giving the atom another go

[quinn]

When I first bought my atom it was stretch and I wanted all out insane performance so I dropped a 4025 in it and ran crazy amounts of headspeed and pitch. It was fun for a while but the 3 minute flights got old and I was killing my 3300 packs. Then I built a 550u and took the 4025 out for that. The atom has been hanging on the wall since then.

This time around I just want something that's cheap to crash, flies decent, and gets good flight time. I'll use it for practicing new maneuvers before I try them on the big helis. I'm going to destretch it for zeal 430mm blades, and put the stock motor back on. The only slight issue is that I'll still be running 3300 packs which I've been told are a bit heavy for 430 blades. I want to build this as light as possible to offset the extra weight from packs. Right now it has an ice 100 in it since I was running the 4025 but I think I could save some weight with something smaller. Do you guys think the hobbywing 60 would do OK running the 10 tooth on the stock motor? Or am I asking for trouble? Another place I could save weight is the tail servo. I decided to use a full size when I was running the stretch, but would an s9257 be OK since I'll be running a lot less torque on the main rotor now?

All in all, do you guys think it will fly well with the stock motor and big 3300 packs? Like I said, I don't need it to be crazy fast, but I do want it to have decent authority.

[JWeber]

I don't know about the heavier packs, but the stock ESC is 60A.

Edit: What is odd is that the Goblin 380 has recommendations of a 75A ESC for it if you're going to smack it around. Seems high considering it's a smaller heli. I have an ICE 75 on my Atom and never had a problem. Remember that 60A is continuous. It should be able to handle higher peaks. Check the specs to be sure.

[SamCassidy]

On 10t with stock motor and 3300's I was running a HW60, no issues. Ds520 on the tail.

[quinn]

Originally Posted by SamCassidy

On 10t with stock motor and 3300's I was running a HW60, no issues. Ds520 on the tail.

Did it fly heavy?

[SamCassidy]

Originally Posted by quinn

Did it fly heavy?

Not as heavy as when I tried it with a 5000mAh
But no, I personally didn't feel like it was too heavy. I always ran 3300 on the 5 and 4000 on the 5.5

[cyclo]

My 500 and 5.5 both use the stock motor with 9T pinion. I use 3300 40C mah packs on both. I run both at 100% ungoverned. The Atom 500 flies very well in this config not as fast nor as responsive as the 5.5 (with the 515mm blades). However it is very stable especially on windy conditions... Sometimes I feel it is even more stable than the 7HV in strong gusting winds. I typically get up to 6 minute flights on the 3300 when not flying too hard. When flown hard and/or it's really windy I would only go to 5.5 minutes.

On the 5.5 I only get around 4.5 minutes using the same config when flying hard. I like them both even though they have very different flying characteristics... One is as stable as a rock and the other one is more hyperactive and really fun to throw around when it is not windy.

On the 500 I am using a Castle ICE 75 with the integrated BEC powering the electronics although I do have a Scorpion BUG just in case. The Atom 5.5 has a YGE 90 HV ESC and a Gryphon Quasar BEC.

If you are going to use 10T on the stock motor the HW 60A might be borderline but it would probably still be OK.

[quinn]

OK sounds good. I'll see how it does on 3300's. Got all the parts today to get it back up and running.

[SamCassidy]

Originally Posted by quinn

OK sounds good. I'll see how it does on 3300's. Got all the parts today to get it back up and running.

Awesome! Give us a report

[skunkworx]

I run 3300s and a stock 9t pinion. You'll need the 100A if you want to drop a 10t pinion in it. The headspeed will be really nice when governed or slightly insane on flat curves. I use about 13.5* of pitch and right around 11* or 12* of pitch on cyclic to keep it from binding in the corners. I admit it would be nice to have just a little more go than what the stock setup gives, but it's hard to argue with 5 minute + flight times!

[quinn]

Got it all back together. Ready for the maiden tomorrow. For now I just left the full size tail servo and 100 amp ESC in there. I'll see how it flies and if its too heavy I'll think about swapping them out.

[aburkhardt]

Hey buddy,
I've been flying an Atom 500 with the stock motor, 10T and 60A HW for over 2 years with no problems! When I 1st got it I had 2600 packs and they gave me flights around 3-3:30. I recently purchased a Glacier 3000 and they seem to be about perfect CG wise and give 4 minutes of high HS flying. Ive also been flying my old stretch packs (3300) on my Atom with good results, they were getting tired but seem to do well on this machine. They are a tad nose heavy but no big deal.

My stretch now flies with a 4020 and 3700 (45C) packs. Its not insane, but my flight times are a full 4 minutes.

As far as the full size tail servo goes, leave it!

How do you like the 550 ultimate? When I total the (custom) stretched Atom I think I will move my electronics over to this machine. I already have the 4025 ready to go. What packs do you use on the 550 U?

[quinn]

The 550u is a sweet heli. Much different from the 5.5. Flies like a much larger heli. The 4025 is the perfect motor for it. Tons of power. I run 5000 and 5300 Packs in it and get somewhere around 4 minutes. I'm using a 120 amp ESC in mine but I guess guys are using a 100 amp without problems. I was actually thinking about getting some 2600 packs since I could use them in 3 different helis. I can use 1 in the atom or 2 in parallel in the 550u. Also I could run 4 of them in the 7hv in 2s2p configuration for 12s 5200.

[quinn]

Maiden didn't go so well. It was nice and smooth in a hover but as soon as I gave some hard cyclic, it went into a violent shake. Got it down safely. I'm hoping the head gain is just too high. I think I gave it too much available cyclic pitch. It probably had 14 degrees so the gain range was really high. I'll make some adjustments after work and try again

[quinn]

Back from round 2. Much better now! Its rock solid. Reduced available cyclic to 11 degrees and that did the trick. I put in 5 packs after work. Like I suspected, I was able to fly with much more confidence since I wasn't worried about crashing. Brought my piro flips down to about 10 feet and was getting 5 or 6 in a row. Also for the first time I was getting my piro funnels all the way around without chickening out. Power is not bad. I could still do a few things to get it lighter. It still has 6hv struts on it that can be swapped out for atom struts. Also I looked at the logs and the 100 amp ESC is way overkill. Barely warmed up at all. Might go for a 75 lite or something. Should be able to shave at least 100 grams. I think this heli is really gonna improve my skills over the summer.