Flight Log 06.25.08

Used up both my batteries this morning, for the E-flite Enticement, at The Duck Pond. Got there about 7:40am and there was no wind...maybe a slight breeze.

I started with my big'ol FlightPower 1500mAh LIPO, then finished my morning flights with the lighter 910mAh ThunderPower.

The plane flies great with either battery, but you can really notice how nimble the Enticement is with the appropraitely sized ThunderPower LIPO.

The batteries were all spent about 40 minutes later and that's also when the breeze started to pick up, so great timing I guess :)

Build\Maintenance Tip: So far, the damage to the Enticement, besides my stupid goof of busting a wing :), has mostly been around where the landing gear cross through the fueselage -- this area should be strengthed with tape etc. before flying. Maybe it's because I fly my indoor Enticement outside and land on turf...but the landing force gradually wears at the foam in this area and it starts to crack. So, you might as well tape it before it cracks.

Flight Log 05.29.08

Flew the Enticement at work today...for the first time in this little patch of greenspace we have on one side of the building. You can find it on Google maps by going here.

I showed off a bit too much near the end of my flight and broke a wing. But, some CA glue and tape will fix that I hope :)


I also made the mistake of attaching my prop facing the wrong direction...wow, that makes a big difference in thrust...I'd say a 70% difference. This prop should have its embossed text markings facing forward, see image.

Enticement Build Pictures

Here are the build pictures I promised:

This picture is a "Build Tip". I found that the large "bullet" connectors, used for most electric motors these days, fit perfectly in the crimping holes of my wire stripper tool. This made it really easy to complete the soldering of the connector to the wiring.





Here's a picture of the receiver (the basic 6200 that comes with the DX6i) installed; the wiring taped down; and, the control rod for one of the ailerons. You may notice that I had to glue some carbon rod extensions to the rods the kit supplied as they were about 1/2" too short for making the linkage.




This picture might show the extension a little better I think.









This picture shows just about all of the electronics installed...missing the battery and the BSC.











And now some picture of the completed kit...just waiting to fly.























Next posts will hopefully have some video of how well the Enticement flies...not necessarily how well I fly it, but the plane flies great :)


Here's a breakdown of the parts I used to complete this kit:

• Enticement ARF by E-flite (EFL1175)
  
• Spektrum DX6i
• Spektrum 6200 Receiver (with the satellite receiver)
• E-flite S60 Super Sub-Micro Servos (EFLRS60)
  
• E-flite Park 300 Brushless Outrunner motor (EFLM1150)
  
• Thunderbird 18 BSC by Castle Creations
• Thunder Power 910 mAh 7.4v 2s LIPO (Works great)
  
• FlightPower 1500mAh 7.4v 2s LIPO (Haven't tried yet???)
• Deans Ultra Plugs were used for battery and bsc connections
• E-flight Gold Bullet Connectors (EFLA241) were used for the motor to BSC connection
• ElectriFly PolyCharge 1-3 cell LIPO charger
• 8 x 4.3 Slow Flyer Orange Electric Propeller (EP-0843)

Build Tip: Glue, Pens, and Making part templates

When tracing factory parts onto paper, to make templates for replacement parts, don't use a Sharpie...When the CA adhesive touches it, it darkens and sometimes even runs a bit...making your foam a little messy looking.

And...wax paper doesn't seem to like pencil or ballpoint pen -- that's why I used the Sharpie. So, you might want to pick a different paper...like velum or white butcher paper.

Build Tip: Glue

Don't apply heat, from a hair dryer, to the CA glue you're using to piece two foam pieces together...the glue heats up, boils and melts the foam. I thought a good dry heat might speed up the process...nope.

Luckily, I caught the mistake before too much melted :)

I don't think the CA glue I bought is any good. I can't even get it to stick my fingers together?!?!? Anyone know anything about "pactra" Instant Adhesive CA (Model RC5997)?

Flight Log 11.28.07

I flew in this today :) My flight happened just on the edge of this wall of rain...So, I didn't get washed out. Just as I landed, it started to come down pretty good -- it's all about timing.

It was cold and a little wet...but, it was fun!

I use weather tools like the Weather Underground and the WeatherBug to keep track of my flying windows.

Replaced another Blade CP Tail Boom Today

I'm getting real good at this! I even replaced my tail motor...the original one was poping it's gear out on me -- the hobby shop guy says that's normal for these things. And, as you might guess, if the gear from the motor pops away from the big black tail rotor gear...you have no more tail rotor...and if you have no tail rotor, you're spinning out of control.

Tip: It's definately easier to replace the boom by un-soldering the wires from
the tail motor and sliding the boom off the wires...than trying to disconnect the wires from the receiver and pulling them through the boom that way.

Hey Joe...why you replacing your tail boom anyways? Good question. I have had my last few flights (See previous posts) on a boom that was slightly damaged and held together with some tape. Today, while making some tail rotor adjustments with the tail motor pot onboard the Blade...an adjustment I made was a bit too extreme, so I crashed and ruined my already damaged boom : )

The new boom and motor run great in my hovering tests...I can't wait till the next flying day to do some real flying.

Heli's at the company picnic

Today, work was a department picnic at the Wilsonville Memorial Park in Wilsonville Oregon -- nice place, you should Google Earth it.

Me and a few work buddies took our RC Heli's to the park. I flew my Blade CP Pro and my buds flew their Lama's. I had an excellent flight for 5+ minutes...I lost track, but it felt like forever and it was the first time I flew this thing and actually used up the battery.

I flew it high and long...sounds like a joke punchline...and I was proud! I whipped it around and made sharp turns. Because of my altitude, I was able to correct mistakes before they turned into crashes!

JoeFlyer's tips for flying Heli's:

• Make sure all the important parts like landing gear, blades, and gears are
  in good working order
• Throttle up and get in the air several feet - don't hang around at ground
  level, too unstable
• Get some altitude - so mistakes can be corrected in the air and not at the
  work bench
• Land smooth

Well, I had strapped my Cobra DMC300 5-n-1 digital camera to the bottom of my Blade...but, when I got home I discovered that the thing didn't record my flight !#*!@^#* So, I can't show the cool aerial photography that I had hoped to -- but if you Google Earth the park you can see the same view. I'm hoping one of my buddies caught some of my Blade action on their cameras.

I'm still having issues with my last tip. I landed a bit hard again today, and so I need to replace a landing gear strut and some tail rotor parts...but, other than that, my flight was awesome, yeah!!

Until I find video of my Blade, entertain yourself with this video of the Lama's...it's a pretty cool co-axial heli that flew really well today and even in a pretty good breeze.