Winging It

Contrary to what the posting might lead one to believe, I have been flying. I actually took it out during a somewhat blustery (well, gusty anyway) day. Yeah, it’s a bear to handle in wind.

On the other hand, I took it out tonight and flew through 3 packs (~25 minutes, probably). There were some minor crashes since trying doesn’t always equal doing while learning I can say that the crashes really only were when I got nose-in, the rest is just fun! Did break a piece when I got a bit surprised doing some pirouettes, but I’ve got spares so I was back up in minutes.

Getting close to being able to do figure 8s, but I really need to take some time outside with the training gear on and start learning nose-in. It’s soooooo backwards in my brain that I don’t think I can learn it inside (well, not MY inside - too small).

*sigh* I botched a manuever and broke part of the paddle control (see this picture; one of the small control balls). Granted, there was a 5 foot skid and the manuever DID allow me to miss a large tree branch, so I consider such a small breakage a win overall. Here’s an illustration of the manuever and crash:

Just frustrating to be flight-less (the previous crashes left pieces I could temporarily fix) for a few days. And of course I did this mere days after ordering and receiving a different parts order . I should really just buy a second airframe (they’re $40) to have at least one of everything on hand.

So I’ve got a little utility that displays a few webcams and I caught these pictures from a set that is around National (the airport).

Is it Friday yet?

If the weather stops being so unsavory, I’ll see about getting some outdoor video of the Honeybee. It’ll probably be mostly practice shots to avoid any more nasty crashes

I think I’ll start using targets on the ground as departure and arrival points, and plan out a flight plan. To be of any value, of course, the flight plans will have to reinforce the basics as well as force me to practice new/rough skills.

Actually sounds fun And more fun then replacing parts again, heh. I expect to have to do so, but no reason to try for that.

Well, I flew outside (really outside) a couple times today. The space behind my patio is so far a great little spot. There wasn’t much traffic at all (one couple plus their dogs). I actually spooled it up and did a little flying when they’d gotten safely away. I think the guy was a little envious

At first I was having some real vibration issues. I stripped the whole main rotor assembly out and reassembled it. Suddenly it’s back to flying like it did when I got it, only better

The 2nd casualty was actually a little piece of tubing that holds the tail on. It uses a tube so that if you hit something/crash, the tail can spin loose and not chew up itself, the tail motor or the electronics that control the tail. It’s a good thing.

Strangely the battery holder, super-glued as it is, survived quite a number of hard landings (including one where the tail just completely let go about 15′ above ground - ever watch the heli go spinning out of control in a movie/tv… yeah, like that - I hadn’t secured the tube properly). In the end, I scavenged one of the tubes that helps hold the battery holder tight. It can spare one while I get some tubing from a local hobby store.

[Edit: No, no video ]

The rear portion of the battery holder broke at the lower left corner this morning (was doing some forward-flight and had to land a little hard to avoid a real crash).

Fortunately some strong glue should hold it together under normal flight. Any “landings” that are of the not-quite-crash variety (or worse) pop it apart again, but I expected that. The stresses of an impact act almost exactly perpendicular to the surface of the break, so I can’t see a way to make it strong enough to survive anything other than normal operation.

On the other hand, I don’t have so many of those that it’s a problem I’ll likely just keep flying with it the way it is until I upgrade to a LiPo battery system (unless I find a local place or buy some additional replacement parts).

I wish it had broken two days earlier when I made an order for some things, heh.

For some good news, I’ve taken it outside on the patio and that’s a nice little space to fly about in while practicing my side orientations. There’s more available width than in the living room, so I don’t feel as cramped with the tail sticking out to the sides. There’s not as much length available, but that’s ok for this. It’s also entertaining to cope with the slight breezes

Man, the flight this morning (err, actually, guess it was afternoon) was frustrating. It felt all twitchy, which is not the usual feeling I get when flying at all. While it’s not butter-smooth (and won’t be, small space and the limits of the tech), it always feels quite comfortable until I go to do something new.

Hopefully I’ve got it worked out of my system for the rest of the flights today and throughout the weekend.

The next set of videos will have to wait until I can perform some turns. Fortunately, there’s a long weekend so I should have a good bit of practice time

I’m getting to that point as I’m starting to feel comfortable with the side-in orientations. At least comfortable enough that I should be able to do some slow zig-zags about the living room. (Slow ’cause it’s not a big space )