500 Tomorrow, it flies.
- Thread starter zenmetsu
- Start date
Tony
Staff member
It just takes practice. Try doing it over and over again on the sim, then go outside and see what the heli does, if you are still pulling it, go back to the sim and again, do it over and over again. When I say "over and over", I mean fire up the sim, and do each move at least 50 times or more. try to get that muscle memory.
zenmetsu
Member
Looks like you are getting the feel of the heli pretty good nice flying!
Thanks. I took the training gear off this evening and did a quick 2 minute flight to see the flight differences. I was a bit nervous since it was getting dark and my only safety glasses are tinted and were way too dark to see through at the time. I get a little nervous with 400mph parts being so close to me without eye protection.
I found that the quick left/right rudder pumps do not make the same noise when the gear is detached. My guess is that there is a lot more stress on the tail because of the much higher moment of inertia. Without the gear, very little work is being done by the tail. Also, the 7-10hz vibration is gone, and I suspect that there was resonance with the carbon fiber rods and the masses at the ends. I will try to get another video tomorrow without the training gear.
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And muscle memory is both a blessing and a curse.
Learning to do something the incorrect way is very, very hard to unlearn once you develop muscle memory. Also, developing muscle memory is harder when you have two aircraft with vastly different flight profiles. Likewise, learning on one will cause you grief when you go back to the other.
I've got a lot of spare time coming up in which to get some flying time. I'll get it figured out sooner or later. I can handle the helicopter ok in the sim, but I think that I am just too nervous to try things out in real life right now. I think more time on the physical heli is needed so that I get over this apprehension and learn how the thing flies in real life.
Derek
Well-Known Member
That's for sure there, zenmetsu!!! The flight characteristic and reactions are greatly improved without the training gear. I remember when I took my gear off for the first time. Holy Mother Mary of God, I was nervous. I really liked the added insurance of the training gear to help save me from a spill...but I soon realized that the heli's behavior without the gear was so very much improved. I still shook like a sapling in a tornado, but the flight was much easier.
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This part here that you said:
I'll get it figured out sooner or later. I can handle the helicopter ok in the sim, but I think that I am just too nervous to try things out in real life right now. I think more time on the physical heli is needed so that I get over this apprehension and learn how the thing flies in real life.
I couldn't agree with you more. Its down right scary to have a $700+ machine in the air. If you do dump it...who know's what kind of damage could be done. Is it just blades, linkages, and main gear. Well, that's not too terribly bad. What if you strip a servo or two? Flame up the ESC?? Then add blades, linkages, and main gear...that's a bit more costly.
I'm surely not bustin' out 3D maneuvers of any sort with the exception of the occasional piro. Just hovering and stead-slow figure-8's. I still shake but I'm getting better. I'm just trying to build up the confidence in myself.
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This part here that you said:
I'll get it figured out sooner or later. I can handle the helicopter ok in the sim, but I think that I am just too nervous to try things out in real life right now. I think more time on the physical heli is needed so that I get over this apprehension and learn how the thing flies in real life.
I couldn't agree with you more. Its down right scary to have a $700+ machine in the air. If you do dump it...who know's what kind of damage could be done. Is it just blades, linkages, and main gear. Well, that's not too terribly bad. What if you strip a servo or two? Flame up the ESC?? Then add blades, linkages, and main gear...that's a bit more costly.
I'm surely not bustin' out 3D maneuvers of any sort with the exception of the occasional piro. Just hovering and stead-slow figure-8's. I still shake but I'm getting better. I'm just trying to build up the confidence in myself.
zenmetsu
Member
Once I stockpile enough spare parts to cover most accidents, I will be fine. Right now I am nervous since I don't have the spare cash to buy up parts since I am planning a cross-country trip to visit family in Florida starting next week. I'd like to keep the helicopter in one piece until I get out there so that I can let my younger brother get some time on it. 
You can see from my video that I still have some issues with collective management. If I smack the ground as hard as I did at the 5:00 mark without the training gear, the impact may cause some damage. We'll see if I was successful if I can post a video tomorrow with the helicopter coming back in one piece.
I actually enjoy the repair process after a crash. Sucks when a single crash ends up costing you more than $100 or so, but I do like figuring out what went wrong. This is part of the reason that I am building a flight data recorder for the 500. I feel that if I do things correctly, I can use the data to correct my own bad behavior as a pilot. It has already helped me to determine that my gyro is fine, but I apparently suck at input separation between collective and rudder.
You can see from my video that I still have some issues with collective management. If I smack the ground as hard as I did at the 5:00 mark without the training gear, the impact may cause some damage. We'll see if I was successful if I can post a video tomorrow with the helicopter coming back in one piece.
I actually enjoy the repair process after a crash. Sucks when a single crash ends up costing you more than $100 or so, but I do like figuring out what went wrong. This is part of the reason that I am building a flight data recorder for the 500. I feel that if I do things correctly, I can use the data to correct my own bad behavior as a pilot. It has already helped me to determine that my gyro is fine, but I apparently suck at input separation between collective and rudder.
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zenmetsu
Member
Oh man, that was fun. Nerve-wracking without shadows and lower contrast thanks to the clouds... but fun.
Video coming up. Collective response is much higher without the training gear. Good thing that I am learning without it, I don't feel like re-learning.
Stokke, I can pull the logs for ya, the last picture I posted showed the RPMs that I usually end up with, but I'll post the ones from this flight as soon as I pull down the data.
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Castle log as requested. The flight starts at around 2700RPM and ends at 2500 or so due to voltage drop. I can hear the RPMs dropping off quickly towards the end, and that is my cue to land. As you can see, I usually end up pulling about 2700mAh out of the battery. With a 3000mAh battery, this is still probably a bit too much.
Funny thing is that, without the training gear, this thing is still more tame than my 250, but nowhere near as tame as the 450 I flew a few months ago. I think that the guy had his expo cranked way up. That, or my 500 just has a lot more cyclic power. It flies like a 450 on crack, lol.
Video coming up. Collective response is much higher without the training gear. Good thing that I am learning without it, I don't feel like re-learning.
Stokke, I can pull the logs for ya, the last picture I posted showed the RPMs that I usually end up with, but I'll post the ones from this flight as soon as I pull down the data.
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Castle log as requested. The flight starts at around 2700RPM and ends at 2500 or so due to voltage drop. I can hear the RPMs dropping off quickly towards the end, and that is my cue to land. As you can see, I usually end up pulling about 2700mAh out of the battery. With a 3000mAh battery, this is still probably a bit too much.
Funny thing is that, without the training gear, this thing is still more tame than my 250, but nowhere near as tame as the 450 I flew a few months ago. I think that the guy had his expo cranked way up. That, or my 500 just has a lot more cyclic power. It flies like a 450 on crack, lol.
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zenmetsu
Member
Elevator bobble?
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There is a bit if backwards tendency with this helicopter, I think I need to either put more weight in the front, or lengthen the elevator link. The swash is level though, so I suspect that it is a balance issue. The bobbing you are seeing in the tail is likely my periodic cyclic correction.
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There is a bit if backwards tendency with this helicopter, I think I need to either put more weight in the front, or lengthen the elevator link. The swash is level though, so I suspect that it is a balance issue. The bobbing you are seeing in the tail is likely my periodic cyclic correction.