RC Heli in Korea

   Well, it was finally clear today for about 3 hours. I spent all but 10 minutes of it in the air. The hadn’t come since last night and the wind had finally died down. I brought my heli to work today in the hopes of maybe moving a class to another time so that I can fly. It has been hard latelynot being able to fly, so in the hopes of maybe a chance to, I took my GL 450 to work.

   A student called in sick. Great! No worries about not covering a class then or at another time!

   Took out the heli to the back parking lot where there is more space to hover high and maybe do some flying about. I had forgot to check the screws in my excitement. I had put it off the last time I took her hovering. Well, I paid for it. After flying around and feeling good about myself, the battery had started to lose its power, so I brought her in. As I was coming in, a blade started acting funny! It seemed to have grown longer! Magic? Nope, a loose screw had that up its sleeve for me. About a foot high, I was scared that it would do the funky chicken on the pavement.  I hit the throttle hold. Almost saved her, but alas… a side strike. One blade had been demolished and the other was scarred for life. Threw them in the bin immediately. Kinda frustrated that I didn’t do a checkup.

   One of the blade grips moved when pulled. After closer examination, the threadlock had come loose and the side strike had bent the grip shaft… I think that is what it’s called, but don’t quote me…..! Ah-Ha! It was the feathering shaft. Got it!

 Here, look for yourself…..

 

   Well… the moral of this story is what Mr. Mazakari has been saying all along….” Check your screws for threadlock!”

   Will do sir!

   Well, after days of rain, we finally got some sun in this morning. It has been raining here in the afternoons and evenings for the past several days. When I got up this morning to hit the loo, I saw the sun shining. Looked out and there was very little wind, too! Awesome! Now I get to test out the 3D metal skids on my GL 450.

   Since the rain and work had kept me from flying, I was reduced to practicing in the parking garage. Practicing in such close quarters keeps your fingers honest. I am now able to weave in and out of cars.

   Now, taking it outside was something new altogether. I think I got used to being in tight spaces, so when I was in open ground, I was like…. “duh”….. “oh no!”….. “what the heck?!” I couldn’t hold her steady with all this space!

   So I went around to the back of the apartment where the space was more limited, then “BAM!” I was able to control her with ease. I was able to get very close to hedges and parking limiters….. check it out.

   Then, I was living dangerously. I figured what the heck. Might as well do some damage by practicing something that shouldn’t be done. I have extra cash for some spares….      :-O   Come on David, tread that water without getting her wet!

 

   After using up 2 battery packs, I decided to walk or hover her in close to the entrance of my apartment building. Mine is the one behind the one in the picture. The one in the picture has 18 floors. Mine has 21. Tall, arent’ they?

   On the way in around the apartment in the picture, I took her a bit further away from me. The sun, after many days in the gloomy rain, must have affected my depth perception. I trimmed the hedges similar to the ones in the picks. Lopped the tops right off of a set! The heli fell and rolled over to the side and fell down, but no damage! The drop was about 2 feet. Not even a scratch on the canopy! After checking to make things were ok and testing the swash and pitches, I hovered her into the entrance.

   I don’t know if I was happy or sad that it didn’t crash. Weird huh? I guess that with all the rain, I did about as much playing around on the sim and upgrading my helis as could. I am bored. I need to fly in an open field and push my abilities to its limits! Plus, the wife has the car and I can’t go to an open field. That is why I stayed around the apartments.

   I wanted to check the skids today and that is what I did. They did very well as opposed to the nylon/plastic ones that come stock. There was less bounce than the stock ones. On the landing, it was smooth. Like I was landing on wet cardboard. I was pleasantly surprised. Worth the 20 bucks in my opinion. Plus, they look damn good.

   By the way… that isn’t a fat lip I have. It’s a big wad of Skoal.

   The pics were taken by a neighbor washing his car…………

   I ordered the Honey Bee King II the other day and it arrived right in the middle of class. The kids went nuts! They were so amazed at seeing a heli of that size. Little do they know….. about as much as I do about helis!

   Took it out to the parking lot and flew it around. Wow. I was amazed at the responsiveness that the King II displayed. It only cost me 200 USD, but it was worth it. Now, I get to upgrade the King II. What fun this hobby is! I was much less frightened of this heli than the GL 450, so I took it up and flew it around. I am thinking that if I can do this with the King II, I can do it with the GL 450 and not have it blow around in the wind like the King II.

   I have the spares to fix up my GL, so….. I will take it up. Now, if it will only stop raining when I am off work. Murphy’s Law seems to be at work here keeping me from flying my GL.

   After hovering with the GL 450 for about 15 minutes the day before, all I could think about was taking that thing out for a spin. I started the GL up and it sounded sooooo…… sweet. I was able to take it up to about a meter off the ground and walk it like a dog. I was too scared to fly it nose in or any kind of figure eights.

   This thing kicks up all kinds of dust. I think I could use it to blow leaves in the fall! I keep calling this heli “thing” cause it still scares me to death. It definitely demands a lot of respect. Confidence is almost back to zero, but I think that this phase will pass rather quickly…….

