Did you Fly today?

[akphill]

Well today was a good morning
The first thing I did was check the wind as it has been blowing here for 2 weeks and there wasn't any flat calm
Ok so I bring the shuttle outside and fire her up pick her up into a hover and she wants to give me some greif with the motor trying to over rev so I fused with it some adjusted the tail rotor as it wants to drift sideways a little so I brought it in and grabbed the 600 and took it outside for a fly and it flew so nice that it makes me want to buy another battery
after that I put her back on the battery charger and then so I grabbed the 500 and took it out for a fly and it was really fun to fly her around

So then I am thinking that dang all this heli flying was kinda fun
so I grabbed the copterx 450 and out the door I went
and fired it up and thenhad a real pleasurable fly with it
I am still looking at the raptor 50 thinking that I still might take her out for a fly today yet now that that is she is tuned engine wise

hope everbody else such a good day

[Doozer]

Good to hear phil. Days like those are why we do this.

I've been flying/breaking in the gasser a little every day since I got it in the air the first time. A lot of it has been 20 or 30 minutes after work, sometimes less. Today, my day off, I flew a few tanks. It was hot, and I forgot water so I only flew about 45 minutes.

The tank is only 8 oz. so its a bit tedious. I'm averaging 2.73 minutes per ounce of fuel, and that's running it a bit rich. The engine is getting stronger every day, but still has a long way to go before it's broken in. I'm just now hitting the first gallon through with about 4 more to go!
My throttle curves as of right now are 0, 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 45. Supposedly 35% throttle means the butterfly is half open. At 35%, my head speed is fairly fast. I've tached it with a Hangar 9 tach, but I think that thing is a hunk of crap. It jumps all over the place.

Anyway, having fun, but it's getting hot. I want to break this in before the summers over, but I might need to find a lighted field to fly on. Normally I quit flying right about now, but I'm not going to until it's broken in.

[Doozer]

Well I've been running home every night this week so I can fly this gasser. It is so much fun. This is like buying my first heli all over again. I've devoted all my air time to it. It's the only heli that's fun to fly for me. I was getting 17 minutes on 8 oz of gas. I started getting a little more than 18 minutes after the switch to synthetic.

I stopped off at my LHS today and bought a Dubro 12 oz. tank ..... I got a little scared @ 22 minutes landed and checked. I had two ounces left (more or less). Probably could have got 25 minutes no sweat. I'm not blasting the RPM's though. I'm waiting for my Sky Tach to arrive before I set my idle up throttle curves. Then my minutes per ounce should go down.

I am having the most fun I've had in this Hobby ...

[19000rpm]

With all that you've done in this hobby, saying this is the most fun you've ever had is quite the statement. What is it about the gasser that makes it so much fun?

[Doozer]

I think it's a combination of many things. The biggest contributing factor is air time. The days of 5 to 7 minute flights are over. It's not just about flight times though. I switched synthetic oils last night, but I still had a half of a gallon of my Pennzoil mix. Since fuel is so cheap, I just dumped it in another can and I'm going to use it in my blower. Then I went to the gas station and picked up a gallon of gas for $3.45. The gas station is right around the corner from my house....

The gasser is heavy and stable, but it doesn't fly heavy. It doesn't bog when you sport fly, and has plenty of power. There's no smoke, no charging of batteries... I use a 3S 2100 mAh lipo (regulated) and I get at least four hours out of it.

Some people don't like tuning engines, I love it. It makes me feel good when all the little things, the attention to the detail, come together and my engine rips with no missing and has a nice solid "note." With nitro, I didn't really have time to enjoy it before I had to sit the heli down and refuel. Throttle curves are a side to flying a gasser that I've missed out on, mainly because nitro curves are so boring. "V" throttle curves aren't hard to figure out. I'm really starting to figure out what my radio can do, and the fact that the carb on a gasser is non-linear, makes it a joy. My normal throttle curve is 0,10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 45. The carb does most of it's work between closed and 1/3 open. Getting those numbers down, working the collective so you don't over speed, but so you don't bog either. Flying.....

I guess it's not just one thing, but many different things. Gassers are the "whole enchilada," for me.

[akent]

That's really cool, Doozer!
After asking about gassers and you responding that they exist, it's just awesome to see you build one up!

Plus, you have just the flick of the cord to get her running!
Kent

[Doozer]

Jun 4, 2011 11:50:47 GMT -6 akent said:

That's really cool, Doozer!
After asking about gassers and you responding that they exist, it's just awesome to see you build one up!

