Thread: I Dunno what all the fuss was about....

Tonight I am a very very VERY happy bunny!!!

I've just bought myself a BeastX off these here forums and a DFC head of t'Interweb to fit to my Trex 500 GF.

So I figured, if I'm pulling half the heli apart to fit the FBL setup I might as well give auto-rotations a go as I don't have much to lose if I crash.

I've always been able to do them on Phoenix no probs but I've never had the balls to try for real.

So tonight, I hit the flying field. I spent 3 batteries practising - mostly under full power, trying to get the nice blade farts going.

I then started hitting throttle hold and then flicking back out before getting TOO low. A couple of times I hit the ESC slow start but no biggy as by this point I was getting the hang of it so had plenty of inertia in the blades to recover and gain height again while the blades slowly spooled up again.

I started off with a straight line TH pitch curve from 0% to 100% on my DX6i but eventually settled on 20%--20%--50%--75%--100%, that way I can flick TH and dump the collective to the bottom, knowing that I'm getting around 5% negative pitch. This was working well.

So on the fourth and final battery at around 9pm, I decided to go for it.

I got off to a bad start - did my pre flight checks, then flicked my gyro to position 1 (0% gain to centre the rudder servo) but forgot to flick back to position 0... spooled up, took off and started pyro-ing!!!! Landed, flicked the switch back to where it should be and finally took off successfully.

After a couple of dummy runs on full power to settle the nerves, I went for it.... And I nailed it!!! No worries!!! Brill!!!

Over the course of this battery I must have managed 10-15 successful autos from very high up (I'm no good at guessing heights - needless to say the heli was VERY small). Some were OK, some were very heavy landings. I'm amazed at how well the heli held up - I was convinced I must have done some damage especially after one less than brilliant attempt where it landed tail first, then tipped sideways and caused the blades to stop instantly!!! Still no damage - you've got to love the old belt drive!!!

Pros and cons to belt drive I guess - land tail first and hopefully no damage - but on the flip side, belt is less efficient so maybe a torque tube auto is cleaner as you have more blade energy so more time???

Anyway, I got my very first attempt and a few others on video on my phone which are now on youtube. It's painfully embarrassing to watch these as I was so excited I was acting like a complete loon!!!!

Unfortunately I didn't get my very last attempt on camera - it was PERFECT!!! Perfect starting height, perfect approach, perfect flair and perfect soft touch down!!!! It was like poetry in motion!!!!! I thought this was definitely a good point to pack up and head home!

Videos below - I'm sure they're very boring to everyone else, but to me they mark a BIG step in my flying. From now on, I'm planning on ending every battery with a high auto

Let me be the first to say well done

Same as me - preferred side on you right.

Good job.

Thanks chaps - yes I do prefer right to left. Mental note - must practice the other way too!!!

LOL well done, I think you were quite pleased with yourself on your second video. Here's a special picture just for you..
AUTO.jpg

Originally Posted by matt35

awesome! been practicing on Phoenix but hats off to for having the balls to try for real. Can't wait till i reach this point. It's posts and vids like this that are pushing me to practice practice practice and improve my flying.

Thanks matt35. The whole reason I went into so much detail in my post and included the vids was to spur on others to give it a go... If you can do it on the Sim and you take your time at the field and get plenty of practice under full power and then flicking into TH and then back out, you should be fine. Even if you do over cook it, you'll probably not do too much damage assuming you touch down skids first!!!!

Originally Posted by Gav

LOL well done, I think you were quite pleased with yourself on your second video. Here's a special picture just for you..
AUTO.jpg

Ha ha, that's wicked, thanks Gav! I think I'll print that out, frame it, and hang it above the fireplace in the lounge!!!!

Awesome. I still lack balls to try them (I am quite good at them on the sim), except mini ones from eye height.

Congrats and its always the first time you do something that really makes you enjoy this hobby each time you fly Always good to watch someone doing something new. Keep at it

well done i try and try still cant get them right with the 500.
Mark 500 Auto Attempts.wmv - YouTube

Originally Posted by igottomanyhelis

well done i try and try still cant get them right with the 500.
Mark 500 Auto Attempts.wmv - YouTube

Crikey! Did one heli survive all that abuse?!?!? That's some good going!! I was gunna head out for a bit more practice tonight but its pishing down with rain now!

Well done mate, I've tried on the 500 and it drops like a stone for me compared to bigger models.. Need to practice!