Anybody fly R/C helicopters? | FerrariChat

Anybody fly R/C helicopters?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Scotty, Jan 9, 2006.

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  1. Scotty

    Scotty F1 Veteran
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    Oct 31, 2003
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    I have been an on again/off again R/C enthusiast for years. For the last couple have beed doing the slow flyer/park flyer thing. For Christmas, my parents got me a small R/C helicopter from Radio Shack. Has contra-rotating dual main rotors--very stable, goes up/down, kinda flies slightly foward in the direction it points, and has a tail rotor to control spin. Very fun, but limited.

    I had the Jones a couple of years ago to get a real R/C 'copter, but read horror stories about very difficult learning curves, etc. Now several companies are offering contra-rotating dual main rotor machines that seem to offer full control (forward/back, up/down, etc.) but are very beginner approachable. One example is here:

    http://www.hobby-lobby.com/cocolama.htm

    and here

    http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200407390.

    This would be used mostly inside in the dark Northwest months. Any thoughts?
     
  2. BWS550

    BWS550 Wants to be a mod

    Apr 1, 2002
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    SCOTTY

    PETER S IS YOUR MAN FOR THIS ONE

    BRUCE
     
  3. Buzz48317

    Buzz48317 F1 Rookie

    Dec 5, 2005
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    At 2 bills for the setup it seems like a reasonable investment. Should give you a leg up to the full sized choppers if you want to go that route. Good luck. :)
     
  4. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #4 PeterS, Jan 9, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I fly the Hirobo House Fly daily! It has foam blades, so there is no fear of injuring yourself. This chopper is a blast! I have tall ceilings in my living room, so I can get pretty crazy with it in the house! The counter-rotating blades makes the ship easy to fly. ANYBODY can fly it like a pro in ten minutes! If you hit something, all you break is the blades. I've crashed it into the wall at 20+' in the air a couple of times and the blades have been the olny thing that has broken. I even tied a 'beggin strip' to the bottom and messed with my buddy's black Lab in the livingroom (I should have taken pics of that!). It really pissed off the dog!

    Check my company out at www.performancedevices.com.
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  5. Scotty

    Scotty F1 Veteran
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    Peter--apparently there is new version (being sold by Megatech) called the Horsefly. Bigger, slightly longer, longer flight time, etc. Any experience with that? Also, any thoughts on the Co-Co Lama?

    I would imagine that there would be a relative explosion of kits of this type of the next year...
     
  6. Steve R

    Steve R F1 Rookie
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    Sep 15, 2004
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    Peter,

    I bought that same rig about 2 months ago. At first it seemed pretty stable and would hover fairly well...now it seems a bit squirrely in that it won't quite hover in the same place, it requires constant correction and tends to wander. I keep trying to trim it and it constantly goes out of trim. I spend more time attempting to trim it to hover & be stable. How is yours? Have you had this problem?
     
  7. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Aug 6, 2003
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    Hey Pete, is that the Hirobo XRB? I Googled House Fly and that came up as a Megatech product.

    I know nothing about these things, but I sure want one (although I'll prob wait a few years until my kid/s will appreciate it more).
     
  8. Scotty

    Scotty F1 Veteran
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  9. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

    Jan 31, 2005
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    I fly too.

    R50 / R70.

    [​IMG]

    Ask any questions you want. I have been at this for almost 3-4 years now.

    Recently installed that MD500 body that you see onto the R70 chassis. Flies
    great , very scale.

    The R50 is for the wilder stuff.

    cheers.
     
  10. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

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    #10 pistole, Jan 10, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  11. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Replace the blades. Very small nicks can really throw things out of whack. Also, buy foam-safe CA to glue the blades back together that break at the section they are screwed in at.
     
  12. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
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    I believe it is that model. Go out and buy one and a 10-pack of both A & B blades (you will need them). You will have a blast with this chopper!
     
  13. Artvonne

    Artvonne F1 Veteran

    Oct 29, 2004
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    I had always been facinated with choppers, probably as long or longer than cars, but like everything else the models were so expensive and so little was known about them. Some years back I bought a used Concept 30 some guy attacked himself with trying to fly it in his garage. Guess it scared the dickens out of him, heard he had some good cuts on his chest from the blades. Anyway, I went through it, etc, tuned on it, bought all kinds of tools, and tried flying it. Well, real helis try to self distruct and model one are the same as real, only faster. I never crashed it, but I got close a few times in low hover. The motor wore out and lost power to the point it wouldnt get off the ground anymore. Now it just sits in the shed, waiting to once again attempt its demise, or someone in its way. I wouldnt want anyone within 25 feet of that thing, but it sure was cool to watch it hover and hear it wapping the air.

    Do you know a model chopper crossed the english channel?

    That an altitude over 15,000 feet had been reached in a model chopper?

    I dont know what the record is now, but some years ago one had reached something like 80 mph.

    Also, virtually all the real chopper manufacturers use scale models to test different designs of rotor blade airfoils, and rotor head control systems. Really a lot of cool technology. But I will never again fly in a real one.
     
