250 repair under way!

I finally got around to taking apart my Trex 250 for repair. So far I've found a bent main shaft, broken spindle bolt, broken blade tip, and broken ball cup. Not too bad considering. Time to order some parts!

Goblin 380 ready!

I finished the 380 head and tail setup Monday night, 11/9/15!  I'm getting faster at using my Soko Gauge and app also :)

I plan to do some test flights Sunday afternoon at Hoyt park. 

Goblin 380 repair completed!

I managed to finish the repair of my Goblin 380, which I crashed about about 3 months ago.  Next up is completing the head and tail setup and I'll be ready to starting tuning the Vbar Neo all over again.  Lol!

Dang it!

I crashed my 250 on my 2nd session with my new Zeal 210mm blades :(. While doing a nose in turn I lost orientation and crashed.  This has been happening a lot lately :(. I really need more practice and need to try and save it instead of giving up and flipping the hold switch. 

This happened at SEFSD on Sunday 10/25/15. And for a change there were more helis than quads this time!  Woohoo!  

Ming's friend Richard's helis. 

Hoyt Park, Tuesday 10/20/15

I wanted to try and flip my mCpx, but it bogged so much it dropped like a rock, and I crashed, breaking a ball link on the swash plate.  Once I get that replaced, I'll try again, but higher up!  LOL!

The 250 was flying well enough that I tried doing some flips with it. I need to put in more negative pitch and the tail wagged some during the flip. I turned down the tail gain and it's been getting better. 

I'm heading back out to Hoyt again after work to test the 250 and 450. 

Hoyt park session, not!

I tried to get a few flights in at Hoyt Saturday morning 10/17/15, on my way to the track, but it looked like someone was there cleaning trash from the field?  So I decided to head straight to SDRC instead and fly in the parking lot there, before the track opened. 

The 250 flew well and I was able to fly smooth figure 8's, which I was having trouble doing at Hoyt. The headspeed still felt slow though, as it was less than a rocket doing full pitch climb outs. 

I decided to turn off my governor and use a flat 100% throttle curve instead. While doing this will achieve higher headspeed, the headspeed will decrease during the flight and may bog more often.  I'll need to gear up to get the headspeed I want with the governor. The only problem is figuring out how to get the glued on pinion gear off. 

At 100% throttle, the 250 felt much better!  Nice pop on full pitch climbs but with a slight bog. It was also a rocket for about the 1 minute of the flight, until the battery voltage leveled off. I'll need to take some headspeed measurements to find out what the headspeed actually is. 

The 250 at SDRC. 

Trex 250 and 450 test session

I rushed out to Hoyt to get some flights in on the 250 and 450. I still need to get used to flying the 250 (feels like the headspeed is too slow) and test the Brain on the 450 (need to tune the flight banks, expo, and tail gain). 

Charging packs when I arrived. About 15 min to charge the 250 packs at 3C and 25 min for the 450 packs at 2C. I changed a setting for the 450 packs program which will hopefully decrease the charge time. 

The 450 ready to fly!

With the clouds coming in and blocking the sun, it got too dark to fly about 20 minutes before sunset.  There's only about an hour of usable light left now after I'm able to get to the field :(

Trex 450 ready for testing!

I finally got around to replacing the servo which burnt out while testing the self level feature on the bench :-/  I've since disable this feature for the time being, just in case it decides to burn up another servo. 

I had to reassemble the frame and reroute all the servo leads (again!), then level the swash (again!), then complete the collective and cyclic pitch setup (again!).  At least I'm getting faster at using my Soko kit. Lol!

The 450 is now flight ready for testing of the Brain FC I transferred to it from my still down 550. 

Trex 250 maiden session, Friday 10/9/15

This would be my 1st session flying the 250!  I hovered it a few times in front of my garage, but didn't fly around due to the limited space. 

It flew well, but I could probably use more headspeed. With the stock gearing the Castle governor maxed out at about 4200 to 4300 rpm. I had the governor set to 3800, 4000, and 4200 rpm.  I think I'll try 4300 for the next session and increase the governor gain. 

My flying buddy had his Mikado 480 and 550 out this time!  They were cool, but he didn't fly them as aggressive as his small helis. 

The 480

The 550

I forgot to take pics of the 250 since I was busy getting my flights in before it got too dark. 

380 repair underway!

