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After having owned and flown (on and off) my Vibe 90 for 2.5 years now in stock setup (albeit apart from a Quick UK flybar cage), I've finally decided to start tinkering with the setup and see if I can make it fly more to my liking.
I bought a pair of standard JR Sylphide paddles (about £23ish) to replace the K&S black ones that have always been on my machine along with a set of flybar weights. They arrived today and I stuck them on quickly before going for a fly with one out of the two available weights in each paddle and took off the old flybar weights completely. The new paddles are thicker, blunter and with a much greater surface area, and (at a guess) about the same weight as the previous ones.
All I can say is Wow! What a difference. Better hovering already and man does it stonk through the air in a straight line!
I've long known that often the cheapest and simplest way to change the flying characteristics of a heli is to change the paddles, since they don't have to cost a lot and can easily be changed at the field, but I am just amazed at how much difference it's made this time.
Of course we can always change dampers and flybar ratios and mixing ratio and all that stuff, but it's always struck me that paddles make more of an impact than anything else, and they don't have to be expensive either. I sometimes wonder just what 'extra' a set of carbon paddles will give me over an identical set of plastic ones? Paddles are short and stumpy, no matter which ones you buy, and as such cannot bend or flex much in flight, so where does the added rigidity offered by carbon paddles have any effect? I suppose carbon paddles could be lighter (just a bit maybe) than their plastic equivalents, which has its pros and cons depending on the flying characteristics (i.e. 3D or FAI) you're after, but is it enough to make a noticeable difference? There are some quite expensive 3D style paddles available (i.e. Stubz) and some equally as expensive FAI paddles as well (i.e. Rotortech).
I suppose what I've witnessed this evening is exactly what I've always known and have promoted many times on this forum before, but what has amazed me is just the amount of difference it has made this time.
Happy daze.
I bought a pair of standard JR Sylphide paddles (about £23ish) to replace the K&S black ones that have always been on my machine along with a set of flybar weights. They arrived today and I stuck them on quickly before going for a fly with one out of the two available weights in each paddle and took off the old flybar weights completely. The new paddles are thicker, blunter and with a much greater surface area, and (at a guess) about the same weight as the previous ones.
All I can say is Wow! What a difference. Better hovering already and man does it stonk through the air in a straight line!
I've long known that often the cheapest and simplest way to change the flying characteristics of a heli is to change the paddles, since they don't have to cost a lot and can easily be changed at the field, but I am just amazed at how much difference it's made this time.
Of course we can always change dampers and flybar ratios and mixing ratio and all that stuff, but it's always struck me that paddles make more of an impact than anything else, and they don't have to be expensive either. I sometimes wonder just what 'extra' a set of carbon paddles will give me over an identical set of plastic ones? Paddles are short and stumpy, no matter which ones you buy, and as such cannot bend or flex much in flight, so where does the added rigidity offered by carbon paddles have any effect? I suppose carbon paddles could be lighter (just a bit maybe) than their plastic equivalents, which has its pros and cons depending on the flying characteristics (i.e. 3D or FAI) you're after, but is it enough to make a noticeable difference? There are some quite expensive 3D style paddles available (i.e. Stubz) and some equally as expensive FAI paddles as well (i.e. Rotortech).
I suppose what I've witnessed this evening is exactly what I've always known and have promoted many times on this forum before, but what has amazed me is just the amount of difference it has made this time.
Happy daze.
compatible. 
+ 7 x Eddies finest EGS's
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