Hi New Beginner Here from Woking

[G-Bru]

Hey Guys

New to this forum and to RC Heli's, clearly addicted as I have drained my bank account this month on a Buzzfly BE (plus loads of spare parts), and a Buzzfly 3DS with BF8 Transmitter (Walker 2801 Pro).

Well I must admit that Micro Helis are not very easy to fly, needless to say I have spent quite some time repairing my little BE. (Have not even tried to fly the 3DS yet till I can successfully hover the BE correctly).
Have read Radds School of Flight and have implemented his teachings to my flying or shall I say scooting. Its clearly working as I am getting more of a feel for the controls and inputs, so taking it slow and progressing quite nicely.

Looking for some explanations please as to some of the settings on my TX:

Gyro/Aux2 (I understand that this is the sensitivity of the Gyro to counteract the forces of the main & tail rotors.)

0: 70% (What does the 0 represent)?
1: 15% (What does the 1 represent)?

Swash Mix (I understand that this is related to stick input sensitivity)

Elev 50%
Aile 50%
Pit. -50% (Why is Pit. a negative value)

Thro Hold (What is its function)?

Hold Pos. +12 (Can you explain this value)

Whilst I fully understand the purpose of the Throttle curves I have not quite grasped the Pitch curves settings. I understand Pitch is the angle of the rotor blades but what are the below values all about?

Norm Mode: 31.5 43.5 56 68.5 80
ST-1: 28 40 52 66 80 (What does ST-1 represent - is it 3D Mode?)
ST-2: 28 40 52 66 80 (What does ST-2 represent - is it 3D Mode?)

What does the Hold/ Rudd D/R /Mix switch on the TX do?

Sorry for all the questions, the manual for the TX is not all that great.

Thanks in advance guys.

Grant

[Mart61]

Welcome aboard! You're not too far from me.

To answer a few of your questions:

Q: 0: 70% (What does the 0 represent)?
1: 15% (What does the 1 represent)?
A: You will probably find that your Tx has a gyro switch that, when flicked, will toggle the gyro between heading hold and rate mode. 0 looks like HH and 1 rate.

Q: Swash Mix (I understand that this is related to stick input sensitivity)
Elev 50%
Aile 50%
Pit. -50% (Why is Pit. a negative value)
A: Swash mix adjusts the amount of travel that the cyclic servos move when the sticks are moved. It's a similar thing to travel adjust. If you were to increase the figures, the swash would move further for any given amount of stick input. The pitch being a negative number is similar to servo reversing. If this figure were positive your swash would move in the opposite direction when collective stick input was made

Q: Thro Hold (What is its function)?
A: This essentially holds the throttle at whatever setting you have set your Tx to. Many have theirs set for minimum throttle (between 0 and 5%). When the switch is flicked it send the throttle to the set position and, no matter what is done to the collective stick, the throttle settings will be set at the TH setting.

Q: Whilst I fully understand the purpose of the Throttle curves I have not quite grasped the Pitch curves settings. I understand Pitch is the angle of the rotor blades but what are the below values all about?
A: The pitch curves affect the angle of attack of the main blades at any given collective stick position. If your heli had a minimum pitch angle of -10 degrees and a max pitch angle of +10 degrees and you were running a straight line pitch curve (i.e. 0, 25, 50, 750, 100), you would have accompanying blades angles of -10, -5, 0, +5, +10. However, assuming your min and max angles to be -10 to +10, your curves would give you about -3, -1.5, +1, +7, +8.

Your ST1 & 2 are for your idle up (or stunt mode). You can adjust both of these curves to make the heli more (or less) aggressive when the corresponding switch is toggled.

Q: What does the Hold/ Rudd D/R /Mix switch on the TX do?
A: Is there only one such switch?

For a better explanation, illustrated with graphs and stuff, take a peek here.

[asomaro]

Welcome on board Grant.

Nice answers from Martin. You may also want to take a look here as well: ChopperAddicts Radio Controlled Helicopters Web Site

Good luck with your new addiction

Cheers,

[G-Bru]

Martin & Simon

Many thanks for the detailed explanations to my questions not to mention the links (very handy), its all starting to make sense now!

