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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2011 2:33:39 GMT
dynamite fishing. i dont suggest it, but if they arnt biting... Wow, I didn't know you have "terrorist" or army training. You better duck as the environmental groups will be coming after you. They probably brew their own "moonshine" too and drive like the Dukes of Hazzard !
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XTRProf
Fully Modded
Pssst ! Got any spare capacitors ?
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Post by XTRProf on Sept 13, 2011 3:18:08 GMT
Wow, I didn't know you have "terrorist" or army training. You better duck as the environmental groups will be coming after you. They probably brew their own "moonshine" too and drive like the Dukes of Hazzard ! Oh, yeah, Moonshine ................. Actually, not bad at all on discovery. Nice blues there!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2011 18:55:00 GMT
Stick with it man.... READ the manual (etc)..... as soon as you master the controls (properly) you will be on cloud nine Mike. Actually Mike, the Blade MCX2 is far easier to control than the others that I have. I found that the Bladez series are great if you manage to get a good one (Which I have) but terrible if you have a poor one. (Which I also have) The problem is that they are cheap (although well built) and not really manufactured to a high standard so it's a bit hit and miss with the control. I have one which flies nice and straight and you can get a reasonable hover out of it, another that tends to change it's left right orientation with the battery charge and another that just spins!! You continually have to hold it with the left rudder and the trim won't stop it. It's also prone to 'toilet bowl' effect. So when you mentioned the Blade MCX2 I got one to try it and it's a doddle to fly. The Bladez are good for training your space orientation skills to say the least. The MCX2 has far better trimming controls so you can really get a grip of the helicopter in flight. When I first saw it, I thought it looked a bit flimsy in comparison to the Bladez but it is very light and responsive. In fact, the MCX2 is the only one I haven't crashed. I sent a Bladez into a swimming pool while I was away. That was spectacular - learned a lesson there ...... it sailed off and for some reason, wouldn't respond and the blades just stopped so it became a submarine!! Anyway, I thought your flying guy would put you onto some decent batteries. I'd like to put something massive on it but the weight would be too much. I've got 6 packs of those batteries since they are slightly higher powered, so can charge a load up and keep flying. The other nice thing is that there are other E-Flites that can be flown with the same transmitter so it's pretty cheap to get a replacement or even something else. I'm thinking planes next!!!! A bit of bombing. You're right, the charging from a battery pack is pretty daft at home, but great if you go out with it. Since I live in an open area, I have plenty of room to send it all over the place without too much worry. I know it's indoor, but a quiet day means you can go mad and it goes pretty high. I'm sure you've tried it!!! Lots of room for movement up there so you can get a bit fancy with it whereas indoors, I tend to stay on low power to avoid hitting anything. That's the other thing - running it on low power indoors gives much more control and high power helps outside on the grass. I also like the way that it powers down on low power rather than crashing out. You were right, the MCX2 is a good flyer. Lovely to control, but I've already trained on really comparatively rough copters. I'm thinking of a big 'un for outdoors..... Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 13, 2011 19:28:25 GMT
Hi Ian, You can adjust the swash plates to get more speed but, apparantly, this is only advisable for experienced "pilots" to do My Guru is an absolute eccentric genius and he is currently flying them upside down as he was bored with "conventional flight".... he has swapped the blades over, top to bottom and bottom to top so he can now fly purely in "upside down" mode. I STUPIDLY asked, "couldn't you achieve the same thing by standing on your head and pretending the ceiling was the floor?" but he then reminded me of "gravity" Yes, the trimmers are very good on the MCX2.... I have only had 3 crashes (at the very beginning) and can now fly the MCX2 through a mini obstacle course I set up in the workshop. The Flying Class will be starting one of these weeks, Sam reckons it's just a load of sad bastards who get together to get away from their nagging wives...sounds good to me. Have you seen the MCX2 combat copter? It can disable another helicopter www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/m5/E-Flite/p1779/E-Flite_mCX2_Force_Combat_Heli_FHX_RTF_Mode_2/product_info.html Sam reckons that they are finding them pretty hard to shift (hence the price reductions) because helicopters are pretty much a "sad bastard" type hobby and the likeliehood of these people having "friends" to play with is pretty remote So, what's the point of having a combat helicopter if you don't have a friend with a combat helicopter? Makes sense. Not quite sure what this thing is but watch the vid 1.30 mins in: FULL SCREEN mode is best.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 13, 2011 19:36:38 GMT
