Training Questions (Finished RADD's, Now: XHELI "Basic Flying"). - Page 5

jasmine2501 · Oct 27, 2009, 08:11 PM

Do you have everything balanced and is the swash perfectly level?

MiseryQ · Oct 27, 2009, 09:16 PM

Yes. I'm a nut at that. Been tinkering non-stop mostly looking for a vibration that showed up. Got it sorted with new blades and a little dressing on the belt I guess, that's all I did today and it's MUCH better.
I even took these photos to post and ask if it was adjusted right but didn't since I was already pretty sure it was. Even checked blade tracking.

I do the exact same things in the RealFlight it has to be me o:

-edit: looking at the 2nd photos I could be a touch off. Tell me it's nothing before I have to go change it (:

jasmine2501 · Oct 27, 2009, 09:35 PM

If that picture is with the helicopter turned on and throttle in the center, then it looks ok except, it maybe looks like the flybar is bent. Hard to tell from pictures.

MiseryQ · Oct 27, 2009, 09:38 PM

Thanks. I checked the flybar the same way as blade tracking, running from the side. They "fall" into the same "image".
Totally possible though. I'm starting to not believe the guy I bought it from had "two flights on it". Especially since the motor wore out and I had to replace it with a temp /=

jasmine2501 · Oct 28, 2009, 06:57 PM

Hard to say then - maybe you're chasing it around in circles, but it could be the helicopter. Only way to find out would be have someone else fly it.

MiseryQ · Oct 28, 2009, 07:10 PM

I was just working my way to the computer.

I know I'm going to totally obliterate the helicopter next time for saying it but:
I was pretty happy with my "flying" tonight.

I went out tonight even though it's a little windy and found a combination basketball, 8 halfs, & tennis, two, courts "hidden" behind a school, I was making a U-turn.
Placed the Helicopter in the middle of whatever that circle on the basketball court is called and managed to keep it inside rather well.
I wasn't as conservative as before and got it up to eye level a couple times, mostly just about 12" up.
"Crashed" a few times, still following Radd's, and punished myself. Went into the swirl too a few times but was also able to get it most of the time.

I'm very stoked right now.

MiseryQ · Oct 30, 2009, 10:00 PM

Got some more hovering done. Dinged the blades up once when it came at me on my 2nd attempt.
Cut them down, balanced them and did some more, I may get up a video soon to show my progress.

I was kinda staying low anyway and I found the "Basic Flying" article at XHeli.com I'm doing that.

I kinda think Radds unleased me too early.

MiseryQ · Nov 03, 2009, 07:53 PM

Still working on my hovering. Finally decided to trim it tonight. I hope rudder trim is ok cause that's the only way I could fine tune it.
Moving the servo went from too much one way to to much the other.
Found that since I'm no longer giving it constant right stick I kind of lost some fine motor skills and had to re-orientate myself ):

Still working on getting that video up /=

MiseryQ · Nov 07, 2009, 09:21 PM

My heli got a bad vibration the other day. It's been having bouts of vibration that seem to almost randomly come and go ):
I found a slight crack in the motor mount area, common for this heli, that chewed the main gear. I made the frame brace I've been meaning too. I also installed the new blade 400 main gear but didn't install the motor since I was hoping the new motor would've arrived Thursday and I have a new pinion to go on it.

So I went back to the sim today, I've been doing a number of actual flights a day.
I really wanted to work on orientation with no chance of damage.

I could not fly on the sim! Couldn't keep it in a steady hover, couldn't keep altitude.
Very frustrating. I slowed it down trying to figure it out and still couldn't. I'm chasing the helicopter everywhere.

I'm wondering if I've somehow picked up bad habits that are showing on the sim even though I can hover steady tail-in, and move controlled in any direction.
I tried a side hover and found I dumb thumbed it a couple times and had to place it down part of the reason for wanting to practice on the sim.

arbilab · Nov 07, 2009, 09:45 PM

Don't worry mate. Thumb reflexes tend to slam from one extreme to the other during learning, just like moving the servo or tweaking the proportional can.

Ya know what helped me with nose-in? A couple lowly 3chs. FORCES you to orient, cuz it will only fly toward or away from the nose and it won't tend to hold tail-in long enough to correct it. I miss aileron, but it FORCES me to deal without it. Flexibility is the key to being able to fly anything.

