Second helicopter, first real (ish) helicopter.

[dam74]

Yeah most of the twister parts are interchangeable from what I've read now. Where I saw the Twister Storm is Sussex Helis in Forest Row, East Sussex. I occassionally drive out to him on a Saturday to have a drool session and buy some parts. Hobbystores in Bernard St, Southampton is probably the best local hobby shop but it's an all-round hobby store so doesn't specialise. Plus they're plank flyers from what I've been told and come across as a bit arrogant which is off putting for new flyers. It's good if you need non-genuine parts, fuel, batteries, carbon/plastic/metal rod or tube etc. They have a few heli kits there such as Raptor 30, Blade400 RTF and a few Trex450 kits. They don't stock Blade400 spares and I'd suggest somewhere like Sussex Helis for spares as he has most of what you need and will get it you the following day (as long as you order in the morning).

Being another local, you should come along to the Southampton Indoor meets that we organise. It'll be a good place to learn as the Twister will be a bit small to take out in this weather. Plus you'll meet others with the Blade400 and you'll be able to get tips on how to setup your Twister. When you decide to upgrade your TX let me know as I might be moving up to the DX7 when I find that my job is stable and the money situation gets a bit better. I'll send you a PM about the Soton meets and if you need training gear for the Twister Storm let me know as I have some Thunder Tiger ones that I used for my Blade400 but no longer use them anymore.

[fredted40x]

Thanks dam74.

Got back last night and picked up my helicopter this morning , i managed to get a modelshop in london to reduce their price on the twister so i went and picked up today.

Its got its training gear on and the blades are ready to go, but i am going to avoid the temptation to fly it until i get my simulator (hopefully tomorrow).

Got you pm about the show, will have a look at the links in a bit, just have to delete several hundred spam emails .

Are the southampton sessions usually on friday nights?

Thanks again

[dam74]

When we book calshot velodrome it's fridays, crestwood it's tuesday night. However things aren't looking good for Jan at the moment which is a shame.

[fredted40x]

Just turned on the heli and started to spin the blades up (not trying to take off just make sure its all ok) and the tail blade seems to keep cutting out and then starting again or speeding up and slowing down, cant tell but its doing something strange. The helicopter turns clockwise when it does this.

any ideas whats wrong?

p.s. are the tail blades supposed to spin anti clockwise?

[dam74]

Yes tail blades go opposite to the main blades. Ensure that the leading edge of both main and tail blades are travelling with the direction of travel.

As for the tail blades cutting out, could be a loose belt, belt with missing teeth, tail pulley drive pulley or tail drive shaft with lost teeth on gears or the gears detatching from shafts due to them melting from over tight belt. I suggest you don't fly it at all until somebody looks at it for you. If the tail rotor is operating at an incorrect speed or variably will cause the helicopter to spin. I've just repaired a tail drive pulley where the gears had seperated from the shaft. The tail was spinning ok but wasn't reaching correct speed and as a result couldn't counter the rotation from the main shaft.

If you want it going over Xmas I'm happy to try and get it going for you. By all means I'm no expert but I have a lot of spares for the B400 so could help get you going while the shops are shut.

[fredted40x]

Thanks again.

Could it be that the helicopter is vibrating ( is that the pitch ) and its confusing the gyro?

I dont think it happens at low speed but i might take it out tomorrow and try spinning the blades so its still on the ground but to just see if it constantly des it aas ive only managed to test in my kitchen at the moment for about 4-5 seconds at a time, if it still happens i might take you up on your offer if you dont mind, but il check first.

one more question, how tight should the tail blades be?

[dam74]

In the previous post you said that the tail was cutting out, as in loss of power/spinning. The gyro with vibration will not cause the tail head to stop spinning all it will do is move the tail pitch slider back and forth along the tail shaft to counter the vibration and produce a wag of the tail. I had an overly sensitive Acerlab G1000 gyro that would pickup on vibration and would do this. I ended up sending it back.
So is the tail stopping and starting or is the slider moving back and forth??? By the way, stock Twister Storm gyros are problematic from what I've read.

Any of the pros correct me if I'm wrong, but the main and tail blades should require a little bit of force to move them but they should be moveable not absolutely rigid in the blade grips.

[fredted40x]

is it safe to accelerate without the main blades attached as i could test it now?

[dam74]

Yes but I wouldn't take it past 50% (midstick). It should be fine to go all the way as the motor/esc will never draw as much current as with blades/load. However you might take it past the max RPM it's designed for. Also be careful of the heli trying to rotate on the table/worktop.

[fredted40x]

just tried and i lied, the tail blade doesnt cut out but the servo twitches.

Would you say this is the gyro then?

[dam74]

You didn't lie mate. Just unsure how to describe what you were seeing. I do it all the time as I'm not experienced

That twitching would be the gyro. I take it that it's a Twister Storm stock gyro and not an aftermarket one? If it's stock then apparently they're a bit of a pain in the backside so would recommend changing it when you have the funds.

You could pickup a stock Eflite B400 gyro but for £37 you might aswell try and get a second hand GY401 or GP750

[fredted40x]

Yeah its the twister storm gyro and yeah ive head bad things about it as well.

Is this what im looking for
UKHP-401 HeadLock Gyro with GY401 AVCS Spec G401B UK on eBay (end time 30-Dec-09 01:45:50 GMT)

any ideas why it so cheap?

or there is the b400 gyro
Blade 400 Micro HL Gyro - EFLRG110HL --- BuzzFlyer UK

p.s. it came with the twister rc controller so like you said its already setup so i dont think it will have the bind plug.

Is it possible to reduce the gain of the servo with the controller or is it all done witht the screw on the gyro?

[dam74]

No that is a clone and you'd probably be dealing with an unknown. You're best off sticking with radio gear that people know on these forums that way you can get sound advice. Take a look in the forsale section on this website and keep your eyes peeled over christmas. You might grab a bargain as I'm sure people will be selling some gear over the holidays.

I'm not sure about the stock gyro that comes with the Twister. How many wires are there to the gyro. If it is a 3core ribbon cable then the gain pot is used on the helicopter. If it is a 4core ribbon cable then you can set the gain via the model setup or you could disconnect the cable from this channel and set the gain via the pot. Without knowing much about the TX that comes with the Storm, I'd lay bets that it doesn't allow for setup via the TX and I'm gathering it'd be a manual adjustment.

[fredted40x]

K will keep a look out.

There are two lots of wires one looks like the wires go into a plug and then the plug plugs into the gyro, that has 3, and the other looks like its built into the gyro, that has 4.

Have just found out (by accidently turning of the transmitter and then getting three cuts trying to unplug the battery ) that if i turn the transmitter off with the helicopter on the helicopter spins full pelt. Can you get a fail safe or anything to stop that?

[dam74]

I did warn you earlier in a private message about correct powerup procedures and to RTFM

No there isn't a failsafe. Just remember that the TX is FOLO (a bit like FIFO if you're a programmer )......FIRST ON, LAST OFF.