PokeSephiroth
Member
Oh NO!!! 
So sorry to hear about that...
So sorry to hear about that...
RC Helicopters...and Other RC Related Stuff!
- Thread starter PokeSephiroth
- Start date
bassetman
Member
Well at least I get to build a new one. I like the build almost as much as the flying. It was a ten year old glider so it had a long life. And it was cool to watch the hawk attack it, I just could not dodge him. I have the plans stil so I just need a wood kit and covering. The electronics survived and only the servo gears took a hit.
PokeSephiroth
Member
Oh nice! It's great that you enjoy assembling them as much as flying them. That's what a true hobbyist is all about, in my opinion. LOL. I'm surprised that glider of yours lasted so long. That's really cool, and the fact that you got to witness the hawk do that to your model must be really cool to watch. I just wished that you were able to get it on video. haha
PokeSephiroth
Member
Sweet! Those cameras seem to be getting more and more popular lately.
Bassetman, I hope you can forgive me for this... If you get a gopro on it, I will be hoping for another dinosaur (http://xkcd.com/1211/) attack! I mean, how epic would it be if you caught the hawk coming in for the kill?
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/Qz0IC0V_cMk" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/Qz0IC0V_cMk" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
PokeSephiroth
Member
So, I got this heli as a gift for christmas (yaaaaay!) It's the "Extreme Stunt Heli" I kid you not. That is the name of it. I did some google searching and it turns out that it's just a rebranding of the Syma F3 helis (everything looks similar, the heli, transmitter, and even the li-po batteries/charger that come with it). When I took out the manual, it even says "Manufactured by Syma (logo) a name you can trust." The main body itself even has the "syma" logo imprinted on it! =P
Anywho, out of the box, I already noticed some "iffy" things about this heli.
1. When I try to fly it, it tends to lean towards the left (bank towards the left), I tried trimming it, but i have to trim it all the way to the right, in order for it to marginally stop it from banking, but it still does that... I can't figure out what might be doing that. It's still "flyable" but it just kinda bothers me that it would do that when I'm trying to just have it "hover".
2. The skids on the heli are a bit bent out of shape, not too much, but I figure any minute differences might be the difference between "omg this thing flies great!" to "...the heck is this?!"
3. The gear is wobbly when it spins, but only slightly. Kinda hard to tell, but it's definitely not straight... I'm guessing that this might be why the heli tends to bank to the left, although, I'm not all too sure, since I'm no where near being a pro at this... Eh...
Here's a picture of the heli, the gear is shown, and the only way I can show you guys what I meant by the gear being wobbly is by recording a video of it spinning. I can do that, per request... but yeah, I'd definitely like to solve this left banking issue. Thanks!
Anywho, out of the box, I already noticed some "iffy" things about this heli.
1. When I try to fly it, it tends to lean towards the left (bank towards the left), I tried trimming it, but i have to trim it all the way to the right, in order for it to marginally stop it from banking, but it still does that... I can't figure out what might be doing that. It's still "flyable" but it just kinda bothers me that it would do that when I'm trying to just have it "hover".
2. The skids on the heli are a bit bent out of shape, not too much, but I figure any minute differences might be the difference between "omg this thing flies great!" to "...the heck is this?!"
3. The gear is wobbly when it spins, but only slightly. Kinda hard to tell, but it's definitely not straight... I'm guessing that this might be why the heli tends to bank to the left, although, I'm not all too sure, since I'm no where near being a pro at this... Eh...
Here's a picture of the heli, the gear is shown, and the only way I can show you guys what I meant by the gear being wobbly is by recording a video of it spinning. I can do that, per request... but yeah, I'd definitely like to solve this left banking issue.
Thanks!
pbmax
Active Member
There are a few things you can check.
Don't worry about bent skids - that wouldn't cause this problem.
Are the main rotors straight? If the tail rotor has to spin more than the heli is designed for you'll get a bank to the left due to increased force of the tail blades. This can be caused by poorly aligned main rotor blades. A tight mesh between the pinion and spur gears can cause an over-torque situation which will also bump up tail speed, thus pushing everything left. Lubing the rotor and motor shafts might help here.
Make sure all control surfaces are moving freely, but not too lose. If they're too loose you can sometimes tighten them up a little with needle-nose over the ball joints. It doesn't hurt to lube these a little if they're too tight. Make sure you're getting full servo movement as well. It may be necessary to adjust control arm length if possible (screwing one of the ball cup swash connections out or in) to change the "center" position for roll.
How is the center of gravity? There may not be much you can do about this, but it's something to be aware of. A bad CG will cause drift.
Don't worry about bent skids - that wouldn't cause this problem.
Are the main rotors straight? If the tail rotor has to spin more than the heli is designed for you'll get a bank to the left due to increased force of the tail blades. This can be caused by poorly aligned main rotor blades. A tight mesh between the pinion and spur gears can cause an over-torque situation which will also bump up tail speed, thus pushing everything left. Lubing the rotor and motor shafts might help here.
Make sure all control surfaces are moving freely, but not too lose. If they're too loose you can sometimes tighten them up a little with needle-nose over the ball joints. It doesn't hurt to lube these a little if they're too tight. Make sure you're getting full servo movement as well. It may be necessary to adjust control arm length if possible (screwing one of the ball cup swash connections out or in) to change the "center" position for roll.
How is the center of gravity? There may not be much you can do about this, but it's something to be aware of. A bad CG will cause drift.
bronzefighter
Member
I was pleasently surprised when the crappy RC heli I bought for $20 from Toys R Us had a fully adjustable center of gravity. I can whip that thing all through the house now that I have it dialed inpbmax said:
bronzefighter
Member
.pbmax said:What kind of mechanism do they have for that?bronzefighter said:I was pleasently surprised when the crappy RC heli I bought for $20 from Toys R Us had a fully adjustable center of gravity. I can whip that thing all through the house now that I have it dialed in
It was a slider attached to the tailboom. Attached to the slider was a small weight. Maybe not the most efficient way to go about it, but it certainly worked!
Flyfalcons
New Member
See if you can adjust the swashplate linkages so the swashplate sits more level with the transmitter trims centered.
PokeSephiroth
Member
Thanks for the replies everyone! I will check out my heli the moment I get home (still on the ferry from work).
PokeSephiroth
Member
Alright, here's a video of the heli. It was so hard to film so I just tried explaining it to the best of my abilities. lol.
I read your suggestions but there were just so many jargons, that I didn't know what was what. LOL...
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/ZbxWNzcMsmk" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
I read your suggestions but there were just so many jargons, that I didn't know what was what. LOL...
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/ZbxWNzcMsmk" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
PokeSephiroth
Member
Thanks pbmax! Yeah, I kinda figured that trying to troubleshoot a heli over the net would be very difficult =P perhaps I will take you up on that offer, the next time I'm in the area. I will let you know ahead of time, for sure!