The $20 submicro one is a giggle, cuz if you screw up and hit stuff, nothing bad happens, it bounces off. The $60 micro is the one I fly most--though I've got 2 4chs and 2 6chs and it WILL break if flown into obstacles. Lemme go get the links and edit.

Here's the $60 one: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1137659

Here's the $20 one: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1127618

I've got both, and despite our inherent snootery against 3ch, both are fun, teach you stuff, and are incredibly cheap. The $60 one is even blinged, all aluminum plus stock LED light set.

MiseryQ · Nov 21, 2009, 07:24 PM

Here's my current progress:

I've nailed tail-in hovering.
Changed Sim to HeliSim and played with it's settings to mimic mine. Showed me somethings I'm going to have to change namely idle-up. The heli is going to drop fast if I ever hit it.
I'm taking a step back and working on my to-the-side hovering. Having a little trouble but I'm getting better.

arbilab · Nov 21, 2009, 09:11 PM

Helisim is a good program. Maybe not graphically elegant, but gets the physics mostly right.

Helisim may interpret idleup as throttle hold. Idleup doesn't make a heli drop, THR HLD does.

MiseryQ · Nov 21, 2009, 09:19 PM

It recognizes the sticks a lot faster that's for sure.
I'm hitting idle up and it's correct. My pitch curve in normal is not linear.
Using a set-up I DL'd. It's hovering around mid stick, give me more "resolution", but when idle up is hit the pitch drops and BOOM!

To scared to try it on the heli, it may be wrong and take off (:
I should program something more linear in normal, I already have some candidates that work in HeliSim.

arbilab · Nov 21, 2009, 11:02 PM

Can't say what HeliSim does. Downloaded it, incompatible with my online system. All I've got is Realflite 4.5 on a standalone system.

jasmine2501 · Nov 23, 2009, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiseryQ

It recognizes the sticks a lot faster that's for sure.
I'm hitting idle up and it's correct. My pitch curve in normal is not linear.
Using a set-up I DL'd. It's hovering around mid stick, give me more "resolution", but when idle up is hit the pitch drops and BOOM!

To scared to try it on the heli, it may be wrong and take off (:
I should program something more linear in normal, I already have some candidates that work in HeliSim.

50% collective stick should equal zero pitch in all modes. Everything above 50% on the stick should be equal in all modes. That way you don't get a pitch change when you switch modes. You should be hovering with the collective stick about 65% to 75%

Oct 27, 2009, 09:16 PM	#62
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	Yes. I'm a nut at that. Been tinkering non-stop mostly looking for a vibration that showed up. Got it sorted with new blades and a little dressing on the belt I guess, that's all I did today and it's MUCH better. I even took these photos to post and ask if it was adjusted right but didn't since I was already pretty sure it was. Even checked blade tracking. I do the exact same things in the RealFlight it has to be me o: -edit: looking at the 2nd photos I could be a touch off. Tell me it's nothing before I have to go change it (: Attached Thumbnails 40.3 KB · Views: 24 38.5 KB · Views: 12 59.1 KB · Views: 15

Nov 07, 2009, 09:45 PM	#70
arbilab Unemployed Engineer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 3,329	Don't worry mate. Thumb reflexes tend to slam from one extreme to the other during learning, just like moving the servo or tweaking the proportional can. Ya know what helped me with nose-in? A couple lowly 3chs. FORCES you to orient, cuz it will only fly toward or away from the nose and it won't tend to hold tail-in long enough to correct it. I miss aileron, but it FORCES me to deal without it. Flexibility is the key to being able to fly anything. The $20 submicro one is a giggle, cuz if you screw up and hit stuff, nothing bad happens, it bounces off. The $60 micro is the one I fly most--though I've got 2 4chs and 2 6chs and it WILL break if flown into obstacles. Lemme go get the links and edit. Here's the $60 one: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1137659 Here's the $20 one: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1127618 I've got both, and despite our inherent snootery against 3ch, both are fun, teach you stuff, and are incredibly cheap. The $60 one is even blinged, all aluminum plus stock LED light set. Last edited by arbilab; Nov 07, 2009 at 10:04 PM.

Oct 27, 2009, 08:11 PM	#61
jasmine2501 No hoovering! Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 9,015	Do you have everything balanced and is the swash perfectly level?

