Blade 120 SR setup

[FeedTheInferno]

Hi everyone I have only got a blade 120 SR as its all I can afford at the moment and ever since I have had it I have not been able to even get it to hover. I practice a lot and it just doesn't seem to level correctly. Do these helis need setting up? If so could someone help me do it as I am getting upset not being able to fly it.

I was given a DX6I recently by a friend who didn't need it any more but I have not yet used it with the Blade 120 as the last time I flew it it crashed and now needs some spares, so on another note does anyone know of where the cheapest place to get spares for these is or does anyone maybe have some spare bits to sell for it?

Sorry if these are silly questions as I know its not a technical heli

[Vikki]

Midland Helicopters and Blade Heli Spares are both good places for spares. About the same price and what one has run out of the other will often (not always) have.

Align-trex do Blade spares as does RC Choppers. They're the only ones I can think of off the top of my head that carry all the parts. There are others but they carry only a few of the parts not all of them.

Others will add their knowledge so this list will grow.

DX6i on a 120SR will allow you to dumb it right down and make it easier to hover. However, that is easier said than done since even dumbed down hovering is a skill aquired by practice, practice, practice.

[tomatwalden]

Hi everyone I have only got a blade 120 SR as its all I can afford at the moment and ever since I have had it I have not been able to even get it to hover. I practice a lot and it just doesn't seem to level correctly. Do these helis need setting up? If so could someone help me do it as I am getting upset not being able to fly it.

I was given a DX6I recently by a friend who didn't need it any more but I have not yet used it with the Blade 120 as the last time I flew it it crashed and now needs some spares, so on another note does anyone know of where the cheapest place to get spares for these is or does anyone maybe have some spare bits to sell for it?

Sorry if these are silly questions as I know its not a technical heli

When you say "not level", what exactly do you mean? For example, the following scenarios are 100% normal :-

a) When taking off from a slippery surface (eg. wood), the heli slides rapidly to the left. This is called translating tendency.
b) In a hover, the heli leans to the right slightly (about 2 degrees-ish). This again is normal, and is used to counteract (a).

More info required!

[FeedTheInferno]

Thank you for that information Vikki,

On the note of the DX6i dumbing the 120SR down. Is that something that I would need to setup? (if so how would I do that) if not does it do it just by binding the TX to the heli?

[FeedTheInferno]

When you say "not level", what exactly do you mean? For example, the following scenarios are 100% normal :-

a) When taking off from a slippery surface (eg. wood), the heli slides rapidly to the left. This is called translating tendency.
b) In a hover, the heli leans to the right slightly (about 2 degrees-ish). This again is normal, and is used to counteract (a).

More info required!

Well when I take off for example the heli will rapidly slides to one direction and this is normally in such a way that I cannot get it to take off without crashing it into something. When in the air it leans considerably, I think to the right. I tried adjusting the trim to no avail.

I assume if these are normal how do I counteract them?

[Vikki]

A little right aileron as you lift off will counteract a left slide.

To dumb down you adjust d/r (dual rates) and expo in the transmitter for elevator and aileron. D/R reduces the movement range of the relevant servos whilst maintaining full stick movement. Expo reduces or increases the stick sensitivity around mid stick without affecting servo throw. You got softer control around midstick while retaining full movement when at full stick.

[tomatwalden]

Well when I take off for example the heli will rapidly slides to one direction and this is normally in such a way that I cannot get it to take off without crashing it into something. When in the air it leans considerably, I think to the right. I tried adjusting the trim to no avail.

I assume if these are normal how do I counteract them?

This is absolutely normal! - Welcome to the world of single-rotor flight. The easiest way to counteract the slide is to take off on something grippy - eg. grass or concrete, or put rubber rings around the skids. This effect is called translating tendency, and is the tail rotor pushing the heli to the left as a side-effect of counteracting the torque of the main motor/rotor blades. All single-rotor helicopters do this - even "real" ones!

The lean to the right is the natural counteraction of translating tendency. ie. you need to apply very mild right cyclic (aileron) to "lean" against the tail rotor.

Watch this video - it's the wrong way around since the blades are shown with anti-clockwise rather than clockwise rotation, but the principles are the same.

[FeedTheInferno]

So all in all, I'm just bad at flying it

Seriously though that's brilliant thank you for all of your help it helps me understand the heli much better. On a different note where can I get the rubber rings for the skids?

[tomatwalden]

So all in all, I'm just bad at flying it

Seriously though that's brilliant thank you for all of your help it helps me understand the heli much better. On a different note where can I get the rubber rings for the skids?

Ha! - no. My first heli was a 120SR. I remember being so excited when it arrived, then almost crushed when I thought it had a problem. Turns out I was hitting this same "issue" as I was trying to take off from a woodblock floor. My wife was very nice and suggested that it could be sent back!

Google was my friend then though, and after much time, I found out what was going on! Since then, I've been kind of fascinated by the physics of helicopter flight and have learnt loads!

The good news is, once you understand that it's normal - you develop a natural reaction to it very quickly! I suspect you'll find that 50% of more of the people on this forum have developed this instinct without even knowing it and that 100% of people don't realise they're applying right cyclic to maintain the hover - they just do it subconciously! I've even seen a video on YouTube of one guy suggesting putting weights on one skid to "correct" the lean! - doh!

As for rubber rings - anything that grips will do - homebase will probably have something you can use!

Also, I heartily recommend the following sites :

1/. A YouTube channel (and playlist) all about helicopter physics (Smarter Every Day) : DEEP DIVE #1 (You = Genius in 30 minutes) - YouTube
2/. John Salt's rchelicopterfun site, with 10-day flight school vids : How To Fly RC Helicopters

Enjoy! Tom

[Mimbulus]

If you are looking for DX6i settings for the 120SR - I can recommend the following thread. 2nd post on the first page a guy by the name of Helibones posts his setting which I use on my 120SR / DX6i and it flys great.

DX6i settings for the 120Sr - HeliFreak

[Sheldrake]

Hi and welcome to the bottomless pit (financially!) of this hobby.

I started with a 120SR late last year, all the posts have given great advice and encouragement but no one mentioned spares yet!

I still have mine (not working due to loose wire on the 3 in 1 board). you are welcome to it for spares. PM me your details.