Hello - I just purchased a V1 kit !

[arquitron]

Originally Posted by B335

The Mini Titan v1 is not being discontinued. Although there is a v2 out, it is a different model, and doesn't appeal to everyone.

By all means, buy the v1 - it's a good heli, and has only been out 3 years, which is nothing. You'll still get v1 parts for years....

I personaly like the V1 canopy better.

[FR4-Pilot]

I like the V1 canopy too ...

Today I replaced the G110 with my GY401, and the HS-55 on the tail with an HSG-5084MG. I also moved the servo over to the "safe" side of the boom. A little bit of re-wiring and she was ready for a very quick test flight. I also put on a set of Align 315 Carbons. OMG - VERY NICE! Talk about smooth - probably the smoothest hover I've experienced outside of a simulator - and there was even a little breeze.

I must have gotten lucky with the placement of the servo along the tail boom - in rate mode the tail held as flawlessly as in HH mode - no turning or drifting what so ever.

Another problem was solved by swapping gyros. I had a condition (every time I powered up the heli) where the G110 would initialize before the receiver, which would then result in the gyro erroring out, flashing it's LED continuously and not allowing control of the tail servo. Disconnecting power then re-connecting would solve the gyro problem, but then the receiver would flash because it (falsely) detected a brown-out. Evidently the GY401 is a little more tolerant (or intelligent?) and power up sequence is no longer an issue. This test flight took place with both receiver and gyro LEDs constantly on - much better.

I'll be ordering another 5084 servo for my Blade 400 as well. Really anxiously awaiting warmer weather now ...

-John

[FR4-Pilot]

... and she flew like a Cadillac on air shocks!

Wow - hard for me to explain, but she moved so smoothly and so gracefully - a pure joy to fly even though my fingers were freezing. She's so much quieter than my Blade 400, which also got flown today. That $15 HobbyKing DSM2 receiver worked great in both helis.

This is a really nice helicopter. I still like my Blade 400, but this one's much nicer. There is a definite difference in "feel" between the two. I decided to bail on the video today - too cold, fingers hurt, just wanted to get these two test flights done (MT & B400) and get home, etc. Next flight I will try to video - should be warmer soon ...

Just Awesome.

-John

[FR4-Pilot]

The MT did great today. I didn't like the wind though, or the sun that blinded me causing me to crash the Blade 400 (very next flight), none of which is on my favorites list right now (okay, it's all on me ... )

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-John

[Discount_Bob]

Nice smooth flyin'.

I particularly enjoyed listening to your copilot. Sounds familiar.

[FR4-Pilot]

Thanks! He's definitely a future pilot - full of questions & ideas. Kinda refreshing actually

[FR4-Pilot]

Okay - flights 17 and 18 today - guess what? My blades (Align 325 Pro woodies) were not tracking correctly today. Up until today they were. All plastic head. I've read about the issues here and the metal parts that can help solve the problem. I also have a higher head speed than I'd like (13T on a 3500kV, around 2700-3000 RPM) - might try a 12T to get that down to around 2500-2800. It was tach'd at around 3100 at the field, in a hover.

Flew great, but now I'm paranoid since my B400 smackdown two weeks ago. I was trying out my new HD cam on the heli too, so a video is in the works. I kept her low and slow today, again, paranoid from the crash. And, just to reinforce that fear, one of the other guys at the field today crashed his 400 - and he was flying all of his helis flawlessly (loops, rolls, tic-tocs, etc - none of the stuff I can do yet). All part of it I know, but still ...

EDIT: I decided to put an 11T on instead to get the RPMs around 2300-2600. Did a test hover in the garage (way too windy here today) and it felt much better, to me anyway. Battery, ESC and motor should be happier too We'll see for sure on the next flight ...

[Lynbird]

I have the 11t on also and am always using woodies. I like the way it handles at that headspeed and it feels safe using woodies. I flew outside yesterday but today was way too much for me.

[FR4-Pilot]

Thanks Lynbird - that's good to know about the 11T pinion. I wasn't sure if it would slow the RPMs too much. Getting closer to having this heli dialed in just right

You're right, Saturday sure was a great day to fly. Today ... not so much.

-John

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[FR4-Pilot]

Flew her today for the first time since installing the 11T pinion (2300-2600 rpm) - much better Took her to a new field I discovered close to work and she did just awesome. Idle up the whole time (T:100-95-90-95-100, P:0-25-50-75-100). A little bit of wind but no settling with power (didn't really test for it though, mostly FFF across the field).

In a related story - I recently modified my Blade 400's blade grips to leading edge, just like the Mini-Titan's, and the difference in handling was amazing. Forgive me, but that B400 now "feels" a lot like my MT, both collectively and cyclically ...

-John

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[Lynbird]

It looked good John and it looked like you were comfortable flying it.

[FR4-Pilot]

Thanks Lynbird - it was a lot easier for me to control. But, I was amazed at how fast the heli still moves. The B400 with similar head speed kinda putts along, but not the MT - it moves! Actually, with the current pinions on both helis the MT's head speed is about 100 rpm slower than the B400, but it moved much quicker and felt more like it was "locked on course".

-John

[Lynbird]

My husband has the MT SE with an 11t pinion, stock motor & esc and before he made his scale he was doing flips, rolls, inverted, etc. So yes it still moves, just depends on your TC & PC.

