Back to normal?

Got in 4 packs on the new Goblin 500, and 4 on the X5 today.  Felt like being back to almost normal.  The Gobby behaved well and I really like having it back in the fleet.  The X5 felt the same as usual.  Re the Gobby, I lowered the throttle curve a couple points in IU2, and the batteries read perhaps a smidge less drainage at 3.78V or so.  Performance change?  Unnoticeable.

She's back!

The Gobby 500 is back in fine form.  My new Quantum 4120-1200kv motor came on Monday after ordering Friday night!  Got it installed last night, and took the Goblin through 4 full packs today for lots of fun flying.  Did some flips already and stall turns, but no inverted yet.  Seems as good as ever, just slightly different on the left stick due to the increased motor pulley from 18T to 19T.  Motor seems to come down hotter, and the batteries now consistently check out at about 3.75-3.80V instead of 3.82V per cell after each flight of 4.5 minutes.

Flew the Gaui X5 for two packs, and with the stock formula canopy back on, after repairs due to the crash a few months back.

Dum Dum

Went to fly on Saturday with the Giles and Apache.  When I went to assemble the Giles at the field, I had the wrong wing tube...the Yak tube instead.  Dum dum!  So I flew the Apache about 30 minutes and it was too early to have thermals.

Today/Sunday I made sure I had the right tube.  Got in two nice flights with the Giles.  Such a good flying plane and powerhouse engine!  Too bad the pitts style muffler came loose again so I had to stop flying after two full flights.  I again flew the Apache perhaps 15 minutes, and again it was too early to have thermals.  Got my exercise though, lol.

Update on 08/25/2014:  I removed the muffler bolts, cleaned them and the holes with alcohol, then retightened with red threadlocker.  Hopefully that stops all three bolts from ever moving again..

Less than stellar

Tried my new Goblin 500 again today.  While it flew fine, the motor started to make a small squeal.  I think the bent motor housing is more than a cosmetic issue, so I will replace the motor.  No vibes due to the motor though, and the heli will be great when I get the new motor.  Later in the day, I ordered a new identical motor from RCDepot with 10% off sale, so it is $126.  After flying the Gobby, I ran 5 packs though the X5.  Not feeling very confident lately, but I made sure to get the stick time and try the usual things.

Goblin 500 Dragon maiden day!

I maidened the new Goblin 500 that replaces the Pulse edition that dirt napped a couple weeks ago due to the failed swash  plate.  The new one has the colorful dragon canopy, tail boom, and skids.  Looks very colorful!  The new gobby has other mods as well:  Lynx swash plate so I don't have the same failure again, Lynx tail stiffener, aluminum LG braces, Lynx HD main gear (survived crash in Pulse edition fine) , and a 19T "pinion" motor pulley.   The maiden went good enough, but was one flight only.  On landing I checked things over and found the motor housing had slipped open, meaning I had not fully engaged the c clip during reassembly.  Got it home and opened her up, and removed a thin shim from the Quantum motor shaft.   Now the c clip engages well, and the housing will not slip open again.  Looking forward to more flights!

I flew 4 packs through the X5 today too.

Heli of a day!

Sunday was cousin Ron's last full day in Oregon and therefore the last day to fly.  Great that my three sons joined Ron and me, and quang was there to boot.  We all flew Helis!  Add to that the battlewings and we had a blast and came home tired.  I only took three flights on the X5, but had several on the battlewings.  I was very content to watch and enjoy the others presence.   Sandy was a sweetheart, coming to watch us fly, and bringing spam musubi, grapes, and carrots for a light snack for us...even quang enjoyed the spam musubi.

Crazy Jeremy jumping OVER the helis!

450FBL, 450DFC, Warp360, Logo480, X5, G500, G500, 7HV, G700

Helis and pilots, too bad Jer is on other side of camera!

Flying kung fu masters!
Actually I was just clicking my heels, and
Tad was doing a flying kick.

