New to 4g3 and problems already

[RAHRAH]

hi everyone, this is my first post here and I have found a new hobby!
I got my first helicopter a 4g3, yesterday in the mail. After an hour and a half of failed attempts at a decent hover, I decided i might have better luck with some room outdoors..... Not a good attempt.. I did get a little flight in just not anything to be considered good.
getting ready for my next flight I found that the rear brushless motor isnt working. Ive been over the connections good and did have a small experience with that inside but now is seems gone. Is there any way of knowing or checking the motor? Whats a good replacement brushless motor adn weres a good place for buying parts? Im already in need and havent had this thing 24 hrs! Oh its the 4g3 dual brushless. Thanks for any help and guidance in addvance!

[Steve Joblin]

Welcome to the fun! Be prepared for buying lots of spare parts! The 4G3 is quite the squirley little beast!

While the brushless tail motors will significantly outlast brushed tail motors, they are way more fragile. It is not that uncommon that you damaged yours with a few crashes while learning to fly the 4G3. There are several aftermarket brushess tail motors at stores like WowHobbies, RotorFever, RCHobbyHelicopter and ClubHeli here in the US.

[RAHRAH]

I sure wasnt looking at having to replace the motor this early in flight!

[Steve Joblin]

Don't crash it and it won't break!

[Tomstoy]

The good news, parts for this little monster are dirt cheap, you can buy stock tail motors in quantity. If you stay with the stock tail deffinately do so.
Now for the bad news. This is not a good heli for a beginner to learn to fly on.
My suggestion, don't try to fly it just yet. There are things you need to do first.
If you don't have a simulator, get one. You can learn to fly on that first and you can crash it all you want and it won't cost you cash to fix the heli.
Next, never assume the heli is ready to fly out of the box. Most are so far off they won't. You will need to learn how to do a thorough set-up of the heli to get it to be anything resembling stable. The manual kind of sucks when trying how to explain it.
If you have a club near by, go visit them. Explain to them what you are trying to do. You'll find most people in this hobby are more than willing to help you. You may even find out you want to join them.
Once you have the heli all set up properly and you can hover in a simulator then you are ready to try flying again. Once again, this isn't an easy helicopter to learn to fly, larger is better, more stable. That does not mean that you can't, others have. It take patience, practice and a thorough understanding of not only the mechanics involved but also how to manipulate the radio.
As for the stock tail. there are many upgraded tail motors out there that work better and are more robust. Wow-hobbys is a good source to examine these on line.
Good luck to you!

[RAHRAH]

Thanks a lot guys! I have actually been thinking of a simulator but dont really know which is best and where to start there either.....
As far as experience goes, I really have none only tons of playstation time and I am a mechanic I just dont like playing with much wiring! I did recently purchase a S300 for my handicap buddy for him to have something to do while in the house and mastered it infront of him before he ever even asked for the remote... Ive always wanted to fly(32yrs) and finally get the opportunity! When I tried to dial in the copter, I had 3 friends trying to hoop and holler instructions in my head and I had a funner time ignoring them and crashing! I really enjoyed getting into the zone with my new toy! Im sure theres going to be a strong future in this for me as I stop every time I see any heli flying! but I do just plan to start with the replacement brushless tail motor that came on the heli. Every time I touch the controls it seems like a new adventure! And thank you generous people with your time and helpful info! Its much appreciated!

[allanQ]

i too started on journey into the single rotor world with this heli
crashed too much in the 1st month and i had to leave her on the shelf while waiting for parts ... during that 1 month i overdosed myself on the simulator (realflight G4)
when i finally got the heli air worthy again i just pumped the collective and let it jump about 5-6ft into the air .. the SIM time i put in paid off .. hovered for 5 secs or more b4 i crashed again ... it was all much easier from there
good luck !!!

ps .. get yourself of good magnifying glasses when trying to work on this heli .. u will need one .. LOL

[walkera4g3]

lol, I like that story.

[RAHRAH]

Lol! you guys are great.

Which simulator would you guys recommend?
Lol there it is Im breaking down like all the others and finally asking for a sim!!


