Introductions

[consultant125]

Hi Guys!

I think the gyro is working now. I just need to trim the helicopter, but before I do that I think I need to sort the tail heavy situation out. Anyone any good ideas on how to do that?

1. I have seen suggestions to move the battery forward but I don't think the battery clip can be attached anywhere but where it is.

2. Shorten the boom? That would work but I am not sure how it might affect the ability of the gyro? Also, to cut the boom I would have to unsolder the main tail rotor and remove the wire. And if I cut too much off? No, let's not go there!

3. Attach a weight to the front of the canopy somehow? Not sure adding weight to a very small heli is the way forward?

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[machasm]

How bad is the tail heavy situation?
You should be able to lift the heli by the flybar (when positioned at 90 Degress to the heli) and the heli should come up flat.
If it tilts either way (nose or tail) then it is heavy that way.
All of the options you mention are viable though I would try to reposition the battery somehow since this seems to be the best option.
Adrian.

[jboweruk]

Okay so it's thousands, that's worse still LOL

[consultant125]

How bad is the tail heavy situation?
You should be able to lift the heli by the flybar (when positioned at 90 Degress to the heli) and the heli should come up flat.

I'd say it is fairly bad. I have nose down trim up to full to compensate and it's not quite doing the trick. I'd say holding it the way you describe, which I was doing, the tip of the tail is down by almost an inch. Doesn't sound a lot, but bear in mind the heli is only probably just over twelve inches long!

All of the options you mention are viable though I would try to reposition the battery somehow since this seems to be the best option.

I guess I just have to find a way of attaching the battery without the cradle that it normally sits in. Elastic bands or something. Trouble is, the battery is pretty much as big as the underside of the heli.

Actually, I am just wondering whether the tail motor will slide down the boom shaft, leaving the boom sticking out of the back. Something to check. That would alter the CG. Hmmm....

The joys of RTF!

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[consultant125]

Okay so it's thousands, that's worse still LOL

Yeah I guess it is. If I am honest, this is the kind of thing I am aiming towards, long term:

http://www.rctoys.com/rc-toys-and-pa...LYER-SAVS.html
http://www.highspy.co.uk/
http://www.hovercam.com/Hovercam/Home.html
http://www.rchelicam.com/
http://www.hicam.com.au/links.htm

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[consultant125]

I only want it for fun and to share on tinternet, got to find some better music though, as 'Airwolf' is a tad cliched nowadays.

Depends what kind of footage you are doing. How about The Prodigy? You could use that kind of music for high impact stunt flying. Keep your shots short and fast changing, like a music video.

Slow hovers? Use slow motion to capture a heavy mood. Pink Floyd - the bits without the lyrics.

Fun flying? Shoot it like you're having fun. If you're a good flyer, do a short flight with onboard camera. Do the same flight with someone following closup using a tripod for stability. Do the flight again with long shots. Then get some closeup footage of your hands working the TX.

Edit it all together with the music. Use something like Queen - Don't Stop Me Now. Make sure your edits are on the beat so it looks extra professional.

If you want to top and tail it, film a beginning and an ending. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It just adds to the story telling. Say, a long shot of you walking onto the flightline with your heli and TX - make is slow motion. If you're using the suggested Queen track, picture in your mind what the end result is that you want and then adjust your shooting to capture that idea. The end shot is very similar. You walk off the field to the quieter bit at the end of the music.

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[jboweruk]

Some of my early shots I took some from onboard, and taped same flight using a sports camera. Put one shot inside the other, was quite effective when I finally managed to achieve sync between the two. Quite rewarding too. Always meant to do it in the garden but most times time was short between bursts of wind, so didn't have time to prep both cameras before flight. Now of course the poor little girl don't seem to be able to lift the cam anymore.

Once I get batteries for my Skylift I'll shoot some more, hopefully garden shots. Though by then I'm also hoping to step it up a bit.

[cambs flyer]

That's some serious hardware in your lists there mate, but the fun potential is endless, as are the price's....Ouch.

I'd love to see the heli's POV from an on board helicam while someones doing a 3D display, I don't know if it's already been done, but on a large screen it would be sick bag at the ready.

Good to hear your heli's making more sense now, the amount of members who either given up due to cost or frustration, and there's been a few since I've been here.

I'll never forgot poor old Scott, he was a student and joined about the same time as I, and he brought Phoenix before his CX2 arrived, I even gave him some training legs for nothing, but the cost damage got the better of him and he had to see up and go.

Bitter shame when that happens.

