Phoenix Sim - best bang for the buck?

Hello again dear friends...
Since in this hobby every mistake costs money, pride and frustration, I am sure that like me, many of you consider using a simulator for practice and only later try flying on the real heli...
Since I am always trying to find the best value for money I can tell you what I found regarding heli sims:

• RCheli sim free sim, good for learning orientations, but in my opinion the physics and graphic detail is not so good...still not bad for a free sim if you want to start;

• HeliX version 0.9, is the free version of the well known german sim which you can download here, the official version is 4.2, and I can say I like this free sim a lot, the physics and graphics are much improved, but of course the full version 4.2 which is about 60 euro has many extra features...I can recommend the 0.9 if you want a good free heli simulator, and additionally you can find some extra heli models on some rc forums;
• Clearview SE, this time by releasing this version, they give you the free sim but you must pay for the models you purchase...In my case I bought a set of 1 terrain and 4 helis for 2 usd each, total of 10 usd, and saved the rest up to 49 usd if I remember correctly. The graphics is acceptable, but the physics is not close to real.. For example T-rex450 helis spin with maybe 5 or 6 full 360 degrees in one second and this is far from real...The only model that was closer to reality in terms of handling was the TREX700...Of course that you can fine tune the models but is in a more difficult manner by editing some parameters which you don't really understand what they do...anyway in my opinion if you buy something it should work right away...so as a bottom line I think the Heli-x v.0.9 is better here...

And finally I decided enough frustration caused by bad physics, small number of helis and airfields to try on...I decided to buy a real sim, and I choose the Phoenix v.4 sim which is known for good heli physics, good graphics and maybe most important free future up-grades...preety cool, huh? The main competitor is the Real Flight but on this one, just understanding which version you must buy and which add-on version it works with, caused me a headache :)
The content is simple and it has a short installation guide, the version 4 DVD and most important the bundle cable, which is mainly the "key" to protect their sim against copying it...
The installation is simple, after that make sure the usb bundle is connected and the TX is on and you will be prompted for setup and calibration..After this is done, you can edit dual rates and other adjustments you need.
Just a tip: since I have a Walkera devo10 and the Phoenix comes with stereo 3.5mm Jack, but the walkera needs a mono jack, I just plugged in my universal sim cable in the tx, turn on the TX which thinks now it's in trainer mode, and replace the universal stereo jack with the phoenix mono jack with the TX on, and it works...I still plan to buy a normal stereo to mono converter but just want to let you know it can work like this also...
After I am more used to it, I might come back with a review of the sim's menu, settings, and so on...

 Below is the movie I made showing you basically the unboxing of the sim...



Likes:
+good price and free lifetime up-grades;
+good heli physics
+good overall graphics
+infinity scope, allowing to fly FPV like in a 3 d generated landscape
 Dislikes:
-considering the usb bundle is the hardware key to using the sim, the exit points of the electronic box is not perfectly tight, so I suggest putting some heat sleeve to ensure a long life of the assembly;

you can see there's quite a gap between the main wire and the rubber attached to the box

I hope you found the info useful and I really recommend using a sim, since it's easy to re-start after a crash on a sim, instead of real life, when you carry all the bits in a bag :(

Walkera Master Cp Alu box

Box size compared to the future inhabitants

Hello again,
This time, I want to share with you a small review of the 9imod Alu box for the Walkera Master CP and other similar sized helis.
First of all, I can say the quality is good, no rattling or other unwanted noises, only the keys are more just to show that work. The inside padding is also ok, and as you can see from the below pictures I had nothing to complain so far. Actually there's nothing fancy to expect, it's just a box, right?:)
Actually the spec is that it can accomodate the Master CP and any Devo compatible Tx, but I can say that you need to cut off quite a few of the padding inside the upper layer. Even like this, I really don't like that the blade of the heli is touching and putting a bit of pressure against the transmitter's antenna !....that's not good at all...Unfortunately you can't do anything to fix this, just hope that you will not drop hard the case or get a strong shock that could damage your TX(in my case a Devo 10)...

Front box view with two keys

Side view

Bottom view

Lower layer where you put the TX, for Devo 7E you get lots of room

Upper layer of padding where the heli  sits

What I like:
-light
-well built
-cheap

What I don't like:
-need to cut off the padding to accomodate bigger tx like the Devo 10
-the heli's blade pushes against the TX's antenna 

How to do parallel charging ?

Hello again.

I bet you searched this post because you are tired of waiting x minutes multiplied with the number of batteries you have…fair enough...

Same was in my case. So, let’s talk about parallel li-po charging.

First you must understand that a li-po is basically a 3.7 V nominal voltage cell, so if you have a 3 cell li-po it is 3.7Vx3cells.

The fully charged voltage, is of 4.2 V per cell, so a total of 12.6 V. The lithium –polymer(li-po) batteries can be hooked in serial or parallel configuration (for example S or P, like 3SP1 which is same as 3S)but this is something already inside the battery, so it’s just a coding for understanding it.

