RC World News

Helicopter Beginners Guide

2011-10-31T14:47:00.000-04:00

Introduction

I should cover the basics of helicopter safety first, i wont go into flight safety, or pre-flight checks just yet. Just basic precautions to take on the ground whilst building or modifying your helicopter.

Specifically, until you are confident with the mechanics of the RC helicopter, and are in a informed position to start the mechanical set-up of the aircraft, do not connect the Li-Po battery to the helicopter. There are many reasons for this, but all will end in the helicopter trying to spin its blades at 2000 rpm, causing injury and/or damage. Once in a position to setup the helicopter mechanically, it is ok to connect the battery to the speed controller, but remove prior to this the three wires going to the motor, to prevent the helicopter trying to spool up.

This is valid specifically for a electric helicopter, but is also valid for a nitro heli, except it is more difficult to accidently start a nitro heli. This guide is written in a fashion aimed towards electric helicopters, as this is what most new pilots will encounter. Most of the principles are the same, except the motor and speed controller is replaced by an engine and a servo. That is not to say electric helicopters are for beginners, its just a lot of the simple ready to fly sets are electric. Electric helicopters are available up to the 90 size IC range, and perform as well as, if not better than there IC counterparts.

I will cover the basics of all of the components in this guide as well, but i go into more detail about specific articles on other pages within this site. Also, see my subsequent articles on how to learn the basics of RC helicopter flight, and achieve a stable hover.

In this guide i will use the T-Rex 500 as the example, to guide you through the various components of the helicopter. I am not however recommending this as a beginners model. Under one-on-one tuition it is possible to learn on this aircraft, and in fact its flight characteristic can be set to be very docile and beginner friendly. But it is aimed more towards the mid to high end range and competition flight, they are also many times more expensive than a basic ready to fly box set, that a beginner should be aiming for.

Note

This section is essentially a glorified glossary of terms. I will go into detail on all of these subjects in other sections of the site. Such as radio setup, mechanical setup, flight training etc.Tthis is also a multipart series, so check back soon for more updates.

Helicopter Mechanics Airframe

Usually injection moulded. But also on more expensive models constructed from carbon fibre, and Aluminium. Providing a rigid frame to piece all of the components together, and transfer the power between the motor and rotor head. It also serves as a frame to hold the electronics. Modern pod and boom sport models, are semi exposed except for a fiberglass painted canopy that covers the first half of the airframe via some simple retaining clips. This aids in orientation of the aircraft whilst in flight, and helps to improve aerodynamics.

Tail

Between the tail unit and main frame is the tail boom, it provides a route for the tail drive system and control linkages. It is necessary to have the rear rotor blades at a larger diameter than the main rotor blades away from the main frame. Usually there are also two support structures coming from the base of the helicopter frame, to a fixed point along the boom to aid structural rigidity. This is also where the horizontal stabilizer fins are located, a bit further towards the rear we find the vertical stabilizer connected to the tail drive unit. The power is normally transferred to the tail from the main motor via a belt drive, but it is also possible to have torque tube drives, that have a fixed drive shaft powering it. The rudder control on the radio controls the yaw of the helicopter via changes in pitch of the tail blades.

Swashplate

This is one of the most important parts of a RC helicopter, it is how the movements from the servos are transferred to the rotor blades, and finally translated into a movement of the helicopter in the direction required. It allows the stationary helicopter frame and servos to apply movement to the spinning blades pitch. In order to produce propulsion in a certain direction, as the blades spin, at certain points along the circumference of the rotation, the pitch of the blade changes, thereby creating more lift on the left side than the right for example. This will then cause the helicopter to move to the right. This is the Aileron control on the radio, and produces a sideways banking motion. It is the same theory for the Elevator control, it rocks the swashplate forwards and backwards, like the Aileron moves it from side to side.

Rotorhead

Relatively simple compared to the swashplate, as most of the control mixing has been done there. The main components here are the blade grips, they are able to rotate to allow for the changes in pitch of the individual blade. Also on the rotor head is the flybar, this is to provide a mechanical form of stabilization to the inherently unstable aircraft. To provide control to the rotor head, we have a complex mixture of washout arms, bell crank arms, mixer arms, pitch control arms and flybar control arms. All working together to keep the helicopter in the air. I wont go into detail on these in this section, as the particular setup varies from one helicopter to another. I will however go into more detail in the mechanical setup section of this website.

A combination of rotor pitch and head speed gives the helicopter lift. When applying increasing pitch on both blades at the same time, this will produce lift, but also increased drag effects will reduce the head speed. On a modern transmitter, the throttle, and pitch are mixed to counter act this and keep a constant head speed, this is also where a engine governer comes into force on a nitro model.

To calculate head speed, we look at the rating of the motor, so a 3000 Kv motor will rotate at 3000 rpm per volt. So the T-Rex 500 runs at 22.2 v. This means the motor will spin at 66,600 rpm when the full voltage is applied, it then makes sense that at half throttle, we will have 33,300 rpm. It is then a simple case of working out the ratio between the teeth on the motor pinion and main gear to give us our head speed. So as an example, if for every one turn of the main gear, the motor turns 40 times, we would have a head speed of 1665 rpm.

Speed Controller and Motor

Unlike a nitro model where we have a mechanical mixture control and servo, on a electric helicopter we have a brushless motor and electronic speed controller [ESC]. The speed controller acts as many units in one. Supplying the appropriate voltage to the motor, providing power to the electronics, controlling headspeed, battery level warnings, and many more features. Most ESC's will have a built in battery eliminator circuit (BEC) to maintain the correct voltages to the receiver and ultimately the servos and gyro. If you have a nitro model, this will be a separate unit, and the helicopter electronics will have there own, smaller Li-Po batter pack. The ESC usually will connect to the motor via 3 cables, positive, negative and data. it is important when working on your helicopter on the ground, to disconnect the motor from the speed controller, to avoid accidental arming and spooling up.

Servo's and Gyro

If you have a 120 degree swashplate you will have 3 servos mixed to control the swashplate movement. This is known as eCCPM, the controls are mixed on the transmitter, to allow the three servos to control the four directions of motion applied on the cyclic control. Some helicopters use 90 degree non-ccpm swashplates, but on the majority of current helicopters these are much less common. A quick visual inspection of your swashplate will allow you to identify easily which type you have.

Lastly we have the tail servo, usually attached directly to the tail boom, or tucked away inside the main frame below were the tail boom interfaces with the frame. This provides the control for the pitch of the rear tail blades, to allow the model to yaw and rudder control. However, it is necessary to incorporate a gyro between the receiver and servo, to control the position of the tail. Due to the force of the tail rotor, it will generally always want to move. Also looking at the laws of motion, once moving it will want to continue on that path until operated on by an external force. So a gyro counteracts this. It keeps the tail locked steady in one position, when you give some left rudder, it moves left, but the moment you stop the control input the tail comes to sharp stop. Without this you would have to be constantly balancing the tail, and the other controls. No easy task.

Overview

So that completes are introductory lesson to the basics of remote control helicopters, this was meant as a simple overview, check back soon, and explore other parts of the site for more in-depth tutorials on RC helicopters. It may all seem confusing at first, but it will become second nature within no time at all.

E-Flite Blade RC helicopter review

2011-10-30T16:41:00.000-04:00

Introduction

I thought i should give an overview of some of the more economical micro and sub-micro remote control helicopters out there. As i know these are popular routes into the hobby. One brand that has shown a great deal of excellent micro and small RC helicopters is E-Flite. These are typically fixed pitch or coaxial micro helicopters, small, cheap and fun. Such as the Blade mSR or the Blade CX2. Usually easy to control indoors, but much harder to master. E-Flite have a number of models in there range, but ill just cover a few of the most famous concepts here. Also note, Align are now entering this market, and they will be releasing their T-Rex 100 micro helicopter shortly.

Next step up from a coaxialReady-to-fly or bind-an-fly4 channelStable and responsive"Almost" indestructibleExcellent after market support

The Blade mSR is a super sub-micro RC helicopter that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. It is a good choice after learning with a coaxial helicopter such as the MCX or the CX3. It is recommended over the 120 SR, as it is slightly easier to control and less expensive in a crash. It weighs in at an incredible 1 ounce, which is astonishing to be honest. Considering it crams in all the usual goodies such as gyro, servos, DSM2 receiver and motor ESC. Along with a selection of the other Blade helicopters it is available as either bind-an-fly or ready to fly variations. It uses a single, fixed pitch rotor, and is ideal for flying around the living room on a cold winters day. Also an excellent gift for a more experienced pilot, due to the "wow" factor of such a capable super micro machine.

Ultra-micro indoor flyingTest flown and factory assembledEverything needed to fly in one box1S 3.7V 110mAh Li-Po includedExcellent precision compared to other coaxials

A micro version of the CX/CX2 range. It is the entry level coaxial contra-rotating helicopter. A good choice for the beginner pilot, it is super stable and easy to control. Like the rest of the Blade range, it utilizes a Spektrum DSM2 receiver and can be teamed up with a compatible Spektrum controller, or the one provided in the ready to fly package. The package has everything required to get in the air for a single price. Parts are cheap, and due to the size and weight it is very crash tolerant. As usual for this type of helicopter, is is best suited to indoors flight.

All the best bits of the mCXUpgraded precision swashplateCoaxial counter-rotating headLED lights

In keeping with the original mCX, it is an updated version, with a few extra features for slightly more advanced flight. It is still easy to fly, and anyone can have a go. But for the more advanced pilot, the swash is now user controlled via various parameters, allowing some tuning of the flight characteristics. Larger motors, LED's and a bigger battery means more fun, and greater flights. Essentially an advanced coaxial remote control helicopter.

Smaller than micro sizeReady to FlyStability of a coaxial helicopter2.4GHz DSM2 receiver

The Blade 120 SR is a gorgeous little heli. It sits on the line between a small coaxial helicopter, and a sub-micro fixed pitch model. But, it uses only a single rotor. It achieves the stability of a coaxial, but with the agility of a single rotor. Which makes this a nice stepping stone up from a coaxial model. It is available as either a bind-an-fly, if you already have a spektrum DSM2 compatible transmitter. Or as a ready-to-fly unit complete with controller. It hares many similarities with the mSR, essentially just a bigger, faster, better version. If you have got to grips and are confident with a coaxial model, then either this or the mSR is a perfect choice.

Heading lock gyroCoaxial stabilitySpektrum AR6100e receiver100% factory assembledBlade CX2 compatible parts

If you are after scale on a small budget, then this RC helicopter is for you. It is a faithful representation of a MD 520N Police helicopter, and it certainly looks the part. Utilizing a coaxial drive system for super stability, it will be hovering in minutes. The counter-rotating head means that almost anyone can pick up the controls and have a blast. Sub-micro servos allow full backwards, forwards and banking motions of the cyclic controls. The heading lock gyro means it will stay fixed on a rock solid course until you tell it otherwise. As a first heli, it is definitely recommended, and it is sure to give hours of fun.