   So, after a month of flying, or a total of 15 hours or so, I was ready to get myself a bigger heli. After countless searches on the best deals and whatnot, I found a place called HiHobby. It is much closer to my home, but situated in the country and run out of a container box, albeit a big one. Wasn’t really sure if I should buy anything from this place when I first saw it, but can’t judge a book by its covers.

   Went inside and found an open area for hovering and a big wooden cable spool tilted on its side for a makeshift table. There was someone in there repairing his Blackhawk 500. Man, that thing looked nice!

   After talking to the owner for a while, I found out that the GL 450’s and the TRex 450’s were identical. Cheaper, stronger, and cheaper. He flew his GL for me then his TRex. I couldn’t tell the difference. They both performed 3D acrobatics very well. I am surprised that he doesn’t compete! Anyways, I was sold. A couple hundred dollars less and with the same components inside……

   He brought out 2 versions, the ”C” and the “D”. The D version has its motor mounted underside and the servos are placed differently than the C. The C has its motor on the top. I got the C. No reason. Just got it. It took me about 3 hours putting Loctite on the screws, mounting the servos and motor, attaching and running the ESC, the gyro, and gauging the pitch of the blades. The main rotor gear comes all preassembled.

   More places should be like this. I find this place to be as friendly and helpful as this site. The good thing about his operation here is that anyone can come and do repairs or upgrades without the fear of having to leave. Plus, the owner helps when you are stuck and have a million questions and he can trim the heli for you before you fly it.

   He mainly sells the GL 450. He can get the TRex’s, but is very limited on what he sells. Not as much a selection as other places, but he isn’t in it all for the money. The return customers and knowledge that he is helping others and not just selling is a highpoint. He definitely backs what he sells.

   Well, after several more sessions of crashing and replacing parts… God knows how much I have spent on that thing, I was ready for something bigger. I don’t have the full confidence to do a nose in landing or a full figure eight, but that will come with time. I haven’t had time lately to practice due to the work load.

   Today, I am going to start looking on the internet for a TRex 450. More expensive I know, but I don’t care. I want something bigger. I am fully hooked.

   I found a place that sells GL 450’s. These look awesome… and cheaper than the TRex. So, I think I will check them out.

   OK. Took the day off from work cause I can do that! I am so glad that I have my own little business.

   Today, I took my HB FP out from underground and went outside. Before that, I made sure that I was confident enough to fly this thing outside and control it. So, I took it for a spin one more time underground. I was able to fly the HB forwards and control it from afar. Then, I was able to bring it back tail in and pause as I turned it midair and banked right and went forward. OK. I was ready.

   Wow. What a difference a change of scenery makes. Not for the good. Being able to fly it in close quarters and now having this space in front of me threw my abilities into the fan. For some strange reason, my brain couldn’t register the open space with what I had learned. I had to relearn almost everything.

   Well, after one battery pack, that panic session was over. I was able to make slow figure eights at a 45 degree angle. Boy, was I having fun. Felt like a kid all over again. I flew the HB around till the packs were spent then went upstairs to recharge. After recharging and reading about helicopter lift on the net, it was time to get back at it.

   This time, I wanted to do nose in. I know practice makes perfect, but this was rediculous. Why can’t the brain go into flip mode when the heli is in nose in position?

CRASH! Time for more repairs….. this went on for about 4 hours. Finally I got tired of repairing and decided to take a nap………

   The wife wasn’t too keen on me starting this new hobby. She knew that it would cost me a bundle, as it already has, but she is very supportive.

   This day, she has helped me place orders for the HB FP from 3 different sites here in Korea. Orders from abroad would take too long. Besides, the HB FP spares are cheap enough. The reason why she helped me was that since I am technically a foreigner, I cannot seem to order anything online. My resident alien number won’t work in the websites!

   Anyways, I have ordered a hundred dollars worth of spares. This should last me long enough for me to get the hang of it. I am able to tail in and keep it relatively straight in hover, but any head speed that veers to the right or left seems make my fingers go stupid!

   Well, since this was a work week, the only time I had to fly the Honey Bee was after work. I get off at different times at every night. After work, there is taking care of baby. After giving him a bath and putting him to sleep, the time is usually about 12 or 1 am. I take my Honey Bee down to the parking garage and start flying there.

   I can’t fly out at night not because of the lack of light, but the noise the heli makes. So, the parking garage is perfect. No wind and no one telling me to be quiet.

   After 4 battery packs and not crashing, I decide one more pack and I will call it a night…. well, I didn’t have any more battery packs! In the first minute, I tried the nose in approach and went the wrong way.

   Back to the store for more parts….wait, I can order from the internet!

   Well, after getting the Honey Bee FP home, all I wanted was to hover that thing as well as the guy at the hobby shop. I know this is easy, but how in the heck did he do it? Should I put on the training gear? Nope. I will go about it the hard way. Crash, die, whatever may come, I will learn to hover this thing on my own!

   2 hours later and many failed attempts at getting it just 2 feet in the air, I needed spares. A rotor head, blades, and a landing skid…. or two.

   Well, back to the hobby shop the following day for spares. Stupid me. I bought only one extra set for the parts that were broken. Didn’t even think about what I would need for the next crash. I just wanted to fly that thing….again and again.