Star ship Enterprise anybody?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2011 20:00:32 GMT
It's amazing what people get up to isn't it? I have seen the combat ones. Quite funny really. If I could get a big 'un that could lift 4 - 6 ounces of weight, I'd use them to take my fishing tackle out 300 yards or even 400 yards out to sea and drop it. Bring the 'copter back to land and wait for the big buggers. Saves casting and getting 120 yards if I'm lucky and there's not too much wind. Of course, the other way is to attach it to a floating balloon and let the wind take it out and pull it off when it gets to the right place. Trouble then though is you're putting rubber balloons to sea which isn't good. I guess at the club, you'll get lessons? So you'll be put through setting it up and down on little marked spots etc. Quite funny really. I've sent mine up really high until the engine cuts and then it falls and catches the signal again!! One puff of wind though and it's in France!! Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 13, 2011 21:26:31 GMT
Ten middle aged men, gathered in a room, sporting radio controlled helicopters is the only lesson I'll require
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natospec
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Squeal like a hawg! Yeeehaw!
when in doubt, the simplest and dirtiest fix will do, even if it is twisted wire and tape
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Post by natospec on Sept 14, 2011 4:19:28 GMT
Wow, I didn't know you have "terrorist" or army training. You better duck as the environmental groups will be coming after you. They probably brew their own "moonshine" too and drive like the Dukes of Hazzard ! who told you! i have a guy that brews it for me... and im not cool enough to be a duke
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 7:04:33 GMT
I wouldn't chance it up here Ian It can be a VERY calm day and, all of a sudden, comes along a mighty gust of wind off the Atlantic Ocean.... it would carry the helicopter clean into the hills and I would never see it again No no, It is purely an indoor 'copter for me, I'd have to get something a bit beefier for outdoor sheep chasing.... something like this: She could double up as a hedge trimmer.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 7:06:32 GMT
This thing looks just "plane" dangerous!
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 7:12:34 GMT
I wouldn't want to be onboard this thing, you's be as sick as a parrot
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 7:24:18 GMT
Now that would take my fishing gear out for me!!! Wouldn't you be gutted if you crashed that one? It would come down like a ton of bricks. I'm fortunate in that the weather down here isn't always too bad and on a quiet evening it's ok to fly outside. The only thing is the lights can be seen from quite a long way away believe it or not, so it can spook people. The Blade is actually quite bright up there and the Bladez has two lights on the front so they look like eyes. People hear it up there and then wonder what the hell it is!!! The MCX2 is a doddle to fly and not too much money to worry about if you hit a house or something. If one of those crashed, you'd need insurance and a big loan to get another. There's a guy in USA on You Tube who has done some nice beginner exercises in moving a helicopter around. He cracks me up - quite serious with a high squeaky voice, but the lessons are sound. Once you've been through them, you become pretty good at controlling it. My worst so far has been a bail out at sea. (Or in the swimming pool) The bloody thing stopped responding and just carried on and eventually realised there was no fat controller and so stopped about 40 feet in the air..... right above a swimming pool!! I was hoping for a bit of James Bond action underwater but real life just ain't films!!!! Have you got a multi charger Mike? Useful - put 4 batteries in in one go. I'm thinking of getting just the old MCX BNF since they come out pretty cheap. Not worth crashing an expensive heli. www.rcpitstop.co.uk/e-flite-blade-mcx-24ghz-micro-helicopter---bnf-or-rtf-422-p.aspIan
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 7:36:11 GMT
I managed to get a couple of secondhand "single" charger for under a fiver so now I have three singles powered by a fat PSU. I must ask that bird on the bus to come along for tea one of these days, I'll show her how to operate my camera and get her to make a vid of the bird in flight. I hope this club doesn't do aerial line dancing... men dressed up like this: Flying their helicopters in formation to this:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 12:07:30 GMT
I wouldn't want to be onboard this thing, you's be as sick as a parrot That's just chucking it around. It looks like a bee that's had a missile shot up its rear. Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 18:46:16 GMT
I'm getting some good flying time out of the "Turnigy" batteries, they seem to improve after 3 - 4 charges / discharges.... I had a very decent "10 minutes" air time there Do you "constantly" trim yours Ian? I'm still not sure what I should be doing with the trim buttons. Apart from the "peep peep peep" when I press them, not a lot seems to be happening.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 19:28:03 GMT
I get my heli about 5 feet off the ground and hover, Mike. The most common drift is left/right so the rudder needs to be trimmed until it stays fairly straight.
