Help needed with Walkera 43Q ( micro cobra)

[Cthulu]

hi folks, Im a complete noob with the technical side of rc heli's. Ive flown a few 4ch helis, mainly co-ax, and am fairly competent at flying them, so I bought a Walkera 43Q cobra single rotor heli. It is extremely sensitive and ive already had to replace a few minor parts on it due to not being able to control it as well as the co-ax's. I fully understand the importance of having the heli setup correct before flying, but there are some things i am uncertain about. My main query is that when i have the heli up and in a hover, it seems to sit slightly tilted to the right ( on its vertical axis) when viewed from behind. Ive been told this is normal for a small heli? Similarly, when hovering, if the blades are level to the horizon, the flybar isnt level, and is tilted slighty to the right ( the 2 circles created from the spinning parts are evident on the right but on the left it mix's to 1 blurry circle). Is this caused by the right tilt on the heli or is this the cause of the right tilt on the heli? Im pretty sure my swashplate is level, the flybar is balanced and the paddles are level. Also pretty sure the CG is OK.
It might be that im just rubbish at controlling it, but it seems that when i yaw the heli, it also drifts off quickly in the direction of the yaw. Ive tried keeping it in a steady hover and then performing a couple of quick pirouets, but instead of spinning on the spot it drifts off.

I would greatly appreciate if someone who knows these little things could tell me if there are things needing fixed with the heli or if this is the way it is and i just cant fly it.
thanks for any help,
cheers,
Liam

[msssltd]

My main query is that when i have the heli up and in a hover, it seems to sit slightly tilted to the right ( on its vertical axis) when viewed from behind. Ive been told this is normal for a small heli?

This is normal for a small 4 channel single blade heli, such as the 43Q.

When the rotor rotates it creates a force called torque effect, due to Issac Newtons 3rd law of motion. Because the blade is rotating clockwise (left to right) it creates a force in the opposite direction (right to left). A two bladed, co-ax, heli balances this force by rotating a second blade in the opposite direction. The counter clockwise torque effect balances the clockwise torque effect and the heli stays still. The permanent tilt to the right on a single bladed heli is an attempt to balance the clockwise torque effect. However, as torque effect will vary with the speed of the rotor rotation, it can not be completely balanced out by a permanent tilt on the blades. Hence a single bladed heli will tend to drift unless the controls are used to compensate.

The good news is, that while the physics is all very interesting, you do not need to understand it to hover a single bladed heli. You just need to learn to add the right amount of (aileron) offset with the controls.

I would greatly appreciate if someone who knows these little things could tell me if there are things needing fixed with the heli or if this is the way it is and i just cant fly it.

I know a little about these things, rather than a great deal. What I do know is that you can not just pick up a single bladed heli and expect to know how to fly it. I mean, you might know which direction to move the sticks, but you need to teach your fingers how far to move the sticks. It takes practice but that is all a part of the fun.

Welcome to the learning curve Liam. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

[Balders]

Put it this way, I can keep my trex 450 in a steadier hover in my lounge than my 4#3B

Don't panic if it's not as stable as a co-ax. It never is going to be, fundamental physics differences. I certainly went through a set of main blades and several tail blades whilst learning, but with a few hours on the sticks, I can comfortably run through a battery without a crash, although things like piro's/nose in etc can lead to some squeaky moments, if you know what I mean

[Cthulu]

cheers

thanks guys, thats put me at ease a bit. I can control the 43Q fairly well when it comes to hovering around from the tail or left or right side, its just when its nose pointed at me i cant respond fast enough to keep it in the air. Its out of action at the moment until i get some new tail rotors... damn things keep breaking and i know its not my fault

So, what about the flybar tilt then? is this just an effect caused by newtons law as well? Or can i get the flybar to sit more parallel with the horizontally levelled blades when hovering??

thanks again guys

[Balders]

dont know much about the 43Q but it might be worth googling something like 43q tuning tweaks. On my 4#3B for example they recommend putting a few degrees positive pitch on the flybar paddles which makes it more stable in the hover.

[GravityKills]

it sounds like the typical micro-heli problems. If you forget about the fear of crashing, it is much easier to fly a large heli than a small one, because they do exactly as told. The small ones don't.

Two hints:
- forget about coaxes. If a heli is the same as playing guitar in a band, then a coax is like playing guitar hero
- if you're serious about heli flying, you can learn a lot even with the cheapest heli. For example, I spent many hours doing nose-in and tail-in circles indoors with my 4#3. Try not to get into a habit of crashing frequently, otherwise you'll pay dearly once you get a 450. The bigger ones aren't nearly as forgiving, but it's more difficult to make mistakes as well.