Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Helicopters / March 2006

Raptor is by far the most common.  The kits and common spares are available
and pretty much every shop - but you will usually find that they don't stock
some of the things you want - so don't be surprised if you have to mail
order.

Yep get a kit everytime - it's important to know how it goes together
because sooner or later you'll going to have to take it apart.  Also, the
ARTF versions are put together in sweat shops and they don't use the same
care and attention that you would.

Radio - PPM and PCM are the proper names.  PPM often gets called FM - this
is historical from when you could only get AM and FM radios.  In fact both
PPM and PCM are both FM but use different encoding - put very simply PPM
send the info as a pulse of differing widths whereas PCM sends it as a
binary code.  Being FM both can be effected by electrical noise (such as
generated by electric motors or metal scraping against metal).  With PPM
this can result in a glitch where the intended signal gets changed to a
different signal which effects the heli flight.  With PCM the glitches are
still there but because of the coding the receiver can tell that something
weird has happened and ignores it.  Likewise PCM can also tell when the
radio signal is lost and instigate a failsafe mode.  There are pros and cons
to both PPM and PCM - I'm happy with either but some clubs can be a bit
funny.

Not familiar with JR, but it looks like the the 2610 has both PPM and PCM -
which you can use will depend on which receiver you have.  BTW flight sims
only work with PPM - a common mistake is that guys use PCM and compalin it
isn't working.

The guy you are referring to is Paul Heckles - incredible flier and good
teacher.  He is good value at £30 per hour but beware that the hours and
cost will mount up.  I would figure on at least 3 hours to get you hovering
then you can go and practice on your own.  Then another 3 hours to start you
on Forward Flight (FF).  If you are a fast learning you may be able to take
it on your own from then.

There is a guy who sells on eBay and lives in Wokingham who imports and
sells Raptor kits with OS engines.  I bought mine from him and he let me
pick it up from his house - good guy and the saving I got was quite
significant.

I have another contact who sells OS and Futaba stuff.

Does your email address work - I could send the details with a list of what
other things you will need to buy or borrow.

Cheers,

Nigel

Pete,
      Just my .02c, but there's a couple of reasons I disagree with the
'buy a cheap engine to start with' thing......

Firstly, a good strong reliable engine is a must in a heli.  You need
something that is going to be easy to tune and will run reliably at the
generally richer settings required for run-in, unless you fancy lots of
impromptu auto practice in the early stages of your learning curve due to
engine flame-outs.  Heli engines get worked pretty hard, often in less than
ideal cooling conditions etc, so you need something that's going to stand up
to the treatment.

Secondly, unless you're flying off a plain dirt field, you're simply not
going to get that much 'stuff' sucked into the engine.  You're better off
buying yourself a good quality engine to start with, then replacing the
piston/liner at a later stage *if required*.  If you're really that
concerned about the air quality entering your engine, you can get air
filters that will do the job.  But, be aware that these can radically alter
the tuneability of your engine, particularly after they start getting soaked
in oil etc.  You can wind up chasing engine problems that aren't really
there.

I've got a couple of other pearls of hard earned wisdom for you if you're
interested?

Firstly, get a simulator.  You *will* save yourself loads of cash in the
long run.  When I first started learning, I took my heli out with the
'training wheels' on and spent ages just hovering, tail in, in front of
myself.  I managed to bang the thing down really hard on the skids a number
of times, trying to overcome that old fixed-wing habit of pulling back on
the stick when you get into trouble, but thankfully didn't do any damage.
Due to the 'fear factor' of doing anything more, I didn't make a lot of
progress really and I was starting to wonder if I should have bothered.
Enter the CSM simulator.  About a week later, I was out doing my first loops
and rolls and was hovering nose-in quite comfortably.  To date, I've *never*
dumb-thumbed the thing into the ground.  I've had a couple of mechanical
failures that resulted in minor crashes with 'affordable' repairs, but
that's it.  Now, I'm not saying you'll have the same level of
success......it depends on your aptitude for the hobby and a whole pile of
other things......but I guarantee you'll be a better flier sooner for it!

Secondly, hovering is easier if you don't hang around down near the ground.
You're in ground effect when you're that low and stable hovering is a lot
more difficult there.  If you get the heli up around 1.5 metres or so,
you'll find it a lot easier to maintain a steady hover.  Of course, you're
also more likely to roll it over and stick it in the dirt when you're above
the height that your training wheels can successfully save you, so it's up
to you when you decide to fly higher.

What sort of gyro did you get?  If you don't have one yet, get a good
quality heading hold job.  You don't need hh in forward flight, but hovering
is made easier to begin with when you don't have to worry about the tail or
revo mixing etc.  Particularly when you try nose-in or inverted hovering for
the first time.  It's invaluable when you start trying to fly backwards too!

If you can afford it (and you have a radio with enough channels), a head
speed governor is nice to have.  Pitch/throttle curves aren't difficult per
se, but can be tedious and painfully boring to get right.  Plus, even with
perfect curves you can still experience head overspeeding during descents.
A governor gets rid of both problems nicely :-)

Last but not least, learn how to auto as soon as you feel comfortable doing
so.  Better to know how to do it and not need it, than have a flame-out and
not have a clue how to save it.  Besides, I reckon autos are one of the
coolest things you can do with a heli :-)

Good luck and welcome to the addiction!

MrBonk
www.mrbonk.com