My 1st 500 build!

[chalmene]

Originally Posted by kenkadish

No issue with sparking (other than carbon build up). Lets you know you've got lots of power on hand

Ken

Yea, I've seen a lot of reports of the same thing, especially with my ESC.

[Kamilitaryman]

Originally Posted by chalmene

Kamilitaryman- Good to hear you got her in the air, she's a sweet bird. I did replace my stock swashplate early, as it developed slop after the first couple flights. If this happens to you, I highly recommend the one from I2RC. Over a hundred flights on it, 1 crash, has yet to develop any slop whatsoever.

I have not noticed any slop. I'll add this to my pre-flight check list. I did notice one thing though. The rubber canopy grommets keep tearing on me! It looks like the canopy mount holes are the actual culprit. I think they are cutting right through them. I'm on my second set of grommets and one is already starting to split. Did anyone else experience this? If so, what solutions did you come up with?

[chalmene]

Originally Posted by Kamilitaryman

I have not noticed any slop. I'll add this to my pre-flight check list. I did notice one thing though. The rubber canopy grommets keep tearing on me! It looks like the canopy mount holes are the actual culprit. I think they are cutting right through them. I'm on my second set of grommets and one is already starting to split. Did anyone else experience this? If so, what solutions did you come up with?

Yes, the included grommets are very soft , and tore on me quickly. Ive since replaced them with ones i found at Lowes, black harder rubber. These are holding up well, still on first pair. Just take yours in and match them up, I believe they were 1/8" ID....

*edit

I did need to open the holes in the canopy a bit I believe.

[Gladius]

You can use a file to dull the sharp lip that is cutting into your grommets.

[Kamilitaryman]

Originally Posted by chalmene

Yes, the included grommets are very soft , and tore on me quickly. Ive since replaced them with ones i found at Lowes, black harder rubber. These are holding up well, still on first pair. Just take yours in and match them up, I believe they were 1/8" ID....

*edit

I did need to open the holes in the canopy a bit I believe.

I will have to try those out.

I was thinking about opening up the mounting hole a bit more as well.

Originally Posted by Gladius

You can use a file to dull the sharp lip that is cutting into your grommets.

Good idea. I will try this as well since I have 2 soft grommets left.

Thanks for the input guys.

[Kamilitaryman]

I've been slacking with this, but I finally uploaded my maiden flight to YouTube.

Here is her 1st flight!

I'm still learning so don't judge the sloppiness

T-Rex 500e maiden flight (4 min 46 sec)

[Ron_R]

Nice job!!!

Wow, if you're still learning, I can't even walk yet!!

Enjoy!

[chalmene]

Originally Posted by Ron_R

Nice job!!!

Wow, if you're still learning, I can't even walk yet!!

Enjoy!

Hes braver than I was on my first flight, i'll say that

Nice job on your maiden!

[Blayd]

Good job on the maiden!

Question: Are flying governed? Or a flat TC?
Sounded like a big jump from normal to IU1. Looked like the tail kicked a bit when you went to IU.
Also, just my opinion, super slow spool ups eat up battery time.. maybe think about a quicker spool up rate. Super slow is nice for scale stuff, but it's wasted time on the ground for me...just sayin'.
It's a personal thing for each person, but I spool up in IU1. Never use normal mode. Dont even have a normal mode as a matter of fact.

The thing sounded good, and seemed to be nice and solid.

Good job...

[Kamilitaryman]

Originally Posted by Ron_R

Nice job!!!

Wow, if you're still learning, I can't even walk yet!!

Enjoy!

Well thank you! The simulator made it a little easier. Not going to lie, the palms were sweating after the flight!

Originally Posted by chalmene

Hes braver than I was on my first flight, i'll say that

Nice job on your maiden!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Blayd

Good job on the maiden!

Question: Are flying governed? Or a flat TC?
Sounded like a big jump from normal to IU1. Looked like the tail kicked a bit when you went to IU.
Also, just my opinion, super slow spool ups eat up battery time.. maybe think about a quicker spool up rate. Super slow is nice for scale stuff, but it's wasted time on the ground for me...just sayin'.
It's a personal thing for each person, but I spool up in IU1. Never use normal mode. Dont even have a normal mode as a matter of fact.

The thing sounded good, and seemed to be nice and solid.

Good job...

Thanks!

