Originally Posted by datura

I love this thing! I have crashed SO MANY TIMES with only minor damage, no replaced parts yet. I tried flying my MSRx yesterday and it felt so dull and boring in comparison ;-)

+1 !!!

I tell people now on the MSRX thread that the best way to master the MSRX is to learn to fly the Nano, lol! I can do tight figure 8 circuits indoors with my MSRX now that I've been flying the Nano for a month. The MSRX had always been the wild beast in my collection before that!

Well, I bought a DX6i and a Nano on Saturday. I did a lot of research and this was to be my first non-coaxial helo. Well...even with the 30% DR and 40% Expo, this thing is WAY too much for me to handle indoors. I can hover it, but it picks up speed extremely fast and things get very squirrely if I use the rudder to try a coordinated turn. I can use cyclic to fly it in laps around my living room, provided I dont really use the rudder.

I have tried setting the blade pitch to %85 and just using the throttle (thus emulating a fixed pitch bird) and I have tried setting the Throttle %90 and using blade pitch to move the bird around. No matter what I do, the dang thing is very touchy. The heading hold autopilot is probably great, but it's really frustrating for me.

I am very discouraged and the buyers remorse is pretty strong right now. I will vouch for the things ability to take a lickin'.

Originally Posted by Hornetnz

Guys - I've been considering selling my mcpx for a nano because I've heard of less tail-blowout issues. I'm a total 3d novice, so is there any other reason I should consider switching?

If you were at the last WMAA indoor fly this past Saturday you saw how Tristen and I were throwing the nano's around and having a lot of fun including the occasional crash. With all the crashes I had I only ended up with a bent feathering spindle and it was slightly bent to begin with. With all the flights we flew we might have had a tail blow out a couple times each, and that was towards the end of a pack and being overly agressive with the collective. You should pick one up from Butch and come join the fun.

dawg

It is a huge step up from coaxial.

Try turning the expo down, and giving very slight inputs to the cyclic. 40% is so high that you have to move very far to the "other side" to correct for any movement.

Originally Posted by Sinner6

Well, I bought a DX6i and a Nano on Saturday. I did a lot of research and this was to be my first non-coaxial helo. Well...even with the 30% DR and 40% Expo, this thing is WAY too much for me to handle indoors. I can hover it, but it picks up speed extremely fast and things get very squirrely if I use the rudder to try a coordinated turn. I can use cyclic to fly it in laps around my living room, provided I dont really use the rudder.

I have tried setting the blade pitch to %85 and just using the throttle (thus emulating a fixed pitch bird) and I have tried setting the Throttle %90 and using blade pitch to move the bird around. No matter what I do, the dang thing is very touchy. The heading hold autopilot is probably great, but it's really frustrating for me.

I am very discouraged and the buyers remorse is pretty strong right now. I will vouch for the things ability to take a lickin'.

Don't give up. I haven't flown mine yet (sitting under the tree though!), but I had the exact same experience when I bought my MSRX. STOP FLYING IT INSIDE! Get used to flying it outside first, where you ahve some time to react to it. Then, ask RoboHeli for some practice excercises - he's got some good ones. What helped me the most though was standing in one spot and having the heli face me while flying around in a circle. I got pretty dizzy, but learned the basics of the heli. After that, I learned to do laps around the yard. To this day, i still struggle to fly it inside without crashing it - but I can generally do it pretty well.

IT was a big step up, so you'll have to reset your expectations, but I'll bet if you gvie yourself a little more room to practice, you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Sinner6

Well, I bought a DX6i and a Nano on Saturday. I did a lot of research and this was to be my first non-coaxial helo. Well...even with the 30% DR and 40% Expo, this thing is WAY too much for me to handle indoors. I can hover it, but it picks up speed extremely fast and things get very squirrely if I use the rudder to try a coordinated turn. I can use cyclic to fly it in laps around my living room, provided I dont really use the rudder.

I have tried setting the blade pitch to %85 and just using the throttle (thus emulating a fixed pitch bird) and I have tried setting the Throttle %90 and using blade pitch to move the bird around. No matter what I do, the dang thing is very touchy. The heading hold autopilot is probably great, but it's really frustrating for me.

I am very discouraged and the buyers remorse is pretty strong right now. I will vouch for the things ability to take a lickin'.

I was having the same problems. I asked for help on HH's answer site and was given this setup for my dx6i for a beginner on the nano, mcpx and the 130x.
Thro Norm 0,60,70,80,90 Stunt (only if you do NOT fly inverted) 0,50,60,75,85,100 Hold 10%
Pitch Norm 50,65,75,85,90 Stunt (No inverted) 45,60,75,88,100 Hold 10,10,10,10,10
Rates A&E 30/50, Expo +13/20 , Rud 65/85 no expo

These settings helped tame them down for learning.

A flight SIM is great way to hone your skills... I personally use the Phoenix as it has most of the HH products and plugs right into my DX8. Some will say they can't afford a SIM... but think of all the cash you will save in repairs and the confidence you will keep by not crashing your actual aircraft I taught myself how to fly on the Phoenix over last winter. I maiden-ed my PZ Wildcat in the spring and nailed my very first "real" flight. Flew all summer with zero crashes and successfully maiden-ed more than a dozen other new planes and helis

Originally Posted by RoboHeli

I tell people now on the MSRX thread that the best way to master the MSRX is to learn to fly the Nano, lol! I can do tight figure 8 circuits indoors with my MSRX now that I've been flying the Nano for a month.

