450 A good tip for newbies to save expensive repairs

[orbi]

To save your heli in a slam dunk when hovering at around 4ft. Try 1 x 5mm carbon boom brace tied with thin strong cord under the front end of the skid. ( I tie up and smear the cord with CA for a solid job) Plastic cheap skids are best, they are made moulded all in one and are quite "spongie" so they make a great cushion. Put 2 blue foam type bobbles on each end as this gives desired clearance on impact. I have extended my tail fin by 2 inches with a broken boom brace tied again with string and CA. and have a booble on there too.

It may all look amateur but hey ho im not proud. Im getting lots of fly time with out wasting time on building.
My heli can take a drop of 4ft wihtout any repairs and I have never had to replace any tail gears , tail rotor bars or blades as a result of a slam dunk. This has has been of great benefit to me and would definitely recommend it .

Contact Adhesive and thin curtain/ blind cord has been a huge part of my make up ....LOL I cant do without it !

 

[Bruno]

Sounds interesting. Are you able to post some pics?

 

[murankar]

SIM SIM SIM SIM. That will help save the pocket book some.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[orbi]

will try to post some pics.

I have a real good SIM Phoenix but here s the dodge , its good on " Paper" so to speak , I tried many turns on Phoenix that just would not work for me in reality. Like rotating 360, my heli was all over the place and flipped backward from 6ft and rolled over, but on the SIM it was a sinch. I played SIM for 5 months "after "I got my first heli ! and before I took it in the air to hover, so I have been extremely patient and have done most stuff by the book, but there is nothing that compensates the real deal.

The SIM is great for orientation I must say but your working with no wind, and have a perfectly set up model that stays steady as a rock in hover which is what I have been doing for the past 12 months. I have not yet done a successful 360 nor been figure of 8 in any flight so I have been practice hovering day after day and learning how my heli works and WHY.
Now im just about ready to step up to the figure of 8, now we ll see what the damage is gonna be ....lol

 

[scottwells]

I have to agree the sim is great for orientations. I can do inverted flying and tic tocs on the sim but I struggle doing circuits in real with my 250. I think stick time is crucial or at least has been to my learning curve. My nano is getting more flights than the 250 and the nano is almost indestructible. I try to fly it outside every chance I get so I can practice with it being knocked around by some wind. I have found that the sim is good for learning what different stick movements will do to the aircraft but it does not compare to flying for real.

I fly more aggressively with my nano and with my 250 I fly to what I am feeling comfortable with. If hovering orientations are getting the better of me then I just working on those. Yesterday I flew 2 packs of orientations and had very little problems so only then did I move onto slow circuits. When the wind picked up I was battling with holding tail in hover so I only stayed in that orientation that flight and called it a day. I just try to stay flying in my comfort level while maintaining the fun factor....

Just my 2 cents from a guy that is very new to flying.

 

[HeliDinoRC]

I'm not an advanced pilot but the sim has helped me tremendously. One of the things I do is setup the "weather" on my sim (Phoenix) with the wind blowing. I think it is under the Location menu. Not enough wind to tip the thing over when sitting on the ground but enough to move it around in the air. You can even hear it blow if the volume is turned up enough. Also, I use the "setup wheel" in simple setup and Expo settings in the advanced and try to fly just beyond my skills with the sticks. Once I can fly consistantly I bump the wind speed and "setup wheel" up a little and lower the Expo. I do not move by mutch may 5% or so. Just enough to make it more difficult. I then go back to the beginning and enhance the basics and start with hovering in all orientations again. It is a two steps forward one step back kind of thing but seems to work for me. I am also flying the 700 class birds. Currently my wind speed is random coming in from the NW - NE at about 5mph with gusts of 8mph, I will have to go home and confirm these numbers. My setup wheel is on 65% advanced.

 

[orbi]

yeah Scot, Im finding that when I turn left or right im always putting on or taking off throttle, its difficult to get a straight horizontal stick movement. But hey I keep tryin. ....and comin back for more evryday.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi Bruno.... yeah pics are coming , probs with my phones upload programme onto PC, will reinstall it.

 

[murankar]

The key to a good SIM session is having a model set up as close as possible to yours. I am in the same boat as you almost all of my flights are basic side in and tail in flights. Just last summer I started with side to side ff with turns. I get real shaky as the nose approaches 180° for the return.

As for hover training in real life, training gear will help in most cases. It does give the added advantage of extra cushion on the landings. On draw back is the added weight will effect the flight characteristics of the model. It's still a great learning aid at the beginning.

When I took off the training gear for the first time I was scared as beck. Eventually I got over that and just hovered.

I have had a flying 450 class heli since March of 2012. Some folks will pick up flying a lot quicker than others. Just take the steps your comfortable with taking and relax. If your hover skills are spot on then you can always go back to hover and regain your composure.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[orbi]

Notice there on one pic I have permanently connected one on my main motor cables and fitted the other 2 with a Deans plug, this way its easier , safer and quicker to get flying. With the deans there being opposite jointers from the battery connectors.

I have shown you my Gyro in one pic side on with the black foam pad sandwich underneath. Solid yet absorbent. It has really improved the stability with a dead silent and cold servo ! after flight. Not like before.

 

[murankar]

The key to a good SIM session is having a model set up as close as possible to yours. I am in the same boat as you almost all of my flights are basic side in and tail in flights. Just last summer I started with side to side ff with turns. I get real shaky as the nose approaches 180° for the return.

As for hover training in real life, training gear will help in most cases. It does give the added advantage of extra cushion on the landings. On draw back is the added weight will effect the flight characteristics of the model. It's still a great learning aid at the beginning.

When I took off the training gear for the first time I was scared as beck. Eventually I got over that and just hovered.

I have had a flying 450 class heli since March of 2012. Some folks will pick up flying a lot quicker than others. Just take the steps your comfortable with taking and relax. If your hover skills are spot on then you can always go back to hover and regain your composure.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[mudbogger]

A R/C flight simulator is a great place to start. Like Realflight 7 for example. Especially if you can use your field R/C transmitter. If and when you do have a crash(in reality)-you have to pay some amount of money to fix whatever is crashed/broken. If you have a crash on a R/C flight simulator-all you have to do is click the "reset" button. The cost of a R/C flight simulator might cost a lot of money to spend, but will save you more money in the long-run.