Everyone got some good kills with the Battlewings today.  Lots of broken props and lost o ring prop savers, haha.   I think we get pretty noisy and raucous with the crazy Battlewings sessions, what a rush!  Ron gifted us with the three Battlewings and 27(!) batteries for them, as well as spare props and o rings.  Such a generous guy.  Other members have taken interest due to seeing us fly and making so much noise and excitement, lol, so a couple have already bought different wings.  Unfortunately those are too large, heavy, or fast to fly with ours.  While they would like to fly with us, we will not do so due to the uneven match should their wings hit our small ones.    It was great to hear that Quang ordered a couple of the Battlewings to do aerial combat with us.  Gonna be real mayhem with 4 of them in the air at once.  I can hardly wait!

Sad to see Jer crash the Warp 360 today.  He lost orientation doing piro flips facing the sun, and a little low.  While he gained control, he lost it again and hit the throttle hold button, and in she went.  Damage doesn't look too bad...new main and tail blades and tail blade grips.  He already has blades so it could be a cheap repair!

First annual (?) KRCA electric funfly

Dick Smith hosted our first all electric funfly today and it was good fun for everyone!  Seven pilots participated including Tad and cousin Ron who is visiting from San Jose.  The object was to complete three simple flights to earn cards, combined with a cut card for the CD/dealer and another card drawn by each contestant to determine his flight time for a couple tasks.  All pilots successfully earned five card hands for draw poker.   Best hand was held by Ron with a pair of jacks!   I was next best with AK10, just bettering Tad's AK8!  Next came Quang, followed by Steven, Ken, and Ashton.  Ron won $20 and chose 6 minute epoxy from available prizes (which he gave to me later) I won $10 then chose an orange receiver, and tad got $5 and selected the best prize...a mini-vapor indoor plane, with the intent to gift it to Alex.  Good fun funfly, just a shame only 7 guys entered!

Oh btw, Tad and I both flew my Star today, and Ron flew his Addiction.   Also got a single flight on the X5 after the funfly.

Flight log: 08/12-15/2014

Ok, forgot to log my daily flights and now I forget what happened.  San, Ron, al, and I went to Spirit Mountain on Monday, which is about all I remember for sure.   Flew on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Ron.  Al came everyday except Thursday.   I think he is as hooked as me on flying combat with the Battlewings that Ron brought, and is gifting to us  along with all the battery packs (27) and extra props and o ring keepers.

We flew Battlewings everyday with all 3 in combat, save Thursday when Ron and I pretty much just practiced flying low and slow.  Alex must be a good pilot because he seems to be involved in most hits.   He seems to be able to come from behind and underneath to get most of his kills.   I am learning to not stay ahead of him and smooth for long before just getting out of the way and trying to get behind him.  Today I got at least one good kill on him, but we both were low and flopped flat to the ground about 15 feet apart, lol.  Crazy fun planes and event.

I know I got in 3 packs on the x5 today, most days about the same 3 or 4 packs.  Took the star several times to be comfortable using it tomorrow in the electric funfly event.  Should be good enough to play.

Alex has flown  the 450 dfc everyday, preferring it over the 450 fbl.  He is showing off and trying to fly backwards often!   Gives me the yikes.  Also has flown the star, and of course the Battlewings with great zeal and delight.   I consider it a "live" video game and thus so attractive to Alex.   Al is another good Young family RC pilot!

Ron has flown the 7hv for two packs just about everyday, the goblin 500 about the same, and the logo 480 a little less.   The 7hv seems to be dialed in pretty well, with only a slight tail wag at times.   The logo is being more of a challenge with its more visible and frequent wag.  Fortunately both can still be flown and enjoyed as he works out the issues.  Ron is flying his Helis well...very focused on smoothness and deliberate control in all attitudes.   Doing well, and his nose in funnels are looking good!  He has also been taking out the Addiction  XL almost everyday.   I have flown it a couple full flights and really like it....might have to get one or the mid size one.