Aerial Photography: Maxi Joker 3

2011-10-29T19:14:00.000-04:00

The Joker 3 is the latest model in a long line of field tested Joker helicopters. What began in 2000 with the Joker 1, the first high-end 90 class electric RC helicopter, has evolved over the years to become one of the most popular and universal models ever developed. The strength of the Joker in the beginning was it's enormous flexibility, whether as a beginner model, fitted to a scale fuselage, an aerobatic model, or simply a fun model to fly.

Technology pushed things further, and with the advent of the first lipo batteries in 2004 there was a need to protect the very expensive batteries by creating a chassis that protects the valuable contents in the event of a crash. From this need the Joker 2 was born, primarily in the iteration of the Maxi-Joker. Because of its (smooth flying characteristics) and extremely low vibration it has become, and remains one of the world's most popular photo helicopter. As an aerobatic model, the Joker 2 was the first 12s battery powered helicopters.

The industry has shifted in recent years, the development of Flybarless electronics and falling prices of Lipo batteries coupled with an increase in reliability have brought many changes to the RC heli industry. Scale Heli flyers desired a drive shaft to be able to integrate the mechanics into lighter hulls. Aerobatic pilots wanted more maneuverability and less weight without compromising the chassis strength.

It is precisely this basic idea of the expensive components of a helicopter in a compact, stable, and protective carbon chassis that has remained a design requirement. This typically yields around 200 grams more weight when compared to extreme lightweights on the market but costs from crashes are significantly reduced. The guiding principles of a joker are: low cost, low wear and long life.

Thus, all components of the joker are lovingly created in small batches with very tight tolerances. The same techniques are also used in the new model, the Joker 3. Concept The basic concept of the Joker 3 is to once again increase the quality. The Joker 3 in contrast to its predecessor gets a freewheel unit on the main rotor shaft and a split drive gear. Additionally the rigid tail rotor drive allows for a perfectly easy running gear, both in flight and autorotation. The freewheel on the Joker 3 is a 15mm(!) strong clamping body that allows for a total weight of up to 20kg. An additional feature is the main and tail rotor are decoupled from each other by a second freewheel, this led to increased smoothness on the 3DD and was carried over to the Joker 3.

"The very good and quiet running primary drive belt has carried over to the Joker 3. Of course the increased use of such a mechanism brought about increased manufacturing costs. A basic requirement of Joker kit must be that it costs less then 1000 euros, a requirement that they have stuck to to date. The solution to this problem was called value analysis. This is a process to optimize cost intensive production processes. A principle of our production was and is a mixture of self-manufacturing and suppliers of manufactured parts from precision oriented shops in Germany. Of course the lion's share has always been produced in house. Manufacturing process have been partially broken down to several companies and, above all, the in house manufacturing processes have been optimized. Thus it became possible to only incrementally increase the cost of the Joker even though commodity prices rose sharply in some instances."

So with the Joker 3 compared to the Joker 2 you get almost the same price for more helicopter. The good news is that the total weight of the Joker 3 is 200 grams lighter then Joker 2.

Features Extremely stable and rigid chassisIntegrated host of Flybarless electronics in a well protected chassis.Compartments for components above the flight battery as well as optimum antenna position.Integrated battery slot for up to 12s/5000 mAh BatteryEngine mount acts as a cooling plate for the ESC, a small buffer battery can be mounted above the esc.Additional freewheel clutch between main-and tailrotor, an easy to mount and remove torque tube driveEasily removable tail boom for transportation and maintenance purposesPrecision scissor linkage on the tail rotor featuring 9 (!) bearingsPrecision swashplate with double ball raced swash holder and swash drive with 8 bearings.Direct CCPM linkages to the swashplate without the old push-pull linkages.Robust flybarless rotor damping with different hardnesses.Product family As the basic models we offer five alternatives: Joker 3 with belt driven tailrotorJoker 3 with TT driven tailrotorMaxi-Joker 3 with belt driven tailrotorMaxi-Joker 3 with TT driven tailrotorJoker 3 fuselage mechanic without main- and tail rotor and specific trainer attachments.

Particular emphasis was placed on the Joker 3 to give it the most flexibility possible. So in addition to the basic models you can also choose between the following alternatives:

Belt driven tail rotorMFS II main rotor instead of the paddle-less "V" rotor headBeginner Kit with specially tailored parts such as rotor blades, shorter tail boom, belt drive of the tail rotor and full upgradability to full-sized joker (8s-operation).Enlarged sub-chassie for enthusiasts of Li-ion or LiFe cells.Stabilizer or bracket for the rear strutsPlatform for gyro, or flybarless system that will not fit between the upper chassis plates.Technical data: Rotor diameter: up to 1.60 m (Maxi-Joker to 1.80 m)Weight without battery: 3250 gramsFor engines with 6mm or 8mm shaftTail rotor diameter: 290 mm (Maxi-Joker 330 mm)Reduction: Engine to main rotor: - depending on the Motor between 1:9 and 1:13,6 (7 levels)Main rotor to tail: - 4,8:1Recommendations for extreme performance Maximum: Engine: Kontronik Pyro or Köhler actro 32-3Control: Kontronik Jive 80HVLipo: SLS ZX 12s/3700 to 12s/5000 mAhBlades: Radix 690 or 710 mmTail Rotor Blades: Radix 105 mmFlybarlesselektronik: AC-3XServos: powerful digital servosReceiver: 2.4 GHz

View the original article here

Helicopter Pitch and Throttle Curves

2011-10-28T19:26:00.000-04:00

Pitch and Throttle curves. People get to easily confused by this subject. It is mostly because they look for other peoples settings to use as there own, and don't truly understand the mechanics behind them. So when they don't work, they are unsure of what to adjust to rectify the problem, for instance if you are suffering from a low headspeed and "wagging" RC helicopter.

This subject is in fact very easy, and it just requires a little careful planning to get the perfect pitch and throttle curves for your RC helicopter. I will also briefly look at idle up pitch and throttle curves for the budding 3D pilot. My blog will list the latest RC helicopter guides and tutorials.

RC Helicopter Servo End Points

A little digression first, if you followed my previous guides, and in particular the mechanical setup guide. You will have seen we set the end points for the servo travel on the helicopter. It is useful to just spend a few minutes understanding how curves fit within those end points. When we have the servo travel set at 100%, we can increase or decrease that value, which then restricts or increases the servo travel. The pitch and throttle curves work within these pre-set end-points. So 100% at point 5 on a throttle curve corresponds to 100% servo movement if it is set to 100% as the end point, or 125% if set to this in the end point menu.

So remember, pitch and throttle curves work within your end points. When we initially set up the radio system, we gave the pitch a linear curve. Normally most radios use a 5 point pitch and throttle curve, but some more advanced radios use a much higher granularity allowing for a higher resolution curve. So in a linear curve we have the 5 points corresponding to the 5 stick positions in a linear fashion. P1=0%, P2=25%, P3=50%, P4=75% and P5=100%.

How this information is displayed will depend on your particular hand-set. Some will display it as a visual graph, and also as you move the throttle stick, will also update the relative position on the graphs axis. Others will just list them as text, so P1, P2 and so on.

Pitch Curves

After the mechanical setup, we arrived at a ±11° pitch range, with a linear curve this then means at P1 we have -11° pitch, and +11 degrees at P5, with a linear change between the two points. Crossing P3 at zero degrees pitch. It is possible to change these points to tailor how the pitch changes as we move the throttle stick. In normal mode we most certainly don't want -11° of pitch at zero throttle. But we do want this kind of pitch curve in idle up for 3D flying and upside down antics, but more on that later.

Getting back to end-points again briefly, we can use the throttle and pitch curves to set "fake" end points. So for instance if P1 is changed to 30% rather than 0%, then low stick now starts at a 30% value of the linear curve. So we will not get the full travel distance. This can be very useful. So with the pitch curve for normal mode flying you would make a higher starting point to make less pitch range between bottom and centre stick.

Changing P1 and P2 of the linear pitch curve, will allow us to reduce the negative pitch range of the helicopter. We are after a linear curve between P1 and P3, the same for the curve between P3 and P5, but at a different rate of increase. Ideally -3°, or -2° for P1, this means we wont slam the helicopter into the ground when trying to land, but also we need negative pitch to be able to bring the heli down in high winds.

The best way to set P1 and P2 is to use a pitch gauge. Attach it to the blade, and set P1 to when you read approx -3°/-2° of negative pitch. P3 will still be at zero degrees pitch, so set P2 halfway between the two. This is now your normal pitch curve Leave P3,P4 and P5 the same to match the idle up settings for these points. As the idle up switch is flipped whilst in the hover, so they need to match, usually at around 5°/6°. This normally corresponds to around ¾ stick for the hover.

Throttle PositionExample Normal Pitch ValuesThrottle Curves

In a RC helicopter, the motor doesn't always provide power in a linear fashion, especially electrics, the power band is normally quite high. If it was linear curve, it would match the pitch change exactly, which wouldn't work. If the rpm is low on the headspeed for the given pitch, we need a higher motor rpm to increase the head speed. As our pitch values are now set. (curve rising steeply then plateau). A symptom of low head speed is oscillating in the hover, we now adjust the throttle curve to give the correct headspeed at the appropriate stick position.

The idea now is to match the power band to the correct pitch, so at 11°, we need the maximum motor rpm, again we are in normal mode, so we need a curve with a high power band. Rising fast, and then levelling out, to provide the maximum power as loads are applied to the blades, and drag becomes a factor.

Ill give a "text book " example here, what we are looking for is for the throttle to ramp up sharply then flatten out. So this would be P1=0%, P2=50%, P3=80%, P4=90% and P5=100%. Remember as the throttle stick moves we are going through two curves, pitch and throttle. Both have an effect on lift, but our pitch values are fixed, so the throttle values are the ones that need "tweaking" in order to maintain the correct headspeed of the helicopter.

Throttle PositionExample Normal Throttle Values

So, now for the scary bit (although, it really isn't that scary!) idle up! So, eventually you will want to fly upside down. If you try that in normal mode you will have an expensive repair bill, and dented pride. So we need to adjust our pitch and throttle curves to take this into account, remember, we set the helicopter up mechanically to be able to fly upside down, but we did not allow for this in our normal flight mode. Luckily, modern computer radios allow you to have a second, and even sometimes a third set of curves, that you can swap to at the flick of a switch.

Idle Up: Pitch Curve

So what we are looking for is the same amount of pitch but negative in the bottom half of the throttles travel as we have in the upper half for positive pitch, so lets say ±11°. This is simply our original mechanical linear pitch curve, this will allow for an equal amount of positive and negative pitch at the extremes of the stick movement. Set the idle up pitch curve to these numbers.

Throttle PositionExample Idle Up Pitch ValuesIdle Up: Throttle Curves

So as I said, we need/want to fly upside down, and as pulling back on the throttle is now negative pitch, a linear curve on throttle would give zero throttle. We most definitely don't want this to be happening, in fact we want an increase in the motor to pull out from our manoeuvres as we press on through increasing negative pitch values.