Martin as you have stated that you are nearby, are you suggesting that we meet up so you can offer some guidance!!

Hmmm.... my Throttle Hold is set to +12 should I lower this value and how much??

Q: What does the Hold/ Rudd D/R /Mix switch on the TX do?
A: Is there only one such switch?

A: No I have 6 different switches on the TX this one has this description on it.

Where do I set my minimum and maximum pitch???? (Is this a mechanical adjustment)?

Thanks for your patience guys I can imagine you must have answered all these questions many times before.

Regards

Grant

[alex]

Maximum and minimum pitch angles are set mechanically on the head. The pitch curve on the transmitter purely dictates the proportion to use of the mechanical pitch you have set, so if you had, for example -10 to +10 pitch set on the head, a straight line pitch curve on the Tx would give-

Position 0 -10 degrees pitch
Position 1- 25% -5 degrees pitch
Position 3- 50% 0 degrees pitch
Position 4- 75% +5 degrees pitch
Position 5- 100% +10 degrees pitch

assuming a 5 point straight line pitch curve.

I know nothing about your heli in terms of setting pitch on the head, so will hope someone more qualified fills that bit in I am still pretty new to this myself.

This is s helpful thread for the mechanics http:/www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/setup-advice/19011-basic-ccpm-setup-new-machine.html

[Mart61]

Grant,

I'm more than happy to meet up such that I can give you what little knowledge I have (and, on your particular model/Tx, for little read none )

Perhaps you could swing by our club at some point? Click on the SCMHC logo in my sig for details. Always happy to help out where I can.

[martynv]

Hi Grant,

The Buzzfly BE is a great little heli and I've discovered once you can fly one you can easily move on to the bigger stuff. It is however a bit difficult to get the hang of. If you cut your servo travel on both elevator and alieron to 50% this will help quite a bit, but don't use any expo though. Also if you incline the paddles up at 15-20 degrees this will help the stability enormously. I found initialy it's best to sit on the floor with the heli in front of you so you can hover low down at eye level. If the BE is well trimmed it is quite stable in hover so it's worth spending time on this or get someone to trim it for you. The main problem is the slow response of the controls which can be a real problem since as soon as you've realised its moving one way or the other you can't react quick enough to stop it.

If you can find a large area to practise in and keep trying it's definitely well worth it. Personaly I reckon it's much better than a simulator. It took me 2 weeks on and off to get the hang of a good hover, but of course that could just be me....

[cupracing]

I'm based in Walton on Thames if that's easier for you

[raptormark]

welcome have fun

[coptermanic]

Welcome to the forum Grant, enjoy!!!!!!!!

[G-Bru]

Thanks for the warm welcome fellas.

So I got myself the Phoenix SIM installed it, setup and had a play last night, not quite the same feel as the real thing but it sure does help with getting your head around the orientation of the heli, experienced countless crashes which would have cost me spare parts in excess of £5000.00..... LOL!
Was just a little bummed that the Walkera 4G6 (Buzzfly 3DS) is not available in the models list, ended up flying the Hurricane 550 instead.


Martin, I am pretty damn close to the Club and flying field so will definitely drop down there to say hello.

@ Martynv, fella the only parts I have not yet replaced on my BE are the servos, main motor, and rotor assy! I have spent quite a substantial amount on that little heli, which is why I have resorted to scooting on a piece of card board with training gear and got the SIM. Guess I am just absolutely rubbish at flying. I am passionate tinkerer which plays a big part of this hobby which is why I love it so much.
Just need to get my head around all the jargon setup etc... then can crack on with the flying.

Grant

[Mart61]

Look forward to meeting you.

[G-Bru]

Woohooooooo did my first pretty stable 30 second hover tonight!!!! Was it the SIM, was it the fact that I changed the gyro/receiver on my BE to stop the jittery tail motor. I think the latter, never the less something seems to have clicked and I am feeling warm and fuzzy all over!!!!

Thanks to all of you for the very helpful links and advice, its helped get me in the air!

Grant

[mista_b69]

welcome and good luck lol.....

[Mart61]

Nice one Grant! Great feeling eh?