Originally Posted by Neoneo

is there any advantage to having a longer tail?

Well if you put a powerful brushless motor, the tail may not be powerful enough to counteract the main motor as easily, a so called tail-blowout. So either add a stronger tail motor (heavier, you need to modify the thing holding it, weight of the esc if it's bl, etc...) or simply extend the tail boom and the same motor will work great.
On the mini cp the gyros give more or less power to the tail to keep it pointing in the same direction, so if you extended the boom, the motor doesn't work as hard to keep it pointing and doesn't need to go full power in some maneuvers like pitch pumps. And i guess when you use the rudder you have extra power available. Maybe even better battery life, but I doubt it'd be noticeable.
I shortened it a bit since then though, cause it was just too ugly, and I didn't need all that extra tail power since my main motor isn't one of those really powerful ones.

Hi, my first post in the Mini CP thread. I being following you guys for along time and learnt a lot. Thanks. I recently got my Mini CP with Devo8S after few months with 4ch V911.
First thing I did is to follow TomZ's recommanded mod list. I have a question regarding the RX saver mod. I used old credit card and attached it with scotch tape to the lower side of the landing gears. It sit very firmly and I can hardly move the canopy.
My question is, in a case of a crash isn't it going to make too much pressure on the canopy rod holder and break it?

Originally Posted by eagle75

Hi, my first post in the Mini CP thread. I being following you guys for along time and learnt a lot. Thanks. I recently got my Mini CP with Devo8S after few months with 4ch V911.
First thing I did is to follow TomZ's recommanded mod list. I have a question regarding the RX saver mod. I used old credit card and attached it with scotch tape to the lower side of the landing gears. It sit very firmly and I can hardly move the canopy.
My question is, in a case of a crash isn't it going to make too much pressure on the canopy rod holder and break it?

I guess it depends how hard the crash is but I've got an old bit of carbon from a cracked boom holding it on, it is quite rigid and holds it well... After many crashes the canopy rods are still 100%. Even if they did break, it is a lot cheaper to replace them thn the rx.

Originally Posted by weeb

I guess it depends how hard the crash is but I've got an old bit of carbon from a cracked boom holding it on, it is quite rigid and holds it well... After many crashes the canopy rods are still 100%. Even if they did break, it is a lot cheaper to replace them thn the rx.

My skids come off in a hard crash with the Tx mod

after a crash today, my mini cp just spins like crazy upon take off. i put a new tail on it and the same thing happens. any ideas. and the plug on the top right of the receiver, the plug that plugs in to the motor, that was out a little bit so i pushed it back on.

also I'm getting a second mini cp. this one brushless. i want to get another bird. a bigger on. one capable of doing 3d. i need something bigger that i can just cruise in. the mini cp is too small to see far away when i get disoriented. so i want something bigger, that can do 3d when the time is right, and can survive a crash. o, and use a devo 7 Tx. i was going to get the mx400 but i keep asking myself, y? any suggestions

Originally Posted by zadaw

Travel Adj is not the same as servo travel. For a start, the pitch function is provided by all 3 cyclic servos at the same time. Otherwise, you will limit the elevator and aileron functions to 60% as well. You can definitely use greater than 100% for elev and aileron in order to get a faster flip rate.

The idea is to try to enter and exit a flip at the same position. In practice it is very hard to do. Even when you can do it, you are likely to cut through a lot of air. But still you should to get as close to it as possible by timing your pitch and cyclic controls. Where possible, I prefer to do flips from the side rather than from a tail-in position as it is easier to time them. But this is quite daunting for beginners.

Thanks again Zadaw for the recommendation to use stock pitch settings from the manual. Eight batteries today - no crashes, 92 front flips total (I know - boring, but I need the practice for muscle memory). 43 flips on one Genius CP 350mAh battery alone - I'm actually impressed with the stock brushed motor.

I'm finally in love with my Mini CP...

Does anyone have experience in buying from http://www.hobbyone.com.hk, that you can share?

Thanks,
Sven

Buy from Bob at www.helircstore.com. Awesome customer service, low prices and fast shipping.

Originally Posted by itsmillertime

Buy from Bob at www.helircstore.com. Awesome customer service, low prices and fast shipping.

I can vouch for that. I'm callin Bob in the morning. Again! lol

Originally Posted by weeb

I guess it depends how hard the crash is but I've got an old bit of carbon from a cracked boom holding it on, it is quite rigid and holds it well... After many crashes the canopy rods are still 100%. Even if they did break, it is a lot cheaper to replace them thn the rx.

