Protos...duration?

[skypup]

I just sport fly and am wondering if it's possible to reach 8-10 minutes just doing circuits and hovering with a protos? If so, what motor/pinion combination? Thanks in advance. I've tried may helis including the Gaui 550,Century Swift and others. My favorite was a Logo 10......flew like a cadillac in the air. How does the protos feel?

[Ecaf]

Originally Posted by skypup

How does the protos feel?

Like a Ferrari...

I have some 3300's on mine. 16T 90% throttle curve, I can fly for 6 minutes at 2700+ RPM.

Go with the stock motor and a 15T, and similar packs and you can easily get 10+ minutes. Corrado has a video IIRC.

Ill see if I can find it...

[Ecaf]

Here it is:

http://ftp.msheli.com/Video/12_Min_video.wmv

12 minutes on 2500 MAH pack using a 15T pinion, stock motor, and MSH 80 ESC. 2100 RPM.

[skypup]

Thanks a lot! Really smooth. Just the set up I was looking for.

[brtmac]

I fly mine with Turnigy 2200 6s packs at 2100 headspeed (governed with CC ESC) using the 13T pinion. I was getting 8 minutes with Pro 3D FRP blades. I recently put Pro 3D CF blades on and it's using about 200 mAh less for the same flight time, so I could probably go a bit longer.

I have some 3000 mAh Turnigy batteries on the way. I should be able to do 10-12 minutes with those easily.

[legine]

If you are just going to be doing circuits and stuff I dont think the protos is for you....this thing just goes like a mosquitoe on crack...it sure is no docile flyer. For basic circuits I would recommend a trex 500, its more stable than a protos, more durable in a crash and parts are more available. Its just a little slower than a protos. Or if you want a heli that flys like a cadillac, go bigger.

[brtmac]

I disagree. I think it only acts that way with high headspeed. At 2100 it is extremely smooth. However, I'm also using an sk360 with scale settings.

[M.Huerta]

Originally Posted by legine

If you are just going to be doing circuits and stuff I dont think the protos is for you....this thing just goes like a mosquitoe on crack...it sure is no docile flyer. For basic circuits I would recommend a trex 500, its more stable than a protos, more durable in a crash and parts are more available. Its just a little slower than a protos. Or if you want a heli that flys like a cadillac, go bigger.

do you own a protos? I am not saying that I do but that is a very strong statement coming from someone that does not personally have one

[mtnbike101]

I'm a beginner running it a 12T, a 6S 3000mAh and 100% throttle curve and get 7 minutes easily. I could go longer and stay well within 80%, but things do get on the warm side. So I bring it in early and let things cool while I fly the 450 for a battery or two. This process works well for me.

As far as stability, I like the Protos better than the Furion; it's definitely easier to see in the air!

[OnTheSnap]

I used to run 560g 7sA123's in my protos, and it was just as fat and heavy as a T500. Adding weight to make it a flying pig is easy (you'll need to add a bunch of slop in the head also to get the full T500 experience). Removing weight to improve disk loading is really hard.

You're better off going with a Protos, pork it up, add flybar weights, and run a lower head speed. It's a great trainer in this config. And then when you have more confidence, drop in a 6s LiPo and run the headspeed at 2800+. Then hold on to your pants and wear your adult diapers.

[Specter]

Originally Posted by OnTheSnap

Adding weight to make it a flying pig is easy (you'll need to add a bunch of slop in the head also to get the full T500 experience).

^^^ thats some funny $hit

[boO!]

Originally Posted by Ecaf

Here it is:

http://ftp.msheli.com/Video/12_Min_video.wmv

12 minutes on 2500 MAH pack using a 15T pinion, stock motor, and MSH 80 ESC. 2100 RPM.

Can you elaborate on the settings for this? This is quite attractive 12 minutes!!!!

What throttle curve would he be running for this? Gov?

Ill be running the same setup, 15T stock motor and MSH 80 ESC but 2650mAh lipo.

