Trex 450 SE and general build videos are here

[kgfly]

What radio are you using ?
What batteries are you flying ?

Originally Posted by whistler71

What do you mean by "inh" in the pitch and throttle curves?

Most radios allow you to ignore some points in the curve by inhibiting them (usually shows as "INH" on the Tx). This simply tells the Tx to linearly interpolate between the other points. If you just want a straight line then no need to enter the intermediate values. So 0-inh-50-inh-100 is the same as 0-25-50-75-100.

With the curves that I am running, even at position 5 (100% throttle), it sounds like the motor is bogging down; is that normal? It surely does not rocket up like crazy...

Most likely your batteries not holding voltage, that is the biggest cause of bogging for light flying.

I will check my end position degrees of the blades. I think that I am too close to the middle of the servos to give me the full 10/-10 degrees. (Less than 10 is OK for a beginner; no?)

Sure, at your stage you will almost never use full pitch unless attempting to save a bad situation or experimenting with climb-outs. 9 degress will be plenty.

Is it corrrect to instal the ball on the arm 13MM from the center of the servo arm to the center of the ball is instructed in the servo setup video?

Yep.

[whistler71]

Originally Posted by kgfly

What radio are you using ?
What batteries are you flying ?


Most radios allow you to ignore some points in the curve by inhibiting them (usually shows as "INH" on the Tx). This simply tells the Tx to linearly interpolate between the other points. If you just want a straight line then no need to enter the intermediate values. So 0-inh-50-inh-100 is the same as 0-25-50-75-100.


Most likely your batteries not holding voltage, that is the biggest cause of bogging for light flying.


Sure, at your stage you will almost never use full pitch unless attempting to save a bad situation or experimenting with climb-outs. 9 degress will be plenty.


Yep.

I have a Futaba 6EXHP and Flight Power Evolite 2500Mah battery.

[helijack]

Since I can't seem to start a new thread, I'll ask my question here........if ya don't mind.
Bob.......is there any chance of you making a setup video using the DX6 and a T-Rex 450SA? Or any T-Rex 450 for that matter, as I don't see how they differ all that much. It's more the radio setup I'm interested in.
Thanx for your time and dedication again, Bob. Your videos have been invaluable to me!

Jack in Calgary

[kgfly]

Jack - You can start threads in many of the forums here on Helifreak, just not this one.

I think you might find this DX6/TRex450 setup guide very useful: http://www.digimemphoto.com/guides/backguide.htm

[kgfly]

Originally Posted by whistler71

I have a Futaba 6EXHP and Flight Power Evolite 2500Mah battery.

If those batteries are being properly maintained and cared for they should provide lots of power and not lead to bogging, especially with mild flying. Try the new curves and see if they help. You could also check the "throttle response" setting on your ESC, it should be medium or you could try fast.

[whistler71]

Originally Posted by kgfly

If those batteries are being properly maintained and cared for they should provide lots of power and not lead to bogging, especially with mild flying. Try the new curves and see if they help. You could also check the "throttle response" setting on your ESC, it should be medium or you could try fast.

I did try new curves, but it seems as though whenever I setup the throttle curves high from position 2-3-4-5 like 0-70-80-80-80 or 90-90-90, it feels like the heli does not want to take off... With the same pitch curves 50-70-80-90-100 or something like that.

When you say "batteries properly maintained and cared for", what exactly do you mean? I do not run them lower than 10V, I let them cool down, I then charge them with Eflite Celectra charger at 2A combined with a Blinky on the balance plug of the battery. What else could I do?

[kgfly]

Originally Posted by whistler71

I did try new curves, but it seems as though whenever I setup the throttle curves high from position 2-3-4-5 like 0-70-80-80-80 or 90-90-90, it feels like the heli does not want to take off... With the same pitch curves 50-70-80-90-100 or something like that.

Have you measured your pitch at low, middle and high stick ?

When you say "batteries properly maintained and cared for", what exactly do you mean? I do not run them lower than 10V, I let them cool down, I then charge them with Eflite Celectra charger at 2A combined with a Blinky on the balance plug of the battery. What else could I do?

I wouldn't run them below 11.0V when resting (ie after disconnecting from the heli).

I don't know anything about that charger or how good a job it does, the balance charger that came with my EFlite BCX2 is pretty lousy.If you can afford it, I would suggest you get an FMA CellPro4S and then you can be certain the battery is being properly charged and balanced.

