I see the Airlift Northwest birds all the time. This morning I just happened to have my little Canon S110 camera nearby. The video is pretty horrid, hand-holding a ‘camera’ the size of a pack of cards set to 9x zoom will net just this sort of result.
The point? The noise. And the fact it’s a helicopter, something I’ve been fascinated by since my grandfather first took me to the Heliport (JEM) in Emeryville, CA. I think I was maybe 5 years old. I’m 99.99% certain the place is LONG gone. I can’t find any visual evidence of it anywhere, and the Lon/Lat data I get puts it out in the water. Oh well.
Following several days of research into radios, price checking, etc. etc., I’ve decided to go with the Spektrum DX6i to get my feet wet with this hobby. Spektrum DX6i Radio Control System
It meets the minimum requirements for Helis, and it’s available locally for the exact same price as it is online. Which I found really interesting, no ‘better deal’ to be had. I could go into the used market but, I don’t want to purchase anyone’s previous issues. I’d rather know it’s all new and working to maximum possible performance.
Some time around June they plan to announce US distribution of an 8 and 10 channel model. With a clear upgrade path, which I’m sure means I can use the newer radio with an older receiver and, if I decided to get further into the hobby, my old Heli can still be flown with a newer radio, as well as an older one.
Another neat aspect of the 2.4 GHz Spread Spectrum designs are that multiple radios can run in the same area and not cause problems, no cross-channel issues since the radios can bind to specific receivers and visa-versa, removing the need to fly ‘channel flags’ and have crystals on hand so you do not interfere with other people that might be flying nearby. Plus the Spektrum radios are the only ones that work with the Bind-and-Fly RTF (ready to fly) fixed-pitch trainers also locally available.
Pages I’ve read to learn about the differences in transmitters, pros and cons.
Here is a good bit of data, detailing the difference between the Spektrum DX6i (the most common recommendation I’ve heard so far) and their updated DX7. The additional features of the 7 over the 6 for Heli pilots is relevant, mainly in the CCPM mixing realm. It’s also a lot more expensive.
Heli Mixes
The Spektrum DX7 offers more cyclic/collective pitch mixing (CCPM) capabilities than the DX6i. The DX6i will operate 1 servo/90 and 2 servo/120 type swash plates. The DX7 will operate 2 servo/180, 3 servo/120, and 3 servo/90 type swash pates.
The DX7 allows you to program 3 throttle curves and 3 collective pitch curves, where as the DX6i has only 2 throttle curves and 3 collective pitch curves. Each throttle and pitch curves for both transmitters have 5 programmable points.
The heli version of the DX7 allows for up to 3 programmable mixes and the DX6i only gives you 2 programmable mixes. If you’re new to helis and need some more explanation of these features, I strongly suggest checking out this excellent RC helicopter website!
Actually, it’s more like re-learning how to fly Radio Control. In my formative years, I had a number of Radio Control cars, planes and gliders. All of them fun in their own exciting ways. One thing I’d always heard over the years, was how difficult and expensive it was to learn to fly an R/C helicopter. Which is, of course, why I’m trying to do it. I love a challenge.
Research shows that keeping the brain (and body) learning new things is the best way to combat age-related maladies of the brain. Having relied on my brain to get great jobs, and even a few times, it’s come in handing finding clever ways to get out of life threatening dangers including things from terrible car crashes to being assaulted at gunpoint. So, my brain is a pretty important thing to me. Fortunately, my work challenges me on a daily basis. I once tried to explain why I sometimes looked so tired after a long day’s work. I’d tell people to imagine taking the semester final exam in the toughest class you’ve every taken, and then do that every day, 5-days a week, 50 weeks a year.
Sure it’s challenging, but really, I’d like to find some fun ways to keep my brain active besides work. So, I’ve giving R/C helicopters a try. They have some a long way since my last adventures in R/C, some 30 years ago. They have come A LONG way. With the advances in electronics, some of the things that made R/C heli flying so dang near impossible for the mortal, are now handled via gyros and ultra-fast response servos, coupled to ultra-light weight electrical systems. Sure you can still buy big 600 and 700 class ‘gassers’, but you can buy the same big birds with high performance electric motors that never need to be tuned up, can be programmed to have very manageable torque curves, nearly infinite and repeatable power settings and of course, a lot less smoke and noise.
That said, flying a modern R/C heli is still NOT easy by any stretch of the imagination! I’ve talked to a variety of people flying them, and the advice has all been the same. Start out SMALL, with one of those indoor CR (counter-rotating blade) models. But get a decent one with a 2.4GHz radio that won’t cause you frustration due to horrible quality.
One specific model kept coming up while talking to people, the Revel Proto CX Helicopter. So I picked one up last week:
How did I get here? Well, there is, of course, a story.
It started early last month on a trip to California with my kids. While shopping at one of those California Super Malls for LEGO, The Boy was distracted by a pair of guys flying little model R/C helicopters around in the mall. He was transfixed. And really, I found it really cool too. We returned to the LEGO store.
I have a system when at the LEGO store with the kids. They have a budget to work within. If they want something in the budget, they can pick it off the shelf and we’re done. But, if it’s more than their individual budget they can lobby the other sibling to pool capitol and purchase more advanced kits.
Sometimes this happen, some times it does not. This time around it did not. In the end, he wanted a LEGO watch (of which they were out of stock). The Girl found what she wanted and we took care of that right away. Upon exit from the store, I was again urged to ‘check out’ the helicopters. I could tell he really REALLY wanted one, and with a birthday only a few weeks ahead, I caved. $40 later we were out of the mall with a bag of LEGOs and a tiny helicopter.
We attempted to fly it outside in front of my sister’s house. It was impossible. It was a windy day, and it was our first time. The helicopter spent A LOT of time spinning out of control and crashing into the ground. It was not long before all the landing gear was busted off and the once smooth rotor blades looked more like steak knives.
Upon returning home in Washington, we flew it inside the house, and much to our enjoyment, found that it flies pretty good when it’s not being subjected to wind! But it was still pretty beat up, flyable but beat up. And I can’t blame The Boy for not taking care of his new toy, I had just as much to do with busted it up as he did, if not more so. And this is how it all began.
I did not replace it right away. Those things are pricey. And I wanted to get one that would suffer a little more abuse with a little more dignity. A trip to the local hobby shop, talking to people online and in person, and a few days later I laid down some $$$ for a little trainer (the Proto CX).
Now, it’s become an addiction of sorts. Flying it all hours of the night, the television has not sat this quiet in quite some time. And that’s a good thing.
Now, today I finally found a suitable replacement for his first heli. It looks like a cool little sport kit, lots of flashing lights and some pretty sturdy landing gear. So now we have three of these little things in the house. Sometimes it’s like a little air show in the living room with little aircraft buzzing around everywhere. Pets seem pretty indifferent, which is fine with me. Less chance of one being stalked and pounced on.
So another adventure begins. Here is a really lame video of my flying this afternoon.
And finally, a neat video from a guy that actually knows how to build and fly these things. As noted in the video, the next step I was advised to take as getting a fixed-pitch heli and nailing down the general skills of multi-channel flight.
