trying them.

you know, i noticed the sound in the vids too and i can't figure out where it's coming from. definitely doesn't sound like that in the air! kinda wierd.

Pros:

- piros (not piro-flips! haven't tried those yet) are much more stable. with my old hurri, whenever i tried to piroette when the heli was inverted or rightside up it would always start to drift off to the side, but as you can see in on of the videos, the heli stays rock solid in a piro. i'll try to get another video up with a better shot of both inverted and right side up piros

- rolls seem a bit more axial- nose doesn't have any lifting/dropping tendencies doing barrel rolls

- hovering was very stable- no tendencies to lose track or drift so far (although that would probably suggest a problem in the head, although the fact that there are less moving parts from the servos to the swash may help some by decreasing slop)

- forward flight felt the same as my old carbon fiber frame- the heli still likes to stay on a nice, level path without the nose lifting or dropping

- overall cyclic respose was probably the best area of improvement. hard to describe but the controls just felt more responsive in the way that there was more of a direct feel from my fingers to the bird. for example, it felt more like a realflight flight-sim heli than it did before.

- reverse flight felt more or less the same

- inverted: this was a definite improvement! the heli felt much more stable in inverted flight (which is strange because the heli itself ids't completely balanced on the c.o.g... more on that in a bit) i felt like i could hover lower to the ground with more confidence than before. think i got my heli the lowest its ever been while upside-down... well... except for the final second before i dumb-thumbed a heli into the ground once while learning inverted

Cons:

- my c.o.g. is a bit towards the tail when i use lipos that are under 3000mahs. to compensate, i've tried moving the lipo more forward in the battery tray but i'm limited by the canopy. with my 2650s, even when it's set up all the way forward the heli is still just a little bit tail heavy. however, i also have a boom-mounted servo, cncheli aluminium tail, and the long aluminium boom.

bobbybe · 10-19-2009, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrymac

Lookin good Bobby, but who was flying your Hurri? It couldn't have been you cause you were not wearing your nice looking(snicker,snicker) flying hat.

Guess you were the one holding the camera huh.. Try following the heli with the camera next time you video your friend flying your Hurri.

who says that was me in the hat in the first place? yeah laying on the ground and pointing the camera straight was not a good idea... i'll have to actually follow the heli next time when my handsome, stylish friend flies again

i need a real video camera but i think i'll be able to coax my room-mate out to film something with my digital camera sometime this week

dunkonu23 · 10-19-2009, 08:27 AM

Good review, Bobby. The COG issue while not hard to fix is a concern for me. I'm hoping my Hyperion 3300 VX's will address that properly. Thanks!

Scott

bobbybe · 10-19-2009, 09:24 PM

yeah i could always put the tail servo in the frame but it's not so far off that i can notice it in flight. the piros and rolls are still very axial.

so i also discovered today why i get an intermittent wobble, and it has nothing to do with the frame. on my 2nd flight today, i put in one of my older zippies and immediately after taking off, the heli started wobbling pretty bad, so i set it down and checked it out. couldn't find anything wrong so i put one of my new lipos in, spooled it up, and viola- no wobble or vibes whatsoever. i'm pretty sure that the wobble is the result of a low headspeed. i'm thinking that the centrifugal force was not enough to keep the blades straight out at 90 degrees (which were a bit on the loose side as well). looks like it's about time to retire my first 2 hurricane lipos

dunkonu23 · 10-19-2009, 11:02 PM

That's what I wanted to ask you... What head speed are you shooting for? When I get my frames, I'm going to use the same gearing I've got in my plastic frames but I'm changing the motor to the Z30.. I'm thinking I'll get a slight bump in head speed due to better efficiency... from 2300 or so at 90% throttle to around 2400...

Just wondering.

It's also good to know there is a place for the tail servo in the frame... I kind of like it there--it's protected and as you alluded to is valuable option for COG adjustments. Thanks!

Scott

bobbybe · 10-20-2009, 02:06 AM

yeah good point about the headspeed. i'm running at 2000rpm right now, which is a little low but i didn't think my old lipos were up to the task of running much higher (zippy 3300). now that i have some 30c lipos i think i'm going to change my gearing and aim for just under 2200. the wide chord 550's definitely add some pop tho, making it feel a bit faster

Jerrymac · 10-20-2009, 02:31 AM

Hmmm, looks to me like it flys pretty well at only 2000 head speed. I kinda thought you were already at around 2200 to 2300.
Guess it is just cause I am an old fart huh. Hell, I think mine flys good at 1700 to 1800, but then, I fly like a granny.

