what do they do?

[unstable]

hi peoples, got me a raptor .50 v2 the other day yay!. i have some questions: the control surfaces of the heli e.g main rotor blades, flybar etc etc could someone please tell me what they do to maneuver the heli and what they are called? :o e.g collective pitch, rudder, pitch etc etc thanks peoples

[mb323]

Hi Unstable,

Very nice choice, the Raptor .50 v2 is a very capable machine.

Ok, go to your local hobby store and pick up a copy of RC Heli issue #3. You will find the answer to most of your questions in the 120 Heli terms defined article starting on page 26.

In general terms here is how the helicopter is controlled:

Collective: This controls pitch and throttle. This moves the heli up and down.

Cyclic: This changes the pitch of the blades and the paddles as they move around the head. By varying the pitch of the main blades and the paddles this moves the Heli forward, backward, left and right. (There is a bit of physics involved, the important part is that the direction of the swashplate indicates the direction of movement.) You will have to lookup swashplate in issue #3.

Tail Rotor (Rudder): This controls yaw, aka which direction the nose of the heli moves. Points the heli left and right.

Tip, invest in training gear and a sim. I spend about 3-4 days a week on a sim, and I spent 3 hours a week for 1 month before ever attempting to hover. Crashing on the sim is free, but in real life it can be expensive.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby!

[unstable]

hi mb323, thanks very much for the info it was a great help, now i know how this thing works. funny enough i just picked up issue 3 today, bit slow here in oz some really great info in the magazine. i will certainly buy a sim before i even attempt my first go at trying to hover. once again thanks for your help.

cheers,
unstable

[heli-fan]

Check out http://www.raptortechnique.com/ it has a lot of info on raptors. Check your LHS or on line at www.heliproz.com for Ray,s Authoritative Heli manual, it was also a big help for me.