RE: .........
Here's a slightly cheaper link I found for the DX6i and AR-6200: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/dx6i_full_range_transmitter_ar6200_rx_md2_no_servos_3769_prd1.htm $199.99 before shipping. Sorry that U.S. Hobby Supply doesn't seem to have them in stock right now. You can't go wrong with the DX6i and the AR-6200! Does everything you need, don't let anyone tell you that you need more channels! Someday get a good HH gyro and a fast tail servo (like the Logictech 2100T ( https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=76 ) and LTS-3100G combo if you can find it) that will work well with this Tx/Rx. Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/31/2010 7:56 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9901913

RE: .........
The first time my brother and I launched our model rockets when I was a kid, we took our two identical "sounding rockets" (very basic, very streamlined) and put a mid-sized engine it them and launched them from our junior high school yard - which was right next to a major interstate highway. It was a big school yard and a very windy Fall day and initially we left the 16 inch parachutes installed without modification. Well, the first one we launched was my brother's and it vanished out of sight, high up in the sky (estimated about 1,200 feet) - as we all stood there with our mouths hanging open, since none of us expected it to go THAT high! After about 3 minutes or so we saw a very small point up in the sky - which was the 16 inch parachute of course! It blew back and forth, all over the place and finally landed (away from the interstate!) about 25 minutes later! We considered ourselves luck to recover it successfully at all because of all the wind! For the second flight of my rocket we cut a 10 inch hole in the parachute - which allowed it to land in about 3 or 4 minutes, and was much better on a windy day! The biggest one I ever made was the original Estes Mars Lander, that was about a foot in diameter (with fins and weighed a ton) and only would go about 200 feet with the biggest engine it could take. One of the coolest ones was the original Estes space shiuttle kit (not a scale model of the real one - which hadn't been invented yet) that was 22 inches long and released a 6 inch glider when the ejection charge went off. Great fun! I got my son a similar kit for his first rocket, which is mostly prefrabricated and has two gliders on it. I'm about 4 model kits behind right now (including a Space Ship One kit) since this competes for time with helicopter and other activities! Too many cool hobbies, too little time! -:) Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/17/2010 12:30 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9870763

RE: .........
Let me guess, you can't fly while on a ship, at sea - at least outside? Hopefully you have a simulator or some Air Hogs to practice with! [;)] Last October, I was able to fly the small "Silver Bullet" ( http://www.brookstone.com/mini-remote-control-rc-helicopters.html ) inside our cruse ship cabin for about 5 minutes at a time (about their battery life) - on the same trip where we went to Disney World (and met your father). Too much wind out on the balcony... It was much easier to steer and control than the normal Air Hogs - very manuverable - despite being a co-axel and only about 4 inches long. The bright dual head lights really helped keep it in orientation too. Makes me wonder if I should add some bright lights to my big helicopters too? Glad the stuff we donate to M is getting to you guys! You all deserve the best! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 6/7/2010 6:59 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9788062

RE: .........
You're braver than I am! Congratulations! That is so cool! Hopefully you'll get some video next time! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 6/6/2010 6:17 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9785449

RE: .........
You guys should try living 29 miles away from Michael (U.S. Hobby Supply) - always next day service or better! (Sometimes he even delivers the order in person too)! [:D] Serously though, he ships stuff all over the world and generally seems to get the orders there in "better than expected" time - no matter where you are, for an affordable cost. When you are ordering parts after a crash, I would also suggest contacting him via e-mail (or phone in the evenings - East coast U.S.A.) before you place your order, telling him about your crash and what parts you were thinking of getting. He may have suggestions for other parts that you hadn't thought of, which you could then get in your first order - rather than having to get them with a follow up order. I only make this suggestion after doing (exclusive) business with Michael for several years - because he will not sell you stuff you don't need, he won't sell you junk, and he will provide excellent support to you both before and after the sale. He's even done this for me for stuff I didn't buy from him, like my first RTF kit (before I'd found his company) - which is way beyond what you'd expect. I've said it before and I'll say it again: "You can't go wrong buying from U.S. Hobby Supply"! (No, I am not associated with this business at all, other than as a very satisfied customer)! Remember that you will probably need a new feathering shaft after most crashes, so be sure to stock up on several of them too! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 6/6/2010 10:58 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9784479

