Lazy Susan test bed for heli

[Blackwarrior]

ive made this test bed based on Derek's brilliant idea to test his heli's, so my thanks goes to him...

this is my blade 450 repaired and going through various tests before its maiden flight.

you will see in the vid when i release rudder control it starts to drift, not sure how to fix this, (bare in mind it has a Tarot ZYX gyro) maybe its because there is no blades on....

anyway take a look

thanks Derek for the idea

 

[Derek]

That is definitely a great start!

Here is a picture of what I used:

 

[Derek]

ok, I have no idea why the picture was posted twice, lol

 

[Blackwarrior]

that looks better than the one i used as the bearings will be around the outside and not create as much play.... i havent put the main blades on yet but ill do that later and bolt the susan down to something...lol.. do you think the heli is performing OK on this Derek?

 

[EyeStation]

I did not see any pitch change in this video. The servo arms start lower than 90°and i never saw them move up in unison.
How high did you go on your throttle stick movement?

 

[Blackwarrior]

I did not see any pitch change in this video. The servo arms start lower than 90°and i never saw them move up in unison.
How high did you go on your throttle stick movement?

Hi Dave, I hardly moved the throttle, I'll do it again with more throttle so you can see the pitch change... I'm very hesitant after my last catastrophic crash, scared me a bit to be honest, I know it can't go anywhere with no blades attached, but still scary.... Lol, I'll get over it....

 

[Derek]

I think you have every right to be "hesitant" about it now. It's the same way with me and my helicopters. Fortunately, the only two crashes I've had were with my 450 but both crashes taught me to respect the helicopters and treat them as what they are...."items of potential danger". I'm not trying to scare you further but that's what they are if they aren't respected....and what I mean by "respected" is this: proper setup, proper maintenance, proper flight control. Right now, you are working on proper setup by using the "gyro test stand" that I use. I think that's a great start. Just keep doing what you are doing by testing the helicopter on the test stand.....get familiar with the sound that the helicopter makes, that way when the helicopter makes a difference sound, it will grab your attention and sense of caution. Then you'll either find the solution or you'll come to the forum and ask for help.

 

[Blackwarrior]

I think you have every right to be "hesitant" about it now. It's the same way with me and my helicopters. Fortunately, the only two crashes I've had were with my 450 but both crashes taught me to respect the helicopters and treat them as what they are...."items of potential danger". I'm not trying to scare you further but that's what they are if they aren't respected....and what I mean by "respected" is this: proper setup, proper maintenance, proper flight control. Right now, you are working on proper setup by using the "gyro test stand" that I use. I think that's a great start. Just keep doing what you are doing by testing the helicopter on the test stand.....get familiar with the sound that the helicopter makes, that way when the helicopter makes a difference sound, it will grab your attention and sense of caution. Then you'll either find the solution or you'll come to the forum and ask for help.

some good advice there Derek, and i do take precautions sometimes to the extreme, but so be it.... when it was FB i used to have hours of fun with it on the field but could only ever fly it "tail in"... hopeless i am... lol.. im really hoping this conversion will give me a little more stability..

ive just done another video to try and see the swash and pitch a bit closer as Dave wants to check it too, but ive now noticed the swashplate isnt level anymore, its tipping forward slightly.... you will see it on the vid, its uploading to youtube now....

 

[Derek]

That sounds good, Tony! Just take your time and we'll get it right. Hopefully we can help get your flying with some stability....then you just need to work on your confidence.

 

[Blackwarrior]

That sounds good, Tony! Just take your time and we'll get it right. Hopefully we can help get your flying with some stability....then you just need to work on your confidence.

thanks Derek, nice to know there's help...

 

[murankar]

One thing to keep in mind is that the ZYX and the S version hate vibrations. If you can find a way to dampen the vibrations if the heli freaks out. I am not sure hiw this can be dine safely but one thing is foam padding under the skids. Mount the padding to the lazy susan.

If you do have vibrations i would check the heli with all the blades off. Check the heli by touching the frame and boom in different places to see how bad they are. If you can isolate the bad vibes then you know where to look to trouble shoot the issues.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[Blackwarrior]

One thing to keep in mind is that the ZYX and the S version hate vibrations. If you can find a way to dampen the vibrations if the heli freaks out. I am not sure hiw this can be dine safely but one thing is foam padding under the skids. Mount the padding to the lazy susan.

If you do have vibrations i would check the heli with all the blades off. Check the heli by touching the frame and boom in different places to see how bad they are. If you can isolate the bad vibes then you know where to look to trouble shoot the issues.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

Hi Matthias, when I ran the heli earlier at almost full throttle without the blades on there was no vibrations going on, I was feeling around the boom and framework, felt fine, I'm expecting to see a totally different scenario though with the blades on.... I will certainly bare that in mind about the foam under the skids if it does kick off with this other lazy Susan...

Thanks for the tips, everything helps..

 

[murankar]

Its going to be tough to isolate vibes once the blades go on but youll know its blades.

Just make sure they are balanced and c.o.g.-ed correctly and you should be fine.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[Blackwarrior]

Its going to be tough to isolate vibes once the blades go on but youll know its blades.

Just make sure they are balanced and c.o.g.-ed correctly and you should be fine.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

Yeah I will do Matthius, I've got 3 sets of new blades, I seem to go through them as much as I discharge lipos....lol

I've checked the balance and CoG, all good and ready to go..

Cheers

 

[murankar]

So do i, that's why i get the $16 Gaui blades which are not any better than the hobby king specials. I am thinking if getting some of those till o get better at forward flights. That's my biggest fear of crashing, the blades.

If you have a few sets go ahead and repair them by weight. This will save you a lot of headaches later on when you do the balancing stuff.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner

 

[Blackwarrior]

I bought an expensive pair a few months ago, carbon fibre, looked great, after 2 batteries I smashed them into a tree..... Lol, like you I won't buy anymore until I'm competent enough to fly the thing and bring it home in one piece....

The 3 pair I've got are very well balanced, and CoG is spot on on each pair... So cheap isn't always bad

 

[Blackwarrior]

ok Guys, this video has finally published on youtube, bloody slow..... anyway i hope you can see the pitch and swash movements... i noticed the swash was tilting forward without any cyclic.... im a bit worried about that as i levelled it off perfectly with the swash tool.... any thoughts after you see this clip would be appreciated... this heli just doesnt want to fly again...lol,

 

[Blackwarrior]

this is a better video than the last, you can see the pitch on the blade grips change. i also take it to full throttle (73%). havnt used idle up.

the last video showed the swash tilting forward slightly which was worrying, but this time its OK. i do recall when i connected the battery last time the ESC beeped 4 or 5 times, then one time, normally it only beeps 3 times then once, also the battery was low...

 

[Lee]

When you come to setting the tail up, with all blades on, and on the lazy susan, set the tail gyro to rate made.
Then try to get the tail the hold by mechanically adjusting the the tail control rod, or moving the tail servo up or down the boom.
Once you have done this, then return the tail gyro to Head hold mode and adjust the gains to get a crisp solid tail.

 

[Blackwarrior]

When you come to setting the tail up, with all blades on, and on the lazy susan, set the tail gyro to rate made.
Then try to get the tail the hold by mechanically adjusting the the tail control rod, or moving the tail servo up or down the boom.
Once you have done this, then return the tail gyro to Head hold mode and adjust the gains to get a crisp solid tail.

Thanks Lee, I was wondering how id do that, I'll be putting all the blades on tomorrow. Dreading it, but excited at the same time, can't wait to get it airborne again..