This equates to a throttle curve looking like a "V" as we need the correct power from the engine at the appropriate pitch value. At mid stick, P3, we do not want 100% throttle, as there will be no load on the blades at zero degrees pitch, so we reduce the throttle here to stop the headspeed increasing like a banshee, we apply a linear increase either side of this, with P2 and P4 to match a linear curve. Similar to the normal mode, these values may need "tweaking" in order to get the correct head speed. We could also use a "U" shape, but the same theory applies and for this example we will concentrate on the linear increase either side of centre stick.

With these settings we will get an increase in rpm when the idle up switch is engaged, this is normal, and also the way it is normally kept. If this is unnerving, the throttle curves can be adjusted so at the ¾ stick position of the hover, when we engage idle up, they match to stop the slight and sudden jump in the helicopter.

Throttle PositionExample Idle Up Pitch ValuesConclusion

So if you have followed the mechanical setup, radio setup, blade balancing, and blade tracking guides this should be the final step in the setup of the helicopters rotor head. The above examples are suitable for a wide range of RC helicopters, some may differ slightly, if in doubt, always refer to the manual, or a reputable on-line forum. You will find the members of this community more than willing to help you. Thanks for reading.

Helicopter Scale Turbine Engines

2011-10-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

Jetcat Scale Helicopter Turbines

If you are building the ultimate scale model, you will want the ultimate scale power source. That will be a turbine engine, based upon the full size equivalents running from kerosene, and spinning at up to 100,000 rpm, enough to power even the largest RC helicopters. They are not for the beginner however, these are very complex and dangerous units if mishandled, and not to mention highly expensive. They are however essential if you desire the perfect scale model. There is nothing quite like the sound of a jet turbine starting.

One of the main turbine engine producers for helicopters is Jetcat, and in particular the very popular Jetcat PHT-3 model, which incorporates the mechanics for the main and tail gear into the unit. The specifications are as follows:

Gear stage: Rotor RPM: 1,260Tail rotor RPM: 5,880Torque: 28 NmPower output: 3kW/4HP (electronically limited)Weight: Turbine and gear 2.7 KgPeripherals: 550g (ECU/pump/valves/battery)Features: Centrifugal clutch, Jet-tronic ECU for autos tart, integrated RPM regulator Idle RPM: 33,000Max RPM: 85,000Fuel consumption: 60-160 ml/minResidual thrust: 1,5-10NEGT: 340-550CFuel: Kerosene, JetA1Lubrication: 5% oil mixed with fuel Fully automatic turbine start up by a command from the R/C transmitter without external connections. No compressed air. No starting equipment.Turbine starts without compressed air or fans. Automatic cooling down when the turbine is shut down.Precision ceramic ball bearings for low maintenance.High performance turbine wheel which is fully tested.Integrated glow driver with a separate function to check the glow plug.Turbine supervision and regulation assisted by measurement of RPM and exhaust gas temperature.Multi-stage electronic system to ensure reliable operation.Connection to the R/C system via 1 receiver channel. A second switched channel is required to operate air speed sensor or smoke system.Rapid throttle response time.Programmable minimum and maximum RPM within the allowable range.The fully automatic start up and running procedure minimizes operator handling faults that could result in damaging the turbine.Plain text display of the current running parameters including: exhaust gas temperature, RPM, fuel consumption, remaining fuel, last run time, total run time, battery voltage, turbine condition, reason for last shut down etc. Options: Active rotor brakingRS232 Computer interfaceAir speed sensor

We are pleased to announce that we will also be shortly offering a build service for these engines, in conjunction with the scale build service for Vario fuselages. So if you are keen to get in the air, but not so keen on the many hundreds of hours some models can take to create, then we will be your best option. It means you can take the guess work out of the equation when dealing with £3,000+ jet turbine engines.

Helicopter Radio Setup

2011-10-26T23:43:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Computer helicopter radios do a lot of the hard work for us now in flying a radio controlled helicopter. But they need to be setup carefully and accurately. You will normally require a 6 channel radio for a RC helicopter. These are, elevator, aileron, rudder, gyro, throttle and pitch. A computer radio will mix the cyclic servos to control the swash for you. It will also mix the throttle and pitch, dependent on your settings.

Some of the options can be overwhelming. Below you will find the main options that you need to know about, and what there purpose is. We will add at a later date some "Ideal" settings for particular helicopter/transmitter combinations. However, we encourage you to make your settings unique to yourself, this will allow for greater understanding of the operation of the helicopter, and for a more responsive and well behaved helicopter.

Revolution Mixing

If you have installed a Heading Hold gyro, you will want to inhibit this option, as the gyro will take care of it for you. If not you will have to do some trial and error getting this setting just rite.

Basically, as you increase the throttle of the RC helicopter, the torque is increased, meaning the tail will want to move in the opposite direction to the main rotor. What revolution mixing does is mix the throttle channel to the rudder channel. There by compensating for this movement.

To set this, you will want to be in a stable hover, increase the throttle and take note of the amount of movement. After landing again, change the setting by a percent or two, hover, and repeat, until an increase in throttle has little or no effect on the helicopters tail.

Allows you to choose between a 90 or 120 degree swashplate, dependent on your helicopter.

Controls the movement of the cyclic servos in response to stick movements. This is used in combination with a mechanical setup to get the swashplate level at all ranges of pitch.

Throttle Curve

The throttle curve maps pre-defined values of throttle power to your collective stick. Linear by default, this means that when your collective is at zero, your throttle will be at zero. Equally, when at 50% and 100% collective, your throttle will be at 50% and 100% respectively.

99% of the time however, you will not want a linear line, it will be curved, as the aim is to maintain a constant headspeed with a combination of this setting and the pitch curve (See below) The exact numbers for the throttle curve will depend on your flying style and helicopter.

Pitch Curve

Similar to the throttle curve, the pitch curve controls how many degrees of pitch your blades are exhibiting when the collective stick is at any particular position. Unlike the throttle curve, a good starting line for this is linear (0/25/50/75/100) for the five collective positions. You can make changes to this to change the sensitivity of the helicopter in hover for example, but you will also need to adjust the throttle curve to maintain that magical constant head speed.

Again trial and error to set up, and not needed if you have a heading hold gyro. This allows for different trims at different rpm modes (Idle up etc, more on this later).

Channel Reverse

As simple as it sounds, it allows you to make changes to the travel directions of the different servos.

Like we all learned in mathematics, an exponential curve, increases or decrease at an ever increasing rate. So applying this type of setting to your helicopter cyclic controls means the area around the center of the sticks will be less sensitive than the extremes of the sticks. This will help in the hover, but allow for agile flight characteristics when chucking the model around in an aerobatic attempt.

Gyro Gain

The sensitivity of your gyro is controlled from this option. It may take a few hovers to get it spot on. But the tell tail sign of to much gain, is wagging of the tail on the horizontal plane. To low and the tail will be very sloppy, not holding position as well as it should be. Fine tune this for the ultimate tail hold.

Idle Up

The "switch of doom" as it is more commonly know, this has been known for more crashes than i care to mention. If you do not intend on using this and/or you are a beginner, make sure this is inhibited.

Essentially it allows you to set multiple options to different values at the flick of a switch. As an example, in normal flight, hovering etc a pitch curve giving 0 - 6 - 10 degrees of pitch is perfect, and with this a reasonable calm throttle curve. Now that we are coming out of the hover, and want to try out some 3D routines, we require some negative pitch, so having pre-set our idle up throttle and pitch curves, we can switch to a constant throttle value, and a pitch range of (-10) - 0 - 10. Meaning that just above centre stick we have a few degrees of positive pitch, and good throttle value for hovering. We can now flip the model and hover inverted, as we can use the lower half of the collective travel for negative pitch.

This is similar for a lot of the other values, including the gyro gain, these can all be set to a different value for idle up. Some radios will also have a idle up 2, it is the same thing, but allows for 3 separate settings.

Throttle Hold

If you ever need to do an emergency autorotation, this allows you to set a specific pitch curve, and access it at the flick of a switch, to allow you to glide your helicopter down safely.

Travel Adjust

It allows you to set up how far the servos travel with a given stick movement. It allows you to set end points, so your servo doesn't keep moving when it should be stopping due to mechanical limitations.

Trainer (Switch)

Whilst held, allows for a second, connected helicopter radio to take over your flight controls. However, once released the controls are back in your hands.

Hover Pitch and Throttle (Adjustable dial)

Allows you to fine tune the pitch and throttle values whilst hovering. You should be aiming for around 1,600 rpm on the throttle and 6 degrees of positive pitch in the hover.

That just about wraps up our guide to radio setup. Check back soon for some pre-made settings for popular combinations, and a more in-depth look at some of the advanced functions and mixing possibilities.

LiPo Safety

2011-10-25T23:52:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Lithium Polymer or LiPo battery packs are key to electric RC helicopters. They also provide the power to electronics on a Nitro model. They generally charge faster and store more energy than a comparable Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) battery pack. However, LiPo batteries do require special handling. Misuse -- including improper charging, handling, and storage -- can cause LiPo batteries to burn or explode.

Only use a charger that is designed for use with lithium polymer batteries. Also, only use a charger that can handle the specific cell count of your battery. While some chargers may be able to detect the number of cells automatically they could misread the battery. Others must be set manually. Doublecheck your settings for cell count and current no matter what type of charger you are using. Always read and follow the instructions that came with your charger and battery packs. Charging batteries should never be left unattended and should never be charged while inside your vehicle.

LiPo Handling

Don't let children handle RC helicopter LiPo batteries. When transporting your LiPo batteries, use a non-flammable container that does not contain sharp objects that could puncture the battery packaging. Don't carry LiPo batteries in your pockets or throw them into your tool box. Don't place batteries -- especially damaged ones -- on flammable or hot surfaces. Don't handle damaged batteries with bare hands. If a damaged battery leaks on your skin, wash immediately with soap and water. After flushing with cool water, seek medical help if it gets in your eyes. When charging and using LiPo battery packs, keep a fire extinguisher or a bucket of sand nearby in case of fire. Do not try to put out a LiPo fire with water.

src="../images/lipofire_thumb.jpg" border="0" class="img_left" title="A scary site, that could happen to anyone if a battery is mistreated" alt="A scary site, that could happen to anyone if a battery is mistreated" /> LiPo Usage

When operating your RC Helicopter in or around water, make sure your LiPo battery is protected from the water. Don't immerse it in water or let it get wet. Make sure you don't have the positive and negative terminals reversed when operating your helicopter. Always inspect your LiPo battery after each use -- cleaning it if necessary. Always inspect your LiPo battery after a crash. Let it sit for an hour or so even if it appears to be OK. Do not continue using it if the packaging is torn or punctured or if you notice any ballooning of the battery. Continued use or charging of a damaged LiPo battery could result in an explosion and fire.

