Just tried a collective pitch heli...

[Benjamin Rowland]

So I picked up a Blade Nano CP X (RTF) with the DX4e. I've been wanting to try a collective pitch heli for a long time. I got it to hover, but wow, this thing feels like it has a mind of its own and I'm just fighting it. I'm sure it's just a matter of logging the hours of practice, like anything else, but it felt like I was starting over! I will master it though.

Any tips?

thanks,
Ben

(Looking for some perspective from folks that have made the transition from multirotors to single rotor.)

 

[hjls3]

altitude i transitioned from srh to mr. that said - i will break out a srh every now and then and fly it around. i find with the srh i fly quite a bit faster and keep it moving along. the mr i seem to hover a bit and go for really smooth movements. i guess what i am saying - dont be affraid to get the heli moving.

 

[Tomstoy2]

Booze, drugs and hookers. Worked for me, anyway, and a hell of a lot cheaper than a srh habbit to boot!

 

[DennyR]

Get a sim from Phoenix, it will save some time. The upcoming flybarless controllers from DJI and Skookum with GPS position hold will make it easier.

I find that a standard mini Vbar does the job. and is completely reliable.

Flybarless is the only way to go.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

I agree with Denny that FBL is the way to go. I like 550 size helis, not to small not to large. They use the same lipos as my S800. FC's for SRH are as confusing as those for the MR. I have tried Align 3G, Skookum 720 (No GPS), HeliCommand, Gyrobot and WKH. Right now I am only flying the WKH on my TRex 550E FBL heli. I am looking forward to the Naza H with GPS that can do what the WKH does and 3D.

 

[Tomstoy2]

Never got away under $350 crashing my Avant!

 

[DucktileMedia]

those smaller SRH are impossible to fly. They are night and day from the hoverfly even in manual mode. I dont know if I agree with the comment about not being afraid to move it. It's real easy to build up speed and everything happens really damn fast. The second you lose control in your head it's all over. Dont expect to be a pro at flying any small srh they are a real handful.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

For me it was those slight tail touches. With the shaft drive to the tail rotor, a slight touch would strip one or both of the drive spindles. APITA to tear it apart and replace. I was buying the front and back spindles by the gross. I finally put a 700 fin on the back of the 550 to fix that. Now let's talk about the cost of blades, $100 plus depending on what you want to fly. Tom you are right I have almost destroyed a MR and it cost me less than a minor touch with a SRH.

I have a mCx CP for inside flying in winter. They are very nervous compared to a larger SRH. IrisAerial, I agree with you that the FC's in them are back with the KK boards in MR. They will lighten your touch on the sticks so I see some value there. You try to over control them and you will crash.

 

[DennyR]

http://www.helicommand.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=60&lang=en

If all else fails you could try one of these.

If your doing this professionally then cost is not an issue.

 

[Tomstoy2]

View attachment 7620View attachment 7621

My first;

 

[DennyR]

those smaller SRH are impossible to fly. They are night and day from the hoverfly even in manual mode. I dont know if I agree with the comment about not being afraid to move it. It's real easy to build up speed and everything happens really damn fast. The second you lose control in your head it's all over. Dont expect to be a pro at flying any small srh they are a real handful.

That is the true WHY of MR's They are easier to fly and that is all. Too bad they still don't have the reliability,speed, stabilization in wind etc. of a pro. built SR.

When you can be totally confident with nose in hovering on the sim. That is the time to try your luck with the model. We had a guy here who was learning with his brother when he gave the wrong pitch command, in the blink of an eye the model leapt forward and hit him in the face removing most of his teeth. Be aware that these things can kill you in the wrong hands.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

They are dangerous for sure. I have tried the following FC's for SRH: Align 3G, Skooum 720, Helicommand Rigid, GyroBot 900 and the WKH. I fly the WKH right now. The Naza H with GPS will be out soon. It combines the stability of the WKH with 3D performance. Nice package.

 

[Tomstoy2]

View attachment 7625

The other end of the fleet.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Ah, Nitro. Hate to clean up after a flight. That is why I am getting rid of my nitro planks.

 

[Tomstoy2]

View attachment 7626


The fleet.


Does seem kind of 'old school' now, doesn't it?

