18 Aug 12 -
Bent main shaft & feathering spindle.
18 Aug 12 -
Bent main shaft & feathering spindle.
| N° of launches / Time | 8 |
47 mins |
| Rotor Diameter | 25.0 in. | 63.6 cm |
| Weight | 1 lb. 2¼ oz 1 lb. 3 oz. with training gear |
520 g 540 g with training gear |
| Motor | Park 400 Brushless Motor 4200KV | |
| Speed Controller | Hyperion Titan 20 V3 - 20A - 2 to 3LiPo - BEC & Brake | |
| Battery Pack | FlightPower 3s1p Lithium Polymer 1600mAh | |
| Receiver | Align RC-RX6 - 6ch - PPM - 35 MHz | |
| Servos | Collective - Graupner C261 | |
| Pitch - Graupner C261 | ||
| Roll - Graupner C261 | ||
| Tail rotor - Graupner C261 | ||
| Gyro | GWS PG-03 Piezo Micro Gyro | |
| Flight performance | First flight completed by the owner of Hobby Hangar. A few little tweaks to do to get more response, but it flew well. There was plenty of power in reserve. | |
18 Aug 12 - I haven't been flying this much of late, as I've had an ESC issue, solved by the fitting of an alternate ESC. I then promptly went and had a main blade strike against the ground and bent the main shaft and feathering spindle. Unfortunately this helicopter model is quite old now and spares are pretty scarce. I managed to obtain the feathering spindle from the local model shop but no luck with the main shaft. In the end I found a couple in the USA and have bought them; just waiting for them to arrive so I can get the Zoom running again.
22 Jan 06 - I started today with 2 short flights to reset the tracking and trim as it was a little out. I then flattened the battery pack and completed a total of 14 minutes and 45 seconds flying over the 3 flights. My skill is certainly improving and I only had to drop the Zoom to the ground once as it was getting near a wall today.
4 Jan 06 - I had my first flight with the Zoom today, 10 minutes hovering in the back garden checking it out. I had to drop the Zoom to the ground a few times today as it was approaching a wall or the fence. My back garden seems pretty small (5m x 5m) when flying a helicopter, but I couldn't fly fixed wing there at all.
24 Dec 05 - As I mentioned I took up the offer of the owner of Hobby Hangar to complete the first flights. He said it was a little sluggish, but handled really well, suggesting a few changes to improve the handling. The main change was to bend the flybar control arms in towards the main shaft to increase the movement. The ESC cut a couple of times, probably due to the power cut-off, so I've changed the settings to try and prevent that. I also removed the aerial coil (as described in the instructions) and inserted a plastic guide through the left skid to protect the aerial. I also bought a training undercarriage as I'm a novice and fitted it as shown above. I am now ready to start flying it myself.
18 Dec 05 - I have just completed assembling this model, with the upgraded brushless motor, brushless controller and Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery pack. I was also recommended to replace the supplied tail rotor snake with a carbon push rod, which I have done. I applied power earlier to check the tracking and briefly lifted the skids off the ground. There was plenty of power in reserve. As I am a novice with model helicopters, I will be getting the local model shop owner to complete the first flights of the Zoom 400.