LiPo Storage

Make sure your LiPo battery is in good condition and partially charged before storing. Keep them in non-flammable containers, away from sharp objects or flammable materials, and at moderate temperatures. Store your LiPo batteries out of the reach of children. Don't store dead or damaged batteries.

LiPo Disposal

After fully discharging the battery, place it outside in a covered container of salt water (keep away from pets and children) for several days. Skip the discharging step and go straight to the salt water if the battery is ballooned or the covering torn. The discharged/soaked battery can now be placed into your household waste.

RC Helicopter CCPM Mechanical Setup

2011-10-25T03:39:00.000-04:00

A good mechanical setup on the rotor head of a remote control helicopter, can be the difference between a model that almost flies itself, or one that is destined to hit the ground at high speed. OK, so they might be two extremes, but time invested now will be paid back ten fold. By the way, my blog will list the latest radio control helicopter guides and tutorials.

First things first, start fresh on your transmitter, and select a brand new model channel, or if for some reason you don't have the luxury of multiple model memories, reset to factory defaults. This forces all trims to be reset, including the on stick ones, and sub-trims.

Go into your swash mix menu, and set the pitch, elevator and aileron to 50% swash mix. Set your swash type to 120 degree CCPM in the swash menu of the radio set (Yes, this "How to" is written for a 120 degree swash, from the swash up however, there are many similarities, so it will still be useful if you have a 90 degree swash). Lastly, make sure all other mix's are off, such as revo mix. Set all end points to 100% on the servo travel/end point menu.

Whilst setting up the helicopter head, we want linear throttle and pitch curves, so set these up now if this is not so. That is for the 5 stick points, 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% the throttle and pitch curves should match the stick values, going up linearly from 0% to 100%.

Receiver and Servo Connections

Now, lets get everything connected. You may have all ready done this, but ill just skim over the essentials. I find it easier to use a standard receiver pack to power the servos and receiver whilst setting up. This saves having to incorporate the ESC and a LiPo. If you do choose the later option, ensure your motor wires are disconnected whilst working on the remote control helicopter. A good habit to get into, and essential for safety is to turn the transmitter on first, and then the receiver.

The servo towards the back of the swashplate is connected to the elevator channel on the receiver. The two forward servos can be connected to either the pitch or aileron channels on the receiver. Later mixing in the radio will sort out there orientations.

Servo Movement Directions

Now we need to get the servos and the swash moving in the rite direction. A modern RC helicopter CCPM swash is quite a complicated and confusing thing. But take some time and work carefully, and it most certainly isn't rocket science. The two tools we will be using are "servo reverse" and "swash mixing". The thing to remember is servo reversing works on only the servo in question. If you want to reverse multiple servo movements at the same time, you will need swash mixing.

The first thing to check is what happens when you move the control stick forwards on the cyclic. The swash plate should tilt forward. This means the elevator servo horn should rise. If it falls, and the helicopter swashplate tilts backwards, go into the reverse menu, and reverse the elevator channel. We want to do the same now for the left and right movement of the cyclic stick. It should tilt the swashplate left and right. As an example if we give full left cyclic on the remote control helicopter, the left hand servo horn should dip, and the right one rise, thereby tilting the swash to the left. If not, reverse the appropriate channels in the servo reversing menu.

Next, we want to see what happens when we increase the pitch, the whole swash should remain level (roughly, more on that later) and rise uniformly. If not, you will need to go into the swash mix menu, and reverse the value of the pitch entry, so if it is +50% change it to -50%. So to sum up, we need all 3 servo horns rising for up pitch, down for down pitch. Left cyclic should mean the left servo dropping and right rising, the opposite for right cyclic. Forwards elevator means the rear elevator servo will rise, and the forward pitch and aileron servos will fall.

To correct a single servo use servo reversing, if all three are not moving in the correct order it can be corrected with swash mixing. We are now ready to move onto servo arm alignment on our remote control helicopter.

Helicopter Servo Arm Alignment

Now it is essential to have followed the earlier instructions regarding correct initial radio setup. Make sure you have power to your servos, and the helicopter pitch/throttle is set to 50%, this needs to be as accurate as you can manage. You now need to get those servo horns on at 90 degrees. That is horizontal, or if you prefer, parallel to the ground. Now the grooves on these servo horns are not uniform, different horns, and different orientations will yield better results on your RC helicopters servos. Play around for a bit and get it as close as you possibly can.

Chances are you will have them nearly perfect, but not quite, that's OK, we can use sub-trims on the radio transmitter to correct for this. So head on in to the relevant section on your radio, and play around with the settings for each channel by a few notches until you can judge the arms to be at 90 degrees. A good tip is to line them up against the servo casing and use that to judge the alignment. Make sure to put the ball links on the inside of the servo horn, that is so the linkage will come between the servo horn and frame. Always remember to use loctite on these, as you don't want them coming loose during flight.

Again, the pitch control should be at 50% for this step. I wont go into to much detail here, many people on many different remote control helicopters use different tools, tips, and techniques. Do whatever you feel is best. I do however recommend a swashplate levelling tool, they can be as cheap as a few pounds/dollars. The idea is, with the pitch at 50%, and all servo horns at 90 degrees, the swash should be perfectly level with the helicopter. If not use your tool, or judgment, and start adjusting the 3 push rods from the servos to the swash by a single turn, and re-measure. It is worth mentioning now always follow the manufactures instructions for the lengths of push rods as an initial starting point, some times they are spot on. Repeat this until the swash is completely level. You also now want to check that at 0% on the throttle/pitch stick on the transmitter the swash doesn't come down to far and hit the washout, also at bottom pitch, you should check the full range on the cyclic, as to make sure the swash doesn't hit the frame. If it does, raise the swash by turning all of the push rod linkages by the same amount, until these interactions are removed.

Now complete the construction of the rest of the head, as per the manufacturers instructions, up to but not including putting the blades on. Before moving on, you want a completely constructed head in order to set up precisely all the components. We will adjust out any irregularities.

Sea saw Mixer Arms

Some people think of this stage as being the hardest, but it is the simplest to be honest. Just take your time, and re-check your work. Essentially, all we are looking for is that the bottom and top sea saw mixer arms are nice and level when the swashplate is level and at 50% stick. To achieve this we need the flybar cage to be locked into position with an appropriate tool, an allen key as per Finless Bob, or judged bye. Arms needs to be straight and level with the bar of the flybar cage. This is achieved by adjusting the linkage rods going from the swashplate to the mixing arms at the top of the heli, lengthen or shorten to achieve the perfect balance.

Unlike the final push rods to the blade grip, these can be different lengths. It is an iterative procedure, where you adjust one set, see how it effects the sea saw arms, then re adjust. Each time getting smaller and smaller in adjustments until they are level. The top arms can be judged by lining them up with the flybar cage. The bottom ones by looking through the head to the arms on the other side, they should be parallel with each other and look at the alignment of the ball links on the mixer arms, repeat this on both sides.

The bottom sea saw arms can be adjusted uniformly by raising or lowering the swashplate linkage rods, applying the same amount of adjustments to them all at the same time, whilst the pitch is still at 50%.

We would now like to achieve zero pitch in the blades at 50% throttle/pitch. This proceeds on the assumption your setup to this point is correct, including the aligned sea saw mixer arms. Put a set of blades on now. You will need to lock the flybar cage in position, check out Finless Bob's hack with an allen key to achieve this, or buy a tool, either way you need to have a steady and fixed flybar cage.

At this stage the blades should now have zero pitch, this can be measured with a pitch gauge, or judged by eye. If doing it by eye, and you have flat tops on the blade grips, you can line them up by eye, the flat edges of each blade grip being on the same plane as each other. You will need to take the button head of the top of the head. Another trick, is to take the blades of, and look at the bolt that goes through the blade grips that normally holds the blades on, this should be vertical.

If you have any pitch in the blades, adjust the very top most linkage rods to remove this, and re-measure. These rods should be identical in length, this is very important. So if one blade has more pitch than the other, something has gone wrong with your setup further down the head of the RC helicopter, so you will need to re-check this from the swash to the top mixing arms.

Checking Head Full Pitch Range

To do this put some blades onto the RC helicopter and measure the full pitch range over the full length of travel. Increase or decrease the pitch value on the swash mix. Taking note that the swash doesn't hit any of the other mechanics at the bottom or top of its travel. As we started with a swash mix of 50%, 70% should give roughly around 14 degrees of pitch. This will be a little to lively for a beginner. 60% swash gives about 11 degrees of pitch, which will be a good starting point for a RC helicopter pilot. As a reminder, when adjusting the full range travel on your helicopter, make sure the swash doesn't hit the washout or the frame during its travel. Similar to when we were adjusting our ranges in the sea saw mixer arm setup stage.

Flybar Paddles

I did notice when i was first starting out, that there wasn't much information on how the flybar paddles should be setup. Luckily, they are very simple. they should be of equal length from end to end on each side of the flybar cage. The leading edge pointing in the same direction as that of the blade (The paddles and blades should have there leading edger pointing in a clockwise direction by the way). Lastly they need to be flat and level, you can judge this by eye, line the paddle edge up with the top sea saw mixer arm, inside the flybar cage, they should be parallel to each other.

Checking for CCPM Interactions

It is best now to search for any CCPM interactions, this is due to not all servos moving the same amount, or linearly. This can be checked on the swash, but due to the mixing ratios, the paddles are much more sensitive to these interactions, so keep an eye on these while checking, you can use a small bubble level on one of them. Have the paddle perpendicular to the tail boom, and look for elevator interactions, do the same with it parallel to it to look for aileron interactions.

If you spot any movements, go into end point adjustment section/travel adjustment section of your helicopters radio. So for instance if at full pitch the bubble moves backwards, apply an increase to the forward elevator end point in order to bring the bubble back to level, same goes for aileron interactions. You will still get in between CCPM interactions, but it is not overly important to fix these, getting full, bottom and centre the same is important, on digital servos we can get rid of this with P mixing but it is a task that is very time consuming.

The last step, reduce or increase pitch setting at max pitch in swash mix to get 11 degrees positive, if all links are correct at negative we should now have 11 degrees as well. This step is essential to finally check our setup. If more pitch is present in one direction, then something is wrong and we are getting some unwanted interactions, check and redo all of the links.

Cyclic Range

We are almost done now, and you will be able to breath easy. We want to adjust the amount of cyclic pitch available. Ideally we want 6 degrees in each direction, measured using a pitch gauge, the more pitch you have the faster the response of the model helicopter. As a beginner, you would be looking for a little less. As you have to add it to the total pitch of the blades in the first place.

So if you have set your blade pitch range to +/- 11 degrees, you will now have a total pitch range of 17 degrees. Way to much for a beginner. As with this amount of pitch, collective management whilst flying will be a big thing. To adjust these ranges, use the radios swash mix, aileron and elevator mix to be precise, reducing the number reduces the throw of the swash, and the same for the opposite direction. You may have to experiment a little with this to get the right balance.

But if you have followed this guide word for word, you should now have a well set up, and ready to fly remote control helicopter. Good luck!

