Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Helicopters / March 2004

Spent the day up at the gliding club, took heli to play with too.
It was absolutely glorius.
+8 Deg C
almost no wind
snow on the deck but not too thick
put another gallon through.
Halfway through Ian (the only man I know who buys kits and produces planes
as opposed to the others who buy planes and produce kits)
Mutters the immortal line from the peanut gallery "Can you loop it?"
"Erm, I don't have idle up set up, I've never done one before, I'ts a new
setup on the tail, excuse, excuse yada, yada,yada"
To which he replies, "Come on you poof, loop it!"
Oh well, I haven't crashed it yet, it's gonna happen sometime thinks I.
Blooter it down the field, pull up in to a stall turn.
Blooter it back down the field the other way 20' off the deck doing mach god
knows what pull up into monster stall turn intending to carry on over the
top rather than turn it. Bottle failed, do stall turn.
Blooter it back down the field the other way 20' off the deck doing mach god
knows what pull up into monster stall turn intending to carry on over the
top rather than turn it. Bottle failed, do stall turn.
At which point the peanut gallery starts a chant of "Poof, poof, poof"
The wee rappy is screaming down the park 25' up, pull up so it's going
verticle, neutralise the collective, pull back all the way on the cyclic, a
little negative on the collective AND IT'S THROUGH ! woo hoo !
Back to a hover beside me, bow for the crowd. "Do it again! " they yell.

oh well, nothing ventured.

rattle a bit up behind me, wee stall turn, back down the park towards the
peanut gallery with nothing like the speed it had on last time. Pull up,
netralise collective, Think "bugger me that hasn't gone very high" pull back
on cyclic think "hmm need full negative collective, just like on the sim"
bottom the collective, the engine goes to idle, the headspeed starts to
decay at a horrible rate of knots, the heli yaws all over the place, seems
to be more upright than upside down at about 15' off the deck, give it full
positive collective, it shoots of sideways, luck rather than pilot skill
brings it back to a hover beside me.
Land heli.
shut down engine.
walk into gliding club.
Open bar.
After a swift nip, I decided to go back out and switch off the heli and
tranny.

Was a bloody good day.
Didn't bend anything, had a good laugh.
Had a heart rate approaching the heli headspeed at times, and thououghly
enjoyed myself.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to get at least idle up 1 set up
before I get a governor.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that I'm gonna need a crash kit soon.

Thanks for all the help I've had from you guys so far.
Regards
Roy