Originally Posted by Neoneo

My skids come off in a hard crash with the Tx mod

Thanks, I will reinforce the canopy rods with CF.
Regarding the Tx saver mod, should the plastic extend all the way to the apex of the canopy or should I cut it shorter? Currently it go all the way to the apex and maybe that is why it feels almost impossible to remove the canopy and break the rods.
When I think about it further, I think that the canopy moving on crush is a good thing since it take out some of the crash energy. So, the mod is just to make sure the canopy doesn't bump the receiver on it way off. Did I understand it correctly?

Originally Posted by eagle75

Thanks, I will reinforce the canopy rods with CF.
Regarding the Tx saver mod, should the plastic extend all the way to the apex of the canopy or should I cut it shorter? Currently it go all the way to the apex and maybe that is why it feels almost impossible to remove the canopy and break the rods.
When I think about it further, I think that the canopy moving on crush is a good thing since it take out some of the crash energy. So, the mod is just to make sure the canopy doesn't bump the receiver on it way off. Did I understand it correctly?

That's my understanding. The rod on mine goes about 2/3 in to the canopy so there is still a bit of play when it gets smashed on the nose.

Originally Posted by Neoneo

I can vouch for that. I'm callin Bob in the morning. Again! lol

Thanks for your advice.

Sven

Originally Posted by eagle75

Thanks, I will reinforce the canopy rods with CF.

No, not reinforce, replace.

When the stock Canopy Rod Holders break off from the stock Servo Holder, simply Hot Glue a 40 mm length of 1 mm CF Rod to the back-top of the Servo Holder. This "Servo Holder Saver Mod" helps prevent from requiring to purchase a new Servo Holder every time its Canopy Rod Holder breaks. Hot Glue is used instead of CA, because if the Servo Holder needs to be removed for other repairs, the Hot Glue can be removed, whereas with CA it would be much more difficult to remove. Once this Servo Holder Saver Mod is incorporated, future repairs can easily and cheaply be done as follows:

1) If the new 40 mm length of 1mm CF Rod comes off the Servo Holder, just re-HotGlue it on to the back-top of the Servo Holder.

2) If the new 40 mm length of 1 mm CF Rod breaks (mine has never broken yet), replace it with a new 40 mm length 1 mm CF Rod - much cheaper and easier to do than replacing the Servo Holder

Regarding the Tx saver mod, should the plastic extend all the way to the apex of the canopy or should I cut it shorter?

Nothing wrong with having the plastic Canopy brace extend almost all the way to the apex of the Canopy.

Currently it go all the way to the apex and maybe that is why it feels almost impossible to remove the canopy and break the rods.

First remove the rear of the Canopy completely away from the rods, then pull the Canopy forward away from the Landing Skid.

When I think about it further, I think that the canopy moving on crush is a good thing since it take out some of the crash energy.

If given a choice, most people would rather have the Canopy crush instead of the RX. The Canopy is VERY durable and flexible - I'm still using my original Canopy with the Canopy Saver Mod and it has been through many high speed, high impact front end collisions.

So, the mod is just to make sure the canopy doesn't bump the receiver on it way off. Did I understand it correctly?

Sort of. The main purpose of the RX Saver Mod is to help prevent the Canopy from coming off, hoping that the Canopy will be able to absorb the crash impact and prevent the impact force from reaching the RX. But yes, the RX Saver Mod will also help prevent the Canopy from bumping into the RX when the operator removes the Canopy.

...

Thanks guys for the answers. I just took it outside for 3 packs and got 2 soft crashes. The mod seems to work perfectly. The canopy was just a little bit up, nothing like before the mod. A small snap and it is back again.
i812, I will use your kind advice and wait for the holder to break and then replace it with CF rod. Much appreciated.

I have a fairly silly question, especially when considering the context of "preventive maintenance" for a bird as cheap as a Mini CP.

How does one know if the feathering shaft needs to be replaced? I've had several rotor down impacts in grass with no apparent ill effects on the servos, head, blade grips, or main shaft. However, what is the easiest means of testing that the feathering shaft hasn't been knocked out of round? Is it as simple as moving the aileron/elevator very slowly and looking for any "weirdness" in how the blades change pitch?

She does have this nasty tendency to pitch up in a level position if I come off forward elevator hard in FFF, though that may be due to using "LINE" for aileron/elevator. The tendency was reduced when I enabled EXP on the pitch. But maybe this is a sign of a feathering shaft needing to be replaced?