After that I trim the forward/back - elevator drift. (Not really that necessary on the MCX2 imo)
Then I let rip and off it goes. I think it's the battery weight distribution that you're compensating for. I put one in the MCX2 a bit skew and it was flying in a strange way, so I put a lot of heavy trimming on and it did actually hold it still!!
While I'm flying up high, if I notice a drift to one side, I still adjust the rudder trim. The most common thing is to think it's not doing anything and 'over-trim' and then trim back the other way again. That way, you're constantly trimming.
As the battery starts to lose a bit of power, it often needs another tweak as well.
My 12 batteries arrived today. Many thanks for that. You saved me a fortune. I was getting a bit tired of stopping to charge batteries and then just flying for a few minutes.
You're right, they are very good. A bit longer so you have to be careful how far you push them into the cradle. (I think the E-Flite ones have a vicar's collar to stop this happening) But you do get a good time from them. They seem a bit more robust.
I quite like the controller with the E-Flites. Very easy to use. For beginners, trimming the throttle back is really useful and was the first trim I used when I first flew it in case of problems. That is pretty good. If you trim the throttle as high as it goes, the engine barely cuts out on the off position. It just limits the maximum thrust you can give so it stops you hitting the ceiling if you're indoors.
Outside, I go for high power (indoors low) and trim the throttle up so I can give the heli a kick in case of a puff of wind!!!
Try hovering, Mike and trim the rudder fully left. The heli will keep turning and then you'll see it happening. If you leave it, it gets worse so you then over trim to the right to compensate!!
Try a forward take off and use the rudder to keep it straight on the 0-4 feet area. That's fairly difficult. You need a big room though. That's really where good trimming helps.
It's only a bit dodgy because it's such a light helicopter. I've flown outdoor ones and they are more stable because of their weight.
I tell you, these little helis are worse to control than a real helicopter!!!
Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 14, 2011 20:26:40 GMT
Thanks for that Ian, pretty much what I have been doing but have been wondering why I ALWAYS have to trim each time I fly.... the battery , weight distribution explains it, thanks. If it was a perma fixed battery then it wouldn't need to be trimmed so much during each flight but I suppose even the slightest weight distribution will require re trimming. One thing to watch, don't push the batteries so far in that they foul the gears.... I have a few "miniaviation" 190mAh which are a fair bit longer than the Turnigy batteries (see them here: miniaviation.com/KM_190P.html ) and it's easy to push them too far into the cradle (if you're not wearing specs!)..... they are also pretty decent batteries but £20 for 5.... I think the "Turnigy" is the better "value" battery but the miniaviation will give you a couple minutes more flight time again. The stock E-Flite battery (after 3 to 4 charge / discharge cycles) will give you about 6 minutes flight time, the Turnigy about 9 - 10 minutes and the Miniaviation about 10 - 12 minutes. The Turnigy are pretty close to the E-Flite "physically" but the Miniaviation (being the juciest) are also the longest. Out of the three, my money would go on the Turnigy batteries.... decent fly time, good quality battery and reasonable price. Sam actually mods these things and builds them from the ground up (his own designs) so I will know a LOT more about this after the classes this winter. He recommended the Blade MCX2 as the best "indoor" starter helicopter and I have no reason to question this man as he actually designs his own helicopters from the ground up I'm just worried incase I get hooked, I have always been a bit of an obsessive type character and can see myself getting heavily involved in the helicopter "scene" (sad bastards of the world unite) if my interest "takes off"..... I am deliberately rationing myself to flights as I know this could become extremely addictive and, before I know it, I would soon have a house full of the things The older I get the less the OCD I am becomming but there is still that nagging voice that says I should "master" RC helicopters.... I am doing my best to ignore it, there is a limit to JUST how many things you can take on before your head melts and you find yourself going through (yet another) winter of deep and dark depression. It's no joke being like this and I have a hard time dealing with it (seriously)..... one of the main reasons I self medicate with alcohol at night, it slows the mind down. In one way it gets easier the older you get but in another it becomes harder