Oct 27, 2009, 09:35 PM	#63
jasmine2501 No hoovering! Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 9,015	If that picture is with the helicopter turned on and throttle in the center, then it looks ok except, it maybe looks like the flybar is bent. Hard to tell from pictures.

Oct 27, 2009, 09:38 PM	#64
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	Thanks. I checked the flybar the same way as blade tracking, running from the side. They "fall" into the same "image". Totally possible though. I'm starting to not believe the guy I bought it from had "two flights on it". Especially since the motor wore out and I had to replace it with a temp /=

Oct 28, 2009, 06:57 PM	#65
jasmine2501 No hoovering! Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 9,015	Hard to say then - maybe you're chasing it around in circles, but it could be the helicopter. Only way to find out would be have someone else fly it.

Oct 28, 2009, 07:10 PM	#66
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	I was just working my way to the computer. I know I'm going to totally obliterate the helicopter next time for saying it but: I was pretty happy with my "flying" tonight. I went out tonight even though it's a little windy and found a combination basketball, 8 halfs, & tennis, two, courts "hidden" behind a school, I was making a U-turn. Placed the Helicopter in the middle of whatever that circle on the basketball court is called and managed to keep it inside rather well. I wasn't as conservative as before and got it up to eye level a couple times, mostly just about 12" up. "Crashed" a few times, still following Radd's, and punished myself. Went into the swirl too a few times but was also able to get it most of the time. I'm very stoked right now.

Oct 30, 2009, 10:00 PM	#67
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	Got some more hovering done. Dinged the blades up once when it came at me on my 2nd attempt. Cut them down, balanced them and did some more, I may get up a video soon to show my progress. I was kinda staying low anyway and I found the "Basic Flying" article at XHeli.com I'm doing that. I kinda think Radds unleased me too early.

Nov 03, 2009, 07:53 PM	#68
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	Still working on my hovering. Finally decided to trim it tonight. I hope rudder trim is ok cause that's the only way I could fine tune it. Moving the servo went from too much one way to to much the other. Found that since I'm no longer giving it constant right stick I kind of lost some fine motor skills and had to re-orientate myself ): Still working on getting that video up /=

Nov 07, 2009, 09:21 PM	#69
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	My heli got a bad vibration the other day. It's been having bouts of vibration that seem to almost randomly come and go ): I found a slight crack in the motor mount area, common for this heli, that chewed the main gear. I made the frame brace I've been meaning too. I also installed the new blade 400 main gear but didn't install the motor since I was hoping the new motor would've arrived Thursday and I have a new pinion to go on it. So I went back to the sim today, I've been doing a number of actual flights a day. I really wanted to work on orientation with no chance of damage. I could not fly on the sim! Couldn't keep it in a steady hover, couldn't keep altitude. Very frustrating. I slowed it down trying to figure it out and still couldn't. I'm chasing the helicopter everywhere. I'm wondering if I've somehow picked up bad habits that are showing on the sim even though I can hover steady tail-in, and move controlled in any direction. I tried a side hover and found I dumb thumbed it a couple times and had to place it down part of the reason for wanting to practice on the sim.

Nov 21, 2009, 07:24 PM	#71
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	Here's my current progress: I've nailed tail-in hovering. Changed Sim to HeliSim and played with it's settings to mimic mine. Showed me somethings I'm going to have to change namely idle-up. The heli is going to drop fast if I ever hit it. I'm taking a step back and working on my to-the-side hovering. Having a little trouble but I'm getting better.

Nov 21, 2009, 09:11 PM	#72
arbilab Unemployed Engineer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 3,329	Helisim is a good program. Maybe not graphically elegant, but gets the physics mostly right. Helisim may interpret idleup as throttle hold. Idleup doesn't make a heli drop, THR HLD does.

Nov 21, 2009, 09:19 PM	#73
MiseryQ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Norfolk, Va Posts: 1,778	It recognizes the sticks a lot faster that's for sure. I'm hitting idle up and it's correct. My pitch curve in normal is not linear. Using a set-up I DL'd. It's hovering around mid stick, give me more "resolution", but when idle up is hit the pitch drops and BOOM! To scared to try it on the heli, it may be wrong and take off (: I should program something more linear in normal, I already have some candidates that work in HeliSim.

Nov 21, 2009, 11:02 PM	#74
arbilab Unemployed Engineer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 3,329	Can't say what HeliSim does. Downloaded it, incompatible with my online system. All I've got is Realflite 4.5 on a standalone system.