Hot Rod CP (the not so beginner, beginner)

[mdelzer]

So I've been flying G3 for about 8 months now. I'd say I'm about 80 percent oriented. By that I mean hovering/inverted hoving in all orientations. Fast forward flight, fast backward flight, fast forward flight inverted, fast backward flight inverted, etc. etc.

This leads me to my first heli. I'm contemplating getting the Blade CP AFR without the 4-in-1, servos, or Tx. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1101) Then add to it the Eflite 2-in-1, (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1039) the Spektrum DX6, (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=SPM2460) and the Futaba G190 gyro. (http://www.futaba-rc.com/radioaccys/futm0830.html)

For batteries the plan was to use 3s 1320 and 910 Thunder Power ProLites.

And to top it all off:

The 9T 370 motor. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1110B)
The Bell Mixer upgrade. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1170)
Carbon fiber tail rotor. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1122C)
Carbon fiber symetrical mains. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1147C)
Aluminum swash. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1175)
Main motor heat sink. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1132)
Tail motor heat sink. (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1131)

So now before anyone says, "you'll shoot your eye out kid" let me just say that I'm not the average beginner either. I've been flying planks since I was 10 (15 years) and I have superior hand eye ordination form 13 years of playing drums. Top that off with 10 years of working with my dad in his machine shop as a kid and my experience flying G3 and I think I'll be fine.

Out of the blocks I'll be putting everything on but the carbon blades so that I can get a feel for it. (BTW, I fly G3 with the Avant model that I got from Augusto and crank up the physics to 150% to get some extra fast hand eye cordination practice. :D ) After I've got the feel for it, I'll put the carbon blades on and see where it goes from there.

Any input on the Eflite 2-in-1 and the Futaba G190 would be greatly appreciated. It would be nice if the 2-in-1 supported brushless, but I have not found any info on it at all on Horizon's site. As for the G190, I saw it was in the latest edition of RCH, but nothing was ever said about it's performance. I know it is not a heading hold and I know heading hold is inportant for fast backward flight, but what about doing piro circles? I guess either way it is a better choice then the 401 which is about 6 times heavier.

Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Mark

[Motions]

I'll tell you straight up, if you have the skill you say you have, just get a T-rex. I wouldn't even bother with the Blade. If your going separates anyway, you'll end up spending just as much for a training heli as you would a Trex.

[mdelzer]

I agree...on the other hand there are blade parts everywhere and the batteries are cheaper. I am still kind of torn as to what exactly to get...I do know that because of where I'm moving to that the DX makes more sense since I might not make it to any real fields.

Mark

[mdelzer]

I forgot to mention I hope to go to a 90 size glow for my next model, so extra money spent on lipos is a waste....plus buying lipos and chargers right now is almost like buying a new computer.

Mark

[axis]

I am with the others if your going thru all that just buy a T-Rex. You will thank yourself in the long run.
If you are however dead set on building this CP, then when you go seperates ditch the 2-1/4-1 and get 2 GWS ESC's instead. I used a GWS-50 for the tail and a GWS-100 (LiPo version) for the main rotor motor.
I also went seperates with the DX6 (awesome choice BTW). If you need any help on radio setup for that heli let me know.
However, I still say just buy a T-Rex..

[axis]

I forgot to mention I hope to go to a 90 size glow for my next model, so extra money spent on lipos is a waste....plus buying lipos and chargers right now is almost like buying a new computer.

Mark

Actually a LiPo charger can be had for as little as $50 and batteries the same. Thats a whole lot less than a new computer. If you are truly planning on going to a 90 size heli than I suggest you skip anything between now and then and get right to it. Save yourself some time and money and go for it. The 90 size heli will be 10 times more stable than almost any electric heli but, will cost you 10 times more as well. Not to mention fuel prices, glow plugs, etc..

[Motions]

I would agree with axis. If your eyeing a 90, go ahead and get that. If you can afford to build a custom CP and a 90, then you either don't know how much it actually cost or you have plenty of money.

The 90 will cost about twice as much not 10 times as much. I know your just making a point axis. Of course over time with fuel, crash parts, and upgrades, you can probably count on 20 times as much. :D

[mdelzer]

Thanks guys for the input. For batteries, I was refering to using TP 2100s vs. 1320s and 910s. So about ~$75 vs. ~$40-45. Which doesn't seem like much, however I've given myself a budget that I want to stick to. Unfortunately my budget won't let me go buy the 90 I want right now. (Mostly because I'm moving from Florida to LA on the 27th :eek: ) Then I have to buy a car when I get there to top it all off! :o

I guess what I'm saying is that given the situation with moving and all I'll need something smaller for a while. That leads me to ask, if I bought a T-Rex CDE kit, does the swash still have issues? And has anyone used the S75 servos in them with great success?