I decided to start repairing my 380 that I crashed a couple of weeks ago, while waiting for my 450 replacement servo to arrive. First up was to replace the bent blade grip arms and inspect the spindle shaft. Luckily the spindle shaft wasn't bent in the crash :). After installing the new blade grip arms, I reassembled the rotor head. Job done!

Next up I removed all the cyclic servos, as they all broke in the crash. It was a pain to get the servo case apart!  Then when I did, it popped open so I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the gear positions!  Luckily I found a photo online of a similar servo and was able to figure it out. I then took a photo of the new installed gear set as a future reference. It was a pain to line all the gears up on their shafts!  Especially the center shaft as it went though 2 gears.  I coated the gears with some white lithium grease and closed up the case. Job done!

It turns out that the output shaft which the servo horn attaches to snapped in half during the crash. Probably because this shaft has many steps and features on it. Once the servo was assembled I plugged it into the servo test port of my iCharger 4010 Duo.  It worked!  Whew!  Onto the other 2 servos. 

The repair of the other 2 servos went much smoother, as now I knew what to expect. 

Gear set of the 2nd broken servo.  You can see the split in the output shaft. 

The broken output shafts of each servo. 

Trex 450 not flight ready after all :(

Well that sucked. 

Fried chip on the servo control board. 

Had to take the frames apart to get the servo out. 

After setting the endpoints for the Castle esc, I decided to reset the flight banks in the Brain FC to the following: Bank 1- sport with self level, Bank 2- sport, Bank 3- 3D. 

I then got the idea to use a channel mix to activate Bank 1 and self level, by pushing the trainer/bind switch. I successfully programmed the mix and tied it to the flight mode switch on modes 1 and 2. When in modes 1 and 2, if the push switch was depressed, aux3 would drive the governor function using aux2 for bank switching, to change to Bank 1 with self level. 

I tested it in the radio by using the channel monitor and it was sending the correct signals to the correct channels. I tested it on the heli, with the motor off, and the banks were switching correctly when switching flight banks with the flight mode switch and when I pushed the trainer/bind switch. 

I then plugged in my motor to test the headspeed  changes, which also switched flight banks. While holding the skids to the bench I spun up the motor. The 1st try it worked ok. On the 2nd try I noticed that the flight bank seemed to be stuck in bank 3, so I rebooted the FC and tried again. This time it seemed to be working correctly. So then pushed the rescue switch (trainer/bind). The servos went to a weird position and buzzed!  That's not supposed to happen!  I shut down the motor and unplugged the battery. After waiting a minute or so, I rebooted the FC. More buzzing and clicking, so I unplugged the battery and waited again. The next time I rebooted a puff of white smoke came out of a servo! WTF!  

I unplugged all the servos and plugged them back in one at a time to find the faulty servo. I was able to find it by the even bigger puff of smoke that it let out!  Servo 1 had blown a chip!  WTF happened?!

I then remembered that this FC's self level is sensitive to vibrations and my holding the heli to the bench by the skids may have sent too much vibration to the FC, causing it to freak out and drive the servos erratically, burning out one of them. At least that's all I could come up with based on the events. 

Now I don't trust this self level. Will it burn out a servo again? Or was my holding the heli down to the table the cause?  All I know is next time I plan to test the self level with the motor off, then with all the blades off, and on the carpet!

I then had to get the burnt servo out of the frame, which required that the entire frame be taken apart by removing a bunch of screws, that didn't fit any of my powered driver bits. WTF!  I need another set of bits!

I then did some research into a replacement servo. It turns out that my cyclic servos were discontinued!  FML!  I then hoped that I didn't need to replace all 3 cyclic servos so that they matched. It turns out that the servo which replaced my Align DS415M is the Align DS416M. The DS416M is practically identical to the DS415M, except for a slightly higher torque rating. It operates at the same voltage and speed as the 415.  Woohoo! Something goes my way!

I ordered that servo and a couple of parts for my 550 rebuild, so that I get free shipping. Hopefully I get the 450 back to a flying condition in time for the weekend. 

Trex 450 flight ready!

I moved the MSH Brain FC from my crashed 550 (which will be getting a Vbar Neo with Rescue), to my 450. I originally planned I put it in my 250, but it didn't fit between the frames. So I moved the 3gx FC on the 450 to the 250, and the Brain from the 550 to the 450. 

