toad
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I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
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Post by toad on Oct 20, 2011 13:22:09 GMT
My Mini x gyro arrived yesterday and I had my first few flights last night. The engineering on this little thing is great. As Mike says elsewhere these things are amazing value for the money. Now, I have a confession to make. This is my second one. The first arrived last Friday courtesy of a £12.99 ebay auction and was DOA, a duff battery or charging circuit in the 'copter I think. I decided to keep it for spares. It's easily worth that outlay for spare blades, motors, transmitter etc and not really worth sending back. This one however, I ordered from the same guy Mike got his from and it's perfect. Well worth the extra few quid. My first impression of the Mini x was OMG it's tiny. The pics do a good job of conveying it's size but it's not until you have it in your hand that you really realise just how small and light it it. How does it fly... Bear in mind I'm a complete novice, so in my hands, like a cross between a brick and a graceful dragonfly. This is my first rc heli and so I'm still at the hovering and gentle movement stage with bouts of opps it's gonna hit the sofa dump the throttle and let her crash in between. The thing is, after several light crashes and a heavy one into the bedside alarm clock the worst I've done is dislodge the little link on the rotor head. A 10 second fix to re attach. Now as a veteran of about 6 x 5-6 minute flights I spend more time flying that crashing and have even managed to land on my hand a few times. Ian was right this is seriously relaxing. I have had a crap morning here at work and after 3 flights at lunchtime I can honestly say I feel totally de stressed In conclusion this heli is a cracking little thing. Great fun. Flys smoothly and since I've gone from total noob to being able to hover and do basic gentle manouvers and some reasonably smooth landings all in the space of about 30-40 flying minutes flying time I'd say it's pretty good for the novice flyer. Seems robust too. Give it a go guys. At £20 for this much fun, you can't go wrong. Ian (toad not rabbit)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2011 22:02:47 GMT
Fantastic, Ian. You're bound to crash at first but little things are great to learn on and are extremely stable. I thoroughly enjoyed getting the perfect lift off and landing on my old Bladez helis.
Great fun to buzz around on a coaxial since there's less to worry about, particularly in their stability. The big 'ins slip and slide all over the place!!
Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 20, 2011 22:29:07 GMT
I bought one of the £13.99 ones in blue.. it arrived today... totally dead! I removed the canopy and noticed the insulation on the battery wires had been damaged and the damned thing was shorting out.... fixed the prob, charged her and went to fly it....
It went TOTALLY mad! The flybar was VERY stiff (it should, literally, flop about) and it seems the securing pin was bent as (no matter what I tried) I couldn't loosen it off.
My first one (the yellow one) is absolutely FANTASTIC and you can land it on a sixpence but this one just veers off and smashes into a wall.. pretty disappointing and it will be going back.
What I also noticed... the £19.99 one (the good one) came with a spare pair of blades, a couple of rotor blades and a USB charger... all this one came with was helicopter plus transmitter so maybe not always a good idea going for the "cheapest on ebay" type things.
Ian (Toad) is your flybar nice and loose? (the thing with the brass weights on each end) it should be VERY floppy... also make sure the blades aren't too tight, they should be able to pivot.... I find it a lot more responsive with loose blades.