I did have the hovering going along ok but it seemed to always drift backwards adn to the left. i started just doing minor adjustments to the trim and tried to find if I could see anydifference and it didnt always seem like I was doing much for the situation.
Im sure Ill be able to get it to fly just now Ive been toying with the heli while trying to get the tail to rotate and probably knocked th e flybar blades a little out of whack.... its been fun being a kid again and seeing that these little micros take a lot of precision! I think my toughest job is going to be getting that tiny rear motor off adn rewiring it!
Im also gonna wait on some training gear for the second round of flying because after and hour and a half of very little hovering, the blades are an inch shorter on both sides

[Steve Joblin]

Real Flight or Pheonix are the "big 2" and most popular. Where exactly is helena? Are you in the US?

[Tomstoy]

I use clearview, not the best but gets the job done.

Make sure your heli is balanced, the tail on a stock 4g3 is a little heavy, If balanced the backwards drift should go away.

Left drift is normal on take off. However, if out of the ground effect the heli still drifts left, check that your swash plate is level. It shouldn't drift left or right if adjusted properly. Adjust swash plate in idle up mode, all trims neutral, and make sure you unplug your motors when doing this. When the swash plate is properly set you should not require any trim once out of the ground effect.

You can make your own training gear, BBQ skewers, whatever. Training gear on, in a fairly large area, 10'x10' or so with a nice smooth floor like wood or concrete, spool her up but do not take off. Just get her light on the skids and practice keeping her in a tail in position and in a 2 foot imaginary box. Do this until you are absolutely bored to death with it.

There is somewhere a thread referring to, help me out here guys as I don't exactly remember the name, " Raff's, (or something like that ), school of flying". He has great information on how to learn how to fly. Check it out and practice it.

[RAHRAH]

Thanks guys!

helena is 60 miles south of memphis tn in AR. Theres not much to do here and nothing within an hour of being able to get any kind of quality assistance with anything(not just hobbys here). We are located on the river but welfare checks make up 90% of our income for the town of 10000. Its a very pour town and being in the recession that we are in nationally has actually helped my local business(were in the 2nd poorest county in the US). Weve known of this recession all my life!lol. The reason why I jumped to the 4G3 is because I have a buddy that is handicapped and Id like to be able to do some indoor hobbys with him and enjoy it! He got a remote savage rc car that Ive spent too much time just dialling in the carb. I already have too many hobbies but I wanted something that I am awe inspired by and would enjoy every moment it takes place even if I have to do some repair work. The rc cars I outgrew when I was a kid and moved on to 200mph on 2 wheels and 1/4 mile times of 9.60s and enjoyed that dragrace thrill until it came to a sudden stop and $100k in bills..... Hence now I ride dirtbikes for the fun of it but I do some racing when I know that it will be a good endurance ride and Ill get my moneys worth and not just some run around a track motocross type event, I gotta get 100 miles in the woods or Im not going. Well recently, I went from Canada to mexico down the Continental Divide adn crossed the devide 27 times. It took 2 weeks to accomplish but it was roughly 200 to 300 miles per day. it was an all gravel trip and was about 10% street riding. (I quit the street after the sudden stop) Every evening while we were camping or at the hotel, I only wished that I had a remote controlled heli to buzz around and occupy my time. I would have purchased one on our last trip to hobbytown but they didnt have the ready to fly w a transmitter. I wished they did all the way down the us of a..... So after the trip I had to spring for the one that was gonna fit the bill and not be a simple easy task of just the up down left right type of toy.

Intro, 4g3 wicked little heli! this is by no means a toy and will tame anyone that gets in its way! Im proud of the part that Ive got something that I can never go bored with! tho im sure theres a scale I should climb instead of starting with mt everest! Im sure its gonna take some time so since Im waiting on some parts, does the simulator come with a cable?lol

When I do get the rear motor installed(how does it come out of its plastic housing? just seperate it or pull it out?) the soldiering seems like it would be the worst nightmare! then I plan on skewers or something just to hold a flight! Im hoping the skewers will act as a little balacing act for the front and possibly add a little weight. Adjusting the battery int he battery tray didnt seem to have much of an effect and it didnt want to stay when I slid it up.
Thank you guys for all of your helpful input!