It's set up on a flat TC. I have it set to 72% in normal and 100% in stunt. It does kick out a bit when I flip the switch which freaked me out the 1st time lol I think I may bump the normal mode up to 85%. Never really thought about the slower spool wasting battery time. That's a great suggestion!

I am in love with this helicopter. I think it was a good idea to finally make the jump from a 450. These are so much fun!

[Blayd]

Originally Posted by Kamilitaryman

It's set up on a flat TC. I have it set to 72% in normal and 100% in stunt. It does kick out a bit when I flip the switch which freaked me out the 1st time lol I think I may bump the normal mode up to 85%. Never really thought about the slower spool wasting battery time. That's a great suggestion!

I am in love with this helicopter. I think it was a good idea to finally make the jump from a 450. These are so much fun!

OK, I used to run a flat curve too until I finally went governed. I think 85% would be better, but thats just me.
The slower spool ups are cool, but after a bit, you'll want it spooled up quicker to utilize more battery flight time. Doesnt sound like alot, but every second counts when your only flying about 5 minutes.
On the tail kick....work with the gyro. Increase your gain until you start getting a quick "wagging" in the tail, then back it down a few clicks at a time until it's solid again. You want to fly the highest gain you can have with no wagging. This way once you start getting to the point of punching the collective, or quick changes in pitch from negative to positive and back, the tail will be solid. If the sudden increase in head speed kicked it a bit, you could experience this as well if you start throwing the collective back and forth.
Sometimes this will be some trial and error, including making an adjustment to the location of the ball link on the tail servo, but usually, just some tweaking will stop the kick.

[Kamilitaryman]

Originally Posted by Blayd

OK, I used to run a flat curve too until I finally went governed. I think 85% would be better, but thats just me.
The slower spool ups are cool, but after a bit, you'll want it spooled up quicker to utilize more battery flight time. Doesnt sound like alot, but every second counts when your only flying about 5 minutes.
On the tail kick....work with the gyro. Increase your gain until you start getting a quick "wagging" in the tail, then back it down a few clicks at a time until it's solid again. You want to fly the highest gain you can have with no wagging. This way once you start getting to the point of punching the collective, or quick changes in pitch from negative to positive and back, the tail will be solid. If the sudden increase in head speed kicked it a bit, you could experience this as well if you start throwing the collective back and forth.
Sometimes this will be some trial and error, including making an adjustment to the location of the ball link on the tail servo, but usually, just some tweaking will stop the kick.

Blayd, you are on point man. Since my last post, I bumped the normal mode up to 85%. The switch from normal to stunt isn't as dramatic as it was before and I get a barely noticeable kick. This means I do have to mess around with the gyro a bit more. The funny thing is, I always tell myself to correct this right before the flight...next thing I know I'm already done with my pack lol

I'll try to remember to correct this today.

One thing that was really bugging me was my weak charger. It's fine for 3s but the 50W output limits my 6s charge to 2.3A. So I did some reading and after some site jumping I finally pulled the trigger on the iCharger 206b. Of course, I realized that it was DC powered once I finally got it in my hands lol. After trying to find a decent power supply around the house and coming up empty handed, I ordered the Integy Super Station 27A PSU. I'm not sure why but Integy is selling them for $40 compared to the $120 price from amain.com and other sellers. So I jumped on that sh*t immediately!

[Blayd]

I do the same thing.. I still need to dial in my governors and tweak my gyros a bit myself, but usually wind up flying the batts instead of wasting time tweaking...LOL

Chargers...
Hate to say it.. but you should have gone 24v. What yoiu have is better then what you HAD.. but..24v would do you much better.
Yeah, I started with a small 50w charger myself, it was fine for a single 6S in about an hour.. but I wound up with 21 batts eventually, and was spending two days charging, after work for the weekend. THEN, hoping it wouldnt rain or something, because discharging takes even longer!!!

I finally took the advice from EVERYBODY....
I bought a used PL6, and a guy on here makes AWESOME PSU's out of server PSU's.
For $65, he made me a 1400W, 52A, 24v PSU for the PL6 charger. Got a couple Paraboards for parallel charging, Holy crap! Six, 6S 5000mAh batts in 30 minutes!!!
Now, if its nice out, I can be charged in 30 minutes for 6 quick flights. ( Or three on the 700 ) I charge my whole lot in less then an hour and a half. REALLY helps get you out there on the sticks, whenever you get some spare time to help your improvement. One of the best investments I've made in this hobby. Period.
It's actually really easy to make the PSU yourself...theres a ton of stuff showing you how, and you can get the PSU's off Ebay for cheap. If you look in the For sale threads, go to the "vendors" section, you'll find guys who have them ready made as well. Thats where I got mine. The guy did a fantastic job. All nice and neat, gives me both, 24v and 12v capabilities, came with a dual to one plug. Awesome.

