T-Rex 500 ESP FBL!!!

[elkmaster01]

YESTERDAY;



I was so depressed,,,it was so unstable!!






Then TODAY;




I GOT IT!!! I GOT IT!!!! I GOT IT!!!

I made some drastic changes from the default settings. Dropped the ail and elev swash mix,,,,lowered the 3G ail and elev gain,,,and, most importantly,,I remounted the sensor so it wasn't so rigid.

WOW,,,I took off and about came out of my skin,,,I moved it around a little,,,not much room in my yard and the wind was really gusty,,,but it felt ROCK SOLID!! Actually felt exactly like the flybar head. It was too windy to get it out in the open and I had to leave for a Dr appointment,,but I am STOKED!!!

I grabbed my wife for a quick video so you can see I'm on the right track;




Now I need to cut it loose and check FFF stability,,roll and flip rates,,,,and dial in the headspeed. I'm so flipp'n HAPPY right now. After the Gorilla wrestling match yesterday,,I had my doubts!! But I'm ready to ROCK!!!!!! :banana1 :banana2 :banana1 :smoking :banana2

[19000rpm]

Man, that looks great. You have certainly learned this stuff well.

[akent]

It's sure going to be nice to have you as the FBL guru around here!

That thing looks solid!

[rcdbutz]

Very nice Randy, can't wait to hear what you think of it after some flying around.

After that, I'm bound to ask...was it worth $400 to get rid of the flybar?

[elkmaster01]

Worth $400? No,,,,,but if you do the math,,it really isn't that much. Say you buy a 500 kit and plan to put a $150 gyro on it. Buy the FBL kit and you don't need the gyro,,,you could also sell the flybar head for around $100. So now,,,you have a FBL heli for $150 more than the flybar heli. And oh yea,,,it's well worth that!!

I finally got the heli out for a good flight. Since I had the collective and cyclic pitch set very low for testing ,,I knew it would be a very docile bird. After that first hover,,I bumped the collective pitch up to +/- 10* and 8* cyclic. It flew GREAT,,,it hovers perfectly,,,hands off for about 10 or 12 seconds.

What amazed me was the POWER,,,I have the Turnigy Typhoon 500H motor w/12T pinion. I had the throttle curve(flybar head) set to 86% to get 2880 rpm headspeed. I had to drop the throttle curve down to 70% to get the headspeed below 3000 with this FBL head,,,thats huge.

I flew some FFF and I had no gain issues. I did a loop and did not have to use any aileron input to hold the heli on track. I did an inverted hover,,,,EXACTLY as an upright hover,,hands off for about 6 seconds. I did a roll from FFF and the boom looked like it didn't budge at all,,,perfect tracking down the longitudinal axis.

My roll/flip rates are still a little slow,, I'm going back and adjusting for +/-12* and 10* cyclic. AND doing those adjustments are sooooo easy with the FBL controller. Since the 3G system maintains the servo throws thruout the entire range,,the only adjustments are thru the swash mix. Just increase the swash mix values for collective and cyclic pitch,,,done!

Sooo,,let me retract that first answer,,,,,'is it worth $400?',,,hell yes!!! I totally LOVE this setup,,,the heli flies much better,,,has way more power,,,easier to work on,,,I'm certain that the flight times will increase measureably,,,whats not to love. And since it comes with a quality gyro,,the price isn't that bad.

I've been fighting with weather,,cold and the two flights I've made were with 10 to 14 mph winds. Tomorrow is calling for sunny skies,,,low 50s and a 5 mph breeze ALL DAY. I imagine I'll really wring it out tomorrow and get a video of it.

[rcdbutz]

Sweet Randy, now I might have to think about going FBL on one of mine, but I'll prolly be a few months behind on that one. Since the 3G came out, it looks like all of the FBL parts are going very fast. Is anyone having problems getting their FBL parts?

I mean, just check out the stock of FBL parts in most places and they're usually out of stock:
www.readyheli.com/Align_s/792.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=792&show=250&page=1

That is a big part of the FBL decision for me as well, that and the $$. I'm not doing anything right now that requires me to get the enhanced speed/agility FBL yet either.

