Archive for the ‘ General Flying ’ Category

Turnigy Update

Went flying this Saturday and I have to admit the Protos just wasn’t flying as well as it used to be. It seemed down on power and as I had begun to suspect the batteries are beginning to get tired.

In fact so bad was the the situation with one of them (2450Mah)  that one of the cells was showing 2.76v and wouldn’t charge and I have had to dispose of it.  The other one I had the (2650mAh) charged but one of the cells was left at 4.14v.

This made me think, have they been good value should I buy again?  I have checked Hobbyking for when I brought them and it goes like this:

10th Jan 2010 Turnigy 6S 30C 2450mAh $50.72/£32.46 GBP (inc del)
24th Jan 2010 Turnigy 6S 30C 2650mAh $61.79/£39.55 GBP (inc del)

I fly mostly Saturday and Sundays so based on that assumption since the beginning of Feb there has been 33 weekends (Its now 19th September).  Each Saturday I normally charge and discharge it twice.  Therefore I have had 132 flights per battery.  This works out at:

Turnigy 6S 30C 2450mAh $0.38/£0.24 GBP per flight.
Turnigy 6S 30C 2650mAh $0.46/£0.29 GBP per flight.

I think this is pretty good, especially when you consider I have actually had more flights than this as I have been on holiday an used them 3/4 times a day for 3 or more days.

It is also worth noting that except for the one that the cell died the other battery is fine for learning etc.. I am trying to learn 3D so I give my batteries a pretty tough time. I always discharge to 80% of capacity and then charge at 1C.

If your not as hard as me on the batteries and fly in a sport style then they will probably last a lot longer. Overall though a great value battery that is good value for money and performance.

2010
09/19
CATEGORY
Electrics
General Flying
MSH Protos
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Mini Titan starts Car

Went up to the new club that I joined for a fly yesterday and the weather was pretty good, a bit windy but nothing to harsh to stop me flying. (Unlike today maybe) Anyway wanted to share an amusing story – having not taken my leisure battery up for battery charging I decided to use my car battery to charge up a couple of the Protos packs as I wanted to fly some more.

Brilliant idea until the charger warned me of “input volt err”, so hoping and behaving in true British fashion I thought the car would still start. It didn’t. Fortunately I carry jump leads in the car so I had a backup plan but not wanting to look like a idiot came up with an idea. My charger can charge lead-acid batteries so by connecting the charger up “backwards” and using my Mini-Titan (11.1v 2200mAh) batteries I charged my car battery up 🙂

So two top rules:

1) Don’t use your car battery to charge your heli batteries.
2) If you ignore 1 then make sure your charger can charge lead acid batteries.

2010
09/05
CATEGORY
Electrics
General Flying
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Bank Holiday Weekend

Just a quick update today. Been out flying as the weather and the wind has finally calmed down to allow such things. I have been out practising the aileron tic-tocs and I’m getting there. I had a good session on the simulator on Saturday and watched a few videos off the internet on how to do it. This helped but I need to work at it.  Still it’s like when I started learning the elevator tic-tocs and they were a bit random but now there much better.

After today’s flying I need to change the main gear on the 250 after a little crash, and the Mini-Titan has a horrible wobble in the head when in Idle-Up. Strange as I haven’t really flown it so I’m not sure where that has come from.


My squadron: T-Rex 550E, MSH Protos, Mini-Titan, T-Rex 250 3G

My squadron: T-Rex 550E, MSH Protos, Mini-Titan, T-Rex 250 3G

btw I  did go to the BMFA nationals at RAF Barkston Heath on Sunday but the weather was awful and there wasn’t much flying.  I saw some bits and pieces, F3C, pylon racing and some aerobatics but not any jets. It was a bit of a shame but at least I tried.

2010
08/30
CATEGORY
General Flying
Mini Titan
MSH Protos
T-Rex 250
T-Rex 550
The Squadron
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Tired

Went for a fly this evening, but really I should of headed home.  It was nice to get out with some friends and have a fly (and I didn’t crash), however I have had a very busy and chaotic week so far at work and I wasn’t quite as smooth as I could/should of been. It left me feeling a bit disappointed if I’m honest.

Still onward and upward, the weekend is coming and I might head off to the Nationals on Sunday if the weather is kind. Also the super hard TrueBlood head dampers have turned up for the 250. (See the T-Rex 250 Flybarless Conversion page for more info)

2010
08/25
CATEGORY
General Flying
T-Rex 250
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Update

I haven’t blogged in a while but work has been mega busy and I have just been grabbing flying time here and there. There is an up date on the T-Rex 250 3G flybarless conversion page. It’s not easy but then I knew it wouldn’t be with such a small heli.

(However it is worth noting, you can virtually take your hands off whilst hovering – see page)

Other notable update is that I have another flying site now. I have joined another flying club that is in my area, thus giving me another place to fly in when the weather is being funny. You always have to have options!

2010
08/23
CATEGORY
General Flying
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