It took me all day Sunday to figure out how to correctly calibrate the Brain and set it up for the 450!  The elevator channel didn't want to calibrate.  It took me all day, breaks, and several attempts to figure out what was going on. The elevator servo needed to be reversed to move in the correct direction, but the endpoints in the software didn't reverse with it. So I was moving the stick in the opposite direction I needed to set the endpoint!  What I needed to do was set the endpoints 1st, then reverse the channel, then fine tune the endpoints by moving the stick one way check the endpoints but adjust it by moving it the opposite direction. Geez. 

Once I got that part sorted out, the rest of the setup went quickly thanks to my Soko kit and Brain setup wizard. 

The 450 is flight ready for some tuning, once the rain stops. In the meantime I need to get the 380 fixed. 

More 380 parts!

My other order with my new blades and servo gears came in last night. I have a few more things to finish on the 250, then I can start work on the 380. One upgrade that I plan to add is a Castle 10A external BEC.  I've been using a BEC capacitor in the meantime. 

250 Done!

I finished the wiring on the 250, completing the build. I did the best I could with the servo leads, but there's really no room for anything!  Lol!

I tested the power system and everything worked like it was supposed to ( after calibrating the esc end points). Once I break in all the batteries, I'll be ready for the maiden flight.

Tiny T Plugs! 

Trex 250 almost done!

Last night I was able to complete the tail setup, mount the esc, and connect it to the motor. The last few steps to finish are adding the battery connectors, mounting the satellite receiver, and routing all the servo wires. After that I can fly it once I break in the new Pulse 860mah 35c 3s batteries I got for this little heli :)

New Pulse batteries 

Double checking the settings for the 3gx flight controller

Trex 250 head setup completed!

I was able to complete the head setup of the 250 last night, using my Soko kit. I'm getting faster at completing the setup now and I'm really liking it!

I also completed setting up the 3gx on board programming for the head. Next up is setting up the tail, then finalizing the PC settings.

380 repair parts!

My first order of parts to repair the 380 came in!  This order has the boom, tail push rod, pitch control links, a main shaft, and new side frame plate. 

The next order will have the main blades (with free set of matching tail blades!), servo gear sets, and blade grip arms.

Rescue Started!

After crashing my 380 and watching several demo videos of the Vbar Neo Rescue function, I've decided to upgrade my Neo to this firmware. If I had it when I crashed my 380 last Thursday, it would have paid for itself already, as that crash cost me about $200, while the Rescue firmware upgrade is about $120. 

The Rescue function is incredible!  It saved a heli performing complicated tricks, piro flips, piro tic tocs, hurricanes, funnels, etc!  The heli will flip itself upright and level from any orientation!  Awesome!

To easily use the Rescue function with my DX8, I would need to relocate the push switch close to the outer edge of the radio, as it's located on the top, which is hard to reach with my thumbs on the sticks.

I opened up my radio to swap the push switch and gear switch positions on the top left of the radio. Doing this would put the push switch on the edge of the radio. I don't use the gear switch for anything anyway.  The toughest part of completing this switch position swap was removing the rubber panels on the sides and back of the radio case. They covered 2 of the screws and held the 2 halves of the case together.  Once I figured out to do this, opening the case and swapping the switch position was easy. 

My DX8 is now ready to rescue my heli's!  Once I upgrade my Neo firmware that is :)

Trex 250 build update #2

So.  I was able to get some work done on the 250 Sunday 9/27/15. I basically finished building the frame, installed the servos, and the 3gx flight controller.  My Talon 15 esc also arrived and it's way smaller than the stock Align esc. I also ordered some mini t connectors and Pulse 860mah 35c 3s packs. While I have some old 3s packs from 850mah to 1100mah from my Blade CP, the C rating of these packs are much lower. So I'll use those for putting around at low headspeed and the Pulse packs for actual flying and practicing. 

I guess I'll need to wait for the connectors and new batteries to arrive before I can fly my new little heli. 

Crashed the 380! :(

I was flying at Hoyt Park after work, Thursday 9/24/15, and successfully competed a flight to test the head speed at the end (3500 rpm held after 6 min of flying), an auto trim flight, and a main rotor gain test (100% wagged in a hard banking turn, so I lowered it to 95).  My 380 was feeling good and was a blast to fly!  

The street was clogged with parked cars for some reason.

I was flying my final battery and having fun. I attempted a loop followed by a stall turn, when I shouldn't have. I came in too low and slow, with a slight bank angle, at the base of the loop. On the exit of the loop I was again too low and slow to execute a good stall turn and exited it at a weird bank angle and still too low. I pulled up to get away from the ground and lost forward momentum, then lost orientation for a split second!  When I tried to correct, I banked the wrong way into the ground!  It went in with a hefty thud!  I was able to shut the motor off right before it hit the ground. 