[whistler71]

Originally Posted by kgfly

Have you measured your pitch at low, middle and high stick ?


I wouldn't run them below 11.0V when resting (ie after disconnecting from the heli).

I don't know anything about that charger or how good a job it does, the balance charger that came with my EFlite BCX2 is pretty lousy.If you can afford it, I would suggest you get an FMA CellPro4S and then you can be certain the battery is being properly charged and balanced.

I have not measured my pitch yet, I know that I should!

I did take off my training gear today and there is a huge difference, it now climbs up like a banshee! Was just affraid, but I haven't really crashed, so I guess i didn't really need the training wheels...

My Celectra is OK and I was told that the Blinky was pretty adequate.

EVERYBODY keeps recommending that FMA Cellpro! I will have to get me one or two of them soon!

I will try not to get my batteries lower than 11V after any given flight. I had gotten them as low as 10.5V on quite a few occasions, will this have permanently damaged my bateries?

[Iain C]

Hi is the older videos of 450 se build that shows the head ,flybar assembly still avalible to view , I am in the middle of building a se and on looking up finless bobs build videos noticed the se one has changed and don,t cover some of the previous sections i found useful to watch . thanks Iain.

[BFashions]

Hi there, if I am building up a 450S CF can I still use the 450SE videos, is there much difference other than some parts being alloy?
Thanks!

[Finless]

Yes, pretty much the same! Plastic instead of metal but all the parts dimensions are the same.

Bob

[BFashions]

Thanks so much Bob, your videos are a great help!

[kgfly]

Iain - I don't recall the SE videos including the head construction phase since the head is preassembled. However the HDE build videos do show how to assemble the head from scratch. It is a plastic head but the process is much the same.

BF - Yes you can.

[bullitt]

Bob!
Invaluable information for newbies as myself!
I am using most all of your information setting up modifying and flying my esky honey bee king 2 heli on my optic 6 radio.My Trex project is collecting a little dust while I go thru the motions on a cheaper bird.I am having a ball with the bk2 learning the heli curve and am hooked on helis for life.
I would gladly leave you a tip if I could find your tip jar.
Sincerely

[aawind]

Thank you so much Bob, your videos are a great help!

Now I am going back to make some changing on my "bird".

Kind Regards

[BFashions]

Hi Bob,

Just a quick question, I have stripped down my bird and rebuilt it using your videos as I thought I might get a better flying bird by doing so, so far all is good and your videos are great!
However I am having a problem with the heli not being balanced when I spool her up, I have taken the blades off and removed the tail and I still get a lot of movement with just the paddles on, I have measured and they are the exact same distance apart from eachother and I have removed the weights and I still get this, are there any areas I should give special attention to?
Also I have got a really tight flybar, i can balance a pen on the end of one of the paddles and it isn't enough to weigh down the paddle, are there any spots I should check for that as well? Thanks so much for your help

[TheBum]

Originally Posted by bukkake fashions

However I am having a problem with the heli not being balanced when I spool her up, I have taken the blades off and removed the tail and I still get a lot of movement with just the paddles on, I have measured and they are the exact same distance apart from eachother and I have removed the weights and I still get this, are there any areas I should give special attention to?

Make sure your main shaft is not bent.

Also I have got a really tight flybar, i can balance a pen on the end of one of the paddles and it isn't enough to weigh down the paddle, are there any spots I should check for that as well?

It can be caused by a number of things: bearings binding due to too much pressure on the inner race (resolved by loosening the screw a very little bit), missing washer where a bearing meets a flat surface, or ball links that are too tight (resolved by checking each ball link one-by-one and resizing any that are too tight) are three that come to mind (from personal experience).

[BFashions]

Hi, thanks for your response, well I took the main shaft out and it is slightly warped, if I roll it on the table I can see a slight bend in it, I assume its just a matter of replacing the old one?

I will take apart the head and check all of the things you suggested, thanks again

[TheBum]

Yes. Even a tiny bend in the main shaft will amplified by the high RPM of the shaft, causing vibration.

[BFashions]

Well I was able to straighten up the slight bend in the main shaft, it is running a lot smoother now, I will order a new main shaft which should be here monday. Do resize the links is a ball resizer my only option?