Originally Posted by HeliGriff

There's a difference between "flying a controlled loop manuever" and "jerking the stick back in a strong wind until it flopped over". know what I mean?

I'm not saying that it could not be done, but I'd have to see it. It may have been mod'ed.. who knows?

I never claimed it would be pretty

Originally Posted by PHMX

So true. In my humble opinion that slow motion video only really shows a big stall that turns into a somewhat accidental loop.

If he would have had a little bit less luck, it would have tipped over to the other side and there would have been no loop at all.

I know he did all this on purpose and the heli did turn over backwards, but at what price?

It's losing altitude like there's no tomorrow and the loop doesn't look very smooth going to me.

I generally love it when people search for the limits of their helis like this though, so I consider it a job well done still.

I agree. If I wanted to do a "stunt" and I didn't care about breaking a $200 heli (knowing that I would probably crash the heli to bits) then sure, go for it!

I just don't want people, especially Newbies, thinking that you can do loops on your 200 class FP heli. A year's worth of parts are expensive enough without factoring stunts into the equation.

Also, everyone should realize that loops, rolls, inverted flight, etcetera is WHY things like: Idle-up mode, symetrical blades, "V-shape" throttle curves & pitch curves were created in the first place. It was done because you can't do those manuevers without these elements; at least not very well, nor three times in a row.

Happy Flying!

I have done a loop with the V200D01. It was extremely ugly and the heli missed hitting the ground by a few feet. I don't think it even looked like a loop. You will really need a lot of height to do it.

I think realistically, the most advanced aerobatics you can do are stall turns and perhaps even 540 stall turns. I find the pirouettes very ugly and unstable.

Originally Posted by zadaw

I have done a loop with the V200D01. It was extremely ugly and the heli missed hitting the ground by a few feet. I don't think it even looked like a loop. You will really need a lot of height to do it.

I think realistically, the most advanced aerobatics you can do are stall turns and perhaps even 540 stall turns. I find the pirouettes very ugly and unstable.

sounds like a stall that fell backwards

Originally Posted by HeliGriff

sounds like a stall that fell backwards

Here's a full size Eurocopter doing a back flip, which is about what the V200 does when attempting a loop.

Eurocopter Tiger tail slip and back flip at Paris Air Show 2009 (0 min 46 sec)

Originally Posted by dsobbe

Here's a full size Eurocopter doing a back flip, which is about what the V200 does when attempting a loop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQC278X0b-8

Cool!

Originally Posted by zadaw

I think realistically, the most advanced aerobatics you can do are stall turns and perhaps even 540 stall turns. I find the pirouettes very ugly and unstable.

I've also found it very hard to find a Sens setting that will yield clean pirouettes in both directions. I've tried symetrical blades, varying the C.G. and other changes, but cannot get an acceptable setting. Then, I ran across some promo videos for the V200D02 and its clone called the Contra. In these videos the helicopter does several stable pirouettes. The V200D02 has a 2440 Rx. The V200D01 has a 2437 Rx. I wonder if the difference in the pirouette stability is in the Rx.
Anyone that has both of these helicopters care to comment on this?

Originally Posted by dsobbe

I've also found it very hard to find a Sens setting that will yield clean pirouettes in both directions. I've tried symetrical blades, varying the C.G. and other changes, but cannot get an acceptable setting. Then, I ran across some promo videos for the V200D02 and its clone called the Contra. In these videos the helicopter does several stable pirouettes. The V200D02 has a 2440 Rx. The V200D01 has a 2437 Rx. I wonder if the difference in the pirouette stability is in the Rx.
Anyone that has both of these helicopters care to comment on this?

There's a guy named Contra, that has a Contra, who visits my blog. I'll check with him.

I found that after I moved the battery forward, I could do pirouettes without the tail dropping. However, they are tiny circles as opposed to seeing a Trex spin. Nature of the heli, maybe.

Originally Posted by HeliGriff

I found that after I moved the battery forward, I could do pirouettes without the tail dropping. However, they are tiny circles as opposed to seeing a Trex spin. Nature of the heli, maybe.

Same here. If I really play with the Sens settings I can get it pivot to the left hands free, but have to hold a slight amount of right and back stick to pivot right. Or, play with the Ele Sens so I end up using a small amount of forward stick to get good left pivots and a small amount of back stick to get good right pivots. That seems to work best.
You may be right. It's probably the nature of the beast. Besides, it wouldn't be any fun if flew like a slot car.