RC Helicopter Blog Updates

2011-10-24T04:09:00.000-04:00

Futaba released recently their flagship heli gyro/governor combo, the GY701. Both technologies are combined within one compact unit. Combining two separate technologies into one unit results in amazing response rates. Designed to be useful for the beginner helicopter pilot and 3D expert, it is also available in either a gyro only or governor only box set. Although, you will end up paying more buying them separately. One of the main features of the new unit, is the advanced, adaptive PID operation (Proportional-Integral-
Derivative). It also boasts a wide dynamic range, covering +/- 1200 deg/sec.

The governor is capable of operating over 1000 to 3000 rpm, and includes digital or analogue servo selection. A nice feature is the units ability to allow revo compensation by yaw rate. To keep track of what the unit is “thinking” there is a 128×36 resolution OLED screen on the main control unit. This allows for easy programing of the PC updatable firmware, which is also compliant with the new S.Bus connection.

Ultra high-speedConsistent and smooth pirouette rateExcellent yaw control3D/F3C modes3 color LED mode indicatorcompatible with analog and digital servosS.Bus capableRPM range 1000-3000Governor or rev limiter selectableSensor mounted on the clutchUltra lightweight/smallEasy-to-use programming interface

You will find in the box (Dependent on the package ordered, gyro/governor set given as an example):

GY701 control unitGY701 gyro sensorEngine rpm sensorAdhesive padsSensor mounting bracketsMagnetsDecal sheet

Continue reading ?

View the original article here

RC Helicopter Electrostatic Discharges and Grounding

2011-10-23T04:18:00.000-04:00

Introduction

The T-Rex 500, and many other similar helicopters use a tail pulley belt drive to power the rear rotors of the helicopter. This can act as a mini Van De-Graff generator though, with static building up in the tail boom. The problem of static discharge comes about due to the fact that the tail boom is not electrically grounded to the frame. It clamps in place with a plastic tail boom support. So the static can build up to high levels on one part of the RC helicopter, with no way of dissipating. When it gets to a certain level it will arc to the nearest conductive surface, interfering dangerously with the radio control electronics on the aircraft and other low voltage RC systems. This can and does cause "glitches" in the control system of the helicopter, either shutting down the receiver momentarily, or sending random control commands to the servos, (throttle, rudder, cyclic etc) resulting in a crash.

That is not to say everyone will experience this problem. It only affects a very small minority. Also, only certain receivers behave badly when receiving an electrostatic discharge, most problems have been reported with Spektrum receivers, but issues have also been seen in most other makes of receiver including Futaba and Airtronics. Luckily, it is a very easy problem to fix, and some easy preventative measures will save you an expensive repair bill at you local model shop.

Points to Consider

A few points to consider, this is only for RC helicopter tails with a belt drive system, torque tubes do not suffer from this. Carbon fiber is also conductive, so it will occur even with a carbon tail boom on your RC helicopter. This can affect any helicopter, and not just the T-Rex range, the same is true for the receiver, it can occur in any brand of receiver. I will also repeat the fact that it is not 100% certain that you will ever experience this issue, but it is better to be safe than sorry, and especially as it is very easy to fix indeed.

If you have a Spektrum receiver, namely the 6100, or 7000 series, make sure it has "Quick Connect", this was provided by the manufacturer after the first issues started showing there ugly heads. Before this it would take the receiver several seconds to restart after a interference/discharge event. With quick connect, this is reduced to a fraction of a second. It will also give a flashing light on the receiver if this has occurred during flight, as a warning to the problem. To test to see if you have it, remove the power to the radio receiver, and re-connect it. The orange receiver signal light should now be flashing. Congratulations, you have quick connect. This goes a long way to saving the helicopter if a problem occurs. If not, the receiver will take several seconds to start up again and regain a signal. If this is the case, contact Horizon Hobby UK, and they will replace it free of charge.

The Easy, and Very Effective Solution

So, on to the solutions. The quickest and cheapest is to lubricate the tail belt with silicon spray. Do this whilst running the belt manually to get a good coating over the entire length. Repeat every few weeks. This has been shown to solve most static discharge problems completely on helicopters that were showing signs of electrostatic discharges. As it prevents static from building up in the tail boom of the helicopter. A anti-static spray, such as a common furniture polish can also be used, but it is more ideal to use silicon spray. This will also help with the day to day running of the tail and performance. DO NOT use WD40, this has been shown to damage the tail belt over time.

It is also a good idea to place the receiver on the bottom shelf of the helicopter electronics tray, or underneath the tray. Essentially finding a good balance between distances from the helicopter tail mount, and ESC. As it is always recommended to keep high voltage helicopter equipment (Motor, ESC etc) away from low voltage (Receiver, gyro, telemetry systems) radio equipment, to prevent interference from these sources to. It is to be noted as well, some research, and burnt aerial tips, demonstrate that a arc can occur between the frame and the receiver antennas. Keep them from touching the frame to be safe.

The More In-Depth, and Complete Solution

The main solution that i demonstrate here, is to manually ground the helicopters tail to the frame. The same for the ESC, grounding it onto the frame to reduce the EMI noise. What you want to do is scrap away a little area of the coating on the tail boom, it is anodized on the metal, and glossy on the carbon tail booms. Once the inner surface is exposed, place the exposed ends of a insulated wire onto this scrapped spot, and secure it in place. Then run this, and pass it via one of the screws going into the plastic tail holder. This will now earth the tail to the frame, and for the majority of cases, this is more than sufficient to protect from static events in your helicopter.

To go a little further, and make sure the whole helicopter is at the same potential, continue this wire to the screw going into the motor mount, and then on to the negative battery lead. I show the wires on the outside of the frame for easy viewing, but they can be neatly tucked away, as to hide there view on the helicopters frame. But be careful, as now if a positive LiPo battery lead or cable touches the frame it will cause a short circuit over the helicopter. Some people don't like doing this, but it has been shown to help. Now any interference from the motor and ESC will be dispersed into the frame of the aircraft, and the same for any static build up in the tail. Any static problems at this stage should be well and truly gone, and you can get on with enjoying your RC helicopter without worries of interference problems.

Happy Flying

Lastly some people confuse brown-outs with static discharges. A brown out is where the receiver temporarily does not have enough power to all of the required systems, this can be fixed by making sure enough power is available, for the required electronics, and setting the BEC/ESC to the correct and sufficient output voltage. A static discharge will not cause this effect, it is where interference is produced inside the receiver by the extremely large voltage now passing over it, causing the internal circuits to send out incorrect signals to the control surfaces, or shutting it down completely, putting the RC helicopter in great risk of damage. This is also known as "Glitching".

I hope you have found this article useful, remember just a few minutes work can save your pride an joy from a potential crash. At the very least, spray your helicopters tail belt with silicon spray. However, for five more minutes work, you can make a permanent fix, and fly with a clean conscience!

RC Helicopter Tail and Gyro Setup

2011-10-22T06:48:00.000-04:00

Introduction

When i was first starting out in the heli world, one thing that i found very difficult was a good tail setup on my RC helicopter. How much of this was caused by my choice of a "cheap" gyro is unclear. But a good tutorial is definitely a must when setting up your first tail. Especially considering how many different radio/gyro combinations there are in the current market place. One thing is for sure, you will definitely spend less time on setup if you spend a few more pounds (or dollars) on a good, well known tail gyro, such as a Futaba 401 or Align GP 750.

First things first before touching the RC helicopter gyro, lets get the mechanics set up and the servo in place. Find the best servo horn to achieve 90 degrees to the servo casing at centre stick. Attempt this when the tail servo is plugged directly into the rudder channel. You will want to make sure no trims/sub-trims are set and 100% travel is configured. Now have a look through your box of bits (i know you have one) to find the best fitting horn or wheel.

The position of the ball link on the servo horn depends on the heli/servo configuration, but you want to find a suitable medium between having too much servo travel, and enough control of the tail (resoloution). Refer to the manufacturers guide if in doubt, or try trial and error (my best friend). Align the servo so the pushrod is straight down the tail (only really relevant if you have a boom mounted servo on your helicopter). Now position the servo on the boom so when it is at 90,the tail pitch slider is at the centre of travel between helicopter hub and tail casing. This can be adjusted later with the range and limits, but for now we want full deflection of the tail rotor.

A quick note, when powering up a gyro, do not move it, or apply any stick movements until any blinking lights have become constant. As when the system is initiating it needs this time to calibrate. Any movements can affect this. So especially once you plug in your Li-Po. Also if using a digital servo, make sure you have it selected according to servo type being used. Otherwise you can burn out an analog servo if it is set to digital mode.

Your RC helicopter gyro will have two leads, one for the signal for the rudder, made up of a cable with 3 wires. Plus one with single cable, this is the gain lead. It will depend on your transmitter brand and set which channel to place it on, Spektrum is "gear" others use "Aux" and it can vary from those, so double check the manual.

How to setup the channel for the gain switch is strongly dependent on the radio/gyro. Some radios will give 100% travel on that channel in both directions, so 0-100% standard mode, and 0-100% Heading Hold (HH)/AVCS when the switch is flipped (basically they are just treating it as another channel on the radio). In this case, travel limits are set on each of these end points that correspond to the required amount of travel. Other radios will have specialist gyro menus which make this much easier, allowing you to set the required gain in each mode then linking this to the switch.

The last type, from which i have experience is the Spektrum/Align way, where the "gear" channel is on a scale between 0-100%. Two points can be set on this corresponding to the two switch positions. One is set between 0-50%, representing the standard mode 0-100%, and the other point is set between 50-100% which represents 0-100% Heading Hold gain. So a setting of 75% on the radio menu would mean 50% heading hold gain. For a new pilot and also for the experienced pilot, 90% of the time it is best to be in Heading Hold mode, standard mode requires a whole lot more patience, and radio settings. We will encounter the standard mode briefly whilst setting up the limits on the gyro however.

Start with about 30-35% gain in each switch position for this task, it can and will be adjusted later when trying for the first hover. We also now need to check the reversing channel orientation is correct for your gyro/radio combination. As mentioned before on the Spektrum we have a scale of 0-100% which is split in two, with the heading hold mode in the top 50%, but this might not always be the case dependent on radio/gyro. Refer to the manufacturers manual for status LEDS on your gyro to tell if it is in heading hold or standard modes. For instance on the Futaba 401 gyro it will be constant for heading hold or blinking for standard. Reverse the channel as appropriate to get this in the correct order.

Most gyros will have a limit setting . Futaba 401 gyros have a "pot" that is adjustable via a screwdriver on the gyro, where as Align GP750's have it as part of the setup routine, where you physically move the transmitter stick to the required position to set the limits. The idea is to set it so that when moving in one direction it does not hit and bind at either the hub or the tail casing, this gives us our non-binding full deflection of the tail rotor.