One nice thing about nitro, though. Electrics attracts people like a magnet, they just want to get closer, get a good look.
Nitro scares the living crap out of them, sounds like it can easily kill you!

Funny thing is, the only time I though I WAS going to die, my Hexa did it to me. Got me a very nice set of matching scars on both arms that reminds me of it every damn day.

Still, nothing like standing between those 713mm cf blades to start the nitro to give you a very healthy dose of respect!

 

[Simon Templar]

......I got it to hover, but wow, this thing feels like it has a mind of its own and I'm just fighting it. I'm sure it's just a matter of logging the hours of practice, like anything else, but it felt like I was starting over! I will master it though........

No...I'm afraid hours won't do it. You've started down a path that will take months and possibly even years to traverse.

I started in Helis with Collective Pitch birds. You're right.....for the first 50 - 100 hours it IS lot like herding squirrels. So don't feel too bad....it's normal to feel that way.

CP's are a LOT of fun....I had quite a few at one point. These days, my CP's have been slowly but surely dwindling in favour of Multi's. I've sold them all. At the present, I've only a Blade Mcpx and a TRex 450SE-V2 left. I'll keep the Mcpx as it's small enough I can fly it in the house during bouts of inclement weather. The TRex though, along with my cache of spare parts, will probably go on the sales block in the near future. I just don't hardly ever fly it any more.

They're great fun....but I don't forsee the Multi bug letting go of me any time in the near future.



....sT



BTW...if you truly intend to spend a lot of time on CP, go get yourself a GOOD sim. The money you save in crash debris will pay for it ten times over.

 

[Tomstoy2]

They're great fun....but I don't forsee the Multi bug letting go of me any time in the near future.

.

Amen, brother, testify!!!

Flying some smack is great fun, always something new to learn, but learning to fly a multi, getting some good footage and sharing it is, to me anyway, one hell of a kick in the pants! Then, there's doing it totally out of sight!
For me, this is what I have been dreaming about and waiting for my entire life.

 

[ChrisViperM]

With Single Rotor Helis, everything below a 500 size is a waste of time....it is impossible to do any serious flying with these moskitos....

I have flown almost every size of SRH, but the best experience I had so far was with my Thunder Tiger Raptor G4 E720 (700 size), Skookum SK 720 Flybarless Controller, Kontronic Heli Jive 120+HV ESC and Kontronik Pyro 700-52 LS.
This set-up is a real dream, the Heli is easy to assemble and got some very clever features to tune the heli, and the power-train is just a never-ever-worry set-up. With this heli, you can fly really smooth or you can do the most stupid 3D stunts.
The main thing is that a bigger heli is so much easyier to tune-in and control than a "moskito", and against the main-stram opinion to start with a small heli and work your way up, I would never ever again start with one of these useless little toys.....

But that's just my 2 cents.

As Denny said, get yourself a good Simulator, it can help you a lot....


Chris

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I fly both as well. I'm don't really prefer one over the other, they so similar, but different. Yes, crash costs for SRH's are astronomical. I just crashed my Octo, full bore upside-down into the ground. It looks like it will cost less to fix than a mild crash in a SRH. On the other hand, flying a SRH in 40 km/h winds is somewhat trivial. Not so for a MR.

In terms of "just flying around" in calm winds, I actually don't find much difference between the two. They're almost exactly the same.

The difference that most people see is that they are flying with a fully stabilized MR controller, and then the heli has a flybar and no electronic stabilization, or just rate-only stabilization (FBL controller).

I fly my SRH's with Arducopter of course, and it's pretty easy.

 

[kloner]

I taught myself in 1993 with no sim, all i had was some lame vcr tape. it took over a hundred crashes to get it figured out. It was all wood main blades, when it went in, you took cover.

a few things make em easy, self leveling controllers are a great start. keeping them balanced like our mr's keeps the electronics thinking right. my experiance with the little ones is they crash alot and often and small problems are missed picking it back up and flying it. Running it on a real radio helps immensly. a dx4 or dx5 is about as bad as it gets. I really enjoy phoenix sim for srh. it is exact IMO

Nitros the way to go if your into 3d. the power doesn't sag like an electric will as the voltage drops, you fill and fly, and it get's lighter through a flight. That's huge, especially if ya like to close the flight with a bang. Autos are like free in an empty nitro heli