[elkmaster01]

Some places,,like readyheli have their parts listings up but no-one has had them in stock yet,,,Align is behind bigtime.

You might want to wait a little bit. The Total G is about to be released,,so is the SK720,,,I think 2010 will be the 'year of the flybarless' and there should be a pricing war coming up. I heard rhumors too that Align is going to release a T-Rex 550 kit that will be sold strictly as a flybarless heli,,,that would definately be on my wish list,,LOL.

Also,,,you could buy an RJX FBL head,,,I've seen some guys on RR that buy the 3G for the head and sell the electronics for about $200,,,thats a cheaper way to go.

I may buy a RJX 600 head and use the 3G off my 500 and swap back and forth,,,just to see how the 600 does.

[Doozer]

Mar 22, 2010 12:14:48 GMT -6 rcdbutz said:

I'm not doing anything right now that requires me to get the enhanced speed/agility FBL yet either.

See... that's just it. FBL isn't just for advanced pilots. Compared to a fly-barred set up, the fly-bar-less kits are a no brainer. You're not correcting as much... FBL is so much more stable. Your heli stays on a line... you can literally hands off hover once you trim it... forget interactions... and you fly longer. Yeah sure, the initial outlay is substantial, but that's going to go away as soon as more companies enter this market. The money you save in parts alone will pay for this system. I wish I had one from the beginning, or at least after my first build.

Years from now will be the old dudes saying "Remember the Flybar? What a b*tch that head was to set up!"

@elk,
check out the outrage head for the 600 too. It looks pretty sweet, and it looks less like a brick with blade grips Though the I'm not sure I'd trade the RJX out. Known vs. Unknown ... that kind of thing.

[McKrackin]

Crap....Must.....resist.....broke.........got......plastic......uuuhhhgggg......

[McKrackin]

What I really want to know before sinking more money in it is this......

A hands free hover is not always a good thing.
Like a Helicommand.It will hover hands free for sure but makes your flying look bad.It's always jerking the heli around.

If I bring the heli to a level hover,sure,I want it to hover hands free,but if I tilt it 10 degrees to the right,I want it to stay tilted if I let it go.Does the 3G leave it in whatever orientation you put it in or does it try to keep it level?

I want control of the heli.Am I making sense?

[Doozer]

There is auto correcting like a heading hold gyro, but to tell ya the truth I've haven't noticed the corrections. The corrections are extremely subtle. Much like your gyro in HH mode, the 3G auto corrects the swash in the opposite direction. So your swash will stay perpendicular to the main shaft. With your gyro HH mode, if your gain is too high you get "wag." With the 3G you get "wobble." You just dial back the gain.

I've had this system on two helis now, and I think it's a better fit on the larger helis. This system on the 250 comes off a little disconnected... by comparison. Don't get me wrong, I think it improved the flight and speed of the 250. I'm just saying by comparison the 3G enhances the 600 more than the 250.

If you're going to get the 3G, try to get the electronics only. I'm not a fan of the Align FBL head. There aren't many options beyond the Microheli head for the 250, but once you start stepping up in size your head options broaden. Plus, right now, you can't get head parts for the Align head.

[McKrackin]

Thank ya sir....

[elkmaster01]

Well,,,I just had to get the 600 3G when I found a deal for $348 with blades and free shipping,,,,I HAD TOO! LOL

Ernie,,,the 3G is just like a HH gyro for all axis. Just as you turn the tail and gyro centers,,,(it doesn't got back to original heading),,,the swash does the same. Doozer can verify,,,,when you tilt the heli the swash will correct the opposite way,,,,but once the tilt stops,,,the swash will go back to level even when the heli is still tilted. So yes,,,you have complete control at all times,,the 3G just smoothes out all the turbulance.

I love it!! Way easier to fly,,,I ain't going back!

Wait,,,I just said the same thing Doozer said,,LOL.

Only thing I can add Ernie,,,,you do not notice the 3g system at all
except for the heli is more stable and has more power.