Helicopter PHOTO Gallery and Discussion: Post Yours

wOOd, you able to monitor your mAh consumption while in flight or are you going by what you put back when you recharge the battery?
I think, when you are able to get that heli outside and do some forward flight, the flight times will be even longer. 

Yup I was going to post the eLog Graph and that I will have for y'all within the next few days ... Only going by the timer for this first test and video  

Generally for each test I fly until the Low-Volt-Cutoff (set to 3.2 volt per cell on this bird) then subtract 30 secs. Out in the WORLD I would use the "80% rule", sometimes 90% for the absolute mAX flight time but when flying until 90% it doesn't allow much time for landing.

[EDIT] Forgot to add, flying to the LVC assures I'm filling & draining the battery to teh exact same voltages for every charge cycle [/EDIT]

And you are correct the ultimate test will be outdoors. But when I do the indoor test I have more control of the test conditions ... This is why I use the Hover for the testing as it is relatively the same for each and every flight. Whereas out in the world it's not as easy to match each flight but as I say I'm only using the "hover" as a baseline.

For the actual CHOICE of Throttle Curve and Pinion thus RPM, will have to be translated to the outdoors taking into account forward flight and some aerobatics before making that final choice. Going for flight time or should I say mAX Flight Time by reducing the RPM's is one thing but if running at the absolute minimum ALL it takes is a strong GUST of WIND to bugger your day. All this testing is just helping smea get my HEAD around the "numbers"

PS: Also agreed the "hover" is the MOST power consuming and is absolutely more efficient in forward flight, yes more flight time in forward flight verses hovering! But ALL BETS are OFF when we start to add the aerobatics or dare I say 3D

I haven't done an update for a while now, the heli is pretty much on the back burner for the moment.
After our smattering of snow then a few days soaking rain and high water, it has turned very spring like up here. Just to nice to be cooped up indoors. 
 

        HaHa, I resemble THAT remark

Weather around here has been freezing since the beginning of DEC,
but this is FEB: Sunny and Freezing COLD! Although it is teh LAST month
before we start counting the days until Spring

Just curious Wood, where is "around here"? Are you in BC? Or Eastern?

{HeHe} Eastern Standard Time> Great Lakes> Ontario> Suburb just east of Toronto, Etobicoke

FYI: I came here on invite from another forum where, YodaJones (GPS), GPBill and Nexgen we're WE was all good friends ...

... This sorta explains why (at least why I feel like) I'm the "outsider" in what seems to be a very local forum

    [shadow=Orange,left]w00d[/shadow]

You're not a outsider at all w00d, I'm glad you are here.  That "other" website was getting too narrowly focused on 3D helicopter stuff and didn't at all address, at least my other interests, like the surface car and truck stuff.
It's only too bad you can't drop in on some of our get togethers...but you never know!

Yeah that's just one of the real evils I see on allot of Rc Helicopter sites, yes they all seem to revert to that "3D Bios" that seem to exclude allot of us NOT into 3D ... Seems that 3D has been taken over by the "marketers" and the manufactures ... AND the "SPAM monkeys" ... Anyhowz it's of no interest to me

As for my "outsider" comment it was, well for the lack of a better way to say it more like a feeling as opposed to a fact ...
... But YES I do feel left out sometime due to geography but nothing more than geography 

PS: This is what I like about this site, it's focus is not only about helicopters but encompasses ALL of Rc which allows for a wider scope of education. Well that's why I like it here I'm learning more, learning about the things I don't own but maybe would like and want to in the near future ...

That would be some road trip!

Is this correct?  Google says 2657 miles.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Etobicoke%2C%20canada&psj=1&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2593l3847l0l4022l8l8l0l0l0l0l138l621l7.1l8l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1392&bih=1079&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

LOL, Islington Ave and Evens Ave is VERY close but although I do live close to Islington I'm south of the Rail Road Terminal shown on the MAP ... I'm in New Toronto, Islington AVE & Lakeshore BLVD

Here's the PARK where I FLY my little birds ---> Garnett Janes Rd <---

Which is VERY close to where I actually live, which is showing TOO CLOSE for the internet ...
... ROTFLMAO So FEEL darn honored I'm even showin y'all this much

EDIT: Can you see me, I'm the GUY flying the GAUI ep255

       
 

Ah, for some reason I thought you were in BC, I could have stopped by the next time I was up there (probably this spring), but it might be a while before I get THAT far East.........

