What do people think of the new angled skids on T-Rex's?

[PHewson]

I bought a 550 the other week, crashed it so bad i had to buy another! It had standard skids on it.
Found another 2nd hand one with the angled skids, moved recievers optipower etc to the newer one.
Flew it for the first time the other day and nearly crashed it due to the skids.

I think it has taught me one thing, do not rely on the skids when flying, TAILBOOM!
Landing was tricky for the first couple of times.

What do other people think.
Have you swapped the angled skids for the standard skids?

Just interested.

P.

[chrisleematt21]

I have had standard skids but now I use the angled ones.

I find them better as they keep the boom nice and high.

Great for autos when the landings are a bit fast and slidey!

[Grumpy]

I much prefer the angled skids as they keep the tail out of the dirt. I fitted angled skids to my Trex 600 before they were even officially available by using the low profile skids on the front and the standard ones on the rear, much better. Never had any issues with visual orientation, the skids are not something you should be focused on in flight

[PHewson]

I much prefer the angled skids as they keep the tail out of the dirt. I fitted angled skids to my Trex 600 before they were even officially available by using the low profile skids on the front and the standard ones on the rear, much better. Never had any issues with visual orientation, the skids are not something you should be focused on in flight

Yes, you are correct 'Grumpy' I should not be looking at the skids! It did make me think and then in my mind I heard my instructor giving me other visiual pointers.
I shall persevere, before changing them.
Appreciate the input.

P.

[bigpops]

Looking at the skids for hover practice is something I think everyone has done at some point. I certainly remember doing it.

These days though, I prefer any skid layout that lifts the tail out of the grass. I don't really look at the skids in flight anymore, which is why my old preference for white skids is no longer a thing.

[coolice]

Hey buddy.

I'm with you, I'm not a fan of the angled skids myself.
Mind you I come from an F3C competitive background and throughout the hovering manoeuvres the skids need to be eye level, so during hovering at least I am looking at the skids for a visual reference as to what the helicopter is doing.
That's not to say I'm flying the skids completely, but it's part of my reference on the model's attitude.
I have got used to them, these being on my 550X, but I prefer the straight skids.

Also from an F3C point of view, the model needs to ascend and decent back into the middle circle and remain level. Angled skids won't allow this so from that perspective points would be lost.

From a beginners perspective they help save the tail from ground strikes, but can also hinder things I feel. As the model is tilted forward as soon as the model break ground it needs to be levelled, my fear is beginners pulling up elevator to level with the skids still in contact with the ground. This goes against the recommendations by most FBL manufacturer's to not use the cyclic while the model is on the ground, as the units are rate demand and will throw in the required amount of blade deflection to gain a response in fuselage attitude. So not ideal.

Ian Contessa

[Grumpy]

Ian, I know in theory you would expect to heli to travel forward on liftoff due to the tilt of the skids but in practice this really doesnt seem to be an issue. I guess we just compensate for it automatically as we already have to do for other factors such as wind and left drift due to tail rotor thrust. I'm only speaking from my own experience of several helis with tilted skids but for sure I dont notice an issue. Admittedly I'm so F3C flyer so for those interested in that discipline maybe it's more of an issue.

As for only 'beginners' needing to keep the tails out of the dirt, it's a wider issue than that especially for flying small to medium size helis off grass and/or uneven ground.

With Align if you really dont like them there is always the option of fitting the older style lending gear they are cheap enough.

[Grumpy]

Looking at the skids for hover practice is something I think everyone has done at some point. I certainly remember doing it.

yeah, I'm sure you are right there. Despite me saying you shouldnt be looking at the skids I know that when I first flew a heli that didn't have any skids (a Goblin speed with 'flippers') it was distinctly strange for a while, it really took some getting used to. I think the point is that you shouldn't use the skids exclusively as a reference above all others. You really cant anyway because as soon as you get any reasonable distance away and/or start banking in turns you loose sight of them.

[j2m]

I've never liked angled skids either. While I don't orient on any particular part of the heli so far as I'm aware, I do find angled skids distracting - it was one of the reasons I sold my Henseleit 3D NT years ago as I just couldn't get comfortable with the look of it. Mind you, the long, slim canopy which was almost looked the same from front or back didn't help matters either

[trillian]

I've never liked angled skids either. While I don't orient on any particular part of the heli so far as I'm aware, I do find angled skids distracting - it was one of the reasons I sold my Henseleit 3D NT years ago as I just couldn't get comfortable with the look of it. Mind you, the long, slim canopy which was almost looked the same from front or back didn't help matters either

I don't mind angled skids and on smaller helis it can really help keep the tail blades from plowing into the ground. But for me, I must have something on the canopy that makes it very obvious at a distance to tell the front from the back.

[PHewson]

I don't mind angled skids and on smaller helis it can really help keep the tail blades from plowing into the ground. But for me, I must have something on the canopy that makes it very obvious at a distance to tell the front from the back.

So trillian, what do you have on the canopy that makes it obvious?
I struggle sometimes with that, I think that was partial to my crash the other week. P.

[trillian]

So trillian, what do you have on the canopy that makes it obvious?
I struggle sometimes with that, I think that was partial to my crash the other week. P.

The only time I've had major moments of shear terror was with canopies that wrap around, namely the Kasama Dune and the TDR.

In both cases it was due to the canopy not having a windscreen colour that was a high contrast to the rest of the body of the canopy. The cure for this in my case is just always having a dark windscreen (or I suppose it could work in reverse with a very light windscreen and very dark canopy). The main thing being that at a distance it's still very easy to tell if the heli is nose in or tail in.

Side-on or at an angle usually you can see the boom well enough, but with a thin boom and in low light sometimes even what might seem obvious, isn't.

[Granpappy]

So trillian, what do you have on the canopy that makes it obvious?
I struggle sometimes with that, I think that was partial to my crash the other week. P.

The problem I've had recently with very bright sunlight is glare reflected back off shiny canopies. Not even my sunglasses can stop me losing orientation when the sunlight reflects back off the canopy. The only way I can counter this is to remember what you were doing before the glare and follow the maneuver through on the sticks until you reacquire orientation again. I'm starting to get used to it now....lol.

[Ade_Law]

The problem I've had recently with very bright sunlight is glare reflected back off shiny canopies. Not even my sunglasses can stop me losing orientation when the sunlight reflects back off the canopy. The only way I can counter this is to remember what you were doing before the glare and follow the maneuver through on the sticks until you reacquire orientation again. I'm starting to get used to it now....lol.

I see this type of thing sometimes with combat wings on the slope. its like the brain has a hissy fit and decides its seeing something other than what is actually happen, As you say you just have to trust your fingers and what you did to the model.

Ade