RE: .........
Hey Joaquin! I just spent a few minutes tinkering with the modified Heading Hold Belt CP model in ClearView, to see if I could effect: 1) the sluggish throttle response and 2) the lack of tail authority that you mentioned I don't know how successful I was, but both os these flight parameters seem a little bit better to me after my tinkering! [:)] Here are the parameters I changed: cyclicPower 60.0 (up from 50.0) gyroGain 77.5 (as previously mentiond, up from 25 to simulate the HH gyro) gyroTailPowerCoef 60.0 (up from 50.0) pitchCurve1 -5.0 -2.0 0.0 7.0 10 (up from -5.0 -2.0 0.0 5.0 7.5) pitchCurve2 -5.0 -2.0 0.0 7.0 10 tailPitchCurve1 -0.5 -0.25 0.0 0.25 0.5 (up from 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - this may suggest that you could even make my new number higher) tailRotorPower 40.0 (up from 30.0) throtCurve1 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.7 (up from 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.0) Attached is my complete modified Belt CP parameter.txt file. Save your original model sub-directory and then try the new file. See if it seems any better to you and then try changing some of these parameters some more if it doesn't. I think the throttle/pitch curve definitely gets it into the air faster, but had a harder time assessing the tail authority. If at first you don't succeed - keep messing with it! [:D] Let me know what you think! Cheers, Dave Read more: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6427888/anchors_9737085/mpage_219/key_/anchor/tm.htm#9737085#ixzz0o8coh7Z3
Posted on: 5/16/2010 7:37 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9737979

RE: .........
That's interesting Joaquin, the Belt CP model certinally is much more sluggish than the HBK2 model I have in ClearView - and much easier to fly as a result. It takes nearly full throttle to get it off the ground, where as the HBK2 model is headed into orbit if you give it that much throttle! [:D] I've never gotten my real Belt CP off the ground yet, pending applying a ton of upgrades to the stock RTF kit - so nothing to compare it to. The HBK2 model seems reasonably close to the real helicopter, much more "twitchy" than the Belt CP model. You can probably play around with the parameter file, to see if you can get it to fly closer to the real thing - but as mentioned earlier, the program's author has never really documented many of the helicopter specific parameters - so some guess work may be necessary. Let me know if you tune the ClearView model to fly closer to your real Belt, since I'd like to see that. Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 5/16/2010 1:29 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9736576

RE: .........
[quote]ORIGINAL: Tinkman Good Morning Ron,   Thanks again. I'm not up to doing 3D with my bird yet, but I'm practicing allot on ClearView. I'm sure you're right. The extra Gs would probably cause some stress on the canopy. Now to find a good spot to add weight. I'm fairly comfortable with loops and barrel rolls, and small amounts of inverted flight on the sim, but I don't have the guts to try it with my CP yet. I'm afraid it won't react the same as the sim and I'll have to bring my bird home in a bag. Joaquin [/quote] I recently adapted the Belt CP model for ClearView to be for a HH gyro. This is pretty simple to do, just by changing the GyroGain parameter to something like 77.5 in the model's parameters.txt file. I usually make a separate copy of the model's directory (named differently) before I do this, so I can load different models to fly it with or without the HH gyro being active. I have never had much luck with the guy who wrote ClearView, in getting him to fully document all the helicopter parameters (as well as he has documented the airplane parameters) or adding a flight timer to the program. It seems like this is not as critical for an airplane pilot, especially since most airplane models are probably gas powered anyway - and airplanes can glide pretty well? Despite these minor issues, I think ClearView has great bang for the buck! Yoiu have to have a USB controller though, since trying to fly it with just the keyboard isn't the same thing... I use the cheap E-Sky 0905A USB controller that works great. Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 5/15/2010 5:37 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9735879