Normally since the li-po batteries don’t like to be left depleted it is strongly suggested not to drain more than 3.8 Volts from each cell, otherwise in time they will not last long.

Now, to the real thing: you must understand that you are responsible if something goes wrong, and I am not to be held liable for anything related to your parallel charging…

From my experience I can tell you that if you use different charged level batteries, you can have problems, personally my balanced connector melted on a small 1050 mAh battery !

so be carefull to put only same battery type and same charge state battery(not fully depleted and fully charged together).

First of all you need a good balancing charger and a good power supply, and additionally you need a balancing charger board, personally mine can charge up to 6 packs.

Since you will charge in parallel, you must keep in mind that by doing this the voltage stays the same, but the Amp power(capacity) is added for each battery you want to charge.

For example: I want to charge 3 x 2200 mAh batteries….first I check the voltage to be similar, but since I fly my 450 heli and land when the timer shows 5 minutes, they should be very similar in voltage….Then I usually connect the power plug and balance plug for each battery, and when all are connected, I plug the balancing board power socket to my charger, and lastly I plug the balancing connector to the charger. With all this in place I check again the wires and charging board for abnormally hot areas and only if all is ok, I connect the power supply to the charger. Next, I select Li-po from the menu, 11.1V and this is important, you must select the charging current as the sum of all the cells you charge, in my case 2200+2200+2200=6.6A for 1C rate. If you have really strong supply and charger, you can charge your batts at 2C capacity, meaning 13.2A, but I don’t recommend this unless your parallel charging board is really top quality, otherwise you might burn it.

So, another quick example: I want to charge my Master CP batts, which are 3s at 1050 mAh. After carefully connecting them on my parallel charging board, I select Li-po, with 11.1 V and charging current will be 1050+1050+1050 which is 3150 for a 1 C charge rate. Usually I choose 3.2A. simple, right?

Just in case you didn’t know, each Li-Po battery has a supplier recommended charge rate, and for 1C it is the battery’s capacity, for 3 C is 3 times capacity(2200 with 3C, allows me to safely charge it at 3x2200=6.6A). If you have no specification on yours just play safe and charge it at 1C, meaning charging current should equal you battery capacity.

Also the batteries have a discharge rate C value, usually between 10c to 60 C with 5 units increase. The highest the C value the more current it can give and the faster it can be depleted.

For example if you have a 10C battery and you need 20C in your heli setup, the battery will get extremely hot and possibly after doing this one time, you can throw it out the bin.

Usually for a 450 size heli it’s recommended to have a minimum 20 C battery, and if you plan really hard 3D with it, you should consider a 30 or 35 C pack.

Keep in mind again:

You are the only responsible person if something bad happens;

Only parallel charge batteries of same type(only 3s, only 4s, etc) and charge state

After connecting your batteries to the parallel charging board, check if wires, bord or batteries get hot, if not, proceed to connecting the charger;

Select same voltage as a single battery, but charging current equal to the sum of your charged batteries capacities (for example 2 each 2200mAh- select 4400mAh)

ALWAYS supervise the charging, never leave parallel charging unattended

Be safe, since li-po are quite sensitive batteries.

Below is the movie I made for a better understanding of the process.

Pffff, sorry for the long explanations, but I hope it was worth reading, and now you can say you know more about the “juice” we use in our beloved hobby.

Thanks for reading, and happy flying

Walker Master Cp - the 6 channel learning heli

Yes, finally a review about one of my favorite helis…

Actually, all I wanted was a decent transmitter for a 450 build project, and since I got a good deal with the Master CP, I bit the bullet and got my Devo10 bundled with a Master CP…I am happy I did so…

So, there are thons of infos on the Master CP, and I think it had great success so far, what else can be said?

For a start, if you are used with a 4 channel heli, or you want to start directly with the 6 channel helis, and don’t have budget for a smaller heli like Mini CP or Genius CP, then, yes, the Master CP is the way to go…It is a 250 size heli, with brushed motors(main and tail), and has a 6 axis gyro system. I’ve seen moviesself leveling, but mine doesn’t do this much, what it does on the other hand is it hovers very easy and stable.

Sometimes it is so easy, that I’m wondering if I actually learn anything by flying it, that I can use on my 450 helis...

I want to say that it is build to last: starting from the tough landing skids, strong tail boom, strong main blades-reinforced with carbon fiber, and ending with the flexible tail blade and flexible canopy, it’s all there. But since it is made so strong to handle crashes during learning, it adds also a bit on the weight side, making it less agile than a TREX-250 for example. But I would say this difference is visible only in 3D flight, normal hovering and circuits flight, they would be the same. I know many of you would say

that the comparison is wrong, because the 250 rex has a brushless motor and belt tail, but I just wanted to compare it with a similar class size heli…

Despite many owners consider a brushless up-grade, I don’t think this is necessary, since the motor is used on a 400 size walkera and it delivers enough power, without being too hot. The tail motor wears out normally faster, but walkera designed a simple replacement system, that doesn’t  require any soldering, it’s just simple to replace the tail motor. Regarding tail authority, the tail holds well, but obviously you cannot compare with a tail or torque driven tail. I can remember that since I was used to my little V911, I got it home, and I spool it in my living (don’t do this because this is not suitable for indoor) and the tail didn’t spin? Of course that I didn’t took off knowing what no tail would mean in the air !

