My First flight.. My First Crash...

[jboweruk]

Ive only been waiting since Monday so i cant complain too much.. just me being impatient.. They should be with me tomorrow.

I feel your pain, literally, just got word this morning that the hardware pack (aka screws I really really need) for my BCX2 is out of stock. Aaargh.

[andrewgwood]

Hi Guys

I recently purchased a Century GL450SE. Went out on Saturday afternoon for my first flight. I have been practicing for a while on the flight simulator but wanted to get out and try the real thing out.

Went up a small playing field with a mate set up the heli with the training gear attached. On first take off i was surprised how much easier it felt in real life than it did on the simulator, didnt know if that was because it was sat in front of me and i had a better idea of distances etc..

The heli took off very easily, i went in straight into a hover and seems to have good control. I said to myself i wasnt going to do anymore than hover as i wanted to have some more sim experience.

First battery lasted about 20-25 minutes all hovering and practicing software landings etc. felt really comfortable and very pleased how stable the heli was and not how twitchy the 450 felt in the Pheonix sim.

Second battery came out and again i practiced hovering around.. Then about 10-15 minutes into the flight the heli caught a gust of wind and it took it up into the sky flying towards a fence and garden i tried to correct this but press the wrong controls and it went further into the dive towards the fence, i managed to fly it away from the fence, then it was on its way back towards me and towards a load of trees, I decided to put it down, unfortunately the training gear got stuck in the grass and it flipped it over and the blades hit the ground.. DOH!

Ive managed to cause about £60 of damage i believe, need new blades, new rotor arms, new rotor head, new tail boom, new tail fin, new flybars. not too bad i guess.

Was really disappointed as i thought the first battery, flight went very well. I learnt from this i need far more space to fly and not to fly too high in too higher winds.

I'll try and get some pictures up.

Off to the model shop today for spares! hoping to get back out next weekend!

Cheers

Knobby..

Yup flipped mine too on the undercarriage, rotor struck the tail boom and the rest is history!

Fly on tarmac its much easier as it skids along.

[knobby]

Yup flipped mine too on the undercarriage, rotor struck the tail boom and the rest is history!

Fly on tarmac its much easier as it skids along.

Oh i thought grass would have been more forgiving when crashing this is why i went for grass but i understand what u mean about skidding.

The parts arrived today just rebuilding the heli now. The main roter isnt actually as complicated as it looks. well i say that now, hopefully i put it together right lol.. Took loads of photographs before i took it apart.

Busted two servo's aswell though so off to model shop tomorrow to see if they have them in stock. Can anyone recommend anything a little stronger than the Century ones, ideally not the Futaba ones as they aint cheap!

Cheers

Knobby..

[Sieze2]

Would the Hi tec 65Mg's fit? They are indestructable in my T-rex

[rabfaetheblae]

Hi there knobby have you recieved your spareas yet, i just wanted wanted to ask if you are flying your just as it came and if all the settings were fine on it or you needed to tweak anything,i allso heard screws have a habbit of falling out of them...im offshore just now but i have one waiting for me which i bought online along with some upgrades...5 more days cant wait lol...

[Buzzlightyear]

Knobby I have the same heli, check the feathering shaft isn't bent as well because i think they are made of plasticine !

I have ordered spares from century direct online and they take about two days to get to me standard postage.

20 mins is definatly to long on that stock lipo. I get about 8 mins and have allready killed one battery through running it dead.

[knobby]

Hey..

Yeah , they came in a couple of days. All back together fine and back flying.. no more crashes just yet.

Knobby.

[Buccaneer]

Nobby i use T-Rex bits for my Gl450 feathering and main shafts are the same, the century replacement stuff isnt that good.........

[The Gagsy]

Hi Knobby, hope your next flight is not as expensive, keep an eye on the wind, I took my little Lama 4 out the other week and a breeze got it, had to drop it quick but i was lucky only broke the blades, i know how it feels you think you got it nearly there on flight sim and off you go to field. Only to have your hopes dashed, and another trip to repair yard, If this hobby teaches you a few things. It might be. I think you never have it nailed until you get it home in one piece, (might be a few in here that manage that), This hobby takes a good while to get right, and The persistence of a lunatic. The Patience of a saint, and the co-ordination of a brain surgeon, and when it comes to ya its the Eureka moment. I'm still waiting.

[jsplace]

Hi guys, well sorry to hear about your first outing Knobby. I just about avoided the same thing myself yesterday. Have just bought the Blade 400 yesterday and of course was very eager to take to the skies! Unfortunately the weather was not ideal, intermittent rain and unpredictable gusting wind! Anyway, put the training gear on and gave it ago. THANK GOD I managed to hold on to a little self restraint! Kept hovers to about 6 inches off the ground but I too caught a gust and suddenly found the heli about 4 feet up and flying backwards towards me. Having only been a fixed pitch flier before now I panicked a little and yanked back on the throttle, God how that thing comes down fast! Anyway, just managed to put some throttle on before it hit the ground and made a perfect and comletely lucky landing. Onlt had 3 mins on the timer but had learnt my lesson and will now wait for the right conditions. Looks like I will be sticking to the sim for now as we now have gale force wind today!

Good luck with your flying Knobby and I'm sure that with enough practise we will both be Chief Pilots in no time!

[RotaryOne]

Thanks, jsplace, for that useful input on your first go with the 400. I am on CX2 and Phoenix with the Blade 400 on the shelf awaiting the fitting of an AR7000 rx (if I can get it in) and for some batteries to arrive. So, for me, first flight experiences with the Blade 400 are particularly interesting.

[jsplace]

Whats your reason for fitting the AR7000? Is there an advantaqge to having the 7000 over the AR6100e thats already fitted?

Also another thing I noticed from my very brief flight yesterday is that the cyclic is far too sensitive for my liking/skill level. I know that I can dumb it down a little by adding expo but before I go making a huge mistake could someone please confirm that to desensitise the controls I ADD expo ie. a positive number?

Thanks

[RotaryOne]

The 7000 has an extra channel and this would be useful if scale bodies were (and it seems likely they will) be brought out for the 400 and had retracts. Also at the moment I am investigating a nav light set for the standard 400, with 10mm nose and landing lights. So being able to switch those on and off would be an additional feature.

Boggey seems to be the one to offer good advice on setting up the 400. I am not there yet.

[Boggy]

hi jsplace . yes you are correct. about +10% expo feels right for me! if you a complete beginner you may need slightly more. just experiment till it feels right for yourself!also adding a wheel collet to each side of the flybar makes a mahooosve difference to the way it flys!

[jsplace]

Thanks Boggy, now for a really dumb question. What are wheel collets and where can I find them?