Helicommand Rigid - my take on it so far

[TomC]

Butters,

Since this was well over 1 year ago, I cannot remember his name but his title on his E-mail (which I don't seem to have saved) was Manager.

I think the best thing for you to do is to use the Contact area of HC's WebPages and E-mail them your questions. That's what I did back then.

Will PM you.

Cheers,
TomC

[butters149]

Sorry its kinda off topic, but do you know why shipping is so expensive for regular serivce? It says $66 US for shipping and about $10 for packaging. How long did your unit take to arrive back at your house?

Here is the link:

http://www.dhl.de/de/paket/privatkun...nal/paket.html

Tracking number: 054803328452

Im not sure if its express or what.

[TomC]

Originally Posted by butters149

Sorry its kinda off topic, but do you know why shipping is so expensive for regular serivce? It says $66 US for shipping and about $10 for packaging. How long did your unit take to arrive back at your house?

Here is the link:

http://www.dhl.de/de/paket/privatkun...nal/paket.html

Tracking number: 054803328452

Im not sure if its express or what.

Mate, I got no idea why international shipping to Germany is so high. I know it cost me ~$50 to send a Hacker motor back to Germany a few years ago. The good news is that it's usually very fast (~4-7 days)!

Cheers,
TomC

[butters149]

Tom,

How did you set your servos and swash level with the Rigid? What I did on the 3d version is to turn off Pos and HOR so the swash will not move. Not sure what mode I need to be in with the Rigid model. I also used the autotrim tab as subtrim to get the servo's arms to 90, what did you use?

[TomC]

Butters,

My servos were already at 90 deg from a previous setup (without any Tx subtrims I might add) so I did not have to do much to get it level. I originally flew it in fader mode (no horiz/pos) and adjusted it to a level hover with Tx trims, then took these out with mechanical adjustments.

Later, when I flew it with horiz I again fine-tuned the level hover mechanically. I've never tried the Auto-trim function but I understand it works pretty good.

Sounds like your method should work ok. Just try to avoid using any Tx subtrims (except for rudder if you are using the internal tail gyro). If you do use the HC auto-subtrim tabs you probably should go through the setup process again if it looks like you are getting any CCPM interactions as you move the swash up/down.

Cheers,
TomC

[Trooper]

Originally Posted by rodjam

PS. I have the Captron Belkin USB PC connection. But running Vista on the PC and it appears that there is no applicable driver.
And ideas?

The software does run on Vista 32 bit. You need a USB to Serial cable that uses the FTDI chipset. The Prolific version does NOT work with Vista.

Ian

[Tahoe Ed]

I thought that I would give an update on my HC Rigid on my 700E. I tried to maiden it tonight and it cost me a set of blades. I am using a JR 9503 and had the pilot switch set up on the right side lever. I thought that I could adjust the gain until I found what I liked and then set it on a switch. This may have not been the right decision. I have attached my HC set up file for your consideration. Here is what I got flight wise before the crash. The initial spool up was very unsteady. It looked like the HC was having difficulty stabilizing it while still on the ground. I was in Position mode at the time. I brought the rpm down and reset the HC to Horizontal mode with 80% gain. I got it up in the air but the tail was drifting left and required continuous correction. The heli was not stable at all. I thought that I need to reduce the gain and I dropped it to about 65% and tried to take off again. This time it dipped to the right and I could not catch it quick enough. Split both blades. I want to like this unit and I think with time and programing it right I will but right now, I am ready to take it off and put my SK720 back on. I have attached my setup file and pics on the location of my components. I would appreciate any help. Thanks,

[R.Lim]

I could help you if I could open the attachment, but unfortunately, I am not able to open the file.
I have quite good experiences with HC rigid, which I installen on my Logo's and Mini titan FBL. If you could send the pic of your file, then I can tell you how to eliminate your stabilization problems

[Tahoe Ed]

I had to compress the file to have the HF server recognize it to post. I was able to convert the file to a text and save it as a pdf. I have attached it here. Thank you for looking at it.

