BCX Drifts, please help!

[blue_corsair]

Hiya everyone,
I really hate to bother you guys with the same old questions but I have searched quite a bit and cannot find the exact answers I need so please help if you don't mind, it really will be greatly appreciated, I promise!

1. Heli slowly rotates to the right, did as manual said and put rudder trim to full left, no good, did as manual said and turned the POT to left, still same results, bought new 4-n-1, same results! Can keep it straight by using the rudder stick, but was under the impression that wasnt needed with the dual rotor heli, just need to know if this is ok or not, and if not what do you suggest?

2. the heli drifts around, well, kinda all over the place , do not know if it due to the rudder problem or not, would that affect it? it mostly drifts left as soon as it starts to lift, the heli is controllable, sorta, considering my experience, which is nil , but it is controllabe in like a 15 foot range, I cannot make it stay in a 5 foot area for very long, like about 5 seconds,*cough*

3. would tinkering with the pushrods help? does the little linkage on the stabilizer Flybar have any effect on the problems mentioned?
I know that I need a LOT more paractice , but from some of the posts I have read it seems like maybe I have a bad heli?? I bet it is just me but just wanted to ask you guys what you thought...I am kinda forced to do this on my own, the LHS ppl are more into cars than flying machines , no help there, no one knows of a heli club either around here... so..ya'll are my only hope, help me Obi Wan...oops, sry, spaced out there for a second
Anyhoo, any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou and have fun,
Blue

[hawkman]

The flybar linkage might need adjustment.....is the heli a blade CX or something like that....one rotor above the other?

The flybar puts in corrective actions for the top rotor....it corrects and stabilises the cyclic range of the rotor....´gyroscopic precession´is the correct term.....as the flybar dips and a particular point...the rotor copys the action 90 degrees later.....I wont bore you with the details...only starting to understand them myself....but do make small adjustments and see how things pan out.

You should end up with a heli that hovers well enough.....the rudder correction....hmmm.....You might need to switch the heli off THEN make the pot adjustment....switch on again and go fly.

What make is the heli?

Rob

[blue_corsair]

Hiya Rob,
Thankyou for answering!
It is an E-flite BCX dual Rotor, one above the other, no tali rotor.
Let me get this in here first so if any one else answers this will save some time.
Maybe I just needed to rest, and the heli too, lol. Got up this morning early after going to bed very disheartened , thinking that maybe this wasn't going to work out between me and helicopters, but was going to give it the ol' college try once again, checked it all out, (like I know what to look for, hehe), decided to take in the flybar linkage one complete turn (what do I have to lose?) it is a little windy so put it in middle of kitchen floor (very small kitchen), cross my fingers and pucker up because I got less than five feet across between sink and stainless steel fridge,*ouch* ...........
and what do you know!!!???!!! it stayed pretty dang straight! hardly any turn to the right at all! I actually hovered it in a very small area for several 5-10 seconds flights!! it kinda drifts around a little but that might be my heavy thumbs? I feel sooo much better now, I realize and accept it takes an overabundance of patiance, that is cool, I just was afraid that something was wrong. I do know enough to know that no matter how hard you try, if the machine isn't working right you won't learn anything. Apparently it just needs some fine tuning (which I need to learn on my own, no help around where I live) and lots more practice on my part.
Anyway, I just accomplished more in 5 minutes of flight in a tiny kitchen this morning than I have in the whole time I have been trying to fly in a fairly large yard, total air time..maybe an hour, which is nothing, I understand that, but ya gotta understand it never behaved right, so it was very frustrating to me. I think I am on my way to learning to fly now..maybe, hopefully. It still drifts around a little but maybe it is just me.
Again, thx for answering and the good advice,
Be good,
Blue

[hawkman]

We live and learn...its that simple....I struggle like hell wit hsome stuff and ask a question...and bang....its answered in a good ol common sense way

This site honestly kicks butt compared to others where no one has much time for newcomers...or otherwise....such an approach is pure stupidity.

The aim is to encourage people...and share knowledge.


Be real careful with your heli in confined spaces...you might have noticed that the aircurrents sweeping around a confined space can mess things up....dont get too close to walls or other vertical surfaces...the heli will suddenly get sucked towards the wall....I learned the hard way

Otherwise...flying under tables and coming in to land on a pretend oil platform....coffee table.....these indoor helis are great fun....and will provide valuble airtime as the sticks need the same input as the larger helis.


Rob

[blue_corsair]

Hiya Rob,
Good to hear from you, ....AIR CURRENTS!!!! OMG, I have soo much to learn, that explains alot..I bet, I mean I bet that is why it still kinda drifts around, the air is rebounding on it from the fridge and cabinets!!!! What do you think? I mean it does great, I guess, I don't know what to expect really, but it is stable enough, then it starts going a little wild, I bet you are right and it is the air currents messing it up. Now that I think about it it does alot better outside, last night I was able to control it pretty well, even did a little nose in stuff just to see...as long as there is no wind. I dunno, sometimes I think maybe I shoulda just gone ahead and got a heli with a tail rotor, seems like alot of ppl are learning on the "real" helis...
Anyway, I am progressing, and you guys on this forum are awesome! Especially since I haven't found anyone around where I live to help me out, I have to depend on ya'll for support!
Be good and have fun,
Blue

[Aztek1701]

Hi Blue,

I'll just chuck a couple of cents worth in here too if I may

With regard to your slow turning that you cant trim out.. I have a B47 twister as does Hawkman and James, these have near enought the same mechanics and electronics as the Blade CX. I dont know about the other guys but Ive never been able to get the thing to stay straight without some rudder. It seems to be related to the battery level, when its high, it spins one way, when its lower, it spins the other way. So your best bet is to trim it as best you can and go with it . Also with a heli as light as this, it does get disturbed by air currents so much so that it can be disturbed by its own turbulence when its close to objects . Now that you know it happens, you'll learn to anticipate it

Take care... Azzy

[New-heli-pilot]

Hey Blue,

Good to see you got it working. The BCX is a great little machine to learn on. If you do take it outside though make sure it is completely still, or only has like a 1-2mph breeze. Anything more and you wont have too much control.

Also, incase you havent found out all ready, the linkages on the flybar are for tracking the upper main blades. As for the drift/rotating, dril a hole in the front of the canopy. The reason I say this, is because the drifting and spinning seems to get worse as the 4in1 gets hotter. Another thing I have heard of people doing to solve this, is carefully drilling a line of holes along the top of the 4in1. Myself, I am too chicken to try this, because I dont want to buy a new 4in1 if I drill too far.

Good luck,
John

[hawkman]

This type of heli isnt for outdoors unless its TOTALLY still....I regularly take mine along a passageway where I work....and fly it through a doorway into our Bar....with an air current coming through the door the heli really struggles to make it though.

A point worth noting is ´vortex ring state´which means that as a heli is hovering and descending....the air being blown down can come up and over the blade tips....and back through the blades again....this disturbs the air flow and the heli will drop quickly....if yo uare lucky it will just bounce on its skids.

Full size helis suffer the same problem...which is why helis usually flare when coming into land....and then descend gently....though the greater the actual windspeed the less likely the vortex problem will occur.

I had this problem with a nitro heli and couldnt understand it....the best way out of this if you do encounter this is to push the cyclic forwards and fly out of the disturbance...then set down gently...applying power/pitch will only make things worse.

Rob