[Leyline]

That PSU looks great, can we just get 2 and put them in series for 24v 54A?

Just wondering because I am in this same EXACT boat
I have a t-rex 500 I am building, and I got 2 6s batteries....
I have a brand new deep cycle marine battery, I was just going to keep on a float / maintainer and use it instead of a PSU for now anyway....

I too was looking at one of the Junsi iChargers.... like the 306b or the 308 duo (love those nice screens)

The PL6 is what people would recommend instead?
(If I never plan on using the PC software bit)

[Gladius]

Yeah, you see a lot of guys running them in series for 24V output.

[Blayd]

The iChargers are great, The PL6 or PL8 is great. ( I use the PL6 and have NO complaints )
Like mentioned earlier, there are guys in the forsale threads that make 24v PSU's out of server PSU's, OR there are a bunch of vids and "how to's" on making your own. You can get them cheap on Ebay, if you want to make one yourself.

Either way, it takes your flying to a new level since now, you can get charged and out alot faster, more spontaneously. Nice out? got an hour or so? Charge in 20 minutes and fly.

[Kamilitaryman]

The DT/server PSU seem like a very solid and cheap alternative. I can see them lasting even longer for charging than they would being used in a computer heh. I have access to countless PSUs (being a data center tech has it's perks!), so I'm going to have to give that a shot.

Originally Posted by chalmene

Kamilitaryman- Good to hear you got her in the air, she's a sweet bird. I did replace my stock swashplate early, as it developed slop after the first couple flights. If this happens to you, I highly recommend the one from I2RC. Over a hundred flights on it, 1 crash, has yet to develop any slop whatsoever.

Are these stock swash-plates destined to fail so quick? Not that I didn't get any flying done on this bird but damn, wasn't expecting it to go out that fast. There is noticeable horizontal play on it. I'm pretty sure this is why I can't get the blade's to track anymore. That and the bird shakes on spool up/down. My 450 stock plastic one feels better than this one and that one took many crashes.

Is this the one everyone recommends as a replacement?

http://www.rc-tek.com/store/i2rc-500...ate-p2286.html

I can re-use the ball links from the stock one right?

[chalmene]

Originally Posted by Kamilitaryman

Are these stock swash-plates destined to fail so quick? Not that I didn't get any flying done on this bird but damn, wasn't expecting it to go out that fast. There is noticeable horizontal play on it. I'm pretty sure this is why I can't get the blade's to track anymore. That and the bird shakes on spool up/down. My 450 stock plastic one feels better than this one and that one took many crashes.

Is this the one everyone recommends as a replacement?

http://www.rc-tek.com/store/i2rc-500...ate-p2286.html

I can re-use the ball links from the stock one right?

I don't know how many people have had success with the stock swash, but mine developed play early, and just like you, It made blade tracking difficult. There are a couple other aftermarket swashes, but I believe the one from rc-tek is probably the best out there. I have several of their pieces on my 500, and each one is a gem. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. As far as shaking on spool-up and down, this is usually just the blades settling into position, as they lead and lag due to the change in rpm. Mine does this most flights, this is normal.

And yes, the stock balls can be used.

[chalmene]

Check out this thread on rc-tek.

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=618379

[Kamilitaryman]

So aside from the swash issue, I noticed that the brass bushings on both of my main blades have dislodged themselves and were "egging" out the mounting hole in which the bushings were set into.

I opened up an RMA with Align and they replaced the swash and main blades. I just ate the shipping cost, which was $10.

I replaced both and while I was at it, I replaced one of my guides for the push-rod on the tail because it broke (not even sure when). I loosened the boom to do this so I could get the tension off the belt and remove the tail case. Well, I assembled everything back and it spools up beautifully w/o any vibrations until it lifts off and I get pretty bad vibrations from the tail. Strong enough to make the tail boom supports shake violently to the point where they look blurry. I double checked the belt tension and it's tight. Not super tight, but it's not loose either. The tail blades have signs of wear from striking pavement but I never had issues with that causing the tail to vibrate.

Not sure what's causing this....