Tired of 2D
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007Envious of birds and tired of life in 2D, I decided to learn to fly. Helicopters that is. So I bought one: an RC one. Interesting how the hobby has evolved. Years ago even an inexpensive model ran more than a grand. The idea of crashing something that expensive was not something that interested me. Now they’re under $500. Second problem, nitro powered engines are loud. Thanks to new battery technology (thanks laptops) electric helis are possible. I found a great deal in the Falcon 3D from hobby-lobby.com.
Yes, I’ve had it in the air, yes, I’ve crashed once. It’s a little nerve racking to have a 24″ blade spinning at 3000RPM. Quite a rush actually.
Just waiting for a couple of new batteries and an nifty flight stabilizer. Original battery only give about 5 minutes of flight time, and I’m way too much of a chicken to let it more than an inch off the ground. The new batteries should give 10 minutes and the stabilizer is supposed to allow hover just by releasing the sticks. We’ll see.
Oh, one last thing. RTF (ready to fly) really just means complete, assembled kit. I’ve had to make several adjustments. Not too bad though. There are however 5 servos to adjust, 2 sets of blades to balance, CG in 2 directions.
Flying, though, is sweet.