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Blade CX problems:
I like everyone else have the BCX's tail drifting during flight. I have made adjustments to the motor speed and can get, at full charge, the tail to remain stable. This only lasts about 30seconds-1min. I have to keep moving the trim and then eventualy (maybe 3 mins into the flight) remain on the tail stick to keep it streight. Also, it seems as if my BCX can NOT remain in stable hover without constant correction.
For the people that are showing videos of one handed flight, did you have to trim the heli much for this? I have moved the servor links a few times to correct for major drifting...but i still cant seem to get it into a perfect hover without correction. any help here? |
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Greg,
The tail on mine does exactly the same thing yours does. From the comments on this forum, it would seem that this problem does not affect all of the Blade CX's out there (probably very few). Mine does not have this problem when I fly with the canopy off, so I am wondering whether or not it is a heat related/motor efficiency issue. I am going to purchase the motor heat sink to see if this has any effect. When I first start to fly, the upper rotor starts turning first, then the lower and I have to hold slight left rudder to maintain a heading. After a minute or two, the trim starts to shift, and after about five minutes, I am holding about 1/2 right rudder stick, just to maintain heading. If I land, bring the rotors to a stop, then slowly open the throttle again, the lower rotor starts first, long before the upper one (just the reverse of when one starts with a cooled off helicopter and a fresh battery pack). Again, it does not do this if I fly with the front canopy off. I have adjusted the potentiometer almost to the end of its travel (being very careful to use the corrects size screwdriver and to be very gentle with it). This could be function of heat, as mentioned above, battery voltage, or both-I am not sure. Perhaps Jason, or one of the others from EFlite will have some advice. |
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I hope we figure out the problem...
I also orders the heat sink along with a ton of, what i call, learn to fly parts. I have a BladeCP sitting collecting dust waiting for its maiden flight once i can fly the BCX perfectly, but with these issues, i find that it will never take off. Do the people from eflite monitor these forums? |
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What your experiencing is probably pretty normal for a non-heading hold gyro. The gyro will drift with temperature changes as well as vibration. Some have taken the double sided tape off of the receiver and placed thicker double sided tape like what's used on a Futaba gyro. As the motors wear in and the brushes start to form to the commutator it should slowly get a little better. Since no two motors are exactly the same there will always be a little drift between the two motors. Be sure that there is no vibration as that will effect the gyro and cause it to drift even more. I fly larger helis like the Corona ( fixed pitch) and and Eolo Pro, collective pitch and the gyros on them are rock solid. For the amount of money you pay for the smaller coaxial helis I guess you can't expect them to hold rock solid but it would be nice.
Gary |
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Quote:
If motors tended to vary in efficeiency or power as they warmed up, I'd expect reports of both left drift and right depending on which rotor the better motor winded up driving. Without the front canopy the controller is right in the rotor was and probably gets a LOT of airflow. With it on, that whole nose area is pretty enclosed with no exit path to allow air coming in around the rotor shaft opening to flow around the controller. What little gets their is probably increasingly hot from the motors. I've had the same nose left drift issue others are reporting. By the middle of a battery pack,I run out of right trim and have to use right stick. With the canopy removed I just flew a battery pack in 3 roughly equal flights. By the end, I could still trim the nose neutral. Without the constant tendancy to left drift, I notced the nose would hold stable for a little while then randomly pick up a left or right drift. I always had enough trim to take it out though and the drifts were never nearly as big as I'd get with the canopy on even after maxing out right trim part way through a pack. It looks like cutting a hole in the clear part of the canopy over the controller and another in the bottom near the front of the nose would allow a decent air flow over the controller from the rotor wash. I'm probably going to give that a try. Worst case, the front body is sold separately for $11.39 although I'd suspect I'd have to ask my LHS to get it for me on their next parts order and wait or pay shipping to an online vendor. BTW, the CX seemed a little bit more skittish and the controls seemed to have a little more authority with the canopy removed. Might be the weight reduction and air turbulence over the body from rotor wash. Or just me... On an ancient spring model rocket scale I have, the canopy weighed 7 grams. Does anybody have accurate weights for the body and battery? I got 46 grams for the battery but don't trust the scale. If that's right, the PolyQuest 1100 mAH at 53 grams and with the canopy removed would leave the weight at stock and run times could get near 20 minutes. It even looks like it might have the right balance chage connector. It's also a little wider and would have to probably be mounted under the body whcih could affect flight characteristics. http://www.allerc.com/product_info.p...oducts_id=1249 Mike |
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I will try with the front off tonight... if i can only get out of work and get in some flight time.... *sigh*
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Quote:
I'm thinking of just cutting the tinted window out of the front cowl to add some venting. Glen |
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Does it not bother anyone that there seems to be bugs with this heli? We all bitch about software that is not complete and/or buggy... why not something we pay just as much for ...or more?!?!?