Always wanted to see Quebec though.........

Don't know if you can see anyone flying here, but this is where a few of us go, a few of my FPV flights are over this place......
http://maps.google.com/?ll=42.430825,-123.285967&spn=0.002993,0.006947&t=h&z=18

I can see you flying there!  LOL.

That is my favorite place to fly helicopters in Grants Pass and where I made most of my videos training to hover:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YTzKOSgxLQ[/youtube]

w00d's FLYING Area: Same MAP but w/ Index. Meh, the Pros & Cons associated w/ flying in a Muti-USE Park. Best time to FLY is the late morning as
there's not many people using the park at this time. The worst is after supper as this is when the "dealers" are let out to play...
I'm still the GUY flying the GAUI ep255. {LOL} Don't think I'm joking either, this is the "BIG City" and the Basket Ball court is NOT the place to be seen ...

     

Forum POLICE: 911 18+ if a problem click on link, NO joke!

Hmmm, no heli-crack people over there?

LOL, I forgot to LIST the Poop'n Scoop Patrols and given the nature of the typical Canine Ground Sniffer they can get in the way of the flying FUN ... But yeah I'm the only GUY around here that does Rc-Heli's so that would make me the only Heli-Crack pusher around to corrupt the Hearts & Minds of our local young'uns

That looks like a great park to fly at on a nice summer day!  You should make some video for us.

Well my park is convenient as it's right at my front door but for security given the type's in "this" area I don't like going out myself with too much or at least expensive equipment. So no VIDEO or why I don't POST anything showing me flying outside.

I like to go out w/ one of my small helicopters for a quick flight or two as I don't want it known I have allot of expensive equipment so attractive to the typical Crack-Head. Like I said I wasn't joking when I indexed the first map I posted {LMAO}

For a better place and a better flying experience w/ more space and less people that can distract from the flying I'm planning on trying this area this summer.
The BLUE Cross Hairs shows the park at my door step, my park. Although I think, my hope this area is better and is just a short walk from where I'm at --->



Colonel Samuel Smith Park

• http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Colonel%20Samuel%20Smith%20Park&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&hl=en&biw=1483&bih=749&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

{LOL, following could be said NOT very "politically correct" so UP the "Humor-Meters" a few points}

[TRIVIA] This Park is where we find the OLD "Laughing Academy" the old Lunatic Asylum. Back in day, in the 50's this was a SCARY place as it was one of those hospitals you ONLY see in the MOVIES, remember "One Cuckoo Flew Over the Rest" ... Some (NOT myself) even say it's "haunted", probably the OLD inmates. The old hospital buildings can see see in the above map which was closed down in the early 70's, it's now an historical sight as "they" turned the area into a park toward the end of 80's, early 90's [end TRIVIA]

I think this area would be a way better place for flying Rc Helicopters which I HOPE to TRY this Summer. Although flying Rc is very illegal in our parks but the police have shown a "Blind-EYE" to electric powered Rc. Certainly no NITRO nor GASSERS as that WILL bring the COP's quicker than a BANK Heist ... Hey check out teh TRACK at Humber College (North/West corner of the park), could use that for when I get me a CAR or two, yeah ...

One thing that could be said of Toronto is "we HAVE allot of PARKs", six on that map alone!
      [shadow=Orange,left]w00d[/shadow]

Is that Square of buildings the Laughing Academy?  They look pretty new, at least the roofs.

We have a track at the Harbeck middle school (see the Google map in this topic: http://southernoregonrc.com/index.php?topic=278.0) and I have tried to race on it before.  What I found was that the surface is terrible for traction, it is a hard packed typical "track" dirt with a sandy thin top.  The other thing I noticed is that I had thought I would be able to race around the track by standing on the top row of the bleachers.  No way.  The bleachers at Harbeck have maybe 10 rows high and it is not enough to see over the edges of the track.  We would need at least double the height they have at that school to make driving around the whole track possible.

On the other hand that school has the best parking lot around town for on-road running.  This summer will be a blast and I am planning to get some good POV video from some on-road cars.  Who knows, maybe even from a quadcopter.

Yup that's the place ... Don't be fooled as it's now an historical site and is well maintained. If I recall right the place was first built back in 1930's. Anyhow it's certainly old or older that it looks now

As for the "TRACK" it was just a thought ... So your saying I would have more FUN in teh larger parking lots which around here would be best on Sundays w/ less people using them. hehe, There's a few schools closer I could try when the time nears