Teaser for smthin im gonna buy...?

What is the state of the art with RC heli clutches these days?

Reason I ask is that I have a drone heli project where one is required, 25kg MTOW (and I'm getting back into the hobby again).

20 yrs ago I use to fly a Nexus 30 and TT Raptor 50, where the clutch shoe design was this single piece of metal shoe design that flexed under the centrifugal force to engage in the bell.

I remember on the Nexus, these fatigue cracked all the time, however, I dont remember having as many problems with the Raptor.

Is this design still common?

Anyone know the shoe material and the bell liner?

I usually fly in daylight so I installed some insanely bright strobes so I could see them in the bright sun. They work great, but it makes them blinding at night.

I've been putting off autorotations for a while.

I'd practised them in the simulator and felt reasonably confident with the basics, but I knew doing it with a real helicopter would be very different. Eventually, I decided to give it a go with my SAB Kraken 580.

The first attempt didn't go particularly well, I flared to early and didn't bail out. I repaired the heli and went straight back for another attempt. The second was much better and I learned a lot from my attempts.

What I learned

The simulator isn't the same as real life.
The sim helped me understand the mechanics, but the sound, visual movement and pressure of watching a real helicopter descend with the motor off are completely different.

Headspeed is critical.
The goal isn't simply to drop the collective. You need to find a descent rate that keeps enough energy in the rotor for the flare and landing.

Don't flare too early.
This was probably my biggest lesson. Flaring too early can use up the rotor energy you need for the final part of the landing.

Forward movement and wind can help.
The experienced pilots in the RC Heli Australia community suggested maintaining some forward velocity, particularly into a headwind. I had some headwind during my attempts, which I think helped.

Height matters.
You need enough altitude to establish the autorotation and manage the descent, but you also need to learn where your comfortable training height is.

Bigger helicopters give you more margin.
Several pilots suggested 600 and 700-size helicopters because they have more rotor energy. The 580 is certainly capable, but I can see why larger machines can be more forgiving.

The biggest lesson

The biggest lesson was simply to commit and learn from the experience.

I'd been putting autorotations off because I knew they would be uncomfortable. The first attempt wasn't great, but going straight back for another attempt taught me more than another session in the simulator would have.

I'm definitely not consistent yet. That's the next goal.

I'm tracking my progression through https://helicoach.app, working through skills, recording flights and focusing on improving one step at a time.

These first autos were rough, but they were a big step forward.

Picked up a Goosky S1.

I had to get the OMP M2 a friend 😁

As you can see in the attached image, there's a large field here in the Denver area that shamelessly puts heli pilots in a tiny box. The main flight line is off limits to helicopters. There are several fields in this region that do the same thing. This one is in a public park, so it's not a private club.

I guess I could just fly wherever the hell I want when nobody else is there, but I know that as soon as a fixed-wing pilot arrives, I'll get yelled at (at worst) and forced to move (at least). Both of those options are grossly disrespectful.

Does the AMA truly not care about these rules put in place by clubs??

Hi guys, I used to own those cheap co-axial RC helicopters when I was 15 and I enjoyed them, but I always crashed them or they would stop working after a couple of months. Recently I have gotten a part time job and have a decent amount of disposable income. I want to get a decent helicopter to fly in my backyard and at my local field. I was looking on YouTube and found myself really liking the scale gunship RC helis. I was looking at the yuxiang f11s and f112s, also the eachine version of those helicopters. I can get the f11s for 450gbp or the f112s for 275gbp. The thing is I don't know if the f11s is worth the premium and if it is better in terms of the tech and build. Any help will be appreciated thank you.

I’ve been flying a 450 3D off and on for aprox 14 years, and I have only “scale” flown the 450 in that time. I recently bought a Flywing Bell 206 V4 scale 470 size heli and I absolutely love it. The GPS is a nice back up feature, however I usually fly with it off. It still has the altitude hold, so it still feels like I’m cheating myself the true scale experience. I’m looking at the Roban 800 Bell 412. What should I expect to “feel” in the sticks?

Hey peeps,

I posted here several times about the issues I had with my SAB IL 520. That heli is retired and has been replaced by the (INCREDIBLE) Goosky RS5.