[arquitron]

Originally Posted by Lynbird

My husband has the MT SE with an 11t pinion, stock motor & esc and before he made his scale he was doing flips, rolls, inverted, etc. So yes it still moves, just depends on your TC & PC.

Can you guys type your current TC and PC values?

Thx

[Lynbird]

The curves for my MT plastic version with stock motor, esc, and 11t pinion are:
TC Normal 0, 45, 75, 80, 100
TC Idle 1 85 across
PC Normal 61, 52.5, 44, 22, 2
PC Idle 1 83, 59, 44, 22, 2
I'm using Futaba so it might look a little strange.
Also, I am still learning so I am working on nose-in and forward flight. No 3D yet.

[FR4-Pilot]

Currently on my Dx6i:

Normal Throttle: 0-80-85-85-85
Normal Pitch: 35-50-65-80-95 (I know I know ... see below)

Idle Up Throttle: 100-95-90-95-100
Idle Up Pitch: 0-25-50-75-100

If there's little or no wind I still like to use normal mode for take offs and landings. All flying is done in idle up though. I catch a lot of flak for my normal mode, but for certain things I still like it. I don't dare go up high or use it when it's windy though. It's an EZ-Fly mode - inflicts minimal stress on myself

BTW: 3500KV motor with 11T pinion resulting in approx. 2300-2600 rpm head speed. Align 325 Pro Wood blades.

Although I'm not sure there's much difference between 85% throttle and 100% throttle on my ESC (HobbyWing Platinum 40A) - I need to see where it maxes out (the stock B400 ESC maxes out at 80%) ... When I flip between the two modes the pitch of the motor and gears always sounds the same - even when my normal throttle curve was 0-70-80-90-100 - no noticeable change in motor/gear noise pitch (sound). Time to get the tach out ...

-John

[FR4-Pilot]

Well, I did some testing today and discovered that both my HobbyWing 40A Pentium and Platinum ESCs max out at 85% throttle stick. To do this I modified throttle hold mode on my Dx6i by changing the blade pitch to 0° for all stick positions. Then I slowly increased throttle (via the wheel, not the stick) and starting at 50% stopped and noted the RPMs every 5%. I did this in my garage where there was no wind for my Blade 400 and Mini-Titan.

So, since it seems that 85 is my new 100%, my throttle curves need to be changed from:

(Normal) 0 - 70 - 80 - 90 - 100 To 0 - 59.50 - 68 - 76.50 - 85

and

(Idle up) 100 - 95 - 90 - 95 - 100 To 85 - 80.75 - 76.50 - 80.75 - 85

Unless ... Can I lower the upper end point for the throttle channel to 85%(?) and keep the original values for the curves (because those numbers just make sense to me) ?

-John

UPDATE: Yes, that makes a huge difference. I opted not to change the throttle curve values but instead to tweak the upper endpoint adjust for the throttle channel (and verify it's function with the Dx6i's monitor screen before actually trying it on the heli). Here's the deal, one endpoint adjust is for everything below 50% (0-100), the other is for everything above 50% (0-100) - very similar to the gyro gain. I'm only adjusting (or scaling) the upper endpoint. The actual value for 85% is calculated:

(85-50)/50 = .7, or 70% is the new value for the upper endpoint to now make the ESCs max RPM occur at full up throttle stick.

This is interesting ... A question now - are all ESCs like this? Are they supposed to be linear from 0 to 100% RPM from low to high stick? Or are they supposed to max out at around 85% in order for the last 15% to be purely changes in pitch only? I've found 3 ESCs now that behave this way - do the Castle ICE 50s (for example) do this, or are they truly linear from 0 to 100? Or is this what non-top shelf gets you ... ?

[3D Dave]

John,

Kontronik Jives are the same way... Endpoints (on a JR/Spektrum radio) are 83/83.

That said, when programming initially, the endpoints should be (for a Jive anyway) 100/100.

Once all programming is done, endpoints should be lowered back to 83/83

Dave

ps, where is that field you usually fly in? Is it not the Addison heli only field?

[FR4-Pilot]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for that info - I actually did notice that when increasing the throttle (with the wheel) the motor didn't engage until about 15%, so it sounds a lot like what you described for both endpoints ... I will try adjusting both endpoints as you mentioned. None of this is discussed in the setup guides for my ESCs though - but it sounds like there's something here regardless.

Yes, usually I go to that Addison field, but I've gotten very little field-time this year so far. I did get to check out Busse a few weeks ago (just stopped for quick look - didn't fly) and that looks awesome. Actually the last 3 times I flew were at a field behind a warehouse/parking lot near work down in Woodridge. A very nice and similar setup to the Addison field (less trees), but not a sanctioned RC field.

I'll tell you it's a totally different heli with those throttle adjustments (ie not maxing out the RPMs all of the time). It feels like a "bigger" heli now, like the .30 or .50 on the sims I've flown ... I really like it

-John

[3D Dave]

John,

I actually didn't do any throttle end-point adjustments with my smaller helis running the CC and Align ESC's. Just the big ones running Jives in gov mode.

I just don't seem to notice a need flying the small ones.

I don't remember if you have a DuPage permit? If so, you'll have to join me at Pratt's Wayne RC field. It's MUCH larger than Busse. The plankers are more friendly too.

When I go for the day I bring a 2000W Yamaha generator so we can charge at the field.

Make sure you watch <http://www.helifreak.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203> thread (in Northern Illinois RC Choppers) forum so you know when and where we're flying.