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 21, 2011 12:51:03 GMT
My flybar on the second mini x is nice and loose.In fact it's a great little thing all round. The cheap one seems perfect except theres no way to get a charge into the battery. The remote on the cheap one was slightly smoother so I'm using that and my 20 quid one only came with spare tail rotors not spare blades. That's why i decided to keep the cheap one. TBH it's worth more than12.99 as spares so I' not too bothered. They won't be getting any feedback though... My cheapo one's controller is badged up as thumbs up so I am wondering if they sold off returns cheap to my ebay seller. @ Ian. I'm really getting the hang of it now. I still have the odd crash but only when I am being too adventurous I may be brave enough to post a vid in a few days lol.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 24, 2011 8:56:35 GMT
Still awaiting a vid Ian Makes me become too careful when I know the camera is rolling and I usually end up crashing it You really do have to be loose and free flowing man.... do a few laps of the room and maybe a few press ups to limber up before taking the bird into the air.... Your stress will show in flight so be sure to prepare yourself before going on camera.... also wear appropriate clothing (or not), you have to be totally relaxed at the stick.. tight clothing will restrict your true ability to express yourself in flight. Personally, I fly in the nude (apart from a yellow Kevlar codpiece, safety boots and a safety hat) I find it a very liberating / exhilarating experience (especially outdoors).... I would love to be "fully" nude at the stick but health and safety is paramount.... I wear the minimum (safety hat, codpiece and boots) but advise a beginner to always wear full safety gear... (Safety hat, kevlar trousers, safety boots, kevlar jacket, safety goggles, kevlar gauntlets, ear defenders etc.) It is always a good idea to follow the safety guidelines... it may "seem" OTT but, remember, your health and safety comes first.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 11:15:43 GMT
Is that what you meant when you said the V2 hit you in the head? A precision shot? Ian
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 24, 2011 12:48:15 GMT
Mike, I'm pretty sure you're joking re the safety hat, codpiece and boots. The thought of that is too weird to be true I was all set to do a video at work today except I forgot the camera LOL. I was over at my parents yesterday with my 6 yo Daughter and she had great fun placing drinks mats all round the room and telling me which one to land on, or should that be attempt to land on although I got very close on a couple of occasions. My Dad was so impressed with the Mini X that he got the video camera out so I've already been filmed. I didn't crash while on film either. Maybe I'll bag that one off him and upload it to youtube.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 14:58:37 GMT
It's a real discipline to land in an exact spot, Ian. I work at that a lot with all the helis I have. They all behave differently as well with the 'blowback' from the ground.
I have been gradually shrinking the target and moving all of my helis much slower so that I get maximum control and I can see exactly which way they drift and compensate.
That drift aspect is more important with single blade helis and not so hard on a coaxial which is the most stable.
As it gets nearer the floor, the heli seems to be sitting on a mushroom of air and wants to dip to the side naturally and that's the thing to watch for and try to hold on the joystick.
I can get the MCX2 down so slowly now, it's lifelike. It's a different story with the single blades. When down at the ground, they all have a tendency to go flying off to the left so you hold them with the aileron. The real problem comes when you have a heli that isn't quite trimmed and goes forwards or backwards while shooting off left. Then you have to hold it with the right joystick at an angle which is a lot harder!!
Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 24, 2011 17:07:52 GMT
Try that whilst wearing a kevlar codpiece
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 24, 2011 18:21:43 GMT
I'm getting the hang of the landings now Ian. I can land on a mouse mat in the middle of the floor most attempts now although I do have to faff around a bit before I get over the pad. It's also more of a dump the throttle from a few inches high sort of landing rather than a realistic sort of thing. I'm sure part of that is due to the tiny size of the Mini X though as low level hovering seems impossible with it. I am also getting the hang of both swooping about and gentle circling. It's good fun this heli lark and is a great stress buster. You should get a Mini X Ian, if only for novelty of the tiny size. You can fly it almost anywhere as it's so small. That's not to say it's lacking in fun. It seems quite nippy to me and there are lot's of people that say it's their favourite helicopter out of their collection. Mike... I'm starting to worry about you
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2011 18:46:56 GMT
The small ones are more affected by ground effect than the bigger ones, Ian. My 120 SR will hold, but my MSR will shoot off sideways.
The coaxials (Mine are MCX2's) tend to balance on top of an 'airbag' and as soon as you get down, they kind of wander but not very far, if you see what I mean.
If you want a good landing, try this:
Hover at about 6 feet or so above where you're going to land. Slowly let the throttle down and control the forward/backward as it comes down. Let it drop slowly and at about one to two inches from the floor, cut the power fairly quickly but not straight off. It uses the downward momentum that you've created and stops it wandering, plus the power cut means that it can't.
If you time that right, you will get a model landing.
Actually, that's really good training for the single blade landing as well.
