Eflite Blade 400 3D - Drifting help

[dam74]

Hi, the weather outside is too windy to even consider taking the heli outside so I thought I'd do a bit of testing indoors in about a 2.75-3.5m area. I know it's nowhere near adequate but I thought I'd try to do some hovering. The first thing I noticed when I brought the collective/throttle upto 50% and slightly beyond where it was bordering on lifting off was that the helicopter was drifting to the left (flying tail-in).

Is this normal or is there a slight issue with setup?


Regards
Darryl

[party]

Hello,

Yes, it's completely normal behavior. Tail tends to push the heli to left in hovering, and that's the reason why you also see the heli hovering tilted to right side.

[dam74]

So would the correct way to counter this to be to input opposite cyclic (roll)?

Never really get this in HeliSimRC or FMS simulator so it's a bit new to me.

[Holst]

It might also be ground effect where the air coming off the ground pushes the heli around a bit.
The smaller the heli the more pronounced this effect.
My micro 4#3B suffers badly from this but once you are off the ground its not a problem.

[dam74]

Yeah I did wonder about ground effect. HeliSimRC doesn't seem to model this that at all so I haven't been able to come across this in a sim.

Regards
Darryl

[dam74]

This drifting is giving me grief. I input opposite cyclic and it rolls too much when it starts to lift so I just remove power as I know I'll roll it into the ground.

Probably end up having to purchase the CX2 for playing around indoors on while this wind is heavy. Is it possible to buy one without a TX as I already have a Hitec Optic 6 and a Spektrum DX6i.

[Holst]

It sounds like the room you are trying to fly in is way too small for your heli.

Even if you do manage to get into a stable hover you wont be able to do any flying without crashing into a wall as your flying in such a small space. I would give up on flying inside and take the heli outside where there is more space.

If your new to RC helis then go to a club and get a good pilot to give the heli a look over and a test fly before you try it.

A CX2 can be bought as bind and fly, so you can use your DX6i to fly it.
You might also want to look at the Blade MCR as an indoor heli as it will be more realistic and challenging to fly than a contra rotator.

[dam74]

Well at the moment I'd just like a stable small heli to get started on I guess. The problem I'm gathering with the contra is that I won't get drift? Which might be an issue I guess if you want to practice handling that on takeoff.

As for the CX2 I do realise that it's bind and fly so I can use the DX6i but I'd just rather purchase the CX2 without the TX so I don't have to have another TX sitting around the house and hopefully get the heli a bit cheaper. However I haven't found one while googling.

[Holst]

Fast Lad Performance

Im not sure on the difference between MCX and CX2 but they are both easy to fly indoors and you can get the MCX as bind and fly.

[dam74]

Looks nice and fairly easy to control. Something I've noticed from the video is that it doesn't look to be able to bank/roll.

Does it have full collective/cyclic control?

Edit: Just reading the eflite wiki now on the mcx. Must be very subtle cyclic?

[dam74]

Would adding some sort of material to the training set balls help with the drifting issue. eg. rubber or carpet. What I was thinking is instead of a smooth surface something with friction to inhibit the heli from sliding. I do realise once the heli gets enough lift the issue will still remain. Out of interest has anybody tried this?

[Holst]

Looks nice and fairly easy to control. Something I've noticed from the video is that it doesn't look to be able to bank/roll.

Does it have full collective/cyclic control?

Edit: Just reading the eflite wiki now on the mcx. Must be very subtle cyclic?

Because its a contra rotator it wont really bank like a single rotor heli will, but it does have four channel control.

You can learn some of the basics using a contra rotator but they dont handle in the same way as a "propper" heli.

If you want the heli to be a mini version of your blade400 then look at the MCR, the walkera 4#3B or the hirobo quark (amongst others) as they are all very small single rotor helis with propper tails.
But they will be harder to fly than the MCX.

As for adding sticky stuff to your training balls I wouldnt recomend it.
The point of the training balls is to make your landings easyer, if the balls are sticky then the chances of tipping over on the balls are increased. This is the most common type of crash for a beginner when they land when they are still moving and the balls dig into the ground and flip over the heli.

Wait for a nice calm day and try the heli outside, once you are off the ground the sideways push from the tail wont be an issue.
But before you do so make sure you have had plenty of sim practice as its harder in real life than on the sim

[dam74]

I ordered Phoenix on Sat, from what I've reviewed in various demos and youtube it looks the best of the bunch. I've had a fairbit of prac in FMS and HeliSimRC. While I can fly around and land it in HeliSimRC I do stack on the odd occasion. In HeliSimRC I can perform piroettes in it, rolls, loops, split-s and land in the squares, but on the real thing I can't even lift off so I'm gathering it's a load of bollocks ^_^.

[Holst]

Not entirely, what your learning on the simple sims will help you alot with the real thing.

Phoenix is more realistic and will help you further.

You main problem at the moment is that your trying to take off on a slippery floor in a small room. Get outside on some grass and your current problems will dissapear (only to be replaced with new problems)

The most difficult thing with the real thing is having the confidence to do things for the first time. Once you start to panic and think about what your doing thats when you crash. On the sim where there is no fear factor its much easyer to push yourself.

If you can fly confidently on phoenix then you should be ok to fly for real. Just make sure everything is setup properly on the heli and take your time

[dam74]

Guess I'll have to look around to see if I can find an indoor club to fly the Blade 400 3D and have them look it over for me.