Woooo!! 450 almost got away from me today! I was up running a lazy 2S flight and went out on a wide loop around the lot and got disoriented somehow. I tried to bring it back in close and ended up going farther out. I maintained my composure and kicked the tail out sideways to get my bearing back. There's one good thing to be said about low head speed-- the thing hung slow and steady, giving me time to recover orientation. At 3S I probably wouldn't have been so lucky. Finished at 25% 7.5v. 8 min.

 

Just leave at least 25% in pack after flight and you're good to go, 30% if you want to baby them
Simon

 

Yeah, 8 minutes is still a long flight for a 450 ending at 25%. I had been pushing the old pack (3s) way too far for 10 minutes at 15%. It was only 3 months old. Lesson learned.

 

I had to go back and pull the balls back a notch on the servo arms. There was too much stroke to the swash when I tried to turn up the agility settings. Besides that, I had the servos turned the wrong way and the links weren't lined up straight between servos and swash. Fortunate that the Hitec servos are just short enough that I can get them out without splitting the main frame.

 

(tested) Ahh....... much better.

 

Yes the correct distance out will make a difference for geometry and for torque. Too far out and you loose resolution. Too far in and you do not have enough throw.

 

I just made it home from the park, having finally managed to trash the wood blades..... and my new blades were in the mailbox.

 

...... and I managed to trash one of the new servos as well, beyond simple gear replacement. The first mishap wasn't serious, or so I thought. 10 minutes of damage control and a routine check-out of servo response revealed no problems, but 5 minutes into the following flight, the 450 started some anomalistic pitch changes that led to nearly planting the skids in the dirt had I not cut the throttle hold.
After tear down and inspections, I found the #3 servo dead with a stripped sector gear and no movement from servo motor.
I'll be making a trip to the LHS tomorrow.

 

yeah probably best to stick with woodies, if you're going to run low HS. if you can get them at a cheap price, go for it.

 

The new blades are exact replacement blades for the original fiberglass blades that came with the CX450 kit..... $4.99 a set. The original set survived 3 crashes. Those wood blades cost twice as much.

 

I'm about to make the pilgrimage across town to the LHS to see if they have another HiTec servo in stock, and to stock up on a few hardware bits. I seem to have gone through all the spare M2 x 14mm head bolts from shearing them in crashes. I need canopy grommets, and I might get that second 2S pack I've been wanting.
In other news-
I found a HP6DSM radio online for $20, it's the one that came with a Blade SR years ago. I can use that extra channel with the knob to create a variable throttle control instead of using an on/off switch, an still be able to have a throttle hold. Gotta love K-Bar and it's selectable channel assignments.

 

450 is halfway back together......
had to stop to go play a gig tonight.

 

As I went to put the servo arm on the replacement servo, I figured out that I had just bought a HS65MG. So now I have one MG servo. Oh well, The next ones replaced will be as well.
New feathering spindle and dampeners, and the bird will be flight ready before the day is done.

 

Okay....
Flight test complete, egg-beater back up and running.
It's running much smoother now. I corrected a problem with the main motor where the shaft had worn inside the bearing and straightened the shaft where it was slightly off center. Motor now runs smooth except for a harmonic vibration at lower rpm. It will never be run that low, so I'm not worried about it. Minimal main gear noise... Blade tracking back inline.....
Now if I can keep from putting it in the dirt for awhile.

 

You sound like a happy camper again keeping it in the air sounds like a good plan of attack too. I might try that when I get mine running again later this week haha

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

You're a bass player like Flea?
Good stuff

 

Ah, no. That's my view from behind the drums. I only get to play bass when I'm "off the clock". That's me on drums:

 

Looking good, thats how u make a livin or is it how u release some steam?

 

Nice. Good job on the drums. I haven't seen a live band for ages.

 

Secondary income.
My day job is auto and marine tech.