The downwards momentum helps reduce the wandering as it gets close to the floor. The air kind of compresses under it, but as soon as you cut it's power down, the bubble of air beneath collapses so the heli lands properly.
Another good habit to try and form is to take off smooth and slow, using the control to stop it wandering. (Very slight, quick moves) Again, good training for single blades.
Try this:
Power up slowly, so the heli doesn't twitch left or right (another good habit for big ones - slowly or they will rattle) Get it to enough revs that it's just getting light on its skids, then watch really carefully for sideways/left or right turning. Control it and give the throttle a little kick. It should jump into the air smoothly then and then throttle up slowly, so the heli rises really smoothly. Again - the focus is on absolute control.
If you ever move on, those control skills will see you right on the next one.
Hovering a bigger single blade (even with its stabilisation) is a balancing act and you feel as though it's sitting on a broom handle and could fall any way. You just keep watching and make mini adjustments. At first, you tend to over compensate, but you soon start to learn to use tiny adjustments.
That's what I mean by holding it in the air. The bigger single blades won't just sit there like a coaxial.
I've been working on the 120 sr for nearly two weeks now and I can just hold it in a room. It's been outside and I feel safer with more space, but I need to be sure that it's totally under control before I let loose outside. I'm getting there, but it's a patience thing and practise.
The funny thing is that I now realise that the basic holding skills are still there, even with these little ones. If you can get them smooth as silk, you're on the way to better and faster helis!!
The MCX2 was the real starter for me with controlling it properly and now I'm able to fling it around the room with abandon.
The nice thing about having a few is that they all have different flight characteristics to learn and different speeds, but they all keep you occupied if you aim at 100% control and not rely on luck to land, take off and turn. Also, you can fly one and give it a rest to cool down while you fly another.
So far, I've had no major crashes, touch wood. That's where the self-control and patience comes in.
The fastest heli I have is the 120 sr. If I let that go, it will go off like a rocket. I did it once outside and couldn't believe how far it travelled in such a short time.
I must admit, it is getting me closer to a big one in a safer way. I'm starting to get confidence with it now, but still very careful.
The little ones are great value and no big deal if you crash them which is fantastic really. It allows you to fly with no pressure.
Ian
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 25, 2011 11:13:50 GMT
Some good advice there Ian. I will try to take it all on board. I'm definately getting into this. I'd not be surprised if I get a small 2.4GHz outdoor heli in the spring
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2011 11:53:21 GMT
Blade MCX2? or at the moment, pretty cheap, the MCX which is the one Mike is getting. Not sure how long they'll be around because Blade are starting to change their roundup. The MCX series are fantastic indoors and I even fly mine on quite evenings when there's no wind. You'd be amazed how far they go up into the sky if you're brave enough. Great fun and believe me, you won't be thinking of work if you get one up there!!!!! Ian
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 27, 2011 22:02:58 GMT
Here's a vid of the Mini X gyro. Not a great flight as it was very draughty in the spare office which caused an interesting landing as the batteries started to die. I did manage a few close to the camera runs though as I'm way better with the Mini X than the Apache AH64 at the moment
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 30, 2011 21:00:59 GMT
Another vid of the MiniX.... it goes out of shot at the end, it's waltzing on the floor
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Oct 30, 2011 22:15:21 GMT
Another vid of the MiniX.... it goes out of shot at the end, it's waltzing on the floor I watched the last part of the flight in the window reflection. Great little helicopter the Mini X So much Fun. We need persuade Ian to get one
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toad
Been here a while!
I am the Super Toad, the Original Toad, the Whole Toad and nothing BUT the toad.... don't forget it!
Posts: 1,223
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Post by toad on Nov 1, 2011 12:37:59 GMT
Mike, Did you get another Mini X? It's just I spotted your feedback from the same seller I got my cheap DOA one from. I was wondering if I just got a duff one as a lot of people seems to be saying Great Helicopter etc in their feedback. The Mini X is so good I might a spare, although the Syma 107g looks nice and small and gets good reviews too. Thankfully, this hobby is so much cheaper than headphones... So far anyway Ian
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