Questions on a new build and returning to the hobby...

[pjbrazendale]

Hi all,

It's been a good 8 years since I've last flown and things have moved on, I am in the process of putting together a new build and wanted some advice in regard to the order of things, also my last Heli was nitro and the electric I had was a BNF.

So I am looking at a Logo 550, with a VBar NEO and some Savox servos with an ESC TBD but likely to be a Talon 120HV.

If using the VBar Control TX, do I bind to the Neo first in isolation i.e. not connected to the motor / esc and do the setup? then connect the esc and motor and do the setup for that?

Also I plan on using the Gov in the Neo as opposed to the esc, I am looking to run a 1600 - 1800 head-seed, as initially I want to ease back into some sport flying to start with, what's everyone's opinion on the Vbar gov?

Also any tips before venturing into the above are welcome, I have had a look on YouTube for some build videos but they seem to bet very outdated and nothing too detailed on the 550.

Thanks in advance.

[Planehazza]

I'm not familiar with the VBar contol/Neo, but it's always a good idea (IMO at least) to have either the motor disconnected or the pinion removed for initial setup. There's no right or wrong order to do it all, but you could simply not connect the ESC to the FBL/Rx and use a 6v battery to do your bench setup. Get all your FBL etc. setup and check your throttle curves and channel direction (futaba often requires Thr to be reversed for example) and then connect the ESC (leaving off main blades, just in case...).

I find E models to be easier to set up, but I share your concerns with it being live from the moment you connect your packs. At least with nitro a full tank isn't going to spontaneously spool up the model until you actually start the thing.

I've not used the VBar Gov. but being a VBar, I'm sure it'll be nothing short of epic. Having said that, the last time I used a CC gov it was pretty damn good too, and it had auto rotation bailout. Does the VBar have that?

Tips? Take your time and enjoy. Don't forget the old blue threadlock Don't forget a backup power supply like an optiguard etc. Make sure that both the BEC and the optiguard are powering both the RX and FBL directly so that you have a backup of backups. I've learned that the hard way.

[trillian]

I'm fond of using an NiMh pack for setups and not having to run the ESC until everything is pretty much set correctly. But, I already have a couple of these packs that also serve as buffers with the Kontronik ESCs.

[bigpops]

Hi all,

Also I plan on using the Gov in the Neo as opposed to the esc, I am looking to run a 1600 - 1800 head-seed, as initially I want to ease back into some sport flying to start with, what's everyone's opinion on the Vbar gov?

Vbar governor is excellent. However, the Talon doesn't have a built in RPM sensor so you'd have to add one. Hobbywing do one that works with Castle for under a fiver.

[DaveJones]

If you don't already have the ESC I'd suggest looking for one with a telemetry output that you can feed into the vBar giving you Voltages, RPMs and temperatures. Scorpion or Hobby wing would be good options.

Like the others have said, I also do most of my setup either without the ESC hooked up or with two of the motor wires disconnected to prevent any mishaps.

Have fun.

[Ade_Law]

you defo dont want motor connected during setup, as others have said having a handy nimh around to just power the rx and servos is handy. You can just disconnect the motor or move the motor away from the main gear too.

vbar gov is better than any esc gov as it knows the loads its putting into the rotor head so it can add power before the rpm drops where as an esc gov is working in isolation so needs to wait for the rpm to drop before adding power. its called Feed forward.

Ade

[bigpops]

you defo dont want motor connected during setup, as others have said having a handy nimh around to just power the rx and servos is handy. You can just disconnect the motor or move the motor away from the main gear too.

vbar gov is better than any esc gov as it knows the loads its putting into the rotor head so it can add power before the rpm drops where as an esc gov is working in isolation so needs to wait for the rpm to drop before adding power. its called Feed forward.

Ade

It's not quite so clear cut, because FBL control loops can be much slower than ESC ones. Eg. Vbar's control loop is somewhere between 200Hz and 333Hz. The Scorpion Tribunus governor control loop is hundreds of times faster, running at 120Mhz.

On something like Castle though, Vbar governor is noticeably better, even to a sport pilot.