[consultant125]

That's some serious hardware in your lists there mate, but the fun potential is endless, as are the price's....Ouch.

Yeah it does look a bit on the heavy side. I think there are not so many companies that cater for serious videography using R/C gear. A lot of the ones I have seen online seem to make their own gear. They resemble UAVs you would see on the battlefield more than the R/C gear that most people are used to. But it's something that interests me in the long run.

I'd love to see the heli's POV from an on board helicam while someones doing a 3D display, I don't know if it's already been done, but on a large screen it would be sick bag at the ready.

I am sure I have seen that on YouTube. The problem is, if all you're shooting is a static view from a heli doing stunts, the picture doesn't make much sense because it spins so fast. Hence my earlier post on methods to add to the 'story'. There are too many people that go out and buy a camcorder expecting to make decent films. They don't realise that to make it interesting to a viewer, there has to be a story - content more that just a series of moving images.

Good to hear your heli's making more sense now,

It certainly is. Now that it doesn't spin in a useless fashion, I can at least see where it is unbalanced and once I have balanced and trimmed, no doubt I will be able to see the effects of my thumbs on the TX. That's when learning to fly starts.

If I can get pretty decent at controlling (controlling, not zooming all over the place like a mad stuntman!) the Venom Micro, do you think I would find it easier to fly something like a Trex 450 V2?

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[cambs flyer]

Oh yes without a doubt, but for Trex flying sim time really is a must, not to do so could end up being very expensive and dangerous.

Plus the power is thousands times more powerful and that can be quite scary to begin with

Really any Trex would do, the 450S has great performance, and like mine, it has all alloy parts (almost) upgradeable and there a joy to work on.

A RTF 450S would be a cheap ladder to clime onto the 400 class market, without sacrificing control or performance.

Plus you get to put together most of the parts your replace due to crashies or upgrades, so it's still learning.

[machasm]

Speaking of cameras and onboard video.
Here is a clip I took today with my 450SEV2 with a flycamoneV2 doing a little aerobatic stuff.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIndYnaJzDY"]Clip[/ame]
Adrian.

[jboweruk]

Now That's what I'm talking 'bout. Nice vid mate, and some nice flying there.

[consultant125]

Hi All,

I'm going to try some of the sim software. Assuming that my natural upgrade path from the Venom Micro is a Trex 450, should I buy a 2.4g TX for the sim work and then I'll be able to use it with the Trex?

I haven't done much research into my upgrade path because I don't want to jump the gun with regards to learning to fly properly. It seems to me that the websites I have seen selling the bigger helicopters sell them as kits that you build and then you buy servos, an RX and a gyro to put into it. If so, I can buy the TX seperately couldn't I? That is, start with the TX (get the right one) then when I upgrade to the Trex 450, buy the right servos and gyro?

I have seen DX6i mentioned on the forum quite often. That would do the job would it not? Or would another TX be better than that one? Or do the servos and RX come with the TX?

Regards,

A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk

[marktigere1]

The DX6i would suit you fine for the 450.

If you have the budget and hope to progress into 3D requiring governors and the like, the extra channel of the DX7 would be a good buy.

I use the DX6i and think its a cracking TX and bargain of the year. I use it with a 450 Trex and a Nitro Raptor 50.

It is supplied with a receiver for under £100.

Cheers

Mark

[cambs flyer]

My advice would be at this stage buy the DX6i & Phoenix, spend a few weeks learning the controls of the TX and the flight sim, and enjoy that side of learning.

With the Trex 450's most are build from scratch, but after playing with one, pulling it apart replacing parts etc, it seems daunting to begin with but after a few times it becomes second nature.

There's no rule saying a bigger heli couldn't be your first choice, however it would involve buying a more expensive TX and the cost generally would go up dramatically.

Why I mention the route above is say in a few months you decided "OK it's fun but something I'll do as a basic casual hobby" and you decided not to take it further, or find it isn't the fun packed experience you thought it might have been, at least you haven't spent too much money, and the Rex's hold there value quite well if you was to sell the lot.

Alternatively there's always the Blade 400, complete with the DX6i, (two birds shot here as well for Phoenix training) that way your first out lay hasn't been excessive, she's a cheap heli to maintain, it's all built for you and ready to go, (once you've completed at least 20-30 hours sim practice.

Your other question about buying a build Trex, yes, you buy the kit, then you need additional parts like the gyro, servos, Li Po's & the Receiver, so you build the heli then add the parts which you buy separately.

This is how I'd look at it in your situation, but I'm sure more experence flyers will offer you better advice.