22 Jan 06 -
A short update note made. 22 Jan 06 -
A short update note made.
| N° of launches / Time | 6 |
40 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 | Castle Creations Phoenix 35 - 35A - 5 to 16 Ni cells / 2 to 5 Li cells - BEC (up to 12 cells) - Brake - Programmable cut-off - Governor Mode | |
| 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. | |
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.