That's so true. As your skills improve, what seemed impossible before is now child's play (or at least possible). You don't even know it's happening until you go back and try something you thought was hard before.

The funny (sad?) part is on the MSRX thread, owners generally ignored their skill level and were quick to blame the heli for it's difficulty where as here on the Nano thread, owners generally recognize their skill level and aren't so quick to blame the heli. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Thanks for the advice, I dont want to give up, but after about 100 (no exaggeration) crashes, I am feeling discouraged. The good news is that I refuse to give up (the money is already spent) so I went and got Phoenix. I am using the bullet blades, are they most appropriate for slow speed stuff? Stability is my main goal.

Originally Posted by Sinner6

Thanks for the advice, I dont want to give up, but after about 100 (no exaggeration) crashes, I am feeling discouraged. The good news is that I refuse to give up (the money is already spent) so I went and got Phoenix. I am using the bullet blades, are they most appropriate for slow speed stuff? Stability is my main goal.

for somebody starting out on a cp, it is most often unimaginable, HOW SMALL the stick movements need to be to achieve major movement. Also the fact that contrary to coaxes the heli will NOT selfstabilize (ie stop if you let go of the right stick). Even after years of coaxes before getting into cp (and a considerable amount of FP practice in between) this fact caught me a bit off guard ...

But once you get a feel for that, it becomes a lot easier ...

(also, my main grief still is the bad habit of killing the throttle on coaxes, I just cannot seem to let go of this aquired reflex ... ...) - so there you may have a slight advantage, as you did NOT practice this reaction (which is catastrophic on CPs) for years ...

Anyway, with time you will get there for sure ...

Originally Posted by erdnuckel2

(also, my main grief still is the bad habit of killing the throttle on coaxes, I just cannot seem to let go of this aquired reflex ... ...) - so there you may have a slight advantage, as you did NOT practice this reaction (which is catastrophic on CPs) for years ...

This can't be stressed enough.

Ensure that you are using the heli program in the TX and bind the Nano in computer mode. Then use the "Throttle Hold" switch when you get into trouble, and it doesn't matter what you do with the collective while you're going in. (In addition, I have the pitch set to 50% across the board while in TH.)

I fly with my right index finger on the switch at all times, so I can hit it very quickly. It makes a huge difference.

Originally Posted by erdnuckel2

also, my main grief still is the bad habit of killing the throttle on coaxes, I just cannot seem to let go of this aquired reflex ... ...) - so there you may have a slight advantage, as you did NOT practice this reaction (which is catastrophic on CPs) for years ...

I also have this ingrained habit from flying planes and FP helicopters. Because of that, I doubt I will ever be able to do 3D with a helicopter. When the stick goes up it makes noise, and when it goes down the noise stops.

Originally Posted by Aphro

A flight SIM is great way to hone your skills... I personally use the Phoenix as it has most of the HH products and plugs right into my DX8. Some will say they can't afford a SIM... but think of all the cash you will save in repairs and the confidence you will keep by not crashing your actual aircraft I taught myself how to fly on the Phoenix over last winter. I maiden-ed my PZ Wildcat in the spring and nailed my very first "real" flight. Flew all summer with zero crashes and successfully maiden-ed more than a dozen other new planes and helis

+1000!

I learned to fly fixed-wing many years before there were RC flight-sims. When I decided to teach myself to fly helis a few years ago, I picked up a copy of RF. Along with a top-notch, full-featured transmitter & a quality multi-chemistry charger, a high-quality sim has been one of the best RC purchases I've made in 28 years of flying RC. It has paid for itself a number of times over in only a scant 4 years. Every heli I've owned is still airworthy - with minimal repairs - even my first CP bird.

Guys -

Learn to use TH! It is the only way you will ever master CP flight. Program every rotorcraft you own with TH - even your mCX. Use it, use it, use it, and use it some more. And then repeat. And repeat. Learning to use TH is a mandatory skill for CP pilots. That is - unless you can afford to buy an endless supply of replacement parts. Do every newcomer to rotary flight that you meet who is serious about this hobby a huge favor. Tell them to program TH for their coaxial & learn to use it. (If they're the least bit serious about the hobby, they will be using a DX6i or better, so they will have the capability.)

Learning any new skill requires a positive outlook & a can-do attitude. If you believe that you'll never be able to learn to use TH, you will fulfill your prophecy. You might as well sell all of your CP birds right now & save yourself a lot of money. Flying CP helis well is hard. It takes lots of patience & practice to become a proficient CP pilot. (I know. I'm still working on it, myself!) That is simply the way it is.

Joel

Originally Posted by Sinner6

it picks up speed extremely fast and things get very squirrely if I use the rudder to try a coordinated turn.

No matter what I do, the dang thing is very touchy.

it's really frustrating for me.

I am very discouraged...

It's just doing what CP helicopters do.

If you achieved instant mediocrity, and there was also no head-room to move up from there, then it would not be a very fun challenge, nor would the heli's performance capability be very high, nor your self-satisfaction after achieving mastery.

Hang in there.

Think two wheeler versus tricycle.

I also recommend experimenting with expo and DR on your own. Try 10% on elevator & aileron, 50% rudder (or less but definitely not 10%) and no expo just to see how that feels.

Also +1 on flying it outdoors until you can get it under control enough to play inside