Flight log: Aug 8-10, 2014

Time flies when cousin Ron visits and we fly, fly, fly!  I sorta forget what really happened.  Ron brought a truckload of his helis and planes to Salem, from his home in San Jose.  Arrived Thurs afternoon, and we flew the mornings of Fri, Sat, and Sun.

On Friday, Tad, Ron, and I flew.  Besides flying my X5 a few packs, and Factor 3D, I flew a handful of flights of the Battlewings.  Ron brought 3 of them, one for Tad, Jer, and me/Alex, and he brought 27 battery packs!  Crazy fun but this was the first day of flying them and getting used to them.  Tad flew his G500 and G700 both with not a brownout, so hopefully these helis are cured for good.  Both flew nice and Tad is just impressive and smooth.  Ron flew his Logo 480 and Compass 7hv.  The Logo had a definite tail wag, the 7hv not so noticeable.  He also flew his Addiction XL and jet.  Of course Tad and Ron flew the Battlewings with me.

I broke this one on a horrible  launch!

Attentive BW pilots

Action!

On Saturday, Jer and Al came to fly with us, and Tad had to work.   I got in a couple packs on the X5, and a couple more on the Star, plus another handful of Battlewing flurries with Ron, Alex, and Jeremy.  Ron's big Addiction was again impressive, and Jer got to sample it with positive compliments afterwards.  Jer had two flights on the Warp 360.  On startup of the third pack, one cyclic failed and luckily he was not off the ground, so no damage.  Alex flew the Star, and had one flight in the wind with the 450 FBL.  He was not too happy with the wind so did not fly it again.   Ron had fun with his Addiction and G500, but did not get to fly the 7hv.  Too much going on!

Today Ron, Jer , Al and I went out again.  Weather was better...not as windy as Fri and Sat.  I got in 4 packs on the X5.  Ron flew his Addiction XL again...very sweet flying and looking plane.  He also got his 7hv up for two flights.  Higher head speed after Fri is now helping reduce the tail wag...this heli looks great in the air, sounds good, flies nice.  Jer fixed the Warp 360 issue yesterday afternoon...the iKon "forgot" one cyclic servo and he programmed it in again.  The heli was pretty awesome again today, for 6 packs!  (He had 3, and Ron gave him another 3 this trip.)  I think Alex flew the Star 3 times today, with good proficiency all the time.

We had a real ball of fun flying the Battlewings.  Everyone scored hits on each other with no permanent damage.  In fact I think everyone recovered after hits, and never hit the ground due to a hit.  Probably Jer scored the most hits in the later sessions that we flew...we had 27 packs, 9 each, therefore 9 sessions.  While Ron handlaunched all of us for the first 5 sessions or so, we all got the hang of hand launching our own wings after that.  We all made some hand catches too.  Unfortunately I had the most crashes due to pilot error, probably 3, all on the last flight I think!  Really good fun, and I think other members watching are getting enthused to try these with us.

Flight log: 08/06/2014

I flew my two 450 helis today, along with the Factor 3D and Apache DLG.  All went well.  The helis were pleasantly easier to fly than usual, and I think I am just getting better with more and more stick time.  The bigger helis are easier to fly, and I was surprised the little ones were not as squirrely as I tend to complain about.  Flew the FBL twice and the DFC twice.  The FBL is smoother but the DFC is very acceptable.  I was able to flip them and loop them both easily.  Never lost orientation with them today.

The Factor flew better owing in all likelihood to additional 1/2oz of nose weight, and more expo dialed into the ailerons, elevator, and rudder.  It was still easy to hover though. Ran 4 packs through it today.

The Apache flew fine but I did not find any big thermals.  I found some small ones but never rode them more than about a 100' high.  On the best one, the mower was approaching, so I left the area and lost the lift.