RE: .........
A couple of years ago, I had the same type of balance problems with my stock HBK2, and got flamed a lot in this forum for doing what Ron suggested - adding nose weight to make it balance. Despite the criticism from many of the old timers back then, I did it anyway - since there is no way it will fly at all if it isn't balanced! I used big (2 inch) washers zip tied to the underside of the front of the frame. It worked O.K., since it became pretty obvious that there was no way to balance it without doing that, as long as the stock RTF battery was installed. It is just too light to balance it! The better long term solution for me was to get a bigger battery (1800 mah instead of the stock 1000 mah) which seems to balance both the HBK2 and Belt CP just about perfectly. Power wise, this size works pretty well for both birds, since they have the same 3900kv brushless motor in them! I guess E-Sky gives you a smaller battery in the RTF kits to save money, but I'd like to see how [i]they [/i] expect you to make the helicopter balance with it - without weights! [:D] Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 5/14/2010 7:33 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9734207

RE: .........
Make sure you don't get any extra twists in the new belt when you put the tail boom back together. It is possible to do that so it looks like everything is moving the right direction, but if there is an extra twist in the belt it will wear it out much more quickly. Also obviously check that the tail is rotating the correct direction by hand before you tighten everything back up too. Good luck! Dave
Posted on: 5/10/2010 7:26 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9724646

RE: .........
[quote]ORIGINAL: Disney1 Evening Danny US Hobby has a New BLACK CNC head available for 71.99 with swash plate. Only has a coupel in stock for now Tested to work on the belt 1 and 2 I am going to replace my Esky CNC head with this one as it is a Trex clone and you will be able to get feathering shafts at the local shop in a pinch. The head uses Trex feathering shafs and is complete with flybar and swash plate, and also will use Esky Belt V2 flybars and paddles.  CNC Head https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=1038 [/quote] Just ordered this - thanks for the link Ron! Still have a lot of set up to do (new Rx, HH gyro, tail servo, and Tx configuration), before the Belt will be ready for a first flight... Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 5/2/2010 2:28 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9704753

RE: USHS HBKv3 Tuner Thread
More information on helicopter flight dynamics on this excellent web site: http://www.dynamicflight.com/ Although it is written from the perspective of big helicopters, all of the same aerodynamic principles apply to RC helis as well. Enjoy! Dave
Posted on: 4/17/2010 1:42 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9667933

RE: .........
Hi PhillyD! I love the LogicTech 2100T gyro and digital serve from this combo pack: https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=509 (Sorry - currently out of stock after I got the last one). Easy to set up, and then super quick tail response - a huge improvement over the only other gyro I ever tried to fly with - the stock Esky non-heading hold gyro. I followed this excellent set up procedure for my first one, on the HBK2: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=670786 The 1800mah batteries I have for the HBK2 and the 2100mah battery I just got for the Belt CP (all 20C) are Esky batteries with beefy Dean's connectors. (At least the 1800mah ones came with Dean's connectors if I recall, I may have to replace the 2100mah connector this way). Not the cheapest ($40 -$44), but solid and reliable performers, with the excellent Align charger ( https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=403 ). I've never tried to push them past 6 minutes or so with the HBK2 - since I usually need a break by then too! [:D] This is a picture of the snow that was falling last (not this) weekend. We're supposed to get another 3 inches today, which will be nothing after the two 2 foot storms we had last week (most of it still on the ground with icey streets). Please send some of your sun shine up North! Enjoy! Dave
Posted on: 2/15/2010 9:44 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9506039

RE: .........
Great to know about the blades Ron - I had already ordered two sets, since M was out of the plastic ones. Never had good luck wiith wooden blades - as many things as I bump into! [:D] I wonder if I can spray paint them to match the rest of the heli? Anyone ever tried that with blades? I'm sorry to hear that your normally perfect climate is being hit with this weather too. We are supposed to get 3 to 5 more inches of snow tomorrow - on top of the 3 feet or so we already have laying on the ground. This area set a new record this year for total snow fall - shattering the old record from over 100 years ago, and the snow hasn't even stopped falling yet. In the past 15 years, we haven't gotten nearly as much snow as I remember growing up here - but not this year... Crazy weather! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 2/14/2010 9:22 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9502909

