In the time I was unable to access my forum I got restless and a little bored. Without something to do in my off time I started watching YouTube videos. I stumbled on some RC helicopter vids and The only thought running through my head was, "I want one!".
So a quick trip to the hobby shop and the rest is history. I started out with the little green one. It's a Blade 120 SR. It's made by Horizon Hobby. Not a cheap little bird weighting in at $169.00usd. It's near impossible to fly it with the basic controller that comes with it as evident of the major dent in my wallet from buying repair parts. She is since retired having too many design flaws to have to correct. Maybe later on when it gets too cold to go outside and fly I'll drag her out and have another look.
Next came the big copper colored Double Horse 9053 Volitation. $55.00usd Don't let its size fool you. It's a fragile handful. One minor bump not only knocked off over an inch off one blade, it also bent the drive shaft for those blades. It's a coaxial so one shaft is inside the other. The inside one is the one bent. Go figure. She's just a show piece for now. Like the style and color though. Ok so it was an impulse buy...
Back to YouTube and keep looking at vids. I saw something about quads and how easy they appear to be able to control. Ok so look online for some with a reasonable price tags. Some of them are a little too pricey for me and still are. I discovered Horizon Hobby has a small quad rotor for a semi reasonable price, the MQX. Scoot over to the hobby shop and thankfully they carry them. Nabbed one and some extra batteries. LiPo batteries are not cheap either but the bang for the buck ratio is very high so spares are a good investment.
I was having a ball with the MQX when I let my excitement over rule my skill level. I put some small LEDs on it and took it out for a night flight. I had not gotten night orientation down yet. It headed behind the boom truck and I lost sight of it. Next thing I heard was the sound of something hitting the ground. Busted motor mount later I took it up to the hobby shop for repairs. Could have done it myself I found out later.
The guy replaced the motor mount but didn't put the right prop back on. 2 goes clockwise and 2 go counter clockwise. Part of what keeps it stable. Any roo he said it was toast. At that point in time I just wanted to fly.
I nabbed a package deal which was another MQX and a Spektrum DX7s Transmitter. Paid full price for the bird but got got the DX7s at a discounted price. Normally $249.00usd Walked out the door at $200.00usd.
On a parts run I spotted the little red heli. The mCP x. It's a little beast and I just had to have it. $179.00usd. And you can bet your ass for that price I will learn to fly it come hell or high water. Just not right now. It's a variable pitch heli and takes some skills I haven't developed yet. But I'm getting there.
Right now I'm having a blast flying my quads. They are really easy to fly and for the most part pretty rugged. The one time I did manage to break a motor mount I later recalled how it happened and it turned out to be what is called in our hobby as "dumb thumb". It's where you make a move on the stick either not paying attention or panicing.
Over all it's a fun hobby but can run into some money. Take the DX7s transmitter. Reason I really jumped on the deal is it can store 20 different aircraft configurations. For a one time investment, it's bang for the buck ratio is astronomical.
"So Seti why did you post this in a computer forum as flying is not computer related?" Well first off that misconception is dead wrong.
If it was not for microprocessor technology modern RC quads and heli's, even some fixed wing aircraft would not be flyable. Let me expand on that just a little. In the old days and even now flying with out computer assist can be a serious white knuckle experience for those of us not in the expert skill level. I'll pass.
And just for the record in one fashion or another most Electric Powered aircraft and some fuel powered, have a microprocessor controlled device in them.
There's a marriage of computer stabilization systems with microprocessor controlled electric motor speed controllers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Some quads kits offer add on GPS return to launch point which with out microprocessors would just be wishful thinking. Some quad kits have a control system you can custom program that have upwards of 8 cores in the microprocessor.
So computer technology is even reaching in to the realm of hobby flyers making it a fun activity and accessible to those just starting out. It also makes flying more fun for those of us that have been in it for a while.
So a quick trip to the hobby shop and the rest is history. I started out with the little green one. It's a Blade 120 SR. It's made by Horizon Hobby. Not a cheap little bird weighting in at $169.00usd. It's near impossible to fly it with the basic controller that comes with it as evident of the major dent in my wallet from buying repair parts. She is since retired having too many design flaws to have to correct. Maybe later on when it gets too cold to go outside and fly I'll drag her out and have another look.
Next came the big copper colored Double Horse 9053 Volitation. $55.00usd Don't let its size fool you. It's a fragile handful. One minor bump not only knocked off over an inch off one blade, it also bent the drive shaft for those blades. It's a coaxial so one shaft is inside the other. The inside one is the one bent. Go figure. She's just a show piece for now. Like the style and color though. Ok so it was an impulse buy...
Back to YouTube and keep looking at vids. I saw something about quads and how easy they appear to be able to control. Ok so look online for some with a reasonable price tags. Some of them are a little too pricey for me and still are. I discovered Horizon Hobby has a small quad rotor for a semi reasonable price, the MQX. Scoot over to the hobby shop and thankfully they carry them. Nabbed one and some extra batteries. LiPo batteries are not cheap either but the bang for the buck ratio is very high so spares are a good investment.
I was having a ball with the MQX when I let my excitement over rule my skill level. I put some small LEDs on it and took it out for a night flight. I had not gotten night orientation down yet. It headed behind the boom truck and I lost sight of it. Next thing I heard was the sound of something hitting the ground. Busted motor mount later I took it up to the hobby shop for repairs. Could have done it myself I found out later.
The guy replaced the motor mount but didn't put the right prop back on. 2 goes clockwise and 2 go counter clockwise. Part of what keeps it stable. Any roo he said it was toast. At that point in time I just wanted to fly.
I nabbed a package deal which was another MQX and a Spektrum DX7s Transmitter. Paid full price for the bird but got got the DX7s at a discounted price. Normally $249.00usd Walked out the door at $200.00usd.
On a parts run I spotted the little red heli. The mCP x. It's a little beast and I just had to have it. $179.00usd. And you can bet your ass for that price I will learn to fly it come hell or high water. Just not right now. It's a variable pitch heli and takes some skills I haven't developed yet. But I'm getting there.
Right now I'm having a blast flying my quads. They are really easy to fly and for the most part pretty rugged. The one time I did manage to break a motor mount I later recalled how it happened and it turned out to be what is called in our hobby as "dumb thumb". It's where you make a move on the stick either not paying attention or panicing.
Over all it's a fun hobby but can run into some money. Take the DX7s transmitter. Reason I really jumped on the deal is it can store 20 different aircraft configurations. For a one time investment, it's bang for the buck ratio is astronomical.
"So Seti why did you post this in a computer forum as flying is not computer related?" Well first off that misconception is dead wrong.
If it was not for microprocessor technology modern RC quads and heli's, even some fixed wing aircraft would not be flyable. Let me expand on that just a little. In the old days and even now flying with out computer assist can be a serious white knuckle experience for those of us not in the expert skill level. I'll pass.
And just for the record in one fashion or another most Electric Powered aircraft and some fuel powered, have a microprocessor controlled device in them.
There's a marriage of computer stabilization systems with microprocessor controlled electric motor speed controllers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Some quads kits offer add on GPS return to launch point which with out microprocessors would just be wishful thinking. Some quad kits have a control system you can custom program that have upwards of 8 cores in the microprocessor.
So computer technology is even reaching in to the realm of hobby flyers making it a fun activity and accessible to those just starting out. It also makes flying more fun for those of us that have been in it for a while.
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