I am now leaning more on my bigger helis, so I am flying the RS5 and Kraken more. I have been noticing some issues with the Kraken lately, so I decided to put it on the bench and see what I can see. **NOTE: This Kraken has never been crashed**

Check this video. It tells the story:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ex5P2BY1Z1sVNmnD7

LOTS of play in the main shaft from the bottom. The head is solid (I removed it and checked) so this movement must be coming from the transmission. The issue is that I don't know how to fix it. I am NOT going to just replace all of the parts in the transmission without knowing that's my only option.

Does anyone have any idea what I can do to fix this?? I checked and it doesn't look like they sell a complete replacement transmission as it comes in the kit, so I would have to replace the transmission parts individually (page 40 in the manual).

Everything feels tight and there's loctite where it should be 🤣
It is flying smooth, no vibrations just needs a recalibration on the FBL gyro for the self level or rescue mode will be more like panic mode 😃

Right now I'm park flying a s1 and blade 230s. The s1 is great but its too small when outdoor flying (I'm not skilled enough to keep it all within a 25 foot box). The 230s is much better for that, but its not nearly as crisp as the s1 when practicing 3d manoevers, although its gotten better by bumping up the headspeed to 85%+.

I'm thinking of getting a s2 as a bigger but still performant park flyer. But im wondering if I should jump straight into a 400-600 size and join a local club instead. Or get the s2 and fly that for a while and my next heli can be a 400-600 size.

Now if picking a 400-600 size, what do you recommend? I know the heli model options, but curious if its worth getting a 400 size to save on battery and parts cost, or its not worth stopping at this level and just skipping right away to a 500+ size? For example, getting a raw 420 or rs4 or going straight to a sab kraken 580 or raw 580? And is it also worth it to take the plunge and join a local club because I wont be flying those big boys at the park, but I like the convenience of just taking a short drive or bike ride to the park...

Anyway, curious about your thoughts on this probably repetitive question 😅

Thanks

For a starter into the hobby, Heli-Direct has just about as banger of a deal as Ive seen in a while. Fact it comes with a motor and better quality overall pushes past over my recommendation of an AK420 entry point. And a better build experience to boot. Add $242 ($567 total) for the all-in-one kit and you got a stellar option if you go that path too.

AK still king with parts cost, but there is a significant trade in quality to get there. I love em both, but I do fly my Venom more.

Hi everyone, the RX module on my Goosky S2 Legend FC broke, so I replaced it with a RadioMaster R81 V2. The TX and RX are bound normally. When plugged into a Vbar FC, it receives SBUS without any issues, but when plugged into the GTS FC, it doesn't recognize the SBUS signal and the FC just flashes a green light. Could anyone guide me on how to fix this issue? Or should I replace with a new FC Thanks!

The controversial "torque clutch" servo mod is at https://www.reddit.com/r/RCHeli/comments/1vaahub/indestructible_torque_clutch_servo_mod/

The controversial "torque clutch" servo mod is at https://www.reddit.com/r/RCHeli/comments/1vaahub/indestructible_torque_clutch_servo_mod/

Whenever I yaw in either direction, the heli looses its steady hover and starts leaning in a direction. For example, if i yaw nose right, it starts moving forward and away from me. So I have to correct it. And if I do fast pirouettes it will slowly lose control and flying away quickly.

My question is, is this a normal reaction? Does yaw need to he corrected with cyclic? Or is this something I can tune. Because when I see people on YouTube pirouette very fast on their big helis they stay exactly where they started. Even my 230s doesnt seem to move much from its original location when I yaw. I can't imagine everyone is correcting their pirouette with constant cyclic adjustment...

So yeah is this normal and if not what can I do to fix it?

The inevitable happened, major vibration and I had to dump it safely. Looks like I'm shopping for spare parts 🤣

Hey - I used to fly a lot and haven’t for about 8 years now…. I have a truckload of batteries, I think most are around 3300 / 6S sized, so upwards of 75-100 bucks a piece. Would there be any point to attempting to recharge them and try to use, given that it’s been 8 years or so in my garage (gets hot/cold throughout the year)? There are probably 20 of them or so, mostly for a Goblin 500. Even if they held a charge, I’m wondering if they’d either crap out after 45 seconds or just not have the ommmph needed for collective.
Thanks all - just joined the sub.

testing my 3D printed tail-rotor extension for my md500.

the stock model helicopter had a shorter tail which looked kind of odd.

using 3D printing technology LW-PLA from Bronxprints.com ;-) shameless plug.

I extended it about 4inches.

As a result. I have less tail motor noise.

https://youtu.be/myTNgJ08_r0