Rudder Channel Direction

Normal rudder control means that when doing a right turn you are turning the rudder stick to the right. This means the nose of the helicopter will turn to the right. Check this by taking a look at the tail blades. Assuming a correct setup, and a normal direction of blade travel for a RC helicopter, the blades of the tail will rotate up towards the tail boom. That is there leading edge rotating towards the boom up from the ground, and into the helicopters down wash. Assuming this is the case on your helicopter, view the tail pitch slider, a right turn means the slider going towards the case, which gives a tail moving to the left and the nose moving to the right. This can be corrected on the rudder channel on the radio if it is happening in the opposite direction.

This also needs to be checked on the gyro, as there will be a setting for direction here to. This corrects for how the gyro and not the rudder stick changes the direction of the helicopter. Move the rudder stick a little to get the pitch slider in the centre of travel. Have the helicopter in front of you, with the nose to your left and tail to your right, bring the tail towards you and watch for the direction of correction in the tail slider. It should move away from you, if this is opposite, then you need to use the appropriate technique (menu, dip switch or setup procedure) to reverse the correction direction of the helicopters gyro. Double check with the above technique to confirm correct movement direction. Pull the tail towards you and the slider should move away, not with you and towards you.

Finalizing the Gyro Setup

This completes the general setup of your gyro. Now you will want to set the gain of the gyro to around 60-70%. Hover and then adjust to the "sweet spot" where there is crisp control and no "wagging" of the tail. This is an indication that the tail gain is set to high and the gyro is over compensating. A sloppy tail, or one that doesn't stop as quickly as expected indicates the opposite, that the gain is to low.

Remote Control Helicopter Blade Tracking and Balancing

2011-10-21T09:18:00.000-04:00

WARNING: Tracking adjustment is a dangerous procedure. Keep at least 5m from the spinning rotorhead. It is also recommended to wear eye protection.

Before following this section, if you are working on a new build, or have yet to mechanically set up the rotor head, please read this first: CCPM Mechanical Setup. It will make sure that you have a good setup on your machine before attempting to balance and track your blades. By the way, my blog will list the latest radio control helicopter guides and tutorials.

Sometimes you will get lucky, and have perfectly balanced blades out of the packet. The same goes for tracking, you may not need to track your blades at all. Either way you should definitely follow this procedure to make sure they are operating correctly.

Blade Balancing

This is the easy bit. Essentially, when the rotor blades are manufactured, there might be very slight imperfections in the weight of each blade. Not noticeable to you or I, but once spinning at 1,800 rpm or more, this will cause vibrations in the helicopter. The greater the weight difference, the greater the vibrations.

A blade balancer comes in useful at this point, you will need to bolt your blades on to it and see if they "balance". If they don't, its time to use the pretty stickers that came with the blades. On the lighter blade, place the metallic sticker at a point along the blade where it makes them balance about there pivot point. Just lay it on initially without removing the adhesive back. When you are sure of the position, fix it in place. You should now have a set of balanced blades. On to the tracking.

The first thing you need to do is see if they are actually out of track or not. Time to get out some blade tracking tape, or electrical insulating tape will do. Make sure any edges of the piece of tape are towards the trailing edge of the blade. That way the tape wont come off due to air getting under it. Ideally a different color tape on each blade. Again, if not, just make sure one is well marked.

You will now need to spool the RC helicopter up to a decent head speed, around that suitable for a hover. I personally strap the heli to a workbench, but you can also bring the helicopter into a hover around head height and check from there. What you are looking for is wether one blade bends more than the other. This will be evident as an obvious doubling of the imaged rotor blade edge. With one blade higher than the other. If this is the case you need to adjust some linkages, as your blades are not tracked.

The Reasons Behind Out of Track Blades

Why does this happen i hear you say?! Well, simply, like the balancing, there are very slight imperfections in some blades. So, when a large external force is applied to them they can behave differently. In this case it is one blade flexing more than the other. this is not the only cause, in fact, the more usual suspect, is that when you tried to get zero pitch in your blades during the CCPM setup. There may be some slight pitch in the blade that is impossible to get out during setup.

So, as you may well have guessed, if there is more pitch on one blade than the other, the it will generate more lift, causing it to flex more than the other, and fly higher than its counterpart. Luckily this is very easy to fix.

Effects on Helicopter Headspeed

One thing to think about is headspeed, if you want to get all technical. Say the blades are out by a random figure, lets say 10mm. You could adjust the links so the one flying low comes up to meet the top one, or you could do it the other way round. We have to consider how this will effect the headspeed. As we are changing the pitch of the blade. The safest bet is to raise, and lower each blade respectively by the same amount, so the tracking meets in the middle for the helicopter.

To sum up these effects: If you are happy for the headspeed to increase, the higher blade needs to be lowered. The same is true if you want a lower headspeed, raise the lower blade. As i said above, making them both meet by adjusting equally, will maintain your current hover headspeed.

To actually adjust your blades, you will need to change the lengths of the linkage rods that control the pitch to your blades. It is wise during this step to refer to the manual that came with your RC helicopter, as they can be different from heli to heli. I will provide below a quick guide on how to adjust these on a T-Rex 500 helicopter.

The Align T-Rex 500 Method

Helicopters sharing a traditional flybared rotor head will usually share the same linkages from the swashplate upwards. So the instructions for the T-Rex range will be similar, if not identical to that of other manufacturers. But again, always check in your particular helicopters manual, for vendor specific instructions.

WARNING: Tracking adjustment is a dangerous procedure. Keep at least 5m from the spinning rotorhead. It is also recommended to wear eye protection.

So, after following the previous instructions with the heli running and inspecting the blades. Look at the path of the blades carefully. If they are rotating on the same path, no further action is required. If one is higher than the other, then apply tracking corrections immediately.

In the image to the right links C and D, connecting the top seasaw arms to the blade grips are used to adjust for regular/medium amounts of trim to blade tracking offset. E and F are to be adjusted if you need to trim out small amounts of deflection on the tracking.

The blade with the higher path has to much pitch. Lengthen links C or D, depending on which blade is out of track. As above, if it s slightly off track, shorten linkage rods E or F. Remembering if you want to keep the same headspeed as before adjustments, to bring one blade slightly down, and the other slightly up to meet in the middle.

If you have followed the CCPM setup, and this tracking guide, you should now have a good mechanical set up on your RC helicopter. Happy flying!

Add Shock Oil

2011-10-20T10:08:00.000-04:00

Oil-Filled Shocks Perform Better Shocks (shock absorbers) help to give a smoother ride and better control over bumps and obstacles.

Photo © M. JamesShocks and springs are part of the suspension in RC vehicles. Oil-filled shocks give RC vehicles more stability over rough terrain. Without the oil the shocks compress and rebound too quickly and fail to absorb or dampen the bumps in the road. When you feel that your shock absorbers aren't performing properly you can check the fluid level and add more oil to the shocks.

Shock oil comes in different weights such as 40, 70, or 100. Ask your hobby shop sales associate for recommendations based on your car/truck and the conditions under which you run it. Changing the weight of the oil changes the damping rate -- the compression of the shock -- so that you can finetune it for different road or track conditions.

Adding After-Burn Oil

2011-10-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

Use your glow plug wrench to carefully remove the glow plug from the cylinder.

Photo © M. JamesIf your nitro RC is equipped with an electric start system begin by taking the glow plug wire off the glow plug with a pair of needlenose pliers. If your nitro RC is not equipped with an electric start system there is no need to do this -- just proceed by removing the glow plug with a glow plug wrench.

Air Filter Care

2011-10-18T13:02:00.000-04:00

Get Some Soapy Water and Air Filter Oil A little soapy water and some air filter oil are your main supplies.

Photo © M. JamesRacing your nitro RC on the street or even off-road can take its toll on the nitro engine's air filter from dirt and other debris that get inside and reduce the performance of your nitro engine. Cleaning the air filter is part of the maintenance needed to keep your RC at optimal performance.

Cleaning the air filter is a fairly simple task. You will need: Bowl of soapy water (such as dishwashing liquid or hand soap) Paper towels or clean shop towels Compressed air (optional) Air filter oil

After-Run Maintenance

2011-10-17T13:52:00.000-04:00

Maintain your RC in peak running condition

Photo © M. JamesJust like a real car, RC cars and trucks require regular maintenance. After running your RC for a while you have to perform after-run maintenance. All radio controlled vehicles -- electric and nitro -- need after-run maintenance but some of the steps here apply only to nitro engines. Think you already know how it's done? Take the RC After-Run Maintenance Quiz first.Time Required: Allow 30-60 minutes for RC after-run maintenance if no major repairs are neededPerform a visual inspection.
Look over your RC car to make sure there is no physical damage such as broken parts, cracks in the body, or tires that may have come unglued that you may need to repair. Wipe down the body.
Upon completing visual inspection, if there are no defects or broken parts that need to be repaired, completely wipe down the RC body using paper towels or shop towels. In hard to reach places you could use a toothbrush or a small brush of some sort to get the dirt or anything else out of the small parts that you cannot remove with a towel. Drain the fuel tank (nitro).
If you own a nitro RC and you're planning to put it aside for another race day make sure that you drain the fuel tank. Not draining the fuel tank can cause condensation to build up inside the fuel tank resulting in serious damage to your nitro engine. Nitro fuel is alcohol-based and it is susceptible to moisture (water) mixing with the nitro fuel. Clean and oil the air filter (nitro).
Whether racing on the race track or running around with your buddies, dirt and other debris can get stuck in the air filter. Clean your air filter periodically to keep your nitro engine at optimum performance.
How to Clean and Oil an Air Filter Add after-burn oil (nitro).
After a hard day at the track you're ready to put your nitro RC to bed. Don't forget to add after-burn oil to the cylinder head to keep everything lubricated and ready for the next time you decide to race. Not doing so can cause serious damage to the cylinder head and your pocketbook.
How to Add After-Burn Oil to a Nitro RC Check tires for damage.
Hobby-grade RCs have a lot of torque in their high-powered engines which can cause tires to come loose after a long day at the track. Check for damage such as cuts, gashes, or missing pieces in the tires - replace the tires if necessary. Reglue the tires to the wheels if needed. Check shocks/suspension.
Suspensions take a beating after doing long jumps, hair-pin turns, and other rough activities. Check your suspension and add oil to your shocks, if necessary.
How to Add Shock Oil Check screws.
Screws come loose over time. Even a couple of runs of a nitro engine at high speeds can shake loose screws, nuts, and bolts. Re-tighten loose screws. For screws that go into metal, if they aren't already coated with Loctite or another thread-locking compounding, add a coat of it to better secure the screws. For screws into plastic, make sure they fit snugly but don't overtighten or you risk stripping the plastic. Check your batteries.
If you plan to store your RC for more than a week it is a good idea to remove the batteries from the controller as well as the RC vehicle to prevent any mishaps such as corrosion -- which can occur unexpectedly and result in costly repairs. Charge battery packs.
If you are racing your RC the next day then removing the batteries is not necessary. But be sure to charge the battery pack(s) the night before or the day before you go racing so you will have all the charged batteries you need. Perform any other needed repairs.
Reglue parts that may have broken off the body or patch holes and replace decals, touch up the paint job. If more than just minor repairs are needed, you may have to sideline your vehicle for awhile. Driving a damaged RC will only result in more, possibly irreparable damage to the vehicle.Test your knowledge of RC care and maintenance with the RC After-Run Maintenance QuizYour RC VehicleShop towels or paper towelsBasic tools such as screwdrivers, hex wrenchesLiquid soapAir filter oilAfter-burn oilTire glueShock oilReplacement parts as needed.