[Trooper]

Although you can take off in Pos mode it is best not to as the CCD camera will not be locked in. 80% gain in Hor mode sounds a little high for a maiden flight, better to start at around 50% and increase it later.
Are you using the internal gyro? 65% gain on that may well be too high.
I think you possibly need to check out the rigid settings in Fader first.

I have loaded your settings into an .hcc viewer.

Ian

[Tahoe Ed]

Thank you Ian. The HCC Viewer is a nice tool. The damage was a little greater than I thought. Bent the Elevator assembly horns on my 700E, again. It is proving to be a weak spot in the design for me. I ordered two so I have one if I do it again. I am going through and reseting everything including the mechanical and rereading the resources. What would you recommend for the tail gain as a starting point?

[Trooper]

I fly a 450 and found that the gain had to be around 20% for HH. This sounds low but you have to remember that there is also 20% set in the software. I would set it for about 30% as I believe the larger helis need a higher setting.
If you have v2.0 of the software there is a load more help about setting up Rigid mode than earlier versions.
Stick with it, once you get it set up I'm sure you'll find it great.

Ian

[Tahoe Ed]

I checked and I have v2.0. As soon as I have completed the reset up I will forward you a copy of my files to take a look at. There are some significant changes that I need to have some more experienced eyes take a look at before I risk another set of blades. Thanks again for your help.

[Tahoe Ed]

Here are my set up files for my HC Rigid on my 700E. I set the collective at +/- 11 and the
Ail and Elev at +/- 10. Please take a look and let me know what you think. I am planning to fly as soon as the wind dies down. Rigid is set on Fader and I am using the right lever on my 9503 for the pilot adjust. I have the ATV set to 50 +/-. I am not sure if I should increase the travel on this channel. I have the auto trim switch set on the gear channel and the gyro set to a gain of 30. The ultimate goal is to set the Rigid mode to Fixed.

[Trooper]

Just had a look at your settings.
I see you have Autotrim selected now. Whilst you are checking out the Gyro gain settings you may want to be able to adjust it from your Tx.
You can use AT on the bench, make sure heli is level, monitor software and raise collective until the Inhibit is removed on the Diagnose tab, then activate AT. On the RC&Trim tab you will see the Internal AT settings have changed. This will give you an idea of how good your mechanical setup is.
As you have the Rigid gain on a slider I would set the ATV back to 100% for the Pilot channel.
I think you need to get the FBL setup before you worry about stabilisation modes.

Ian

[Tahoe Ed]

I ran the autotrim from the bench and here are the settings that I got. Ail is at -4, Elev is at 2 and the Tail is at -64!. Close to the limit of AT. When I am in Rate mode the tail appears to be set up mechanically fine. Approximately 4 degrees of torque correction at neutral trim. It appears that this is the last hurdle before my next flight. Any suggestions to get this number down? I also reset the ATV on the pilot channel slider to 100%. Getting closer.

[Trooper]

Those settings look OK. I think using the internal gyro always seems to give a high value for Tail. Mine is currently 64 and I have tried to get it lower but always seem to end up around about that value. I use AT all the time when I fly so I no longer worry about it.
Follow the Tail Rotor trim on Page 30 of the manual.
When you do your first flight have HC Off. You need to get the Rigid settings to your likeing before you use the stabilisation modes.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

Ian

[Tahoe Ed]

Shall do. Thanks for all the help.

[Tahoe Ed]

Here is my install on my 700E. Talk about a maze of wires! I was having a difficult time setting up the tail and after some discussion with Tom, I decided to get an external gyro. I chose the GY520 both by reputation and size. Note that it fits well on top of the HC RC Module. The mounting is per the manual for large electrics, 2mm, plate, 2mm, gyro. All I need to do is to complete the set up of the gyro and she is ready to fly. I want to thank both Tom C and Trooper for their help. I am sure when I get to the finer points on tuning the HC I will rely on you again.

[Trooper]

The internal gyro can be a bit of a problem to get set just right. It seems to work for some and not for others.
Good to see you are making progress though.

Ian