Quang arrived after I had several flights on the Factor and 450's.  I got to see his new Toyota RAV!  Very pretty car in dark grey metallic.  Anyway, he brought his Goblin 500, and I told him about my catastrophy with the swashplate.  So we checked the swash on his and found it is the old design with one retainer screw on the ring.  Further inspection showed the assembly sitting slightly cockeyed in the ring, but Quang took a flight anyhow, crazy guy.  He had a great flight but stated that while inverted the heli tends to drift to the tail.  Anyway, I surmised maybe the loose swash is the cause, and it sounds like he will get a new swash since his is coming apart, and it just might correct that inverted drift.  Hope I saved him his heli!

Toast

The Goblin 500 took a major dirt nap Sunday morning!  I had 3.5 great flights through it, and was on the 4th pack when it happened.  Flying towards me about 100 feet out and 30 feet high, the Gobby took a sudden pitch down and also dropped fast.  I tried up elevator and higher throttle to no avail. In just another second, it continued to pitch more and more nose down and might have been about 60 degrees nose down when it hit terra firma.  Not a pretty sight.  Tacoed the battery pack.  Came home and did an assessment of the damage, and so far it is about $350.  It would be higher than $400 but I already have a canopy replacement received as a Christmas gift from Tad and Becky.  Surprisingly the boom and all tail parts seem undamaged.  Pics to follow when I extract them from my cell phone and iPad later.

Taco supreme!

Oh, Tad and I autopsied the remains and our guess is the swash plate ring failed, causing an unavoidable catastrophe.  I researched HeliFreak last night and found many threads about the stock swash plate failing.  Too bad I did not know about it before the crash!  Oh well, let's move forward with a repair, and rise of the phoenix.

Ready for autopsy at home.
Surprisingly no damage to boom and tail!

Dirt in the motor.

Busted swash ring

Bent blade holder and spindle, maybe main shaft too.

Lots of canopy damage elsewhere too.

Both blades damaged enough to be unusable.

Right main frame and battery holder cracked.
LG and braces undamaged!

 I flew the Gaui X5 twice after the Gobby crash, and it was fine, so I ruled out (generally) the transmitter as being the cause of the Gobby demise.  Also had 3 flights with the Sbach 342, all very crisp.  Had actually another flight which ended in deadstick at the end of a long double spin.  The engine died when I reversed the spin direction half way down.  Made a safe landing on the sod grass just off the runway to be safe.  Increased the idle by a few clicks for subsequent flights.

Just 4

Got in 4 packs on the Gaui X5 after the club challenge event.  Good sun, light wind, warm, fun.

Placed 4th in the club challenge qualifier event using my Star.  That is out of 7 guys.  Couldn't keep track of my time in the air well today.  I think my total is 57 seconds after 3 flights.  That is an average of being 19 seconds short of the 2 minute 14 second target time for each flight.  I flew fine, all good in that department.  Just could not get the flight times closer!  Dick is first with lowest time of just 29 seconds off.  And he says he doesn't even count in his head, just comes down when it feels right, lol.  I am a dolt.  I expected to be within 10 seconds each flight.

Maximus Augustus

Well, with that title, I am trying to get across the fact that I charged all my batteries and then actually used them all at the field today...that is 18 packs!  Flew 8 through the Star in prep for tomorrow's funfly, then 4 through the Goblin 500, and finally 6 through the Gaui X5.  I now have 10 batteries that can be used in the Gobby and the X5.  I had 6 originally, got another 4 used from Anthony.  Then one of mine got damaged in the X5 crash a couple months ago.  And last week Tad gave me one of his which had a low cell in it.  I cycled that one four or five times at different rates of discharge and balance charge, and it seems to be ok now, with the low cell equal to the others before and after use and charge.  Just used it in the heli for the first time today, and it was fine.

I am exhausted after using 18 packs.  Let's see 18 x 4.5 minutes per pack is 81 minutes of flight time.  That is conservative since my timer goes off at 4.5 and then it takes 15-30 seconds to descend and land.  Great day of flying with only Ashton for company a little while.