I've been spending some time on the sim in preparation for the 450. Based on using a Trex 500, I have a pretty good idea of what settings I will use when I set up the FBL for the 450. I'll be setting the cyclic servo rates mild at around 50% and 20%expo at first till I get acquainted with the bird.

 

Have you flown a CP before @Beaver? If so i recommend tame settings but also make sure you throw some negative pitch in there. I know your orientations are ok, but the collective can get away from you very quickly if you are not used to it. When i flew my first cp heli i only had a couple of degrees negative pitch available and due to playing it safe i went high. Then the wind blew and i actually could not get it down for a bit of time.... anxious moments. If you are comfortable with negative pitch, make sure its available to some degree...

 

My Nano CPx is CP and I've been flying it for over a year now, with it's hyperactive response. Flying a 450 should be easier to manage after cutting-teeth on the Nano from what I hear. I've been doing my homework as far as reading up on Vbar/Kbar setup and servo rates. On the SIM I've been running 50% cyclic rate and 20% expo and seems to be easy to manage on the Trex 500 model in the SIM. I'm pretty sure I'm on track for the 450.

 

@Beaver you are more than ready and have taken the best approach in my opinion. If you can handle the nano you are going to start enjoying your 450 very quickly. So long as you are comfortable with negative pitch and know not to throw full negative under panic (a common issue when a pilot has only flown fixed pitch - ie to drop altitude, drop the blade speed where as CP only requres the changing of pitch). You are going to love this - I wish i could re-capture the feeling i had when i flew my 450 for the first time. Simply magic! But it was not without incident.

Crash heligod actually got me on my first flight which i never actually manned. My transmitter was on the ground switched on some 5M away. I was connecting the battery and the postman arrived at the same time. Being in the back yard, my dog decided to burst through the back door to bark at the postman but on his way he hit my transmitter with his foot which engaged the kill switch and idle up 2. I could see the helicopter in slow motion take off and smash under full power into the back of my house! I had to rebuild it and it was a trex clone. I can laugh now... but then i was devastated!

 

Yes, I have the Neg pitch under control. It took awhile and some broken landing skids from slamming the throttle stick down, but now it's been nearly 5 months since I broke a skid. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get at least an hour of sim per day and flying Nano as much as possible before the 450 arrives.
Man! Who knew @Crash Heligod would possess a dog!

 

Making progress on the sim. All orientations good, no crashing unless I get too far out and loose sight. I've even managed auto-landings.

 

Ordering things direct from China is inherently annoying. Arrival projection for the 450 is anywhere from Oct. 10 to Nov. 12.
Meanwhile, I've been beating the sim pretty hard. Last night, if that Trex had been a real one, I probably would have racked up $500 worth of damage easily. I was attempting maneuvers I'm not ready for though. I find relaxing the servo rates not such a good idea after all. I've already gotten used to the faster reactions of a Nano CPx. Cranking the head speed and pitch up is fun!

 

My, but how thoughtful of you Mr. @Crash Heligod Sir. So I shouldn't have to apply a high degree of scrutiny over all of those vital components once the 450 arrives............. but I'm going to anyway. No reflection on you....... ?? ........ do you even have a reflection?? Probably a good thing you don't have to shave, huh?

 

You suck! (figuratively speaking of course, since you are anatomically deficient)

 

Hmmm. It seems that "somebody" (something) doesn't like that I'm making progress on the sim. Whoever could that be?? It seems to be helping though. I found myself flying tail-forward around in circles this evening, which is something that hadn't occurred to me before I started putting hours on the sim. 1 to 2 hours at a time per session..... working on those rudimentary skills I should have already mastered. I'm not looking forward to crashing a 450 anytime soon, I will be prepared when it arrives.

 

Alright @Crash Heligod, you're getting ahead of yourself. It's no fun for either one of us if you have your way with my 450 before I've even built and flown it. Wouldn't it be more fun for you to snatch it out of the air after I've labored and scrutinized for hours building the thing? The quick and easy path is not always the most rewarding. I expect better than that from you, Bonehead.

 

Autorotation landings..... easier than I expected, on the sim anyway. I was goofing off in last night's sim session and ended up running 8 auto-landings in a row- no crash. I think I need to order those Align main gears. I watched the following video, and I don't know if the guy had mesh set wrong or what, but I didn't like the noise. Almost sounds like gear out-of-round to me. You can hear it as soon as it's spooled up. I'm not sure what failed at the end.

 

I'll definitely think twice about ordering anything directly from China again unless it's express-post. This waiting game is driving me crazy. @Crash Heligod has nothing to do with it.

 

That seems about right, given the current transit time.

 

Good thinking @Crash Heligod . For taking some Ass with you.

 

I thought maybe that was for food, but he doesn't have the stomach for it. He doesn't have the proper appendages for anything else, so He must have brought the Ass along so he would have some company along that could converse on his level........reminiscent of this photo: