Copycat 500 build

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Luke Warmwater

+1

I always used rate.....using HH for me was and is just to wooden. A good rate mode setup holds really well, but as OD says, your turns are so much smoother.

yeah but she is till new at this..so locking it in to HH mode will make it much easier for her to get comfortable....

[Steemo]

"She" is the cats mother.

[oliverdots]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

yeah but she is till new at this..so locking it in to HH mode will make it much easier for her to get comfortable....

It will if she is flying in wind.

[Luke Warmwater]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

yeah but she is till new at this..so locking it in to HH mode will make it much easier for her to get comfortable....

I can't disagree, it would be easier I guess.

For me, it would be like learning to drive an automatic car rather than a manual one...why would you? You end up with a limited skill set rather than the whole shooting match. (I'm typing this, so you can't see my tongue in my cheek here as I have a gentle jibe at our American cousins who seem to like automatic gearboxes much more than we do over here! Personally, I agree with the HH being easier argument, but I couldn't make the jibe about the cars if I admitted that....)

Anyway, coming from the HBFP, a rate mode on a 500 should be a piece of cake!

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Luke Warmwater

I can't disagree, it would be easier I guess.

For me, it would be like learning to drive an automatic car rather than a manual one...why would you? You end up with a limited skill set rather than the whole shooting match. (I'm typing this, so you can't see my tongue in my cheek here as I have a gentle jibe at our American cousins who seem to like automatic gearboxes much more than we do over here! Personally, I agree with the HH being easier argument, but I couldn't make the jibe about the cars if I admitted that....)

Anyway, coming from the HBFP, a rate mode on a 500 should be a piece of cake!

well i drive stick and have owned a manual car since day 1...so there goes your argument

and i disagree on rate mode on this big of a heli to start...again..she hasn't gotten it really flying yet...so in trying to do that..get a 1st real flight in under her belt....HH mode is much easier, and easier on the nerves if dialed in right....we're not talking 3D..we're not talking FFF even yet..just a liftoff and a stable flight...rate mode i think leaves too much twitchyness for a new CP flyer getting the setup right...

but it seems no matter what i say everyone disagrees

[boykintom]

On my HK 450 Pro, I have the rate mode setting at 40% and the HH at 60%. I have been feeling that the helicopter was not very responsive in the turns in HH mode--I think "wooden" is a good description. I haven't been back in rate mode sense crashing last week. I'm still not sure what happened there--I'd been playing around with the gyro settings between flights--landing and making slight adjustments with the tx, then taking off and trying it out. The last time, I think I switched to rate mode at about 43 or so, and when I took off, I got a hard swing to the left and it was on the ground before I could stop it. I will cautiously try rate again. I know 40 in rate before was allowing the head to swing left a little, so that was why I was playing with it. Any suggestions?

[Oldladypilot]

Come on guys, no arguing please. I can see the points in everyone's opinion.
Settings are a personal preference, as different as each person is.

JMD has nearly 30 years rc experience and his recommendations are based on me being new to CP. It's just a start....a foundation to build on.
If I don't like it, I'll change it. Simple as that. He's just trying to be helpful.

I value all you guy's opinions and you've all helped me so much and I thank you for that. I can see all sides of the issue and this thread will always be here to refer to when I need to.

[boykintom]

Originally Posted by boykintom

On my HK 450 Pro, I have the rate mode setting at 40% and the HH at 60%. I have been feeling that the helicopter was not very responsive in the turns in HH mode--I think "wooden" is a good description. I haven't been back in rate mode sense crashing last week. I'm still not sure what happened there--I'd been playing around with the gyro settings between flights--landing and making slight adjustments with the tx, then taking off and trying it out. The last time, I think I switched to rate mode at about 43 or so, and when I took off, I got a hard swing to the left and it was on the ground before I could stop it. I will cautiously try rate again. I know 40 in rate before was allowing the head to swing left a little, so that was why I was playing with it. Any suggestions?

OK, it has been an educational evening in the shop and under the street light. I found out some important information. One, my tail slider was binding in one direction, but a little graphite immediately cured that. Two, I should not set rate mode much over 40%. I gradually worked up to 46, and found out that was way too erratic for me. I managed to bring it down safely, but I quickly turned it back down to about 40.5. I experimented back and forth between HH and rate, and found that while HH was much more stable, rate was not hard and was a lot more fun. Actually it was more familiar--a little more like the Bees that I am used to. I also set a linear pitch curve of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and a throttle curve of 0, 60, 80, 80, 80. I immediately saw what you guys were talking about in flying off the pitch rather than the throttle. I liked that very much. I only thought this thing hovered and landed well before. Now, it just about lands on a dime. I think I'm beginning to get an inkling of the joys of collective pitch.