RE: .........
No tumble weeds here, just about 3 feet of snow on the ground, and a cold, mean wind in the air too. No way to do anything but fly the 3 inch (Air Hogs like, but actually very manuverable in tight spaces - I flew it for minutes at a time inside the cruise ship cabin on the Disney cruise we took the kids on this Fall) "Silver Bullet" ( http://www.brookstone.com/mini-remote-control-rc-helicopters.html ) or the flight sim (ClearView!) for a few more months! Just ordered a bunch of upgrades from Michael (U.S. Hobby Supply) for the Belt CPv1 I got from him last Fall. New gyro and tail servo (Logictech 2100T combo), ESC, Spektrum Rx, 2100mah high-discharge Li-Po, and the usual assortment of spare blades and tail booms. Getting all that set up should keep me occupied until flying weather is here once again! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 2/13/2010 9:15 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9501990

RE: USHS HBKv3 Tuner Thread
Yeah, nothing can humble you faster and cheaper than a flight sim! I figure that until you can keep the sim helicopter up and stable for several minutes, you shouldn't be trying to fly in real life yet. I spent about a month flying the sim for like an hour a day before my first real crash (which was partially contributed to by the poor set up of the real helicopter) and I really think it helped. It will be a lot easier (and more realistic) for you to fly, once you get the USB controller! I also like the easy ability to try flying different models on the flight sim too - sort of give you the feel of what is different between them. The HBK2 models and the Belt CP certinally fly differently... I have a HBK2 model for ClearView that I modified (just by editing the parameters file) for a HH gyro, shoot me a note if you'd like a copy of it. My son loves the F-15 demo in ClearView, although we haven't tried to wreck any real planes yet. Can't imaging trying to flying anything that big and expensive! [:D] Good (real and virtual) flying! (We had 8 inches of snow yesterday, and probably have a few more months before Spring "flying weather" will really be here). Dave
Posted on: 1/31/2010 6:55 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9464917

RE: USHS HBKv3 Tuner Thread
I strongly suggest not wasting your time with FMS, especially when their are other very low cost flight simulator programs like ClearView ( http://rcflightsim.com/download.html ) that work much better! I use ClearView which has a bunch of free models for it, excellent flight physics simulation, photo-realistic models and sceanary, weather, a flight recorder, multiple camera angles, 3D or normal helicopter flight, smoke and crash simulation, and several training modes. You can even make your own flight models (with some tools or just by modifying one that you start out with - which is what I did) and landscapes too. It is awesome for the price and not only supports helicopters, but airplanes and more recently cars too. ClearView is a great deal since for a one time $39 purchase - you get all future upgrades for free. These come out every 3 months or so, and aren't just bug fixes - the author adds a lot of new features too. I've updated mine about a dozen times since I got it, as well as gotten models for the Honey Bee King2 (which I modified for a HH gyro!) and a Belt CP too. You can try ClearView for free before you buy it, but only for a short period of time (5 minutes of flight time). I use the Esky 0905A USB controller (about $30 here: https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=518 ) rather than messing up my real transmitter trying to get it to work, and it works great with ClearView. (The fact that it is a 4 channel controller doesn't even matter either, since the simulator software generates the other channels that would otherwise be missing). You want to get a USB controller for sure, since trying to fly the simulator with just the keyboard isn't even close to flying your real helicopter. Give ClearView a look, and I think you'll like it much better than FMS - especially because its flight models seem to work much more realistically. FMS reminds me of the saying: "Anything free is worth what you pay for it"! It may be a free flight simulator, but it's just not very good... Just my $0.02 anyway! -:) Dave
Posted on: 1/24/2010 12:52 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9442512

RE: .........
For my HBK2 I stick a yard-stick under the landing skids, to hold the bird down while aligning the blades. Probably need something bigger, that I'm not holding down by hand, for the Belp CP. Happy holidays all! Dave
Posted on: 12/26/2009 10:33 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9360799

RE: .........
If I understand your question correctly, the tail rotor is supposed to have enough pitch on it so it will keep the helicopter tail mostly not moving right or left when your rudder control is centered. You adjust the pitch at the center of your rudder control by sliding the tail servo forward or backward on the tail boom - in very small increments, to add or subtract pitch from the tail rotor. Then spin it up to just below lift off speed on a smooth tile floor - and see if the tail moves right or left. Keep sliding the servo forward or backward on the tail boom, until it is stable. (I'm assuming that you don't have a heading hold gyro, but if you do - turn it off HH mode for these tests). Suggest you get a new tail boom, as flying with a dented one may rub on the belt, wearing it our fasster. Be sure to get the belt twists correct when you put the new boom on too, and that you don't have an extra full twist in it. Hope this helps! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 11/17/2009 12:15 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9259394

