[Gordon]

My TRex 450 Sport V2 made its first flight this evening. Nice and warm out, with dead calm conditions. Perfect.

My previous experience has been with small helicopters, MSR and mCPX. When I spooled up the 450 for the first time to check the blade tracking, it was a bit nerve wracking. When the rotor is turning, the helicopter suddenly looks a whole lot bigger. Aside from that, the tracking exercise was uneventful.

I tried the rudder control to see how that felt. I found out very quickly that I had my gyro set incorrectly. After reversing the direction, everything was fine.

My first flight went very well. Tail-in hover only, maximum height of about 6 feet. The height varied quite a bit. I need a few flights to get used to the collective/throttle sensitivity.

I had three batteries with me, so I got in three flights.

Here are a few things I noticed:

1. The canopy is a PITA to install. I’m using Turnigy 2200 mAh 20C 3S batteries. The battery contacts the canopy, making it hard to push the canopy far enough rearward to be able to push the canopy pins through the canopy. I may have to look for a wider canopy, or shorter batteries. Any suggestions?

2. I'm glad I installed training gear. It added an extra measure of security. The stock landing gear was replaced by a TRex 500 landing gear to give the helicopter a wider stance and raise it up a little bit. Because of the wider gear, I debated whether or not to put on the training gear. It probably wasn’t’ necessary, but it made me feel better. The pucker factor was already high enough. It was nice that I didn’t have to worry so much about the landings.

3. The tail servo gets very warm. Is this normal?

4. Tail-in hover seemed to be a little easier than on the mCPX.

5. I got about 5 minutes flight time from my batteries. Is that about par for the course?

6. Three batteries are not enough. I’ll need to get some more.

7. The rotor blades needed to be cleaned when I got home. The leading edges were covered with bugs.

8. It was great fun. I’m hooked.

Gordon

[static80]

3 what Gyro/Servo combination are you using, it shouldn't really get that warm

4 My 450 feels like it hovers by itself compared to my MCPX

5 I'm getting 4-5 mins out of my batteries, just pay attention to your charger you should be putting back about 80% of the packs mah, so 80% of 2200 is 1760 mah. As you start doing more than hovering your flight times will need to become shorter, so just watch your charge cycles. If it takes more than 1760 mah to charge then shorten your timer.

[craneman32]

Congrats!

1. you may want to drill new hole in the canopy so to mount it a bit forward.

5. 5mins is a average time to fly as long as you arnt depleeting pas 80%. I would reccomend at least 30C batteries.

I have a question for you. What are your gain setting at for the gyro and what radio do you have?

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by static80

3 what Gyro/Servo combination are you using, it shouldn't really get that warm

4 My 450 feels like it hovers by itself compared to my MCPX

5 I'm getting 4-5 mins out of my batteries, just pay attention to your charger you should be putting back about 80% of the packs mah, so 80% of 2200 is 1760 mah. As you start doing more than hovering your flight times will need to become shorter, so just watch your charge cycles. If it takes more than 1760 mah to charge then shorten your timer.

I'm using the gyro and tail servo that comes with the Sport V2 Super combo. An Align GP780 gyro and an Align DS420 servo.

My batteries took 1500 mAh to recharge. I should be okay to leave my timer at 5 minutes for now. I'll keep an eye on the batteries and see what happens as I progress past hovering.

Originally Posted by craneman32

1. you may want to drill new hole in the canopy so to mount it a bit forward.

Drilling new holes in the canopy should solve the problem. This doesn't seem to be an unusual problem. It surprised me a bit, though. I expected it to fit better than that.

Originally Posted by craneman32

I have a question for you. What are your gain setting at for the gyro and what radio do you have?

I'm using a Spektrum DX6i transmitter, with the gyro set at 83% on a 50% to 100% scale.

[craneman32]

Almost all my canopies have 2 sets of grommets for different batteries.

[waylander]

The first 450 flight can certainly be intimidating but good job on the hovers.

[mikekimc]

I use Gens Ace 2600mah in my Trex 450 pro V2 ... you need to move the battery foward a little so that it don't contact at the top of the canopy

Cheers
Mike

[Gordon]

There's a couple new holes in my canopy now, about 5mm back from the original ones. The canopy is a lot easier to install.

While giving my helicopter a once-over, I noticed that the belt was loose. I've re-tightened the bolts that clamp the boom in place, and added a servo mount clamp from a Blade 450 to help keep the boom from moving forward.

If the winds die down this evening, I'll go give it another try.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Gordon