Just wondering?

[mailee]

I am new to heli's although have flown fixed wing Glow motors many many years ago. I have just bought an Aerohawk indoor heli as it is a cheap way to try it first and am slowly getting to grips with it. I can now hover well most of the time for a few seconds after starting with bunny hops. I still have the training undercarriage on I might add. I have already set my sights on the next one, a Zoom 400 which I think should be my next step as a foray into collective pitch. My question is: If I dont intend to do any aerobatics but just fly a heli as per full size how would I set the Collective?. I have read that they are set with negative pitch up to around half throttle and then it goes into positive. If I never intend to fly inverted why would I need this setup?. Could I not just set the pitch to zero until half throttle and then into positive pitch?. I think it would also be much easier for a novice like me if I get into trouble and should closer the throttle down I would not power into the ground with negative pitch on the blades. As I say I am new to this so forgive my ignorance in the matter as I know nothing about throttle and pitch curves as yet but am trying to learn as I go along. My last set of radio gear was a 72mghz am Futaba six channel so you can see how long it has been. :-) Thanks for any input even if I might not need it for a while yet.

[mo]

Hello Mailee.
Welcome to heliaddicts and you will be sure to get the help you require on this site.
If you are getting somewhere with those little indoor buzzers, you will most certainly find the I/C ones so much easier to fly, so you are doing very well.
I am not learned enough to answer your query well enough on the collective issue, but rest assured you will not wait long for the help you need.
GOOD LEARNING.
Mo.

[Raptorite]

Hi Mailee,

First of all welcome to the site and to the hobby

The small miro helis like the aerohawk arent the easiest to fly, so if you can hover it you will be fine with any of the larger electric or glow powered helis.

The Zoom 400 is a really nice heli, Ive got one myself, havent had it all that long and havent really got to grips with it properly yet though. I have hovered it in my back garden, it feels really stable and as has been said before it really does handle like a larger .30 powered glow heli. I have put a MJP Carbon rear mounted gyro plate on mine with a GY401 on top, therefore the centre of gravity isnt quite right as with the weight of the gyro on the back it is a bit tail heavy. I have ordered a MJP carbon radio tray extension which will allow me to move the battery forward to give a better C of G and balance. Once I have that on I will give the Zoom a decent fly. From the limited flight time Ive had with the Zoom so far I would recommend it as your next heli.

Having said that, you might well find you are better off with a .30 glow heli like a raptor or sceadu or calibre 30 etc. This is because you will find it easier to fly as it is bigger, has a bigger presence in the air and is therefore less suseptable to wind. Being physically larger they are also easier to see in the air.

Are you a member of a club or are you just going it alone? If you are going it alone, it may be best to join a club as Im sure you would find the other members of the club helpful in assisting you with the learning process. In this case you would really benefit from a .30 size glow heli.

In terms of the throttle and pitch curve setup, You could set the pitch so you have say -2 degrees at bottom stick, 5.5 (hover point) at centre stick and 10 degrees at top stick. You will need this because when you get into flying circuits you will need the negative to decend the model towards the ground for landing etc.

Once you have got the pitch sorted out you can then set the throttle curve to give you a nice consistent head speed at all pitch settings, in other words as you increase or decrease the pitch you will need to do the same with the throttle to keep the rotor head turning at a constant speed without loading up or overspeeding too much.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Pete.