Yet another newbie

[jimheli]

hi Sneeks looking good mate , all went well on the build , so you will soon be ready for the test fly , good luck with it ,im sure you cant wait lol .

[Sneeks]

Thanks for the comments

I'm looking forward to my first flight and growing more nervous the closer it gets

[del19_82]

The first flight is awesome mate, even now i still get a buzz when i lift the heli into a steady hover & hold it nice

Stupid question here though......have you got training gear to strap on to it for your first flight?

[Sneeks]

No training gear of my own as such but they have hoops available at the club so I imagine I will use one of those

My SAA fees will be included alongside my club membership.

[barney]

Hi Sneeks...sounds like it's all coming together nicely..CU Sunday

[Sneeks]

Sneeks,

I use one of these - has Tamiya type connector and the normal Rx charge lead.

Lasts for ages between charges.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raptor-30-NiMH...QQcmdZViewItem

Many thanks, I ordered one of these today.

[Moomin]

hey all

judging on the reply's to this thread ive been insanely brave with my heli..

basicly my girlfriend bought me a toy 3 channel r/c heli for a laugh and i loved it to bits, before this my basic model experience was limited to boats / cars / trains (if that counts!), i had a bit of ££ available recently and i made the decision to invest in a proper heli, i chose a blade 400 3D for its price and RTF features.. i didn't take into consideration how difficult it would be to operate the heli compared to my 3 channel toy..

as soon as i got it and took it out of the box it dawned on me what an impressive piece of engineering this was to anything i have come to see before.. (apart from my fathers 20 year old futaba shuttle??) i immediately got my head down reading the manual, an hour later i felt i was ready for my first flight (with the assistance of a training kit). after first ramping up the machine and experiencing the power and shear adrenaline rush of it, i felt ready for my first hover and trim setup, after a few mins i could manage a hopping hover.. (yay)

the next day after giving my battery a charge, i was ready to give my chopper a fly in my 40 by 30 ft garden (about) i got my chopper in a less then stable hover and kinda lost control as it flew behind me and i lost all conception of the controls.. as my machine went flying over the fence my heart sunk, leaving my transmitter on the floor i jumped over the fence to retrieve my chopper from the nearby throne bush, the fibreglass case had a crack underneath, and the cheep wooden blades had some gloss missing exposing some fresh wood underneath, after some careful cosmetics (gotta love hammertine paint) i spooled my chopper up to discover it was in working order ( i think ). today i took it down to my local grass cut field and attempted to fly her again, this time i had much more luck apart from destroying my training frame bracket, this didnt really bother me too much because the machine became a lot more easier to control after it had thrown itself allover the place.. so basicly im where i am now, reading up everything i can find on the net and looking for a local club, i also invested in the phoenix simulator which should be here tomorrow, hopefully my dx6i will be compatible..

this thread has given me a reality check and im going to invest time into useing the sim to get my chopper in the air without crashing.. im kinda stuck on where to go so some help would be cool to point me in the correct direction!

cheers, charlie

[dweezil]

Hi to everyone, this is my first post.
Well i'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my lama v4 in the post. This is my first machine other than a pico z and i'm very keen to start flying. I've read up a fair bit online about this hobby and plan to follow RADS flight school. Does anyone know if the sim software that comes with the lama is compatible with macs?

[Sneeks]

More than likely the answer to that is no. I have to use Bootcamp on my Mac to run the good sims.

My 4.8v battery arrived today

[dweezil]

Your right it doesn't work,
On a brighter note the lama arrived on tuesday and is great fun. No wind today so took it in the garden it seems much easier when not in a confined space, even managed a bit of nose in. So far i've trashed 2 sets of lower blades and 1 landing skit, which I mended with some co-ax sleeving.
I'm loving this hobby so far although it's very early days. I plan on getting a CP machine if I can master the lama, I can hear my bank account groaning already!

[Sneeks]

My bank account constantly swears at me now! Keep at it, a good sim like Phoenix will really help you progress and be more kind to your bank balance.

I've just realised that I have forgotten to order a throttle extension so there will now be no first flight for my heli tomorrow I only remembered while testing my new rx battery. Ah well maybe next weekend.

[dweezil]

Thanks for the advice, the bug has really bitten, think i'm gonna need a sim before I move on.

[Sneeks]

My Raptor had its maiden flight today and now my nerves require replacement. Scary stuff but lots of help offered from the guys at Cumbernauld. Flight times were short as the engine was burning up within 3 minutes of been in the air and the power would suddenly drop. I'm told this is normal with a new engine and that it will settle down. It cooled down quickly if left to idle for a couple of minutes.

Heli action shot, I wasn't flying at this point hence the nose in nature of the photo

Please excuse the low quality pic, I was using my iPhone.

[Sneeks]

Engine settings adjusted today and it is now running great. 3 tank fulls of fuel flown and very happy with it

[trillian]

'Good to see it all came along very nicely.

My main heli is pretty much the same setup,
Raptor 30 V2
OS37
GY401 with Futaba tail servo
DX7

I am using the Spektrum servos in this bird. I had not heard anything to suggest they are not useable and in fact 'Finless Bob' was using them in one of his build videos.