The aftermath!

Looking over the damage on my pit table. 

Upon the 1st inspection the damaged parts include:

-main blades

-tail blades

-blade grip arms

-cyclic servo gears (all 3 of them!)

-left main frame plate (cracked may be able to repair)

-main shaft

-tail boom

-tail push rod

-canopy (small cracks, but ok)

The repair cost is about $180 so far, not including a new canopy. If I had the Vbar Neo rescue feature, maybe I could have saved it?  I plan to upgrade to it now, if I can move the push switch on my DX8 to a better location.  

For now I need to order the parts and get this bird back in the air before I let it sit too long.

Hoyt Park Tuesday 9/22/15

I headed to Hoyt Park after work t get a few flights in on the 380. I hadn't planned on going since it was supposed to rain, but it never did. 

I grabbed my gear and rushed over to the field as its getting dark earlier and earlier. I even had to charge my pack when I arrived!  Luckily it only takes 10 minutes charging at 5C (13A). 

I flew my 380 setup using the Soko Helical Kit. I also changed the locations of the ball stud on the cyclic servo arms to optimize the travel range for the Vbar. It flew nice and smooth!  It's starting to feel comfortable to fly also :)

I plan to fly again Thursday after work as soon I won't be able to, as the sun is setting earlier. 

Trex 250 build update

So. I pulled the MSH Brain off my 550 to test fit on the 250. It's too wide to go between the frames where the 3gx would mount. I guess I'll need to mount it on the side of the frame.  It would look weird with this box hanging off one side though :(.  I guess I could pull the 3gx off my 450 and put it on the 250 and the Brain on the 450?  The CG would probably work out better with the 3gx mounted in the right spot. 

I also pulled the Castle Phoenix 25 out of my Blade CP, since I was considering using it for the 250.  But now I'm worried that the BEC might be too weak?  Maybe I'll go with a Talon 15, which has a bigger BEC. Hmmm. 

Palomar RC Flyers Club

I decided to visit the Palomar RC Flyers club Sunday morning as I'm considering joining the club for the last 3 months of the year. 

There were about 5 or so guys there, mostly flying 700 class helis!  No dozens of quad guys here, although a couple of guys were flying those also. 

They had pit tables and more importantly, shade!  No need to bring a canopy here!  There were 2 roads to get to the heli area. A shorter one which required you to go up and down a pretty steep hill and a longer one. I took the shortcut in and the long one out. The long one was much safer route for my car!

I watched 3 700 class helis fly, 2 electrics and a nitro. I got a few pics of the nitro one flying also!  These guys were also much better pilots than me. 

It's $50 to join for the last 3 months of the year. To get the most of my money I'd need to fly practically every weekend!

Parking and pit area. 

Main flight area. 

Shaded pit tables!

700 class helis!

700 nitro flying 

Trex 250 build underway!

I took my Trex 250 kit with me to the track to show it to a buddy of mine in hopes that he would also get one.  I ended up starting on the build at the track also!  I assembled the rotor head and mocked up the frame before I put it away to race my RC cars. 

Soko Tools Setup kit + Zeal 380mm blades

So. I got my Soko Heli Kit and Zeal blades last week. 

I got the Zeal blades to replace the one stock SAB blade with a hole in the tip, that happened on a tip over landing because of a power loss.  This power loss may have been because of a hot motor (added a bigger heatsink and a fan) or a weak BEC. I twitched the cyclic servos on the bench and was able to overload the Castle 5A BEC and cause a shutdown. I added an external BEC capacitor and repeated the test.  No shutdown!  I may add a Castle 7A external BEC later though. 

I picked up a Soko Tools setup kit because of the app which guides you during the setup process. It also has a feature which allows you to complete the setup without a perfectly level surface. You can also level the swash without taking the rotor head off :).  I repeated the setup of my 380 with the tool and after I got the hang of using it, I liked it much better than a traditional digital pitch gauge.  Mostly because you only need to take the blades off and don't need a level working surface. 

130x repaired!

I swapped out the dead front servo in my 130x last night, as I wanted to get it flying again so I can practice inverted hovering.  I needed to take the frame apart to get the front servo out, which was a pain. Once I got it out I found out why it quit working. A chip had come loose from the PCB and must have been barely hanging on, since it fell out when I removed the servo!