Originally Posted by dsobbe

Here's a full size Eurocopter doing a back flip, which is about what the V200 does when attempting a loop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQC278X0b-8

That looks pretty good to me. Id be satisfied with pulling that off.

Gotta share..

My Collective 450 is down for repair. So, I got out the V200D01 last night. Wow! It was like flying a Co-axial in comparison to the 450. With the mods we've done and its FBL 3G, it was like flying a helium ballon.

We all get caught up on the little things sometimes, not realizing how incredibly well the V200D01 does fly! ..Keepin' mine!

happy flying!

Y'know my problem is that I like to fly close to the ground and make like the heli is chasing or looking for something. I still like the look of the v200 very much, especially when it's zooming by against the backdrop of green grass.

But at a foot or so off the ground there's not much room for error. Thankfully I've gotten more skillfull at crashing too so that it lands on the skids as far as possible and chopping the throttle at the right time. No gears or any parts changed for the last couple of weeks or so despite at least as many light crashes and topple overs. Heli getting stronger as it's run in?

Best part are these skills are transferable when learning to fly CP. Flew 4 packs on my V200 today without incident but had a hard landing after recovering from disorientation on my CP breaking one of the skids but sparing all the head components. Still managed to fly it to exhaust the battery and end the flying today with satisfaction Next level - try not to break landing gear.

Have a good week everyone!

Originally Posted by nese

Y'know my problem is that I like to fly close to the ground and make like the heli is chasing or looking for something. I still like the look of the v200 very much, especially when it's zooming by against the backdrop of green grass.

But at a foot or so off the ground there's not much room for error. Thankfully I've gotten more skillfull at crashing too so that it lands on the skids as far as possible and chopping the throttle at the right time. No gears or any parts changed for the last couple of weeks or so despite at least as many light crashes and topple overs. Heli getting stronger as it's run in?

Best part are these skills are transferable when learning to fly CP. Flew 4 packs on my V200 today without incident but had a hard landing after recovering from disorientation on my CP breaking one of the skids but sparing all the head components. Still managed to fly it to exhaust the battery and end the flying today with satisfaction Next level - try not to break landing gear.

Have a good week everyone!

Same here. I do a lot of low flying. I find it much easier on a CP heli because the "pitch" keeps the heli aloft, not the throttle, and pitch is much easier to maintain. Still, I've learned to do my low-flying with a nice hard-surface nearby. I NEVER land in the grass with my V200 or my CP 450 unless there is an emergency and I have to set it down. Example, a large mosquito drilling a hole in my forehead.

Here's another manuever you'll like, Nese! Take the V200 out in a circle path about the height that you'd see a real helicopter coming in for a landing. As the heli is circling, pick a random point to turn the heli nose-in and bring it in for a landing. So cool! My video glasses arrived yesterday!! As soon as I get good weather and time, occurring on the same day, I'll record some high-nose-in-approaches. They're my favorite!

Happy Flying!

That's a good point about CP. I've been having fun messing with the throttle and pitch curves so much I'm not sure what the "proper" settings are supposed to be. Even tried fixing the pitch throughout the throttle curve to simulate a 4F180... And it's actually quite similar. Surprise, surprise. lol.

After all this I understand better why the FPs need the cambered blades to match the torque and rpm. Makes me appreciate the V200 even more especially since simple sport flying with the V200 is quite achievable and comparable with what I do with my CP.

Staying tuned to catching your cool landing vids on your new cam glasses

Originally Posted by nese

Y'know my problem is that I like to fly close to the ground and make like the heli is chasing or looking for something

Do you fly as low as this guy

Insane Helicopter Pilot (3 min 35 sec)

I tend to fly circuits quite low at the BB stadium as the upper level is generally swarming with foam and plastic fixed wing aircraft. I remember one of the fixed wing guys tried a low pass once under my Walkera Lama3 hehe, the rotor wash flipped him sideways as he passed. It looked pretty funny at the time.

The main thing I like about my V200D02 with tail mod, is that I can push it harder, and if I crashed it there's generally no damage beyond another crack in the canopy. Its been a great heli with only the bucking issue being its only fault for me.

Mick