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
I read somewhere that the AR6100 Rx was for shorter range "line of sight" flying of "park fliers" and the AR6200 was for longer range control of bigger aircraft. The theory of the dual receivers in the AR6200 is just as you've stated. Even though I will never intentionally fly my helicopter out of my sight (the technical term for that is a crash I think!) - I use the AR6200 for my HBK2 because the Dx6i came with one. Now that I have to buy a new Spektrum Rx for my brand new CP Belt, I think the extra $30 for the AR6200 is worth it over the $50 price of a AR6100 - because no one wants to loose a helicopter because you lost signal, even for a moment, when a better Rx may not have! [:D] The price difference would pay for itself the first time you didn't crash... My new CP Belt that I ordered on sale ($119) from U.S. Hobby Supply ( https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=351 ) on Thursday night arrived today (Saturday)! I will never get tired of the consistent, excellent customer service that Michael provides. Being only 29 miles away, I always get my order the next day after it is shipped - and you can't beat that! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 10/10/2009 2:01 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9161836

RE: .........
[quote]ORIGINAL: Disney1 Here is a You tube link of My belt in Hover. <a href=''http://www.youtube.com/user/pattr007#p/a/u/1/PT90bI_sce0''>http://www.youtube.com/user/pattr007#p/a/u/1/PT90bI_sce0 [/quote] Beautiful hovering Ron! I'd be thrilled if I could hover mine like that for even a couple of minutes! So far my longest hover is only about 15 seconds, before crashing or landing hard... Sorry, no videos posted yet... I have one of the 2 GHZ on-board cameras, but after I got it discovered that none of my ground based video cameras could record an externally provided video signal from the camera's Rx... Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 10/9/2009 6:12 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9158572

RE: .........
[quote]ORIGINAL: Disney1 Evening All Just picked up another Belt, Michael at US Hobby Supply has them on sale RTF for $119. It was cheaper to buy a second heli than the parts, and I now have a spare TX / RX Here are the links White  <a href=''https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=332''>https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=332 Yellow   <a href=''https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=351''>https://www.ushobbysupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=351 [/quote] Thanks Ron! I ordered mine, a yellow one to match my HBK2! [;)] Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 10/8/2009 7:27 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9157463

RE: honey bee king 2 won't lift?
Hi Ralph! My main gear is pretty symetrical, so I'm not sure what you mean about putting it in upside down? This is not something to worry about, you need it to work! The one-way bearing must turn the rotor in the correct direction - no matter how you do that. Why do you think reversing the one-way bearing is not the solution, even when it works? New gear or old gear, none of them are going to work if the motor or one-way bearing are going the wrong way! [:D] Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 8/9/2009 10:33 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9001798

RE: honey bee king 2 won't lift?
This would normally sound like you just had the motor running in the wrong direction - a common situation when you first install a new brushless motor (to reverse it, swap any two of the wires to the motor). The fact that the blades spin backwards when you turn the main gear by hand suggests that the one-way bearing that attaches the main gear to the main shaft (the shaft for the main rotor) is on backwards instead. You may have done this if you took the one-way bearing off as you replaced the main gear. Take it all apart again and flip the one-way bearing - so that when you turn the main gear the right way, the blades spin correctly too. You should also check very carefully if the belt that connects the tail rotor has the correct half twist in it too - so the tail rotor turn easily the correct direction when the main blades are turning. It is pretty easy to do that wrong when replacing the belt, or to get an extra full twist in the belt so it does not turn easily. At one point, the drawing in the manual showed the belt being twisted the wrong way - which doesn't help either. Just check it all by hand. Be sure to balance your blades and align them (making sure they trak the same when viewed from the side at 60% throttle) before flying. Good luck! Dave
Posted on: 8/9/2009 7:53 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9001551

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
The rings should fit the ball links snuggly, so they won't pop off. Did you get the Xtreme ESK002 turnbuckle set - made for the HBK2? Did you replace you swash with one that has different sized balls on it? Not sure why yours don't fit?
Posted on: 8/1/2009 12:37 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8980614

