Idiots guide needed

[Paula]

Hello again.
I have a very basic understanding of how collective pitch helicopters work and i've been flying my Blade 230s for a year now and it's going well.
I've just put the mechanics of that into a Blade SR Huey body and i'm going to purchase a larger 450 size heli to take scale flying further.

What i really need is an idiots guide of setting up my new heli.
The manual told me what to do with the 230s and my DX6i so i haven't really got it nailed into my head. I just sort of copied the numbers.

I've googled loads and i can find some help but they always lose me after a while and i get confused again.
I'm really close, i just need a few things to glue it all together.

It's mainly Expo and D/R settings. I'm fine when we're talking curves and i'm ok(ish) with + and - expo. But then people start talking about +12 and -8 and things like:

I used to set my PC linear with -4 to 10 for scale flight and the TC set for desired head speed. Now, all my ships including scale are all set to -10 to +12 linear on the PC on all flight modes including hold. Stick time and practice has smooth out my flying and I've kept my pitch range

And i give up!

If there is a good guide or video out there i could watch/read a few times i'd have it down.

I don't fly often enough to join a club.

Thanks for any help.

[waveydavey]

Not sure what you're asking Paula, your -4 to 10 is what would be considered a normal pitch curve for normal forward flight. If you want to go with aerobatics then that's where you would need a little more negative. Most 3D pilots would use a straight line pitch curve anything from -11 to 11 to -14 to 14. They try to keep this even to match the performance inverted as well as upright, not sure you're going to need this on a scale heli.

Expo and D/R are used to tune your feel to your preference, I'm not sure may take advantage of rates on a heli but defo use expo.

Take a look at the stickies in the following area

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/setup-advice/

[PKNEC]

Hi Paula there's some great videos explaing all you need to know here Heli Skills and Setup 101 - LOOK here first! - HeliFreak

[Paula]

Not sure what you're asking Paula, your -4 to 10 is what would be considered a normal pitch curve for normal forward flight. If you want to go with aerobatics then that's where you would need a little more negative. Most 3D pilots would use a straight line pitch curve anything from -11 to 11 to -14 to 14. They try to keep this even to match the performance inverted as well as upright, not sure you're going to need this on a scale heli.

Expo and D/R are used to tune your feel to your preference, I'm not sure may take advantage of rates on a heli but defo use expo.

Take a look at the stickies in the following area

Setup Advice

That's making sense to me. Thanks. I think it's more the lingo i struggle with. Does the -12 -8 etc refer to degrees?

[Paula]

Hi Paula there's some great videos explaing all you need to know here Heli Skills and Setup 101 - LOOK here first! - HeliFreak

I found that earlier they mention Finless Bob a lot on Helifreak. I tried to find him on You Tube as the videos didn't download off that page. I'll try again.

[Paula]

Ok Brilliant! They are now working. I think it was a Mac/PC thing
Thank you

[Thor]

That's making sense to me. Thanks. I think it's more the lingo i struggle with. Does the -12 -8 etc refer to degrees?

Exactly. "-11 - 11" means a curve going from 11 degrees of negative pitch at low stick to 11 degrees of positive pitch at high stick.

[Thor]

This might help, too: Understanding RC Helicopter Radios

[Paula]

This might help, too: Understanding RC Helicopter Radios

Oh I love that guy. I have learnt loads off him from the start. Has anyone bought his e-book?

[scallybert]

If you're going to fly inverted, all your pitch curves should be symmetrical. [Probably. There are always exceptions. Ergonomics might be one.]

[tomatwalden]

Oh I love that guy. I have learnt loads off him from the start. Has anyone bought his e-book?

Yes, I bought his ebook when I first started. It's possibly a bit behind the latest tech now, but it was a useful buy for me at the time.

[Paula]

I'll give it a read!

[waveydavey]

Yes it does, but you can't have -12 to -8, it wouldn't go anywhere