Originally Posted by North_of_49

Just fancy pantsy words for turned off/ turned on

Kinda like "wax on, wax off" Grasshopper

Originally Posted by PaulChurchley

Here is a vote for Mr Salt's e-book.

I have made many of the mods he suggests...

- added heatshrink to tail motor housing.
- balanced blades. I didn't think would make much difference but it smoothed out mine a lot.
- epoxied motor to support as it was flexing quite a bit.
- added varios mixes to help with its little characteristics. I found some of them worthwile while others I did not like and have now removed.
- lubbed the feathering O-rings

An excellent intro to the 120SR or MSR/X and to fixed pitch helis in general.

Paul, glad you got something of value out of the book. Balancing blades should be a no brainer. That is the first thing I do. Some Guys use zip ties around the motor and main mast to keep the flex down. Click on my user name to access my blog. I have a blade balancing tutorial and also some more mods not mentioned in Mr. Salts ebook that you may want to consider. Thanks to the many members who contributed to these mods.

Mike.

Originally Posted by SR120 fan

Just had a play in the garden and she started to get away from me so I have called it a day. I thought I had done a bit of damage but it was just a couple of links that have gone astray and I have enough of them in my parts bin.

You forget how nippy she is when you have been playing with a coaxial for any period of time. Such a great heli.

At least you didn't break anything? Yup she zips around pretty quick, compared to the mCX2. Have to be easy on the sticks at first.

You need a sim to stay freshened up when the weather is British!
Phoenix is a lot of fun.

BD

Just adjusted the blade tracking. I was surprised by how much they were out. Coloured each tip with white board marker then gently heated each blade with a hairdryer (don't use a heatgun!) and twisted to reduce the angle of attack of the high blade and twisted the other was to increase the angle on the low blade.

This not only smoothed things out even more but it changed the sound the blades made when spinning to more of a clean "whoosh". Much better

Originally Posted by BattleDude

At least you didn't break anything? Yup she zips around pretty quick, compared to the mCX2. Have to be easy on the sticks at first.

You need a sim to stay freshened up when the weather is British!
Phoenix is a lot of fun.

BD

Hey BD

Phoenix is definitely on the xmas list. I am actually quite looking forward to having a go with some planes as I have never flown any in my life, but of course helis will be taking preference

Originally Posted by PaulChurchley

Just adjusted the blade tracking. I was surprised by how much they were out. Coloured each tip with white board marker then gently heated each blade with a hairdryer (don't use a heatgun!) and twisted to reduce the angle of attack of the high blade and twisted the other was to increase the angle on the low blade.

This not only smoothed things out even more but it changed the sound the blades made when spinning to more of a clean "whoosh". Much better

gj Paul. A variation of your method has worked well for me:

1. Trim about 4mm off the end of a pair of new blades.
2. Mate the blades up and tape them tightly together with electrical tape.
3. Carefully round off the sharp corners off so the ends line up perfectly.
4. Heat the taped set with a hairdryer until the blades conform in pitch - take it easy, a little heat goes a long way.
5. Separate the blades, screw them into a spare blade grip and balance them (see Mike's tutorial).

You'll end up with a perfectly tracked and balanced set.

Originally Posted by SR120 fan

Hey BD

Phoenix is definitely on the xmas list. I am actually quite looking forward to having a go with some planes as I have never flown any in my life, but of course helis will be taking preference

Phoenix is a blast; I even learned how to take off and land a tilt-rotor!

A word of caution - be careful not to overdo it. I found out the hard way that too much time flying the computer can be hazardous to your health! After a week or so of flying the T-28 I wound up with a severe case of vertigo brought on by the bright light and REM's.

For a few days I couldn't even drive, and the dizzies didn't go away for a couple of weeks. Now I limit my Phoenix sessions to no more than 30 minutes a day.

btw the Phoenix SR 120 was something of a disappointment for me; it's too easy. The physics is lacking in that there is no pendulum effect or tbe (whew, way to stay on topic pilgrim - nice save! ).

Originally Posted by 1Pilgrim

btw the Phoenix SR 120 was something of a disappointment for me; it's too easy. The physics is lacking in that there is no pendulum effect or tbe (whew, way to stay on topic pilgrim - nice save! ).

I use Clearview and the 120 is about the same, flies nothing like the real one, but I use it more to practice with the flight controls than to help me fly my 120, can't seem to get a handle on the nose in stuff, which is strange as I'm a long time R/C car/ truck enthusiast and didn't have a problem with them, but the consequences are far less dire when you're on the ground I suppose

Originally Posted by DaveNH

I use Clearview and the 120 is about the same, flies nothing like the real one, but I use it more to practice with the flight controls than to help me fly my 120, can't seem to get a handle on the nose in stuff, which is strange as I'm a long time R/C car/ truck enthusiast and didn't have a problem with them, but the consequences are far less dire when you're on the ground I suppose

Same as in real life, that "Z" axis changes everything!

