Ufly First Attempt At Hovering

[3d-wanna-b]

Well I decided to unbox it and play with it for a little bit.. First thing man this bird has a fast tail... Second the 800 mAh battery sucks I'll have to get me a couple good batts maybe some 1500's or so since I could use the weight in the nose(she was way tail heavy) I had to take a small bag and fill it with BB's to balance. Anyway heres my first attemt to hover it as you can see I still need to set it up a bit. Oh you can thank my 10yr old for the nice cam work If you didnt know any better youd think we where having an earthquake

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34z2k1f1N8o[/ame]

[Steve Joblin]

Great vid! This is actually a great vid to show the relative size of the heli! I had a hard time judging the size of the Ufly in the other vids.

Nice flying and great camera work!!!

[joeyhatch11]

Is it really that bad out of the box? Was thinking of getting my hands on one this summer. Is the stock battery 7.4v or 11.1? If its 7.4 is there something that can be done to make it handle 11.1?

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by Steve Joblin

Great vid! This is actually a great vid to show the relative size of the heli! I had a hard time judging the size of the Ufly in the other vids.

Nice flying and great camera work!!!

Thanks for the kind words Steve. Not bad for just picking up helis about about a month ago. I still need to get it setup correctly and get some better batts but other than that I love it

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by joeyhatch11

Is it really that bad out of the box? Was thinking of getting my hands on one this summer. Is the stock battery 7.4v or 11.1? If its 7.4 is there something that can be done to make it handle 11.1?

No, its not that bad yes it does need to be setup as far as making sure the swash is level and so on. Like I said before I'm new at the heli scene and don't have the coordination as a seasoned pilot. I've only messed with helis now for about a month flying a 4#3B and tinkering around with a 4G3. To me the heli is very sensitive and I tend to over correct so I'm still in the process of getting the Expo and D/R set up. As far as battery yes it is 2s 7.4v if you want to go 3s 11.1v you'll have to buy the upgraded motor, ESC. If you want the better gyro you'll have to update to the 2909 or the 2428 receiver the 2428 being the better one. The stock ESC "WILL NOT" work with either the 2609 or 2428 receivers you'll burn up the servos. You can get the whole package or buy it all separate here.

http://www.wowhobbies.com/uflyhotrod...orsrx2428.aspx

[bobbygee]

Looks pretty good for having only been at it for a month and not really having the heli set up yet.

BobbyG

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by bobbygee

Looks pretty good for having only been at it for a month and not really having the heli set up yet.

BobbyG

Thanks for the kind words Bobby.. It wasn't as bad as I thought I've flown planes for probably 16yrs on and off so I think that probably helped allot. I need to start on nose in hover practice, cant wait tail in and side to side I don't have a problem with. I hope nose in comes pretty easy to me.

[timewerx]

Originally Posted by Steve Joblin

Nice flying and great camera work!!!

Who's holding the camera??

Nice flying! It looks very stable, none of those twitchiness the small machines had.

Also, nice place, your backyard? Would be good to try 3D later with your 4G3! Except for those poles, they would be like helicopter magnets!

Good luck on your nose-in! Took me lots of simulator time and crashes on my 4#3b and 4G6 with that! One time, my 4G6 crashed on me while doing the nose-in hover, didn't put enough stick to stop it(still better than stick it the wrong way!!). Luckily, I was wearing my flack jacket so me and my 4G6 were unhurt! I bet you'll have better chances with the much more stable Ufly.

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by timewerx

Who's holding the camera??

That be my 10yr old.. I'll have to get my wife to take one for me when the weathers not so bad out. So far though I'm really impressed with the Ufly, I love it..

[timewerx]

Real nice to have someone take vids for you! Must be cold out there. I get a 'numb brain' when it's cold. Once I tried flying in 41 F getting a nose-in hover, crashed within seconds!!

But it's something I MUST get used to or else I'll never be able to fly in the cold months. And cold is good! Helicopters usually perform better in the cold. Try doing it in the heat and you'll be struggling with lift especially on stock setup.

[3d-wanna-b]

I know what you mean about the cold and the heat....

[js349]

Hey 3d,

Do you have your expo and d/r dialed in yet? I'd like to know anything you've done to make it less sensitive so I can try the same and not crash right off the bat. I too have noticed the heli to be pretty tail heavy - I've got my training gear on and noticed a definite backward movement. Just how many BBs did you have to use to balance it out?

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by js349

Hey 3d,

Do you have your expo and d/r dialed in yet? I'd like to know anything you've done to make it less sensitive so I can try the same and not crash right off the bat. I too have noticed the heli to be pretty tail heavy - I've got my training gear on and noticed a definite backward movement. Just how many BBs did you have to use to balance it out?