Later I found out that in the case of the Master CP, this behavior is normal, and it only spins in the air…so if you have similar issue, well it’s not an issue really…

Getting to the battery: I got mine without any branding on it, just plain black, so I doubt it’s a Walkera original battery, this battery has maybe 10 flights only and cannot keep the heli in the air for more than 30 seconds, even tough the voltage is enough…luckily, and I recommend you this, I bought some Zippy Rhino 1050mAh li-po packs that fly and hold really well….good investment for this heli…after 5 minutes of flying you still have 3.88-3.90V in them…

Specifications:

1. Main Rotor Diameter : 462mm
2. Tail Rotor Diameter : 113 mm
3. Overall Length : 440mm
4. All-up Weight : 420g (including battery)
5. Suitable Battery : 11.1V 900-1100mAh Li-Po depending on shape and size
6. Main Motor : 380PF
7. Tail Motor : 1627PF
8. GYRO : 6-axis
9. Receiver : RX-2637H-D
10. Servo : WK-7.6-6
11. Transmitter : DEVO Series compatible

What I like:

-stable hovering

-strong built, takes crashes easy;

-compact size

What I don’t like

-servos strip really easy-don’t move them by hand

-canopy looks nice, but it’s not so easy for seeing the orientation of the heli

Below I put the pictures with different angles so you have a good picture on what to expect if you buy one....notice the blade tips that still fly and track well

Front view- the Devo 10 i for size reference

Right side view

Rear view

Left side view

Plenty of power in the stock brushed motor

The receiver and 6 channel gyro

Quite good tail lock

Front view

Front right hand side detail

The bad servos, already 2 stripped in my case, but I could fix them

Upper view

Bottom view

The Walkera ESC, that unfortunately has a sloooow cut off, be  carefull

Tail motor detail, easy to replace

Big main gear teeth that so far proved durable

Like I said, not many helis can fly spot on with blades like this one...

This is the unboxing and the small movie I made:
 

I hope you found this info useful and hope you join the club J

Untill next time happy flying and bue sky !

WL toys V911 - best bang for the buck 4 channel FP

V911 bundle package, usually comes with 2 batts, main blades, tail blades+USB charger

  Hello again,

So you want to know more about the WL toys V911?

I will have to tell a small personal story, that all started in September 2012 when I was on a business trip to Shanghai. This time it happened: I bought my first coaxial heli, an DFD F-161 heli, and to get it, I asked all the chinese sellers: best? Best? And their answer was yes J. I had the flying bug in me since young age by reading all my father”s aeronautical magazines, but this time I just reached my hand and grabbed my first R/C toy.

After getting back home, in a very short time against my wife’s desperation, I told myself: hey, this is a small heli, I want something bigger, and to be honest I read many other people that did just like me; guess what: I bought a 450 size ! heli, an Esky Belt CPX… That was really something…big noisy and intimidating and wrong…

After starting to read and understand more about R/C  helis, I realized I took too many steps ahead and I was soooo wrong by doing so…

Finally, to end this small story: I bought the right heli: the V911…yes, it should be a lesson learnt for all, and the channel numbers are made with a purpose: 3.5 CH, 4 CH, 6CH and more…

Dear friends: follow this rule and you will be safe with the learning curve…If you already have a coaxial, or you just want to start in this (expensive) hobby, the V911 or any other 4 channel heli is the way to go. Being so small is great for indoor practice, and also due to it’s weight it takes crashes easily, just make sure you close the throttle when things go South J Don’t’ jump buying big helis like my 6 channel because it will only lead to frustration and no learning, unless you really have a lot of free time and a simulator…

As an advice, I can only tell you that the sparts parts I needed were blades and flybar, both of these breaking due to multiple crashes. The frame and the two small servos had no issue at all. I recommend using the small V911 indoors only, even tough they claim it can fly outdoors too( maybe only in no wind like the coax heli), and you can just improve your hovering skills, and learn orientations, but you can also fly small circuits inside your room.

Just in order to clear any doubt, the V911 is a clone of the much more expensive TREX 100 heli, and if you look at the two you will find a striking resemblance (similar to “copy&paste”)

In the below picture you can find the available colour options:

 
What I like:

-RTF price is about 30 USD !

-stable indoor flier

-takes crashes easily

What I don’t like

-battery life is 3-4 minutes only

-motor is quite noisy

 V911 Specifications
1). Main Rotor Diameter: 192 mm
2). Tail Rotor Diameter: 36 mm
3). Overall Length: 220 mm
4). Height: 82 mm
5). All Up Weight: 32g
6). Battery: 3.7V Li-Po

Here you can see the movie I made so you have an idea of what’s in the box, and how it hovers.

>

Hope you enjoyed reading this, until next time : happy flying

Florin