RE: .........
The blade grips are supposed to have a little play in them - that the shock absorbers on the feathering shaft help control. You don't want the blade grips tightened down so much that they can't flext a little bit. I think my RTF helicopter had three shock absorber rings on it the first time I took it apart, but two rings is probably the minimal number you'd want. Yeah, if the tail box says "Align" then it is probably off a T-Rex or some such! [:D] Keep up the good work preparing it for flight! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/3/2009 8:30 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8904510

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
The Xtreme belt pulley upgrade works well and has a good bang-for-the-buck. It is supposed to get the tail rotor ratio pretty close to what it is on big helicopters - much better than the low ratio the stock pulley has. Be sure to get an extra belt with it though, since the old, stock belts won't work with it. Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/3/2009 6:40 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8903064

RE: .........
Sometimes you can put a little electrical tape on the tail boom - to provide more friction for where it attaches to the helicopter frame and tail rotor mount. The trick is to do this so the end points still fit over the tail boom though... You probably should take the tail apart some more too, so you can figure out why the tail rotor boom keeps twisting. Hard to understand why it would do that, unless something isn't configured quite right? As I recall, my HBK2 tail boom has a slot on one end (to align it with the body) and I think maybe a screw hole on the other - so it is pretty hard or impossible to attach the tail rotor mount twisted at an angle. Your design may be similar, but maybe the original owner swapped in a T-Rex boom or some other part - which is causing this issue? If you have to take the tail assembly apart to investigate this, one trick I've learned is to loosen the mounts for the boom on the helicopter body too and push the tail boom all the way into the body - to create slack on the belt when your putting the tail back together again. Then once the tail is back together properly, just pull the boom a quarter inch or so out of the helicopter body and tighten it. Another possibility is that you have a badly twisted belt. It needs a 90 twist in it, but it is pretty easy to get more when you take it apart and put it back together. Make sure that the tail rotor turns easily if you rotate the main rotor (or main gear) - if it does not, the belt may have too many twists in it. Note that the HBK2 manual shows the belt being twisted the wrong way too, but hopefully your manual didn't make that mistake too! I'm not sure I sent you the link for the correct manual (depending on which version of the heli you have), but U.S. Hobby Supply has both version of the manual on their web site. Just consider investigating the tial boom and belt set up part of your pre-flight physical for your copter! [:D] Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/3/2009 6:33 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8903057

RE: .........
[quote]ORIGINAL: youngpilot I do not think i could have asked for better help. thanks so much. I am at work right now (flight instructing) so i will not be able to fliddle with the chopper untill tonight. I cant wait to try it. is the tail rotor supposed to be mounted straight up and down as in 90 Degrees to the main rotor? or at an angle? When the guy sold it to me it was mounted with an angle wwhich in my humble opinion would make the tail rotor less responsive. also, the tail rotor linkage that changes the pitch is binding. im not sure how to fix that but i am sure that i will figure it out. just wondering if there are any simular complaints to that. [/quote] Glad to help! [:)] I'm sorry, I had mis-understood your questions about the tail rotor angle and thought you were talking about the pitch... You are correct, there is no reason that the tail rotor should be anything but straight up and down from the point of view of the rest of the copter. You may be able to easily fix this by loosening the screws mountint eh tail rotor to the tail boom, and rotating it back to 90 degrees. Be careful not to mess up the belt tension as you do this - you want the belt tight enough to make good contact, but loose enough to turn easily. I've always found that you don't need to pull on it very hard to get a reasonable tension that works well. One reason i just thought of for someone rotating the tail rotor some, may be that they put blades on the tail rotor that are too big - causing it to hit the main rotor if the copter manuvers to put stress on those blades. (Some people do weird things like that - but if the tail rotors are too big for your copter, please don't use them)! If that is what was done, it doesn't seem too smart - since they probably put bigger tail rotor blades on to get more authority - but then un-did some of that by rotating it. Anyway, get it back to 90 degrees then check if the tail blades seem too close to the main blades. Before you try to fly or really spin this helicopter up too much (to follow Radd's school) - you should probably do a mechanical check of every screw on the thing. Most people recommend this for new helicopters "ready to fly" right from the factory too. All it takes is one of those little screws that was loose and not noticed to fall out during flight - and it can cause a crash or even personal injury. As you may know, your helicopter's main blades are moving at something over 170 miles per hours in flight - so having something like a blade break or fall off can cause a life thretening injury. I remember a case in Tiwan about 9 months ago where someone died because some (idiot) pilot flew a RC helicopter (a big one) into him - a helicopter that the pilot wasn't really trainned on at all. I always try to keep my kids back 30 to 40 feet when I'm hovering - to minimize the chances of anything breaking off and hitting them... Have fun, take your time, and remember that the more time and effort you put into setting the helicopter up perfectly - the better it really will fly for you! Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/3/2009 12:04 AM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8902611