  14. Artvonne

    Artvonne F1 Veteran

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    I know nothing about these contra-rotating blade models you guys are discussing, but if the blades are controlled through a cyclic, you should check all of your push pull rods and ball joints for any looseness. Any slop anywhere and you will start having trouble. The gyroscopic and G forces even on a small helicopter can be phenomenol. Those little joints and bearings get quite a workout. It seems to me, without digging out some books, one guy recomended replacing all ball joints every 5 or 10 hours to prevent a failure. Failure = total destruction on a gas model.
     
  15. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

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    hi Paul,

    Like you too. When younger , could not afford them.

    Now that I'm older , I can buy them but don't have much time to fly.

    the Concept is a very good entry level chopper , probably with a .32
    OS engine. The reason why it bogged and died in a hover is probably
    because of overheating (eg , too lean mixture and/or too aggressive
    pitch angle not matching throttle opening).

    All rc helis (esp the engine powered ones) must be treated with alot
    of respect. They can (and have) killed people before. Do a search
    with the terms "ron kyle helicopter".

    With CF blades turning at 2000 rpm , the tip-velocities are phenomenal.

    As for electric , get a mid sized one (eg , Align T-Rex) and avoid the
    micro helis. The smaller they are , the more difficult they are to hover
    and fly.

    If you are really interested , get a simulator first (eg , RealFlight , FMS
    whatever) , hook it up to your computer with your transmitter and
    you'll be hovering in hours.

    cheers.
     
  16. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

    Jan 31, 2005
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    counter rotating rotor head setups are more for indoor fun.

    they're not manouverable like their swashplate cousins.
     
  17. Artvonne

    Artvonne F1 Veteran

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    No, it wasnt overheating, it was just plain shot. It was used when I got it and I ran a lot of fuel through it, it just slowly powered down. Those little .32's dont really last all that long. I was going to put a .40 in it but I havnt played with it now in 4 or 5 years.

    The one I always thought would be fun to have, or watch, would be a Chinook, something with like .60 size rotors would be really cool. Be a mess if it crashed, but still cool. I seen a picture of a real one they pulled barges with up in Alaska. The seats and controls had to be angled back like some 30 degrees, as the chopper was rolled over far forward to pull the barges across the ice. Looked almost vertical, nose down, pilot and co looking forward through the roof glass.
     
  18. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

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    #18 pistole, Jan 10, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  19. pistole

    pistole Formula Junior

    Jan 31, 2005
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    This is also a dual rotor setup ... looks damn strange but it flies :-

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Cerbera LM

    Cerbera LM Rookie

    Feb 21, 2004
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  21. nathandarby67

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    #21 nathandarby67, Oct 28, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I just had to get me one of these. I have been flying RC planes for years, but this is my first helicopter. I went with the E-Flite Blade mCX. It has a rotor span of 7.5 inches and weighs just under an ounce. It is a twin rotor couter-rotating design, so does not need a tail rotor and is very forgiving for the beginner. Picked it up at my LHS for just $119 as a complete ready-to-fly kit with helicopter, transmitter, li-po battery, and charger. They even throw in the AA batteries for the transmitter and charger! This is a true 4 channel helicopter with up/down, left/right, front/back, and yaw.

    So far I have put a few flights on it tonight, and it is very easy to get it hovering smoothly, even for a beginner. It is going to take me a little practice to get my brain-to-thumbs circuit wired for helicopter flight. I keep reacting to it like I would an airplane, and it is a good bit different. Old habits are harder to unlearn than new ones are to learn! But I have managed some fairly precise spot landings, and managed to fly circles around the chandelier. I have banged and crashed it counless times already, and it seems like it is very tough due to the fact that there is just not enough mass or momentum to enable it to break anything.

    The dogs are VERY interested in it but not quite sure what to make of it. I think they think it is a mobile flying treat or something. They mostly just try to eat it when it flys by.

    I took a few pics with some props that I thought FChat guys could relate to to demonstrate the scale of this thing. It really is a neatly engineered package. The tiny size of the motors and especially the servos is astounding.
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  22. teak360

    teak360 F1 World Champ

    Nov 3, 2003
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    Lucky guy, a Ferrari and a helicopter!
    These new little RC helicopters are amazing, aren't they?
     
  23. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
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    Mine should arrive tomorrow. I'm not too big into RC but I purchased the PhoenixRC sim program awhile ago and this will be the first attempt at the real thing. I demoed one it it's great.
     
  24. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    LMAO at your dog! His expressions are great!
     
  25. Tom_C

    Tom_C Karting

    Feb 20, 2008
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    I bought a Blade CP a couple years ago, as I wanted the experience of a 'real' collective pitch heli. Got to the point where I could hover, and fly straight away from me, and back it up back to me, but whenever I tried to turn sideways, or fly "nose in" I ALWAYS crashed. When an RC plane loses power, it turns into a glider. When an RC heli loses power, it turns into a brick... :) It nickeled and dimed me to death, and I couldn't seem to get any better at it. After throwing away about $500 in parts and repairs over a 4 month period, the last straw came when the Electronic Servo Controller broke, just out of the blue. It's still in the box sitting, waiting for the moment I decide to get masochistic again... :)
     

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