10-18-2009, 11:50 PM	#2
dunkonu23 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan, East of Hell	Ha! That's just the way I take it easy, too! I ALWAYS start off an easy flight with a few flips, inverted hovering, and throw in some tic-tocs for good measure.... I wish!!! Great flying, man! What are your impressions so far? Also, I've noticed something and I don't know if it's the camera or the helicopter, but there is a very audible click. Other than the click, the helicopter sounds awesome... on passes close to the camera you can almost feel it--the low frequencies really came through well. Scott __________________ TRex 500esp, T-Rex 450 pro, Gaui/Head Hunter 550, Outrage Velocity 50, Blade mSR, Helipro Blackhawk 500. DX7, Spartan gyros

10-19-2009, 08:27 AM	#6
dunkonu23 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan, East of Hell	Good review, Bobby. The COG issue while not hard to fix is a concern for me. I'm hoping my Hyperion 3300 VX's will address that properly. Thanks! Scott __________________ TRex 500esp, T-Rex 450 pro, Gaui/Head Hunter 550, Outrage Velocity 50, Blade mSR, Helipro Blackhawk 500. DX7, Spartan gyros

10-19-2009, 11:02 PM	#8
dunkonu23 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan, East of Hell	That's what I wanted to ask you... What head speed are you shooting for? When I get my frames, I'm going to use the same gearing I've got in my plastic frames but I'm changing the motor to the Z30.. I'm thinking I'll get a slight bump in head speed due to better efficiency... from 2300 or so at 90% throttle to around 2400... Just wondering. It's also good to know there is a place for the tail servo in the frame... I kind of like it there--it's protected and as you alluded to is valuable option for COG adjustments. Thanks! Scott __________________ TRex 500esp, T-Rex 450 pro, Gaui/Head Hunter 550, Outrage Velocity 50, Blade mSR, Helipro Blackhawk 500. DX7, Spartan gyros

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10-19-2009, 02:06 AM	#3
Jerrymac Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Western Pennsylvania, USA	Lookin good Bobby, but who was flying your Hurri? It couldn't have been you cause you were not wearing your nice looking(snicker,snicker) flying hat. Guess you were the one holding the camera huh.. Try following the heli with the camera next time you video your friend flying your Hurri.

10-19-2009, 03:00 AM	#4
bobbybe Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kirkland, WA	yeah i can't wait till i get those packs worn in... they have awesome potential. i can't do tight, sustained tictocs with most of my current lipos from motor bogging. when i do harder collective manuevers the heli would always kinda stall for a bit which is a little freaky but i didn't really notice it so far with the new setup, although i wasn't trying them. you know, i noticed the sound in the vids too and i can't figure out where it's coming from. definitely doesn't sound like that in the air! kinda wierd. Pros: - piros (not piro-flips! haven't tried those yet) are much more stable. with my old hurri, whenever i tried to piroette when the heli was inverted or rightside up it would always start to drift off to the side, but as you can see in on of the videos, the heli stays rock solid in a piro. i'll try to get another video up with a better shot of both inverted and right side up piros - rolls seem a bit more axial- nose doesn't have any lifting/dropping tendencies doing barrel rolls - hovering was very stable- no tendencies to lose track or drift so far (although that would probably suggest a problem in the head, although the fact that there are less moving parts from the servos to the swash may help some by decreasing slop) - forward flight felt the same as my old carbon fiber frame- the heli still likes to stay on a nice, level path without the nose lifting or dropping - overall cyclic respose was probably the best area of improvement. hard to describe but the controls just felt more responsive in the way that there was more of a direct feel from my fingers to the bird. for example, it felt more like a realflight flight-sim heli than it did before. - reverse flight felt more or less the same - inverted: this was a definite improvement! the heli felt much more stable in inverted flight (which is strange because the heli itself ids't completely balanced on the c.o.g... more on that in a bit) i felt like i could hover lower to the ground with more confidence than before. think i got my heli the lowest its ever been while upside-down... well... except for the final second before i dumb-thumbed a heli into the ground once while learning inverted Cons: - my c.o.g. is a bit towards the tail when i use lipos that are under 3000mahs. to compensate, i've tried moving the lipo more forward in the battery tray but i'm limited by the canopy. with my 2650s, even when it's set up all the way forward the heli is still just a little bit tail heavy. however, i also have a boom-mounted servo, cncheli aluminium tail, and the long aluminium boom.

10-19-2009, 09:24 PM	#7
bobbybe Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kirkland, WA	yeah i could always put the tail servo in the frame but it's not so far off that i can notice it in flight. the piros and rolls are still very axial. so i also discovered today why i get an intermittent wobble, and it has nothing to do with the frame. on my 2nd flight today, i put in one of my older zippies and immediately after taking off, the heli started wobbling pretty bad, so i set it down and checked it out. couldn't find anything wrong so i put one of my new lipos in, spooled it up, and viola- no wobble or vibes whatsoever. i'm pretty sure that the wobble is the result of a low headspeed. i'm thinking that the centrifugal force was not enough to keep the blades straight out at 90 degrees (which were a bit on the loose side as well). looks like it's about time to retire my first 2 hurricane lipos

10-20-2009, 02:06 AM	#9
bobbybe Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kirkland, WA	yeah good point about the headspeed. i'm running at 2000rpm right now, which is a little low but i didn't think my old lipos were up to the task of running much higher (zippy 3300). now that i have some 30c lipos i think i'm going to change my gearing and aim for just under 2200. the wide chord 550's definitely add some pop tho, making it feel a bit faster

10-20-2009, 02:31 AM	#10
Jerrymac Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Western Pennsylvania, USA	Hmmm, looks to me like it flys pretty well at only 2000 head speed. I kinda thought you were already at around 2200 to 2300. Guess it is just cause I am an old fart huh. Hell, I think mine flys good at 1700 to 1800, but then, I fly like a granny.