Mark

[axis]

The S75 servo's in a TRex suck. I have a new DX6 from Spektrum in mine and the radio and Rx are awesome but the servo's are lacking. They are sloppy and they dont center well at all. They got to the point yesterday that I was afraid I was going to crash due to the amount of slop in the system and my inability to hold a steady hover. I landed, called Horizon and they said for me to send them back. I had some S75's in my Blade CP with zero issues. I think that since the BCP is so much smaller the servos aren't stressed nearly as much. I will be switching to all HS56's.

As for the swash issues with the TRex, it was my understanding that was only with the aluminum swash where they weren't mated together properly. I have a TRex CCPM and the swash in it is just fine.

[mdelzer]

The S75s don't have a ball bearing. That is probably the main source of the slop. As for the swash, the HDE one reviewed for the second issue of RCH still had problems, but I guess it is fixable with glue. I think the aluminum is fixable with JB weld. I've been looking at the T-Rex some more and might just go with it. I'll update as I go.

mark

[axis]

I don't think its the lack of a head bearing in the servo but rather poor manufacturing tolerances. The entire gear train inside the servo moves, without the gears turning. S'ok though they are going back to Horizon today.
As for the swash issue I am only commenting on mine, which incedentally has been trouble free. There are how to fix swash threads for the TRex on both runryder.com and trextuning.com. Both are very informative and I am on both everyday..

[mdelzer]

That is interesting to hear about the S75s. I'm probably going to do the new 56HBs and maybe the HS50 on the tail. Probably will do a 401 or a 240 for gyro. Motor and speed contoller will probably be the Align 430/36 Amp. I might be just slightly over my original budget.

Mark

[axis]

My Trex came with the Align 25A and the 420 motor and both seem very up to par. I have used the HS50's (clear blue case) in my 18th scale cars and trucks and they have a problem with the bottom of the servo case coming off. I see people using them in their TRex's all the time but, based on past experience I'm gonna shy away from that the HS50. I have had a slew of HS56's and everyone of them works great.

[mdelzer]

I've been considering the 50 for it's speed. Although only about 30 mils faster. I've seen a few deals though that I might not pass up just because of simplicity to get 4 56s for a pretty good price.

Mark

[mdelzer]

I just read some disappointing information about the DX6. I'm gonna sit on the fence for a bit to see if anyone else chimes in about it, but I think I'm gonna go back to my original plan of a 7CHP.

Here is the link. (http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/p1795211/#p1795211)

Mark

[Motions]

I'm very happy with my 7C. It should be all you need. I would like a 9C but it's pricey for me.

[mdelzer]

It seems to me that it has everything I'd want from the 9C but the synth option.

mark

[axis]

I just read that post before I came here and I am not sure what to make of it. Nobody I have spoken with or seen has had any reservations about the DX6. Maybe he got a bad one, who knows.

[mdelzer]

Someone else just mentioned that they had the same problem with a 9303, so perhaps it is a setup quark.

Mark

[axis]

There is a Szabo video out there apparently where he is flying 3D with a DX6.. So if that is the case then the DX6 can't be that bad..

[mdelzer]

It's all relative....you could give Danny or Alan any heli and they'd put it through its paces. They don't need an exact precise radio be cause they can already compenstate with hand-eye cordination. It's kind of like playing bass guitar, a great player sometimes needs no compression in a mix because they can do it all with their hands while playing because they are just that good. I'm not knocking the DX6, but I'm starting to think it may be a step in the wrong direction from an electronics technology point of view. If they can make DSS work, I'm sure that the same effort put into improving the old reliable would prove very worth while. I think for the DSS technology the deal breaker is going to be the 1 watt limit. Also it is not a format that will be globally compatible anytime soon, so major players with 10Xs and 14MZs won't be worried about DSS anyway. I dunno...like I said with the batteries, it's like buying a computer. Technology is revolving so fast, but at least radio manufactures are not flooding the market with new products every month. Where as the batteries, there are new rumors everyday of higher C cells and of 3C charge rates and of better chargers and so on and so on. Time will tell...

Mark