Yet another newbie looking for help moving from a basic co-ax to "proper" heli's...

[tomatwalden]

Blade msrx ordered from kings Lynn models this morning, I'll let you all know when it arrives.

Congratulations! Take it easy, it'll be VERY different to that coax you've had until now! :-)

[proffalken]

Thanks all, I'll start with a slow hover and build up from there... :-D

[proffalken]

It's arrived, the batteries have been charged and I've crashed it at least 20 times into various items of furniture in my lounge!

I'm hooked. This thing is amazing.

The only issue I seem to have is that it drifts left as it takes off and then right once it's clear of the ground.

I've tried playing with the trim on my controller but it doesn't seem to have much effect - could this be because I'm flying it in a small space?

Thanks,

Matt

P.S. If anyone knows how to reset the trim, that would be helpful...

[tomatwalden]

Drift left on take off is 100% normal. ALL single-rotor helis do it due to the tail rotor pushing the heli sideways. You need to learn to correct slightly right with cyclic on take off. After a while it becomes second nature.

Check on Google for "translating tendency" (the technical term for it)

DO NOT TRY TO TRIM IT OUT!!!

[tomatwalden]

Good explanation : (albeit showing right drift on full-size heli with anti-clockwise rotors)

[Ritchieme]

Matt don't trim it mate its a fbl heli, its natural for it to drift left on takeoff you will soon learn to counter that, if the swash is level it will be fine. Don't forget when you put the battery in place it flat down ASAP if not sooner :-) Good luck and cut your cards up while you still have chance !

Ritchie

[Ritchieme]

I think the beep noise changes pitch when the trim is centred on the stock tx, I believe it also has 2 flight mode settings in the controller, one which is hard for beginners and the other even harder :-)

[proffalken]

Drift left on take off is 100% normal. ALL single-rotor helis do it due to the tail rotor pushing the heli sideways. You need to learn to correct slightly right with cyclic on take off. After a while it becomes second nature.

Check on Google for "translating tendency" (the technical term for it)

DO NOT TRY TO TRIM IT OUT!!!

Matt don't trim it mate its a fbl heli, its natural for it to drift left on takeoff you will soon learn to counter that, if the swash is level it will be fine. Don't forget when you put the battery in place it flat down ASAP if not sooner :-) Good luck and cut your cards up while you still have chance !

Ritchie

Dammit! Wish it had said "DON'T TRIM IT OUT" in the manual...

I've noticed that the swashplate seems to be tilted to one side if I hold it in my hand and up the RPMs (or even catch it mid-flight!), do I need to be quicker placing it on the solid surface? Is it this calibration that resets the trim, or should I just get it flying and reset to the middle position?

I think the beep noise changes pitch when the trim is centred on the stock tx, I believe it also has 2 flight mode settings in the controller, one which is hard for beginners and the other even harder :-)

Yeah, I read through the manual and actually I can't find much difference between the two, so I'm going to stick with the "high" sensitivity because I'll have to move to it at some point either on this remote or another so I might as well start on it now!

[Ritchieme]

Good idea, how you finding the comparison with the coax so far

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[proffalken]

Good idea, how you finding the comparison with the coax so far

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Its great.

Being able move backwards is nice, as is being able to move from side to side without having to rotate the nose.

Its a lot more tricky to fly, but that's mainly because the controls are more sensitive and its very fast!

Cheers,

Matt

[tomatwalden]

Dammit! Wish it had said "DON'T TRIM IT OUT" in the manual...

It caught me out too with my first single rotor heli!

I've noticed that the swashplate seems to be tilted to one side if I hold it in my hand and up the RPMs (or even catch it mid-flight!), do I need to be quicker placing it on the solid surface? Is it this calibration that resets the trim, or should I just get it flying and reset to the middle position?

This again is normal. The controller is expecting the heli to be flying in free-floating space. Tiny movements detected by the gyros will try to be cancelled out by the control board. But, because you're holding the heli, the stabilising inputs to the swashplate aren't moving the heli. So, the controller gives more input ... etc. etc.

In short, you cannot hold a heli down and try to watch the swashplate like that - it's the controller being confused by not actually flying!

[tomatwalden]

So here's something you're going to need to get your head around ... You have to control the heli ALL THE TIME! Single-rotor helis (excepting the 45-degree flybar ones) are inherently unstable. Let go of sticks, and they will crash. Guaranteed.

In contrast, a co-axial, if you let go of the sticks will settle into a stable hover. Your mSRX however, if you let go of the sticks will start drifting, and quickly accelerate and crash into something.

The reason is that real helis, once given an input, keep acting upon that input. For example. If you get the heli into a hover and tilt the nose down to go forwards, the heli starts moving away from you. Now, if you move the stick back to the middle, the heli STILL MOVES AWAY FROM YOU.

You need to give an opposite input (pull the tail down) to stop the movement. It's like balancing a ball on top of an upside-down plate. You're constantly giving corrections to maintain a stable hover.

Nobody said it would be easy! Wouldn't be much of a challenge if it was!

[proffalken]

That explains a hell of a lot, I was expecting a stable hands-off hover!

Can't wait to get to a larger space!

Thanks.

Matt

[tomatwalden]

No - stability is why the co-axials are rubbish. You are constantly fighting the heli's tendency to stop flying forwards and settle into a hover. That's why they don't fly very fast and get blown out by the slightest puff of wind. It's also why they are so limited in what they can do.

Trust me, it won't take long to get used to. For the moment however, try to keep the tail pointing towards you so that the cyclic controls (right stick - elevator and aileron) always give the input you expect to the heli. As you gain confidence, you can move to 45-degree orientations and side-on. Nose-in flying is the first big milestone as left/right/forward/back are all reversed. Try maintaining that stable hover when all the controls are backwards!

Enjoy! And have paypal at the ready for all the spares you'll need! My bet is the skids will be the first spares you'll need!

[snowy]

Welcome to the forum Matt hope you enjoy !