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Well, having flown other micro heli's I know that each has its problems, the stability and ease of flight offered by the BCX is a great thing, What problems it has are small compared to how great it is, and will have a fix in short order I'm sure. name me a micro heli with no issues and Ill show you a unicorn
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thats not the point really... some problems = a false ad. If it said.. tail rotor wanders due to over heating...blah blah.. i would be less upset.
that being said.... I got home and flew an entire pack with the nose off.. everything seemed fine... the wandering tail was non-existant |
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Unfortunately, I think that no matter how much testing the manufacturer does, some problems just don't come to light until a product is released for public sale and it gets into the hands of novices. It seems to me that the problems with the BCX are not severe. Definitely much less so than with a lot of other similar products that have been out there for a lot longer.
Considering the quality of the product, its capability, ease of use, and price point, IMHO the BCX is in a class by itself. Part of what I enjoy about this hobby is the problem solving aspect, and being able to network with others to come up with repair solutions and see our ideas get to the manufacturer. It's kind of cool to see the design changes and upgrades that come to pass as a result of discussions that take place, like the ones here in this forum. As far as truth in advertising, how many helis do you think Walkera would sell if they advertised, "Buying our products is a crap shoot. Sometimes they fly, sometimes they don't. We mostly sell junk copies of other companies decent helicopters"? |
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When you get ready to start changing the venting of the canopy take a look at the fit of the bottom of the canopy to the fuse, at the bottom of the canopy. A friend and I removed much of the bottom of the canopy as it had very little venting capacity. This with improved airflow from the top of the canopy will have more effect than just adding the heat sink. Venting and heat sink is the best as the lower the motor temp the better.
regards, chuck |
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BCX drift problem
Hi guys!
I am a TOTAL NOVICE to flying helicopters, having been an RC power plane and RC sailplane pilot for years, and also a FULL SCALE pilot ( I own and fly a 1946 Ercoupe) but even have a few big airplanes under my belt also, including a 1929 Ford Trimotor and a Boeing B-17 ( all of 30 minutes in the left seat of a B-17), 30 minutes in the right seat of the Trimotor. Okay, my BCX also was drifting, but to the right. I am just learning to fly helicopters, but returned it to the LHS where my young friend Shannon who is an expert RC copter pilot made a couple slight adjusments, one was to the top rotor which was slightly out of alignment, and then he proceeded to hover it dead steady! He explained that it was taking just a bit of trim ( yaw) to hold it staright. I will try the canopy off , and see what happens. I will say I find this small helicopter a lot of fun to learn on. I didn't expect perfection, but just something I could learn on and not break the bank. My friend Shannon does great work on heli's , and if you're ever in Ft wayne Indiana, stop by Phil's Hobby Shop and see him! Shannon is also working on a heli for a friend of mine, who like me is learning to fly heli's, and he is one of the most revered full scale P-51 pilots in the world, John Dilley of Ft Wayne Indiana, builder of LOU IV, DOUBLE TROUBLE, CUTTERS CAPERS and the now defunct VENDETTA- half Mustang- half Lear jet. Unofficially VENDETTA was the fastest piston-engined propellor driven airplane ever designed and built. It easily could have topped 600+ MPH in straight and level flight, as it made one speed pass one day at 80% manifold pressure and throttle at 541 MPH!!! It ended it's life in tragedy at Reno a few years back, when Gary Levitz who renamed it "Miss Ashley II" fatally crashed in it. Years ago, I used to help John Dilley work on his first P-51. Anyway, BCX is a LOT OF FUN!!! Blue skies! Ed |
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Last edited by Ercoupe Ed; Dec 04, 2005 at 12:32 AM.
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I am not condemning the helicopter, or the manufacturer. I like E-Flite and their products. I am not making a major complaint either-this issue is essentially one of annoyance.
I am simply reporting my findings in my particular machine in the hope that others whose machines demonstrate the same performance will compare notes and that perhaps we can find a solution. I am also hopeful that some E-Flite folks will chime in here. I do not think that all BCX's have as severe a trim change issue as mine does (and mine has a major trim change). The machine can be held steady and flown, but with about 1/2 right rudder stick deflection. Again, this is not a show stopper, but it is annoying. My BCP and my Honeybee CP2 both demonstrate minor rudder trim changes over the course of a flight but nothing that the trim tab on the transmitter will not take care of. I don't think that this is an instance of the machine being in the hands of a novice as I have been flying helicopters since 1976 (American Revolution) and, at the time, we did not even use gyros... My Venom Outback does not exhibit this tendency at all, nor does my Sabre (which has the much condemned GWS PHA-01 installed in it. |
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