Axial Scorpion Rock Crawler

2011-10-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Axial AX10 1:10 Scale Scorpion Electric RC Rock Crawler kit is both a challenging and a rewarding experience. Although I wouldn't call this a beginner RC kit, with a little help from an experienced builder a beginner could learn a lot and get a great deal of enjoyment from this kit. And once completed, you'll have an awesome rock crawlling beast that is great as-is or can be further modified with several aluminum upgrade parts.I had a wonderful time building the Axial AX10 Scorpion but I would recommend it be built over a period of time. It took me a whopping 14 hours spread between two days to complete. A pro builder could have probably built a lot faster but I wanted to make sure every little detail was covered right the first time. I still made mistakes, largely due to rushing the building process because I was excited about seeing the finished product. When the kit was finally fully assembled I had acquired a great deal of knowledge about how the Scorpion Rock Crawler operates and how to fix it if anything breaks.

Although Ready-to-Run is fun (and the Scorpion comes in a ready-to-run version), the process of building an RC from the ground up provides you with valuable knowledge about where to look when problems invariably occur somewhere down the line. I feel that maintenance, repairs, and upgrades can go smoother when you have an intimate knowledge of all the pieces, parts, and little screws that hold it all together. To get that same knowledge of a RTR RC you almost have to tear it down and build it back up again.

The Scorpion Rock Crawler kit comes as a complete rolling chassis (that you build). This means that all the electronics, motor, ESC, and battery have to be purchased separately in order to complete the kit.

The rolling chassis is composed of a chassis (frame, chassis plates), drivetrain, rims, tires, and all the linkage necessary to install the electronics. Additional parts include antenna tube, an unpainted, clear Lexan body, and decals. Although there are several tools listed in the instructions that you'll need to acquire in order to build the rock crawler, it does come with supplies such as differential grease, shock oil, paint masking, thread lock, and a few basic tools including a crosswrench.

In addition to the large parts like the tires, and body there are two main plastic bags in the box. One plastic bag contains all the plastic, fiberglass, and some aluminum parts. The other plastic bag has more little bags inside. They are labeled A through G and correspond to the steps you'll be following in the building process.

In addition to the provided crosswrench, you'll need to have several common tools. Needlenose pliers Side cutters Scissors Metric hex head wrenches Large Phillips head screwdreiver Hobby knife

I personally purchased a couple of plastic boxes with divided trays to keep small screws and such from getting lost or knocked around. To complete the body you'll also need various painting tools whether that's an airbrush kit or cans of spray paint, detail paints, and brushes.

As you follow the instructions you'll use parts from one of the lettered bags, in order. For example the letter A bag has all the necessary parts to complete the steps that get you to bag B. You can judge your progress by which bag -- A through G -- you've completed. The instructions will also tell you what screws go where according to part numbers listed beside the corresponding parts in the illustrations.

Despite the pictures and sequentially labeled bags, sometimes the instructions are vague. The supplied instruction manual is primarily pictures with very little written instruction. I experienced a few confusing moments as to what to do in a particular step. However, with careful observation and following the sometimes almost invisible little dotted lines in some illustrations you can ease your way slowly through the building procees. The information is all there, just not always obvious.

One caution: You have a very small space in which to fit your receiver and speed control so purchase ones that aren't too big or bulky.

Eventually you'll get to that bag G. You'll get it all assembled and sit back and go "WOW I did it! I finally finished it and look how awesome it looks!" Then, of course you'll realize that building it isn't the end of the process. You still have to paint the body and put on the decals. That was the case with me at least. So for now, my rock crawler isn't completely finished but it's finished enough to take it out for a spin and try out its rock crawling capabilities.

Air Hogs Sharp Shooter

2011-10-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

Unlike other Air Hogs helicopters with their little foam bodies and sometimes futuristic styling, the Airwolf-style projectile-firing Air Hogs Sharp Shooter has a full light weight plastic body with realistic detailing.Before getting to fly you have to open the box. The Sharp Shooter box contained exactly what I've come to expect from the overly protective Air Hogs company: wire ties that are also taped. I'd hoped they would get the hint by now but I guess they aren't hanging on every word of my reviews and wire rants.

Nevertheless, I would like to take this moment to vent here. Quit triple securing the toys man! I know I sound like a child here but what if I was (No snickering from the peanut gallery) I would have to sit there waiting on and listening to mom or dad muttering and frustratingly try to unravel the wad of tape and wires to get the RC out of the package without damaging it. That is unless you're like me and say "let me get the heavy duty wire cutters out I ain't dealing with this!" Surely there's a better way that's secure, safe, environmentally-friendly, and easy to open.

Once past the wires, what you will get find inside is: the Sharp Shooter Heli transmitter/charging stand three cardboard targets users manual six projectiles resembling missiles You will need to have 6 AA batteries for the transmitter -- those aren't included.

At the time of this review there are only two different channels for the Sharp Shooter. If the Sharp Shooter sells well, Air Hogs will probably come out with more than the Airwolf themed red or blue windowed Sharp Shooters.-- much like the continuing releases and evolutions of the very popular Havoc Helis.

After waiting for a good while for the heli to charge (around 30 minutes) I was ready for some missile shooting, flying action. The Sharp Shooter is pretty stable while hovering. I didn't have to constantly move the left and right controls to keep it straight. The shooting mechanism is a neat little feature also. It fires the missiles one at a time each time you push the firing button. Be careful though. Those little missiles can easily get lost -- or confiscated -- as I found out. I'm down to five now after targeting my wife. In the dog house I go! Fun and games aside, it is more stable than the Havoc Heli line of RC helis.

I noticed that with the little missiles loaded the helicopter has a slight forward movement. When unloaded it will pretty much just hover in place unless there is a small draft of air coming from somewhere, such as a fan or home AC vent Overall, the Sharp Shooter is fairly durable. This is coming from someone who has had his fair share of crashes.

Charging and Runtime

I would have liked to have had the charging time shortened a bit. It seems that Air Hogs overlooked this particular point. 30 minutes versus 5-10 minutes of runtime seems just a bit unbalanced. None the less it is still a fun micro heli to fly.

On the plus side of charging, as with many Air Hogs RCs the transmitter doubles as the charging station. They have also improved in the way that you hook the heli up for charging. The charging jack is a little larger and more durable instead of that microscopic input charging jack that is on the Havoc Helis.

Ok, I got through the packaging nightmare and flew the Sharp Shooter. I consider it is a great buy and well worth the $30-$40 I spent on it. I have had a lot of fun flying and hovering through obstacles and shooting down targets that I have set up. Kids a word of advice: "Don't shoot at anything else other than the targets that came in the package" If you do you will probably hurt someone and get grounded or in big trouble like I did... hint don't shoot the family pets!

The Air Hogs Sharp Shooter has proven to be a durable, easy to control, indoor helicopter that provides a little extra challenge with its missles and target-shooting capabilities.

Watch a Video review of the Air Hogs Sharp Shooter Air Hogs Sharp Shooter Missile-Launching RC Helicopter Review In this video the author does a great job discussing the flight characteristics of the Air Hogs Sharp Shooter. He has made a small modification to the missles -- giving them the ability to pop balloons. I don't recommend doing this sort of mod for anything other than balloon-popping. Taping or gluing small nails or needles to a projectile can cause serious injuries if you're not careful. Despite this small safety issue, it's a good video to watch.

Electric vs. Nitro

2011-10-14T20:36:00.000-04:00

Top: Front axles on electric RC. Middle: Front axles on nitro RC. Bottom Left: Slipper and pinion gears on electric RC. Bottom Right: Slipper and clutch bell gears on nitro RC.

© M. JamesThe gears, wheels, and axles of a radio controlled vehicle are known collectively as the drivetrain. Similar to the transmission and rear-end in a real car, the drivetrain is what gives the RC car motion when power (from the motor or engine) is applied.

Plastic Drivetrain
Toy-grade electric RC drivetrains mostly consist of plastic and the only metal part of the drivetrain is the pinion gear which is also somtimes made of plastic as well. The differential (a set of gears within the drivetrain) on a electric hobby-grade RC has both metal and plastic but can be upgraded to metal to give the electric hobby-grade RC drivetrain an overall boost in strength and longevity.

Metal Drivetrain
The drivetrain on nitro RCs contain primarily all metal differentials and other all metal gears that make up the drivetrain. These metal gears are necessary because the high torque of the powerful nitro engines can put too much stress on plastic parts. Some lesser hobby-grade nitro RCs may have some plastic parts in their drivetrains which can be less durable than the metal parts.

Introduction to RC Airplanes

2011-10-13T21:46:00.000-04:00

Control Surfaces Are Moving Parts Location of Control Surfaces on RC Airplanes

Movements of the sticks on RC airplane transmitters correspond to the different control surfaces available on that model. The transmitter sends signals to the receiver which tells the servos or actuators on the plane how to move the control surfaces.

Most RC airplanes have some kind of rudder and elevator control for turning, climbing, and descending. Ailerons are found on many hobby-grade models.

In place of moveable control surfaces, some types of RC airplanes may use multiple propellers and differential thrust for maneuvering. It doesn't provide the most realistic flying experience but can be easier to master for novice pilots and children.

RC Boat Basics

2011-10-12T22:56:00.000-04:00

High-flying helis and dirt-spewing monster trucks may be the darlings of the RC world, but they've got nothing on the RC boat. Whether gliding gracefully across the pond or kicking up plumes of water in their wake as they shoot from shore to shore, RC boats provide hours of outdoor RC entertainment.

RC boats operate in much the same way as other RC vehicles with a hand-held controller that communicates with an on-board receiver for adjusting steering and speed. There are both toy-grade and hobby-grade RC boats, with the toy-grade being more basic and less powerful than the hobby-grade versions. Many RC boats come in build-your-own-boat (unassembled) kits but Ready-to-Run (RTR) models are becoming more readily available as well.

While many RC enthusiasts are consumed with thoughts of power and speed, scale boats are more about authenticity and realism -- on a smaller scale. Scale boats, generally built from kits, are meant to be as true as possible to their full-size counterparts whether that's a sailboat, a powerboat, an ocean liner, or a battleship. Appearance and scale performance are more important than being the fastest, most tricked out boat on the water.

AquaCraft Bristol Bay Ready-to-Run Fishing Boat {Buy Direct) is an example of a display-quality, electric RC scale boat.

