The Video Thread

[Reggie]

This is what I do with my spare $$$ and time, albeit not as well as Bobby Watts.

[Janx]

Holy

Shit.


That was awesome.

[brekk]

[Pikn]

I'm totally sorry if this turns into a 'PLANE ON CONVEYOR BELT' conversation... but how the hell do those helicopters work? As I see it, the top propeller is there as a means to produce lift, which fights the force of gravity. The tail is there to keep it steady. However, when you flip it over, the force which the propeller creates works with gravity, and should throw it to the ground at roughly 2x the force of gravity. Clearly I'm missing something or I'm wrong. Can anyone enlighten me?

[Ionsniper]

I believe the engine goes in reverse so fast that it creates the appropriate lift.

[SalaciousTunare]

You're both wrong. In the diagram above that helicopter should only be able to go up or down. As we know Helicopters can go in all directions, including hovering or rotating while hovering.

The key is the main rotor. The blades or wings of the helicopter are not fixed, this is key.

HowStuffWorks "How Helicopters Work"

[Pikn]

Originally Posted by SalaciousTunare

The key is the main rotor. The blades or wings of the helicopter are not fixed, this is key.[/url]

I'm glad you went on to explain nothing after telling us we're both wrong!

I have learned the mysterious ways of RC helicopters with the help of my friends 'the internet' and 'google'. The pitch of the blades is not fixed and can rotate slightly. This pitch rotation can alter the lift generated while the RPMs stay constant. This pitch change can even create -lift, and as a result, keep the helicopter in flight while upside down. I also read that even though they can do this, the -lift can never match the +lift, due to blade designs. In most cases they can only hold themselves steady while upside down.

Edit: Couldn't the inventors of english have come up with a word for 'upside down'? THE UP SIDE OF THE BOX IS DOWN!

[Reggie]

The helicopters run both positive and negative pitch. The left stick controls it.

So when the left stick is centered, you are at 0 degrees pitch. When it is down you are at negative 14 percent (any more and the airfoil stalls) and when all the way up you are getting 14 percent positive pitch.

So when the heli is upright, up is up, down is down. When the heli is inverted, the opposite is true.

You have to do this on a simulator first or be a millionaire because you are going to crash... a LOT.

Here's a video showing the heli moving with a PiP of the pilots stick inputs. Hope this helps! This is an electric heli, a little smaller than the 90 size nitro.



It's a great hobby for former twitch gamers, trust me you will do well!

[Sky]

Originally Posted by Pikn

I also read that even though they can do this, the -lift can never match the +lift, due to blade designs. In most cases they can only hold themselves steady while upside down.

That's not really true. The helicopters have just as much power in normal flight as they do in inverted flight. The blades for aerobatics have curved tops and bottoms. FWIW, I know this because I have a Trex450se, its an electric helicopter and stupidly hard to fly. It has spent more time broken than flying, that's for sure!

[Reggie]

Originally Posted by Sky

That's not really true. The helicopters have just as much power in normal flight as they do in inverted flight. The blades for aerobatics have curved tops and bottoms. FWIW, I know this because I have a Trex450se, its an electric helicopter and stupidly hard to fly. It has spent more time broken than flying, that's for sure!

Hey I had/have one of those. The poor thing was my first real heli and it paid the price, many times.

Yep, the airfoil is symmetrical, meaning it can 'stretch air' and create lift based on it's angle of attack. Planes have this as well, although not every plane.

Since this is the video thread, I better put up. This is me flying a raptor 50 (video is mislabeled) and almost putting it into water.

[Zarcath]

this was linked on PA



creepy lol, i never liked those pizza house bands.

[Kugbok_Fennin]

I own an AXE CP Pro...which is a very fun electric heli. This one does actually have a setting on the controller that allows me to reverse the rotation of the blades to fly upside down.

It's a lot of fun now that I know how to fly it...albeit I spent tons on new rotor blades and other misc parts while I was learning. Probably $200 on the heli brand new and another $200 in parts.

Now I can fly around my apartment complex, or land it on the water tower across the street from me. I have always wanted to attach a closed circuit camera to the nose and fly from my PC. Would be funny to hover in front of people windows and backyards and shit.

[PerritoBites]

Snow plowing: EXTREEEEME!

[Grimscar]

Originally Posted by Kugbok_Fennin

I have always wanted to attach a closed circuit camera to the nose and fly from my PC. Would be funny to hover in front of people windows and backyards and shit.

Edit: wrong vid

[PerritoBites]

BMW Display (art)