*Im dling the clip now but its taking for ever!...*

[legine]

Originally Posted by M.Huerta

do you own a protos? I am not saying that I do but that is a very strong statement coming from someone that does not personally have one

No I do not own one but I have been flying a friends for the past few days, and you can probably see from my sig I own a trex 500....when I went from the trex 500 to the protos it was a huge jump in performance. Im sure you could make the protos fly a bit slower and more docile but it will never be as durable as a trex 500, and parts are easier to get with the t500 so thats why I think the protos is not so great for beginners. Im not trying to put down the protos, Im most likely going to be replacing my 500 with it because I think the protos is a great heli....just IMO not great for beginners, mainly because of the two reasons I just mentioned....no need to get all defensive.

[Ecaf]

Originally Posted by boO!

Can you elaborate on the settings for this? This is quite attractive 12 minutes!!!!

What throttle curve would he be running for this? Gov?

Ill be running the same setup, 15T stock motor and MSH 80 ESC but 2650mAh lipo.

*Im dling the clip now but its taking for ever!...*

I do not know the details. All I read was that it was 12 minutes on the MSH80 ESC using a 15T pinion. Assuming it was at 2100RPM headspeed, that would mean it was pretty low on the throttle.

As for GOV, Corrado always used his MSH ESC with the GOV on.

[boO!]

I was just thinking, If it was on 6s the curve would have to be pretty darn low. Esc would get hot?

I 3D but would LOVE the option of flying for 10-12 minutes sedately by just changing the curves.

[kgfly]

Originally Posted by legine

No I do not own one but I have been flying a friends for the past few days, and you can probably see from my sig I own a trex 500....when I went from the trex 500 to the protos it was a huge jump in performance. Im sure you could make the protos fly a bit slower and more docile but it will never be as durable as a trex 500, and parts are easier to get with the t500 so thats why I think the protos is not so great for beginners. Im not trying to put down the protos, Im most likely going to be replacing my 500 with it because I think the protos is a great heli....just IMO not great for beginners, mainly because of the two reasons I just mentioned....no need to get all defensive.

I don't agree. I have been told that the T500 does not handle well at low headspeeds. I have flown my Protos as low 1800rpm and there is no wobble but the tail was mushy. At 2100-2200rpm it is stable, smooth and a complete p_ssycat, quite ideal for a learner IMO. Parts are relatively inexpensive and fairly widely available, although the supply chain does seem to dry up every now and then.

For long learner flights you really don't want to run 6S on 15T with a low throttle curve IMO. That is wastefully inefficient and will cook your ESC and motor more than is needed or perhaps wise. I am not sure what the MSH team did to get their 12 minute flight but certainly the stock ESC does not like low throttle settings. Corrado recommends running it at 90-95% for best performance.

If you want to run 6S then for efficient l-o-n-g flights I would suggest you get the adapter+13T pinion and run the governor at 90%. That will give you 2100-2200rpm and an ideal trainer. I would suggest you start without the paddle weights since at this headspeed the cyclic response is already tamed down. When you are ready for more performance, move up to the 14T or 15T.

The other option is to run 5S with the 15T pinion with throttle curve in the 80-100% range for around 2100 to 2400rpm. Then move up to 6S when you want more performance. If you use inexpensive HK lipos this is not as silly as it might sound. FlightMax 5S 3000mAh 20C, 393g, $38. So for ~$120 you get 3 packs, enough for about 30 minutes flying and around 150 to 300 flights (under $1 per flight). At low headspeed you will be averaging under 20A with peaks under 50A so being quite gentle on a 3000/20C pack and you are not burning up cycles on $60-$100 6S 30C packs that are good for 3D but overkill for learning.

For reference I played with 15T, 5S A123 2300 and at 2100rpm I typically got 6:30, average 16A (at 15V) and 1800mAh. With 5S lipo the voltage will be more like 18V so at the same headspeed (and hence ~240W power) average current should be down around 13A! With a 3000mAh pack that translates into approximately 11 minutes flying time