The main power for a sailboat is the wind. If you can master sailing, the RC sailboat can be a good beginner RC boat because there is generally less maintenance required -- no motors or engines to deal with. But sailing is different than flying or driving (on land or water) so you need to consider whether or not it's a skill you are willing to master. RC sailboats are not necessarily slow either. There are both sport and racing models.

The AquaCraft Paradise (Buy Direct) is a 26 inch long, 50 inch tall ready-to-run RC sailboat.

This is the type of RC boat that attracts beginners and it's probably the largest portion of the RC boat hobby. Powered by motors or engines, there are sport boats and racing boats. The sport boats are fun and relatively easy to operate. And because they aren't primarily about speed they are a good choice if your only body of water is a large swimming pool or small pond. Racing boats require more skill because ease of operation is sacrificed in order to get more speed from the boat.

The Pro Boat Classic Runabout (Buy Direct) and Traxxas Villain EX Deep V (Buy Direct) are two very different styles of sport boat while designs like the Pro Boat Miss Elam (Buy Direct) -- replica of the ABRA top speed record holder -- are built for racing.

Like RC cars and aircraft, RC powerboats come with electric motors, nitro engines, or gas-powered engines. Choose the kind of motor or engine you want.

Nikko RC Toys

2011-10-11T23:40:00.000-04:00

A long time frontrunner in the manufacture of radio controlled toys, NIKKO has dozens of RC cars and trucks and a few boats and aircraft as well. They produce everything from tough and colorful RCs with basic controls for preschool and elementary age children to highly detailed, officially licensed cars with more options for the older kids. Most NIKKO RCs are in the 1:10 to 1:32 range and are high quality RC toys.

You'll find various models of Ferrari, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, Audi, Mercedes, Subaru, Mitsubishi and others in the Evolution Tuners line. A few of the models come in two or more scales.

Available in two frequencies, the Street Mayhem Tuners come with a variety of changing features. Each scale has its own special "bling bling" ranging from spinning rims to drifting tires to lights, sound, or wheelies.

The Fast and the Furious official movie merchandise models -- all drifters -- are available in 1:10, 1:16, and 1:22 scales and include several Nissan models, a '67 Ford Mustang, a Honda NSX, and a Mazda RX-7.

Available in two frequencies, full function RC boats are typically around 1:30 scale and include sailing and motor boats. The 1:25 Dolphin Classic has a bilge pump. The 1:19 Banana Boat comes with a float and figures to tow. In addition to a few simple airplanes with forward, left, and right controls they have a 3-channel helicopter. The Big Racer series has 1:5 scale cycles with turbo-function controllers. Some specialty and stunt RC vehicles include the Rock N Runner and Twist 'n Turn RCs that do multi-directional flips. Look for Nikko RC toys at major retailers including Fry's Electronics, RadioShack, Wal-Mart, and Target. Selection will vary by location.

Visit the Nikko webshop for spare parts, batteries & chargers, and accessories for the Evolution Series including new motors, tires, and body kits.

RC Engine Size or Displacement

2011-10-11T00:37:00.000-04:00

A reader asks, "how do you determine the cc of an engine if it is measured in so many different ways?" The confusion comes in the way the engine size is expressed by different RC manufacturers. Some might use something like 2.5cc or 4.4cc while others use a number like .15 or .27. How do these numbers compare to each other?Answer: RC engine size or displacement is measured in cubic centimeters (cc) or cubic inches (ci). In terms of RC engines, displacement is the volume of space a piston travels through during a single stroke. A larger number, whether expressed in cubic centimenters or cubic inches, denotes a larger engine. Displacement is only one factor that determines performance of the vehicle.

The best way to determine the displacement for a specific engine and vehicle is to view the detailed specs for that engine which should list the displacement in either cubic centimeters or cubic inches (or both). However, if you don't have the specs handy for a specific engine, you can often figure out the approximate displacement based on the name, as explained below.

Common RC engine displacements range from about .12 to .46 and larger. These numbers that begin with a decimal point are the displacement in cubic inches. Sometimes the abbreviation ci is appended to the measurement. But just remember that a .18 engine is actually .18ci or .18 cubic inches of displacement.

That same .12 to .46 range, expressed in cubic centimeters would be approximately 1.97cc to 7.5cc of displacement. You can use an online conversion tool to quickly convert from cc to ci or ci to cc. Here's a small reference list (cc is rounded) to give you an idea of how cubic inches compare to cubic centimeters: .12ci - 2.0cc .15ci - 2.5cc .18ci - 3.0cc .21ci - 3.5cc .25ci - 4.1cc .27ci - 4.4cc .32ci - 5.2cc .36ci - 5.9cc .46ci - 7.5cc Studying the manufacturers specifications is the best way to determine engine size, but manufacturers will often include a number in the name of the vehicle or the name of the engine that represents the displacement. For example, the HPI Firestorm 10T is described as having a G3.0 engine. The 3.0 refers to the displacement of 3.0cc. That 3.0cc is the equivalent of a .18 engine.

The Supertigre G-27CS engine, found in the DuraTrax Warhead EVO is a .27 big block engine. It has a 4.4cc displacement. Traxxas often puts the engine size right in the name of the vehicle, to differentiate an earlier model with a different engine size. The Jato 3.3, the T-Maxx 3.3, and the 4-TEC 3.3 all feature the TRX3.3 engine. That's 3.3cc, which translates to something like a .19 engine when expressed in cubic inches.

In discussing the power or performance of a specific RC engine, displacement is only one indicator. RPM (revolutions per minute) and horsepower (HP) are also indicative of how the engine performs.

Horsepower is a standard unit for measuring the power of an engine. An engine with a .21ci displacement can typically produce between 2 and 2.5 HP at around 30,000 to 34,000 RPM. Some manufacturers might emphasize the horsepower of their engine. You'll have to refer to the individual specs to determine the actual displacement of a specific horsepower engine.

Repair Toy RCs

2011-10-10T04:34:00.000-04:00

Toy-grade RCs are generally not as durable or long-lasting as hobby-grade models. Toy stores don't usually offer repair services and parts are hard to come by as well. So what can you do when a sentimental favorite toy RC goes on the fritz?Always check the obvious first: Fresh batteries? Batteries installed correctly? Both RC and transmitter turned on? Antenna fully extended? If the toy has a channel selection option, is both the vehicle and the transmitter set to the same channel? Correct transmitter? If you have more than one toy with the same transmitter, make sure you're using the right one. A 27MHz transmitter will not worth on a 49MHz vehicle.

Still not working properly, then you may need to do some deeper searches for the problem.

If replacing the RC is out of the question you can first try contacting the manufacturer for replacement or repair. For new vehicles they may offer replacement parts for items that are known to break or wear out easily. For most toy RCs it's unlikely that you'll find an extensive catalog of replacement parts and they probably won't be available more than a year or so after the RC was manufacturered.

If you are buying a new RC and there are special batteries, replacement parts, or upgrades available it's a good idea to pick some up right then. This is especially important with toys because unlike hobby-grade RCs, there usually aren't a lot of extras available and when they are, it's for a limited time.

You can replace some parts with a similar piece from another RC. Search your toy box for old RCs. Look online on eBay or Craigslist for the same or similiar RCs that you could salvage parts from.

The RC guys at hobby stores don't usually tackle repairs on toy RCs, but you can always ask. Or find a friend or family member who knows their way around small electronics.

Generally toy RCs are not designed to be worked on by the consumer. Getting to the internal parts such as motor, drivetrain, steering, and circuit boards can be difficult. But if you know what you're doing and have patience, it is possible to get inside and change out a dead motor or servo or replace stripped gears or re-solder broken connections on the circuit board.

Check the frequency of your RC (usually 27MHz or 49MHz in the U.S. -- typically printed on the bottom) and buy another similiar toy RC car or truck at your local discount toy store. Its controller will usually work with other toys that use the same frequency -- but no guarantees. Or check your own RC collection for another transmitter of the same frequency.

While there are up to 6 channels within both the 27MHz and 49MHz frequency ranges, most toys use just one of those channels. For 27MHz toys it is usually the 27.145MHz, Channel 4. For 49MHz, 49.36MHz Channel 3 is a common one. However, the manufacturer rarely specifies specific channels (about the only way to be sure is to find the crystal on the circuit board inside the transmitter).

If the RC wobbles or won't turn properly you may have broken a steering arm. Look under and inside for a long strip of plastic (like the tie rods on a real car) near the front wheels. It might be a metal wire.

If the steering rod is broken or has become detached from the servo, you may be able to see and fix that without completely opening up the RC. It just depends on how it's put together and how much access you have without taking things apart. You may be able to fix a broken steering rod with glue, wire, or another piece of plastic.

Super glue and a little paint will do wonders. In fact, broken plastic internal parts can sometimes be fixed with a drop of glue. And if the damage is purely cosmetic, covering up with paint or decals can give an old RC new life.

For a complete overhaul, remove the body. Scrub it down. Remove any decals. Give it a whole new paint job.

When the internal componenents are beyond salvaging but the body is still looking good you could replace the inner workings. This option would probably cost a lot more than the toy RC is worth but if you want to do it, get yourself a new hobby-grade transmitter -- it comes with servos, receiver, and other needed parts. Also purchase an electronic speed control.

If you have no idea what to do with all these parts, you're probably better off buying an entirely new RC.

Stampede Monster Truck

2011-10-09T05:28:00.000-04:00

1:10 Traxxas Stampede Electric RC Monster Truck

Photo © M. James The Stampede is one of many off-road trucks made by Traxxas. I bought this awesome monster of the dirt-track at my local hobby shop for under $200.00 dollars (US). I've had my Traxxas Nitro Rustler for some time now and I enjoy racing it on a daily basis. I've also had hobby-grade electric RCs. The Stampede is an electric RC monster truck that lives up to the Traxxas reputation for quality. I have been a true believer in Traxxas products for a long time due to their rugged durability and selection of replacement parts for their top notch line of RCs.Before you can get this bad boy out on the track you have to do some minor assembly. Slip the receiver's antenna wire through the antenna tube, install a freshly-charged battery, and add decals if you so desire. Only Minor Assembly Required

Photo © M. JamesMy son is very impatient. When he wants to run his RC, he's wants to run it "right now." If you or your little racer are impatient as well then I recommend getting a quick charger for the batteries. You will get a variable runtime of 10-15 minutes depending on how hard you race or how big the track is — which isn't bad at all.When it's play time at the track I can give the Stampede to my 7 year old son and tell him "race like there's no tomorrow" knowing that this tough truck is going to take what my son can dish out. He's hard on racing RCs and has flipped, rolled, and did some unintentional wild acrobatics. The Stampede just kept on going — now that's true durability.

The turning ability of this off-road monster truck is amazing. The main advantage of electric RCs over nitro engines is that they go in reverse -- making it easy to correct that "Oh man I turned that corner too sharp!" mistake. Don't get me wrong, there are nitro RCs out there that have reverse but you have to come to a complete stop to engage the reverse in the transmission. That can cost you some valuable time during an intense race.

Stampede Monster Truck Digs Monster Dirt