Plus, you have just the flick of the cord to get her running!
Kent

Totally forgot about that. Originally, I was looking for a removable pull start because i thought it looked ugly. I've since learned to value the pull start. I don't really notice it in the air, and it actually acts as an extra protective layer between the ground and the engine. I'd rather replace the pull start instead of the engine. The best part of the pull start is that there are fewer things to bring to the field, use, and upkeep.

You're right. Your question started the whole ball rolling. Ernie posting the Helibug build pics made me pull the trigger. I said in my build thread that I've wanted a gasser since I've found out about them. It's just not as simple as converting a frame. There are many things to consider. It was extremely fun to build and paint, but unlike other helis I own, flying it isn't boring. It seemed like as soon as I got an electric or nitro in the air, it was time to bring it back down.

I used to convince myself that flying much more than a few minutes was mentally taxing, but since I've been flying gas, that's not been the case. It's turned out better than I expected. Its been a great fit for me, and I'm satisfied on many levels.

[19000rpm]

Well, those are a lot of positives. The tuning you love to do, stable flying, inexpensive fuel and lots of air time. If I ever move into non-electric I'll check it out.

[19000rpm]

We drove an hour and a half south to check out a new paved strip. The city of N Mankato put it in as part of their city parks expansion. No, AMA, No club, electric only, a charging station and a couple of 200 ft. strips surrounded by grass. ALL paid for and maintained by the city. Won't let the flier's lift a finger or pay a cent. Can we say "Heaven" children.

Well, it was fun. Met some new people saw some good flying and maidened the moded P47 D. Flew a couple of EDF's too. Got a good sunburn. Did I say "Heaven"? We'll sleep good tonight.

[Solitaire]

Now, that's an interesting concept. That would be great around here, too, but the City of Vancouver wouldn't even consider something like that due to liability. They don't even care for club sponsored parks for the same reason.

Conservative Canucks, you know.

[19000rpm]

I've never heard of anything like it either except out here where I live. The rec area I fly in was also a flying field at one time, in the early 90's I think, but the city closed it almost immediately because the nitros and gassers made so much noise that the neighbors complained.

I was told by one of the local guys that the N Mankato city parks commissioner wants to leave a legacy of park expansion. He must have some weight to have get this past the city attorney.

But, in reality, what about all the city baseball parks? Don't people get hurt there on a regular basis? I never hear about cities being sued because of those accidents. I guess the people in N Mankato are taking a more pragmatic approach to potential liability than the more conservative types.

[akent]

That does sound awesome, 19k! I love it when cities take care of us!

The south Austin field where I usually fly is in a city park. The land for the field was donated by the city to the club. The club then built the facilities up. It's really nice.

Just last week though, I flew my E-F1 (Electric Formula 1) racer at Zilker park. This is the most amazing place I've ever flown at. I hadn't been to this park in maybe 30 years! In the old days, you couldn't fly there, as they had all kinds of folks playing soccer. They moved the soccer fields apparently. You can fly electric only here.
This huge park is where they hold some of the really large music events here. The grass has underground irrigation from Lake Austin. The grass is just like the green on a golf course, only the field is massive! At least 1/4 mile in all directions! They mow it every day to around 1/4" tall. Just beautiful. I forgot my camera. I think we'll be flying there again maybe this week, though...

I parked my truck and walked out maybe 50 yards to take off away from the road. Did I mention that this place is HUGE?

It's hard to believe!
Kent

[19000rpm]

Wow, that is even better! Golf course grass finally put to good use.

Good to know that there are other cities with the broader view of parks for public use. I just wish there were more around here.

And, MN isn't a place for frivolous law suits either. Judges and juries frown on citizens not taking responsibility for their actions and blaming others. So, maybe it's not the legalities involved but more of a lack of awareness of how relatively safe more flying fields would be and how many people would enjoy them.

Maybe I'll ask the AMA to make some inquiries about boosting local flying facilities. My dues should go for something worthwhile.

[Solitaire]

OK, that's it, I'm moving to MN or TX.
I just don't have anything convenient here.

[19000rpm]

Trust me, I know from personal experience: Austin is beautiful all winter but you don't want to be there, if you can help it, in summer. You know all about winter in the frozen north and you can relate to how nice it is in the summer. Can you say, "Snowbird?"