Yes I do have my d/r set to 50% on all controls except rudder as I left it at 100% and as for my expo I have it set to around 65% on elev and aileron and I also left the rudder as is. You dont want to set the d/r to low as it will make it harder to control. I find 50% to be good for me but I have had it set as low as 40% but wouldn't recommend any lower. Just make sure your swash is level front to back and side to side and as for the weight it just all depends I used a very,very small zip lock baggie for the B.Bs but if I had to guess I'd say around 2-3oz but thats with my ESC moved up under the canopy. I'm not sure about the total weight of the B.Bs but I do know with it being tailheavy mine flew like crap until I got it balanced. if you get your swash setup straight and get it balanced and get you throws set to your liking you'll find it will almost hover itself.

[js349]

Originally Posted by 3d-wanna-b

Yes I do have my d/r set to 50% on all controls except rudder as I left it at 100% and as for my expo I have it set to around 65% on elev and aileron and I also left the rudder as is. You dont want to set the d/r to low as it will make it harder to control. I find 50% to be good for me but I have had it set as low as 40% but wouldn't recommend any lower. Just make sure your swash is level front to back and side to side and as for the weight it just all depends I used a very,very small zip lock baggie for the B.Bs but if I had to guess I'd say around 2-3oz but thats with my ESC moved up under the canopy. I'm not sure about the total weight of the B.Bs but I do know with it being tailheavy mine flew like crap until I got it balanced. if you get your swash setup straight and get it balanced and get you throws set to your liking you'll find it will almost hover itself.

Speaking of the swash, did you try angling it forward by screwing down the arm so it had a forward lean? At least that wouldn't add extra weight to the heli and shorten the battery life. I got mine off the floor in the basement today up to about 5 feet and it was moving backwards and towards a wall so I sat it down in a hurry. The place I bought it from swears they test flew it but I don't see how it could have hovered at all without lots of stick input.

[js349]

Well, I set mine up with some D/R and Expo, put BBs in the nose, I use the CX2 battery, and I had to level the swash left to right and lean it forward a little and I still can't hold a hover for more than a couple of seconds. It wants to take off in every direction - still more backwards or to the right. It's very frustrating and I can't get outside much because of the wind. Any suggestions on getting a better setup? How long are you Ufliers able to hover without stick input?

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by js349

Speaking of the swash, did you try angling it forward by screwing down the arm so it had a forward lean?

You can do it that way if you want but I prefer to level the swash and add a little weight to balance. No matter how much you tilt the swash forward its still going to be tail heavy. Until I got my swash lined out and balanced correctly it flew like crap... NO matter how well you have it balanced or trimmed its not going to hover/fly itself. Its going to want to drift no way around it... so yes you'll have to have constant stick movement. The thing is you have kinda read the heli and correct before it drifts one way or the other. It still sounds to me like you are over correcting. Just remember SMALL MOVEMENTS

[3d-wanna-b]

Originally Posted by js349

Well, I set mine up with some D/R and Expo, put BBs in the nose, I use the CX2 battery, and I had to level the swash left to right and lean it forward a little and I still can't hold a hover for more than a couple of seconds. It wants to take off in every direction - still more backwards

Thats because its still tail heavy.. I used my flybar to balance. Make sure main blades are straight not leaning one side to the other. I add weight until I can pick up the heli by the flybar and the heli sits perfectly level. If your still have some forward tilt in the swash and have your trim in neutral and it still wants to go backwards your still tail heavy. Once you get the balance worked out and get that swash straight you'll be surprised how well it will handle.. PRACTICE, PRACTICE,PRACTICE

[js349]

Originally Posted by 3d-wanna-b

You can do it that way if you want but I prefer to level the swash and add a little weight to balance. No matter how much you tilt the swash forward its still going to be tail heavy. Until I got my swash lined out and balanced correctly it flew like crap... NO matter how well you have it balanced or trimmed its not going to hover/fly itself. Its going to want to drift no way around it... so yes you'll have to have constant stick movement. The thing is you have kinda read the heli and correct before it drifts one way or the other. It still sounds to me like you are over correcting. Just remember SMALL MOVEMENTS

I'm sure I am over correcting and I'm trying to fly in too small of a space so I get the "jerks" instead of small movements. I'm glad to hear it does take some input and it's not my Ufly. You made it look too easy on your video!

[js349]

Originally Posted by 3d-wanna-b

Thats because its still tail heavy.. I used my flybar to balance. Make sure main blades are straight not leaning one side to the other. I add weight until I can pick up the heli by the flybar and the heli sits perfectly level. If your still have some forward tilt in the swash and have your trim in neutral and it still wants to go backwards your still tail heavy. Once you get the balance worked out and get that swash straight you'll be surprised how well it will handle.. PRACTICE, PRACTICE,PRACTICE

Yep, I need practice. I actually have a stand I made that will not let the heli take off but I can do all the stick movements and watch how it moves so I need to use that since I don't feel comfortable flying in wind until I get it balanced and the stick movements down.

[3d-wanna-b]

You'll get it down just don't let it get the best of you... I think some of what made it easier for me is I've been flying planks and 3d foamies for over 16yrs so I've had plenty of stick time under my belt. The 3d foamies are sort of like the helis as you have so much throw in the controls you use very small movements and that helped me alot with the heli.