Originally Posted by 1Pilgrim

Phoenix is a blast; I even learned how to take off and land a tilt-rotor!

A word of caution - be careful not to overdo it. I found out the hard way that too much time flying the computer can be hazardous to your health! After a week or so of flying the T-28 I wound up with a severe case of vertigo brought on by the bright light and REM's.

For a few days I couldn't even drive, and the dizzies didn't go away for a couple of weeks. Now I limit my Phoenix sessions to no more than 30 minutes a day.

btw the Phoenix SR 120 was something of a disappointment for me; it's too easy. The physics is lacking in that there is no pendulum effect or tbe (whew, way to stay on topic pilgrim - nice save! ).

I have found that the 120 SR on Phoenix is too easy also. Not as difficult as the real thing. Good luck with the vertigo. My wife has it and it deals her fits. It was gone for several months but came back two days ago and there is no way she can drive at the moment. Can't lay flat on her back without the room spinning. Hope yours goes away and stays gone.

Originally Posted by 1Pilgrim

Phoenix is a blast; I even learned how to take off and land a tilt-rotor!

A word of caution - be careful not to overdo it. I found out the hard way that too much time flying the computer can be hazardous to your health! After a week or so of flying the T-28 I wound up with a severe case of vertigo brought on by the bright light and REM's.

For a few days I couldn't even drive, and the dizzies didn't go away for a couple of weeks. Now I limit my Phoenix sessions to no more than 30 minutes a day.

btw the Phoenix SR 120 was something of a disappointment for me; it's too easy. The physics is lacking in that there is no pendulum effect or tbe (whew, way to stay on topic pilgrim - nice save! ).

Yeah nice save

I'm not that concerned about it not being too realistic relative to each model, just as long as it looks pretty good in general as the aim is to build up the muscle memory so flying is automatic, without worrying about the expense of trashing everything.

I would never go near a CP or plane or without getting to grips first on a sim. Looking forward to it all reaqdy

Originally Posted by SR120 fan

Yeah nice save

I'm not that concerned about it not being too realistic relative to each model, just as long as it looks pretty good in general as the aim is to build up the muscle memory so flying is automatic, without worrying about the expense of trashing everything.

I would never go near a CP or plane or without getting to grips first on a sim. Looking forward to it all reaqdy

I bought a used T-28 a few weeks ago after "flying" it on the sim for several hours. I almost lost the real plane on about my 6th solo flight.

You know the story - inexperienced pilot alone at the field, unfamiliar plane, overcast day, lost orientation - next thing I knew it was a barely visible dark spot a half mile downwind beyond a tree line. I could only see which way it was headed by maneuvering the little blob around the sky barely saving it from one disaster after another for what seemed like half an hour.

All's well that ends well. After a few too many close calls I was able to get it to quarter into the wind and head my way, eventually making a shaky landing within the magic 10 minute battery limitation. It would have been an impossible save without the sim time.

I only wish the simulated 120 offered a more realistic flight experience; it'd save me a lot of money in canopies and blades!

Pilgrim, Sir, Most excellent save on the T-28 That's the way to stay with it

Mike.

Originally Posted by Chap1012

Pilgrim, Sir, Most excellent save on the T-28 That's the way to stay with it

Mike.

Yep definitely a great recovery. My first single rotor went so far I couldn't tell if it was my heli or a bird as I lost it for a few seconds behind a tree and then either the battery went or the range went and she just slowly went down. never to be found again on her maiden voyage. A very sad time.

Then my syma got caught in a head on wind and no matter how much I tried to get her back she couldn't cope with the wind and went backwards over a mainroad and then down out of sight. as well. Except she turned up two weeks later in a ladies back yard and she still flies like new. I only ever use her indoors now.

I can't wait to get going on Phoenix. Is there a tutorial on it going off topic slightly?

I've recently bought the Phoenix simulator but have for several years been using RealFlight.

My experience with Phoenix is good for fixed wing aircraft but poor for helis but I only spent a short time with the heli simulation. Based on that RealFlight is much more suitable for helis
The variations in flying venues is fun and interesting though. Graphics are mostly good except for their renditions of water and water landings.

I bought Phoenix because it has the models I've built - the S.E.5a, Super Cub, T-28, and a few others in addition to some that I may want in the future. It mimics the actual flying behaviour fairly well. Helicopters is another matter. I have the 120, an mCP-x, Blade 400 3D, an Align 450 and a few more. RealFlight does a much better job of mimicking actual behaviour of helis from what I've experienced so far.
I do like it for playing with the planes I have when weather doesn't permit outside flying. It also lets me do things that would be risky with the real thing without fear of expensive repairs and downtime.