Subject:
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Re: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:54:17 GMT
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Original-From:
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.%IHateSpam%net>
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Reply-To:
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sjbaker1@airmail!nospam!.net
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Viewed:
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781 times
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[This is *WAY* off-topic - but it can't go un-answered]
Marco Correia wrote:
> As a kid, I dreamed of having a heli RC model.
> As I got older and learned that it needed some serious dedication and
> "talent" to pilot such a expensive and "deadly" toy, it scared me off.
I'm not convinced.
My father built and flew these contraptions and even with gyro's, they
are extremely unforgiving flying machines. The big problem with RC helicopters
is that you *will* crash them eventually - and when you do, there will be a
lot of damage to the model. Accidents that cost my father $500 were not unusual!
Even the smallest error on landing will cost you new undercarriage and/or new
main or tail rotor blades - which (IIRC) cost many tens of dollars.
Helicopters are also a bitch to get set up right in the first place - tweaking
the rotor setup to get them to fly nicely is quite difficult - and if you don't
have it just right, even the gyro's are not going to allow you to hover well.
Every time you break a rotor, you have to re-do all that setup all over again.
Remember, even on a model helicopter, the rotor tip speeds can be in excess
of the speed of sound! When one of those breaks, it tends to bend all manner
of delicate metal control linkages.
The gyro's help you learn to hover - but they don't help in the crucial
transitions from hover to forward flight and (especially) from forward
flight to hover.
In contrast, with fixed-wing RC models, the accidents are probably just as
frequent - but the damage is MUCH less. Most 'oops!' events can be fixed
on the spot with some super-glue - and even total wipe-outs tend not to damage
the radio gear or the motor - which are the expensive parts. Small errors
on landing tend to result in a broken propellor - which costs about $5 and
can be replaced in 1 minute.
RC helo's are undoubtedly great fun to fly - but you need deep pockets, it's
an expensive hobby.
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
Mail : <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkMail: <sjbaker@link.com>
URLs : http://www.sjbaker.org
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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| (...) [SNIP] (...) tweaking (...) don't (...) well. [SNIP] (...) I don't doubt the cost of these hobbies are expensive and even expert controllers have their (expensive) crashes. And I think of the gyros as only a sensor. But what you do with that (...) (22 years ago, 21-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
| | | Re: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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| (...) Well, this is new technology. It's the kind of stuff if you used, your dad would tell you "son, back in the day, we flew helis with only ONE gyro, and it was mechanical, and helicopters were a lot harder to fly back then." The gyros the (...) (22 years ago, 21-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | RE: Gyroscopes That Don't Spin Make It Easy to Hover
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| (...) As a kid, I dreamed of having a heli RC model. As I got older and learned that it needed some serious dedication and "talent" to pilot such a expensive and "deadly" toy, it scared me off. This article, and these devices such as the Co-Pilot (...) (22 years ago, 21-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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