[Viet-Lama]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

and i disagree on rate mode on this big of a heli to start...again..she hasn't gotten it really flying yet...so in trying to do that..get a 1st real flight in under her belt....HH mode is much easier, and easier on the nerves if dialed in right....we're not talking 3D..we're not talking FFF even yet..just a liftoff and a stable flight...rate mode i think leaves too much twitchyness for a new CP flyer getting the setup right...

I totally agree with you Dan, especially when your talking a newer pilot and a 500 sized heli.
Gotta have a good HH lock and you can decrease the gain to a rate mode as experience and personal taste dictates.

Set up in rate mode to hold a straight hover (good mechanical setup) then lock in some headlock and take it from there. Remember safety is #1 and flying in HH makes things much easier.

[Luke Warmwater]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

but it seems no matter what i say everyone disagrees

Nope I agree with you, I just needed to disagree to make that friendly and inaccurate jibe at automatic drivers. Not sure why i did that. I think I'll have a go at Aussies next....no reason ......watch out Steemo!


....or maybe Kiwis! I'll accuse them of playing "Up The Jumper" rugby!


Seriously though, on the HH / rate issue, I'm a bit of an odd one out here I think. At the club they all use HH mode from the outset. They've tried rate mode when I have encouraged them....all agreed that it made turning less wooden....and then said they preferred HH mode and went back to it!


Most scale flyers use rate mode for the reasons previously stated...but these days, scale flyers are the minority.

[JettaManDan]

oh totally agree rate is better for response...no argument there...i was just approaching it from a newbie outlook....i fly one of my 450's in rate to keep my skills sharp...but where i fly there is usually wind all the time..so i'm used to HH mode so my heli's stay on track...

and none of this...happens...

[oliverdots]

The bottom line, if you are just hovering or making nice slow turns and it's a calm day, it doesn't matter if you are in rate or HH. If you are new to flying the heli and it's windy then I'd go HH. But then again if you are flying a new heli why would you fly it on a windy day.

Once you are whizzing around, trust me...HH can cause problems. Your heli can be much more forgiving when it has the weathervaning effect.

It's personal choice. You'll find out what suits you best

[oliverdots]

Looking back, the debate on rate and HH started after jetman said

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

I don't fly in rate mode ever....

No one said HH wasn't any good for flying a new heli. We were saying that once you get into sports or scale flying, rate can be better. I think there were 2 discussions going on here

Sorry if I added to the confusion OLP. I was addressing a seperate issue. Maybe we should have a seperate thread, "rate of HH" or has that been done to death already

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by oliverdots

Looking back, the debate on rate and HH started after jetman said

No one said HH wasn't any good for flying a new heli. We were saying that once you get into sports or scale flying, rate can be better. I think there were 2 discussions going on here

Sorry if I added to the confusion OLP. I was addressing a seperate issue. Maybe we should have a seperate thread, "rate of HH" or has that been done to death already

we can do that

[Viet-Lama]

I think your correct OD, the thread spilt into two seperate discussions.
Both sides are correct, HH for new pilots and rate for more expierenced that fly scale and like smooth banking FFF turns.

[Oldladypilot]

I'm learning that I have a lot of options I can experiment with if I can ever get it off the ground.

One thing I decided to do is move the gyro from the tail boom block to the rx tray....either on the top or bottom. I bought a couple rdlohr's rx/gyro trays to try out. They look good and are more sturdy then stock.

Once I have all that back together I hope my adjustment wheel on my DX6i holds out long enough to get the gyro, throttle and pitch curves set so I can at least get it hovering before I send in my tx to Horizon.

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Oldladypilot

I'm learning that I have a lot of options I can experiment with if I can ever get it off the ground.

One thing I decided to do is move the gyro from the tail boom block to the rx tray....either on the top or bottom. I bought a couple rdlohr's rx/gyro trays to try out. They look good and are more sturdy then stock.

Once I have all that back together I hope my adjustment wheel on my DX6i holds out long enough to get the gyro, throttle and pitch curves set so I can at least get it hovering before I send in my tx to Horizon.

hope you get it set! i just started a gyro discussion thread for people to post their info and thoughts...

[oliverdots]

Originally Posted by Viet-Lama

I think your correct OD, the thread spilt into two seperate discussions.
Both sides are correct, HH for new pilots and rate for more expierenced that fly scale and like smooth banking FFF turns.

+1

[Oldladypilot]

Well the roller selector broke on my Dx6i while I was setting my pitch curve.
I'm on the bench now until this gets here:

http://www.eastrc.org/shop.cgi/page=...327693463.6489

I decided this would be quicker then sending it in for repair.

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Oldladypilot

Well the roller selector broke on my Dx6i while I was setting my pitch curve.
I'm on the bench now until this gets here:

http://www.eastrc.org/shop.cgi/page=...327693463.6489

I decided this would be quicker then sending it in for repair.

very cool upgrade...hope it fixes you up!