RE: .........
Hi Zack! Yes, yes, and yes - sort of! [:)] O.K. - the feathering shaft is a short bar about 3 inches long that mounts at the top of the main rotor shaft, to connect each blade mount to the main shaft. They are a pretty cheap part, which is good because you'll break (really bend up) one in just about every crash. To balance the blades, first drink a couple of beers or soda cans - and save the cans. Then remove the blades from the blade mounts. If you have a small balance scale, or a postal scale next start by weighing both of the blades - they should be within a very few grams of each other. If they are not, add a little tape to one of them, to get them nearly weighing the same. O.K. once they weigh pretty nearly the same, then stick a (finishing) nail in the mounting holes and clamp the blades together with the mounting holes lined up with a big paper clamp. Now line up the two cans you got earlier and balance the nail on them - you want the blades to balance so neither side falls down. If they do not, try taping something to one blade until they do. Now the blades should be balanced. Sometimes even new bladed from the factory don't weigh nearly the same - so you can mix and match several blades from different sets, to find two bladed that weigh close to the same. Obviously you'll only be able to adjust for small weight differences with tape and very small weights added to a blade. To align the blades, put them back on the helicopter - not so tight that you can't move them in the blade mounts easily by hand. They should be just tight enough so that they don't fall down if you turn the helicopter 90 degrees on its side. Next get a strong yard stick of something similar (but make sure it is pretty strong) and use it to hold down your landing skids. Hold onto this tightly, since it will be very dangerous if the helicopter escapes during the static test we'll be doing in a moment. Now get a marker pen and put makes on the edge of one blade - so you can see them when you look at the blade from the side. Now hold down the heli with the stick and slowly increase the throttle to about 60% - when you look as the turning blades edge on, does it look like one blade or is one higher than the other. Make a note as to which blade is higher (the marked one or the unmarked one) and stop the motor and unplug the power to the copter. To adjust blade alignment up or down, you need to lengthen or shorten the links between the swash plate (that thing with the little balls stuck to it) and the head components themselves. To to this, gently pop one of the ring connectors off of the ball they are connected to and rotate it - it screws the link shaft in or out. Move the blades by hand a little bit and take some notes as you repeat this process - until both blades look like one from the side when the throttle is about 60%. Then the blades are aligned! Yeah, you certinally could have a bent main shaft, but you shiould still check out stuff like the feathering shaft too - since the same crash is likely to have damaged both. The tail rotor pitch should be set at an angle when the tail servo is centered - since it has to provide some amount of push against the main rotor torque. If it was a flat pitch, it wouldn't do that and the heli would always rotate unless the gyro or your controls were changing the tail pitch. Put the heil on the ground and slowly throttle it up to about 50% - not so much that it gets too light on the skids though. See if the tail is moving, note which direction (so you know if you need more or less tail pitch to hold it stable), and if so stop the heli, loosen the tail servo mounting screws and slide it forward ot back on the tail boom (in very small - maybe 1/16 to 1/8 inch increments) until the tail hold pretty stedy at 50% throttle. This will help your gyro and tail servo hold the tail too, because they should'nt have to change to pitch as much as the main rotor torque increases. If you look around on-line, you should be able to find some set up videos that go over the procedures described above - which are pretty common to all CCPM helicopters. Here is your on-line helicopter manual: https://www.ushobbysupply.com/pub/Esky-BeltCPv2.pdf?target="new"&osCsid=8a75fc935363757c3063020130d54fb0 Cheers, Dave
Posted on: 7/2/2009 3:46 PM by Author "warpnine" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8901368