New Toy - Twister Hawk Helicopter

[Mr Will]

Treated myself to this for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and really enjoying it. Took a little while to get to grips with controlling it in all four directions at once (it's much more difficult than the little 2 or 3 channel ones!) but pretty much got the hang of it now.

The contra-rotating blades make it more stable than the traditional ones, but it still flies like a real helicopter and it plenty enough to keep me entertained for now!

Anyone else into RC heli's?

[kellys hero]

Mine used to look like that until I started to learn to fly the thing, now it has no wheels and the nose is shattered like egg shell.

It's lot of fun though but you have to look after the battery or it will die quickly the LiPo seems quite susceptible to being over discharged i.e not stopping as soon as as the flashing light starts.

Another top tip, don't fly in slow reverse decent and then give it full forwards and power (As I did to show off) the lower blades flex up through lift and collide with the counter rotating upper blades. Impressive explosion of plastic bits and a very good controlled crash landing but the center shaft is now bent.

[Mr Will]

kellys hero said:

Mine used to look like that until I started to learn to fly the thing, now it has no wheels and the nose is shattered like egg shell.

It's lot of fun though but you have to look after the battery or it will die quickly the LiPo seems quite susceptible to being over discharged i.e not stopping as soon as as the flashing light starts.

Another top tip, don't fly in slow reverse decent and then give it full forwards and power (As I did to show off) the lower blades flex up through lift and collide with the counter rotating upper blades. Impressive explosion of plastic bits and a very good controlled crash landing but the center shaft is now bent.

That is the second fuselage, the first one is not so tidy!

All the E-Flight Blade CX parts fit, so spares are easy to come by. That new fuselage, complete with mountings and new wheels was only £23 from the modelshop down the road.

Now I've got the hang of it I've also moved the pushrods out on the servo arms to give me a bit more control (for flying outside), so I'll have to be doubly careful about blade clash. Very handy to know that is what causes it!

[DIW35]

I've found with those contra rotators that any sudden and excessive change on the sticks can cause rotor clash. Happened to me for the first time whilst flying outside. Can't remember if I was trying to counter a gust of wind or just seeing how fast I could stop from a high speed run, but the result was several bits of plastic falling out of the sky.

[Mr Will]

DIW35 said:

I've found with those contra rotators that any sudden and excessive change on the sticks can cause rotor clash. Happened to me for the first time whilst flying outside. Can't remember if I was trying to counter a gust of wind or just seeing how fast I could stop from a high speed run, but the result was several bits of plastic falling out of the sky.

I've increased the servo movement on mine and haven't had any major problems (yet!), even when hauling full back on the stick from an outdoor high speed run. The only time I have noticed a difference when trying to dart left or right too suddenly the blades get close resulting in a sudden loss of lift/stability but no actual blade to blade contact.

Oh well, spares are cheap and easily available if the worst happens!

Have you ever flown a normal (single rotor) RC helicopter?

[Davi]

Mr Will said:

DIW35 said:

I've found with those contra rotators that any sudden and excessive change on the sticks can cause rotor clash. Happened to me for the first time whilst flying outside. Can't remember if I was trying to counter a gust of wind or just seeing how fast I could stop from a high speed run, but the result was several bits of plastic falling out of the sky.

I've increased the servo movement on mine and haven't had any major problems (yet!), even when hauling full back on the stick from an outdoor high speed run. The only time I have noticed a difference when trying to dart left or right too suddenly the blades get close resulting in a sudden loss of lift/stability but no actual blade to blade contact.

Oh well, spares are cheap and easily available if the worst happens!

Have you ever flown a normal (single rotor) RC helicopter?

on these types I've noticed that blade strikes seems to become more frequent once the head gets a bit worn - just keep an eye on it and make sure everything is tight but smooth. It'll stand you in good stead when you move on to proper heli's as well then, as smooth taught operation is absolutely vital in single rotor heli's - both flybar and flybarless.

I've changed my mind and decided though that these little contra's are an excellent way to learn - give you the co-ordination needed so you already have the muscle memory when you move onto the single rotors.

[DIW35]

Mr Will said:

DIW35 said:

I've found with those contra rotators that any sudden and excessive change on the sticks can cause rotor clash. Happened to me for the first time whilst flying outside. Can't remember if I was trying to counter a gust of wind or just seeing how fast I could stop from a high speed run, but the result was several bits of plastic falling out of the sky.

I've increased the servo movement on mine and haven't had any major problems (yet!), even when hauling full back on the stick from an outdoor high speed run. The only time I have noticed a difference when trying to dart left or right too suddenly the blades get close resulting in a sudden loss of lift/stability but no actual blade to blade contact.

Oh well, spares are cheap and easily available if the worst happens!

Have you ever flown a normal (single rotor) RC helicopter?

I've tried a few hops many, many years ago, when I was heavily in to fixed wing, but I've not tried flying one in anger yet.

[Viper_Larry]

I bought a set of Xtreme Hard Blades for mine - only £6 and they generate slightly more lift, but more importantly they are much stiffer eliminating the blade clash problem - this happened to me many times!

[Bungleaio]

kellys hero said:

It's lot of fun though but you have to look after the battery or it will die quickly the LiPo seems quite susceptible to being over discharged i.e not stopping as soon as as the flashing light starts.

Lipo's are fantastic but over discharging them will ruin them very quickly. Infact even one over discharge can cause them to fail. Also don't overcharge them, if they start to swell then they can can explode in quite a incredible fashion if they are not removed from the charger.