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 20:52:51 GMT
Well Mike, you're the only person I've admitted to flying bits of plastic to!! Personally, it really doesn't bother me in the slightest what other people think. It's a fantastic interest; especially if you fly the outdoor types and it harms absolutely no-one. You're far better off keeping interests than being interested in nothing at all. IMO, those are the sad bastards. They sit in an armchair every night watching TV and do bugger all. I stick with the little cheapies 'cos it doesn't bother me if I crash. The idea of crashing a £1,000 model is too stressful but I'm OK with a couple of hundred. That wouldn't worry me too much. It's a bit like flinging an amp out the window. It's far better that you prat around with hedphones/amps/helis/radio etc than get up to what so many sad buggers do. It's a great hobby and I guarantee that the people who you think, think you're sad will stand and gawp at you. In Guernsey, I went for a quiet fly in a field at dusk and before long, eyes were peeping over the hedge. It fascinates people and you are actually flying it too. I wouldn't worry about it. Next, put a micro camera on a heli and film what it sees up there!!! Those batteries are great as well. Size/performance is fine. I got 12 for the MCX2 which is IMO a great little heli to fly. It's one of the tamest I've seen actually. Especially if you trim the throttle down and the power on the remote. It's smooth as a baby's bum. BTW, if you switch to low power, you will also have to trim again!!! Your mate was right. It's a good one to learn with and I'm glad you put me on to it because I really like the Blade series. Especially as the transmitter will power a lot of them so it's basically BNF which is great value for money. Far better imo than the toy Bladex type. I'm thinking of the single blade MSR now. It's a bit nippier. The MSx is like riding a bike with stabilisers. The transmitter is nice though and it works at quite a long distance. My heli looks like a gnat outside when it's further away. It's hilarious. I've also been attacking a dog that gets on my nerves with it!!! Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 15, 2011 8:41:10 GMT
Ian, it's a LOT faster if you adjust the swash plates Tells you how to do it in the manual.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 10:06:18 GMT
You'll be hitting the walls!! That's for stunt flying!!!!!! Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 15, 2011 10:19:25 GMT
I'll try and take a video of this thing
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 15, 2011 11:47:06 GMT
Notr quite sure what I'm doing here but it would appear a video (of sorts) is no uploading to youtube I was getting on quite nicely and then crashed the helicopter into a wall so the video ends there A bit of Floyd playing through the workshop system to make the video a little less erm..... bland.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 12:31:29 GMT
Oh ...... You hit the wall? I thought you might if you sped it up!!! I drive like a pensioner. I'm more inro realism than this 'chucking' it about. Trouble is when it's fast, then you have no time to think your left and right orientaion and before you know it ...... Bam!! You'll be looking foir a BNF now. My worst one was sending it through a tree in the garden. (Another one) There was a gap and I got all cocky and sent it through at fast speed. Unfortunately, it smacked the trunk (High up as well) and I got showered with bits coming down from the tree...... So. back to the internet for another one. That was the Surrey disaster. The Guernsey one was splash down in a swimming pool. That's why IO prefer outside - no walls. (no balls ) Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 15, 2011 13:22:25 GMT
Not sure what happened during the upload but the video has gone very dark Anyhoo, best viewed in full screen 720p
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xerxes
Been here a while!
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Post by xerxes on Sept 15, 2011 16:51:55 GMT
It was all going so well until the end. Remind me never to hitch a ride with you if you get the real thing. I had an RC buggy thing many years ago and I never did get the hang of left and right reversing when switching from going away to to coming towards you. All in all, I think I had more fun building it than I did driving it.
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