mini pred uncontrolable body spin

[steve47]

hi,im after some advice which hopefully someone can help me with.ive got a mini pred 3d,all was going great till i crashed.i fitted new blades and everything else looks fine.when i now take off the whole body spins round,there isnt enough trim to counter act it.is this adjustable with the gain control on the gyro or am i missing something.any help will be gratefully recieved.thank you.is it me or is it just not worth putting instructions in the heli box,they are completely useless and offer no help what so ever.sorry to ramble on.thanks

[hawkman]

Hi there, the problem could well be the gyro 'sense' is reversed...check the gyro..this is the small box mounted above the battery...there is a switch with 'rev' and 'nor'? I have the same heli anyway.

What the gyro is doing, by the sound of it, is that its detecting the swing but its giving the wrong correction..and this will make the tail swing around nice and fast.

Make sure to switch the sense....and make sure to not move the heli at all when you first connect the power...the gyro needs to sense where its pointing.

Advice...seeing as you dont have instructions?

Always switch the radio on FIRST before connecting the battery on the heli...if you dont the heli can easily start up and hurt you and/or destroy itself.

when flying about...once the power starts to fade...LAND the sucker and let the battery cool for a few minutes...then recharge...if the charger is the same heap of crap as I had then it wont have any LEDs so you need to charge for about 3 hrs...BE careful with this...and dont leave it alone...at least place the battery on a fireproof surface...not scaring you but its better to be safe.

If the radio battery starts to show a low reading...DONT fly...change the batterys..the heli WILL crash otherwise.

Make a training hoop for the heli...use light plastic tubing....aim to make a hoop about the same diameter as the rotor...use kebab skewers or something to tie onto the hoop...and then lash this to the skids using elastic bands...you will have a much better training aid which wont bother the heli at all. I use a hoop...much larger...on my Petrol heli...very handy for testing a gyro. It saves the hassle of the heli suddenly ending up on its side if something goes wrong...so make a hoop...very handy.

You might suffer from glitches with the heli and its radio gear...they are notorious for this.

I got fed up with mine doing this...and dont bother flying it anymore...got a Trex 450 instead. This still had issues with glitches...2.4ghz radio gear doesnt suffer from glitches like this...its to do with the motor and ESC dishing out all sorts of 'noise'

Flying...I dont know your level...but if you are learning...just take it easy..and concentrate on the hover for now...dont get carried away.

Other than that? I found the Mini Pred flys well...its quite forgiving from my experience...but for its price? the makers claim it 'rivals the Trex 450' a bold and silly statement.

It depends on what you want to do? if you are convinced the hobby is going to grow on you then you will outgrow the MiniPred for sure...but whatever happens I would enjoy it for what it is..its a useful introduction to collective pitch type rc helis.

Rob

[BABY HUEY]

Check the tail drive!
Sounds like something is slipping. You may have a gear slipping on a shaft if you had a tail strike.
Other than that Hawkman pretty much covered everything.

Fly happy! DIe broke!

[steve47]

hi ,
thanks for your replys,they were very helpfull.i went through all
the bits you both said and still no joy so i took it back to the shop
and the guy flew it with no problems.i couldnt belive it.we started running through the radio controls and i discovered i had it on the wrong setting,on the top of the radio is a switch,headlock and normal,i put it on normal which apparently turns the gyro off???sorry,enough of my rubbish.weather not too
good this weekend so a bit of indoor blade action.cheers

[hawkman]

Ah!! good point about the radio gyro mode switch...the gyro needs to be in Heading Lock when you connect the power...dont move the heli for the first few seconds either...the gyro will be sorting itself out in that time.

A good routine is when the power is connected...Always switch the radio on FIRST..and switch off LAST...otherwise the heli could start up and get broken...or fly into your face

So be careful.

Another good point is before you power the motor up to fly...just wiggle the sticks and see that the cyclic works...wiggle the tail control too...make sure the gyro hasnt taken a sulk and locked itself up...happened to me once with a Trex 450...I lifted off and did a quick piroutte before it hit the deck.

Make sure to check all nuts and bolts...check the whole thing over...watch for loose wires...they can get chafed very quickly and then fail.

Rob

[steve47]

hi rob,im starting to get the hang of it now,its quite alot to take in for a newbie.now all i have to do is fly the damn thing,was hovering nicely
yesterday,it went a bit high so i panicked and cut the power.it hit the ground,a leg of the training gear popped out,smashed the blades and bent
the feathering bar it is quite fun rebuilding though.not as bad as my boss,he bought his one.set it up in the lounge,didnt read the instructions.wondered what the 3d switch did it went totally ballistic.smashed itself to pieces on the ceiling while he hid behind the sofa.
a lesson to be learned.steve

[hawkman]

Yes it can be fun and games, imagine those capers with a larger model

They are a hard thing to learn to fly, planes are harder still in some ways...once you take off you are committed to doing a circuit and then landing the thing...most who take off without any help, smash the model within seconds.

The good thing about the helicopter is that you can hover...and do little hops...and just get used to how the controls work.

I think its silly of these companys to see these bargain helis that are '3D ready'...its crazy.

These switches should be disabled and clearly marked as such....these little helis might seem cute but they can give some nasty cuts.

Have you got a simulator?

Rob

[steve47]

hello mate,i did get a simulator with it,it doesnt seem that good.i agree
with what you say,they can be bloody dangerous.ive never seen a big one
in the air but i can imagine.i will just have to keep practising and keep my
wallet open practice makes perfect i suppose.steve