[Tomstoy]

RAHRAH, welome to the club, buddy. One thing for sure, the 4g3 will offer you all the challange, ( or abuse ), you are willing to accept! I conpair it to trying to hold a squirel by the tail and trying to have it hold still. It's about as much fun as you have imagined. I enjoy this little sucker to no end.
Parts are dirt cheap, and you're going to need a lot of them. Landing skids, ( the stock ones are actually pretty good ), feathering shafts, main and tail motors, a spare head, & main shafts. Order in quantity, if for no other reason than to justify the price of shipping.
The stock tail really sucks. Deffinately check out the 2.9 gram tail. You will need an ESC to just drive this tail, but you can buy everything together as a "kit" from wow hobbys, and others.
The stock motor is rather good but benefits from a larger pinion gear. I just upgraded to a better motor but am going to go to hopefully an even better motor soon.
You will want to stock up on batterys. To help balance the heli you can go higher in mah rating. More mah, more weight. Deffinately get the 20c rated. Think of the C rating as a fuel line, larger line the more fuel it can deliver. Larger mah's gives you more flight time.
Set up is everything on this heli, and every heli.
Carbon fiber blades are really good, they take a lot of abuse. Just make sure you balance them and then set your blade tracking. This gives you better head speed and stabilizes the heli.
Get used to the idea that you are going to spend money on this bird. Everybody who has gotten serious about this little wonder has spent more money on it than they wish to remember.
I'm trying to remember, I think the rear motor, (stock ), has a retainer screw to secure it in the holder. Loosen this and it will pull out. Soldering the tiny wires is the worst part.
Don't be afraid to ask any question, we really would like you to succeed. Good luck to you and keep us informed as toward your progress.

[allanQ]

if this is your 1st heli ... believe me ... once u are hooked it will not be your last .. LOL
i started flying or trying to fly 3 months ago .. now i have 3 helis .. the 4g3 a trex450 and a compy 300 .. planning to get a foam plane for more relaxed flying soon too .. and the 4g6 if my wallet allows

Tomstoy is correct .. get lots of parts to justify shipping .. setup is everything on the 4g3 .. and dont forget to have fun

[RAHRAH]

well guys it was definitely a motor problem. I soldiered a new motor in and Im back in business at the beginning!lol... It seems I need to get things balanced out better before flight. setup seems to be a very big key here! Hints here are helpful and much needed!

[Tomstoy]

Unplug your motors. Turn on your transmitter and radio, just like you're going to fly. After you bind. switch transmitter to idle up and center all your trims. Inspect your swash plate to see if it is perpendicular to the shaft, both viewing from the front and the side. If not, look first at your servo arms and make sure they are as close to 90 degrees as they can be. Due to mechanical limitations, you may not be able to get them at 90. Inspect your swash plate again. Then start adjusting the length of the linkages to get the swash level, (0 degrees to the shaft).
Do that and she will work a lot better. Afterwards read your manual on how to adjust pitch and throttle curves. You want as much head speed as you can get, but lower your pitch some, this will make it more docile, if there is such a thing with this bird.

[mikeinde]

I use Realflight 4.5 and love it. They even have a Novus CP (rebranded 4G3 ) in one of their expansion packs

[RAHRAH]

Thanks guys! I havent had much time to do much on the setup lately, hopefully well have some rainy days here soon and all of work can get caught up so I can get back to the toys! the Realflight4.5 is what has really struck my interest lately tho. the last I tried to get things hovering, I needed to get to work on the little heli!(

[KCMike]

Originally Posted by Tomstoy

There is somewhere a thread referring to, help me out here guys as I don't exactly remember the name, " Raff's, (or something like that ), school of flying". He has great information on how to learn how to fly. Check it out and practice it.

RADD'S SCHOOL OF ROTARY FLIGHT:

http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html