TRex 600 N LE first hover, not so good :-(

[funeebski]

Hi all, just finished building my first heli yesterday after weeks of buying bits and evenings building it. Its a 600 Nitro LE, Align servos, Multigov pro and Inertia 860 Gyro.

Completed it yesterday so took it into the garden to spool it up and hover it. Couple of problems tho, when I spooled it up there was a fairly bad wobble, then as head speed got faster it went, but every time i gave it a blip on the throttle it wobbled about a bit.

I checked the pitch of the blades, and length of the paddles and they are all spot on, the head and all linkages are all spot on too. So took it out to try again, managed to get it off the ground but the tail was lagging pretty badly so couldnt sit and hover.

One thing I did notice is that I've only used 1 guide on the tail for the rudder control rod, and this had vibrated to the front of the tail and the rudder control rod was vibrating all over the place. I have another guide so I'll put that on, are the supposed to be glued in place?

Also the heli was leaking fuel from somewhere, glow plug is tight, looks like it's coming from the carb? Is this usual on a new engine thats set rich?

Also, 1 last thing, set the tail up spot on, servo horn dead on 90, just starting to buzz on full throw in either direction, then installed the gyro and set the end points, now the rudder is reaching full throw at only half stick, and the tail was ultra sensitive when i attempted hovering.
I tried putting the d/r on rudder down to 50% which sorted it in normal mode but not in AVCS, any ideas on how to sort this?
In the DX7 gyro menu, I have Gyro Sens on Auto, Rate 0:18%, Rate 1:82%.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated

[Mike W]

The spool up vibe is normal as the blades centre themselves ... You need to check you blade tightness as well ... Tilt the heli on the side and the blades should stay there until you give it a little bang they should then move ...

Use both guides and CA glue ( superglue ) them into place

" I have Gyro Sens on Auto, Rate 0:18%, Rate 1:82%. " Do you mean 82 in the menu?? ... The tail will move even at half stick in HH mode , this is normal

If the tail is too sensative then add some expo and take the endpoints down in the rudder channel as this is what controls the speed of the tail ....

[funeebski]

Hi Mike, yes the gyro rates are 18% and 82% in the dx7 menu, does that sound about right?

When i move the stick half way over to the left or right it reaches full throw on the slider so am left with a deadzone from half stick to full stick. Is it ok to adjust endpoints on the tx? I thought it all had to be done on the gyro?

[Lynx.1677]

I wouldn't glue the guides as they are then stuck on the boom. Use a bit of a cable tie to stick under it which will secure it in place. Head wobble is normal at low headspeeds, what kind of headspeed are you running?

[funeebski]

I'm not sure at the moment, governer is all connected but I've set it to off while running in the engine.

[waveydavey]

Hi Mike, yes the gyro rates are 18% and 82% in the dx7 menu, does that sound about right?

When i move the stick half way over to the left or right it reaches full throw on the slider so am left with a deadzone from half stick to full stick. Is it ok to adjust endpoints on the tx? I thought it all had to be done on the gyro?

I would check your gyro settings, I don't think it's anything to with the Tx. Adjusting your endpoints on the Tx will just adjust your piro rate. Make sure when you set the limits for the gyro that you have 100/100 on the endpoints and then setup the gyro limits. Make sure you try a rebind of your Tx and Rx too. The guide rods are important in their position too, try to get them equi distant otherwise you'll end up with the harmonic vibration your seeing. The guides you can just apply pressure to the sides and slip a tie wrap under the top. Cutting off the spare. This way you can reposition and re-use.

[Mike W]

Set the gyro settings to 50/50 on both hh and rate mode then adjust from that as a starting point .. If the tail feels soggy then its probably because the gain is too low in hh mode ...Set the endpoints to 100 as a startbase on the rudder channel and then adjust from there to get the speed of the tail as you want it

As for the gluing of the guides to the boom its upto you and a mute point as a litte dab of CA glue on them works and you can still remove the guides if you want even with a little glue on them .. The choice is your but I would rather glue them than stretch them with tie wraps ...

In HH mode the servo will move full throw even at low movement on the stick as thats the way it works .. Don't worry about it ... In rate mode the servo/tail will move like a normal servo through the entire range of the stick movement

[Guest]

I assume from your post this is your first heli? If so, then get it fully checked by someone experienced. Then join a club to learn to fly it. This is a much safer route. Auction sites are full of flown only once etc, because people give up after finding it to hard going the solo route.

[funeebski]

Ok thats the guides in place and secured, will run through the gyro setup again and give it another try.

Well it's my second Heli Colin, I built a trex 450 a couple of years back which flew perfect from the first flight. There are only a couple of clubs near me, and neither are taking on any new heli members at present.
I've watched hours of video and made sure everything was spot on whilst building so am confident its all ok, also a lot of time practicing on phoenix. My only prob now is the gyro, the instructions were very vague, wish I had gone with a futaba or something.

[Guest]

Shame you can't get in a club, this really would help you. It is silly that a club won't take you on. After all, you could end up in a local park with it! I would gladly accept you as a member and teach, but sadly you're a little drive away. I know what you mean about quality gyros, makes all the difference.

[funeebski]

No I would never take it to a local park! I just want to get it hovering in the garden then I know a couple of big fields to go and fly it some more.
Well there was a guy who lives just up the road from me who ran Hullavington model aircraft club but sadly he passed away in march. My other local club don't have a heli instructor and 1 a bit further afield arent taking any new members!

[Bee_random]

Is the Hullavington club still going? I used to be a member and Colin was a good guy, helped me loads. I noticed that their web site is no longer functioning.

There is a club the other side of Bath, it's a bit of a hike, but may be worth a visit. If you'd like company on a trip over to check them out I'd join you. I'm only in Box.