The 130x after I got the front servo out. 

I took a few tries to reassemble the frame and get everything in the right spot, but once I did, it screwed back together easily.  I powered it up and everything worked as it should. Hopefully it still flies ok, since I really can't check the head setup. Lol. 

New electronics for the Trex 550?

I'm considering changing the electronics setup in my 550, when I rebuild it.  Currently it has a Castle Talon 90 and MSH Brain FC. I plan to move the Brain to the Trex 250 I just got, and put a Vbar  Neo with Rescue in the 550.  To use the Neo governor I'd replace the Talon 90 with an Edge 100, as I would need the RPM signal wire. This is the same ESC in my Goblin 380, but the Lite version without the heatsink case.  In the 550, I'd use the version with the heatsink. But, the BEC in the Edge can only support 5A, so I would need an external BEC to run the 4 full size power hungry servos in the 550.  Meaning I'd need to add a BEC Pro.  Hmmm. 

But I'd be able to use the Neo governor, which I'm liking in the 380. A bonus is now having data logging, as this feature is missing from the Talon line of ESC's. 

What to do? Lol!

Trex 250 is here!

Well I got my Trex 250 last night!  I had to open up the box and look at the parts. 

It came with 2 sets of blades, which I didn't realize. A carbon fiber and plastic set. I'll probably end up using the plastic set, as this heli is my training platform  it's also smaller than I thought.  I was thinking it was similar in size to my Blade CP Pro, since it uses the same battery, a 3s 850mah, but after looking at the canopy and blades, it seems to be a little bigger than my 130x. Maybe it's closer in size to a 180cfx?  The 15A esc it comes with is tiny!  I was planning to use the Castle Phoenix 25 from the CP Pro, to take advantage of the governor. But if it's too big, I may need to get a Talon 15. Luckily it's only $30. 

Next up, the build!

Hoyt Park Dr, Sunday 9/13/15

This time I went out to Hoyt Park as I didn't feel like being surrounded by quads again or deal with the wind.  I also went out there in the mid afternoon, hoping that it would start cooling down by then.

For this session I took out the shims between the head block and blade grips to smooth out the rotation of the blade grips, as I remembered they were notchy during assembly. I also pinched all the binding ball cups in the linkage. I was hoping these changes would get rid of the head bobbing that I've been dealing with. I so increased the headspeed to 3500 rpm. I had no luck though, as the heli was still bobbing. At least it's only noticeable in a hover and not in flight, but still!

I was braver with the 380 this time, attempting some flips, rolls, loops, and stall turns!  Now that the headspeed is the highest it can go with the gearing I'm using the heli feels much better to me. I'm thinking of trying a higher style setting which is supposed to fly more locked in and sim like, which is what I want. 

My pit table in the shade.  I was flying alone, but the occasional dog walker passed by and one car parked across the street watching me fly I guess. 

SEFSD Session, Saturday 9/12/15

I loaded up and headed out to my official flying field, SEFSD next to Sea World for my 1st session there with the 380.  I arrived about 10:30 am and the helipad was clogged up with quad copters :(. Where have all the helis gone!  I setup my pit and prepped the 380 for flight.  

Quad guy. He's been here every time I've come out since May!

Another quad regular. 

Getting the 380 ready. 

My new motor mount with a bigger heatsink and mini brushless fan!  My motor temps are at a steady 130F now. 

The Goblin 380 ready to fly!

I continued my testing to see if the motor would shutdown, but this time with my fan setup. I flew both batteries for only 4 minutes, then landed and sat on the pad with the motor running, to see if a shutdown would occur. Nothing!  I increased my time to 5 minutes but at a lower headspeed. Nothing!  Cool!

After I felt that she wouldn't drop out of the sky, I started flying around trying out the different agility setting I had in each flight mode. But by this time the wind was picking up and my turns were getting sloppy and the heli was sliding around more and more. So I decided to pack up and head home before something bad happened. 

Will the 380 lose power again?

So this session I was parinoid that the power would shut off again, so I stayed on the helipad for the first 2 packs, then cut my flight time to 3 minutes, landed, then stayed on the pad for 3 minutes. No shutdowns. Next session I plan to increase the flight time to 4 minutes and stay on the pad for 2 minutes.  When I can fly around for 5 minutes, I'll increase the headspeed to 3600, 3300, and 3000, then go back to tunning my Vbar Neo. 

Brought a pit table to work on this time. So much better!

My view of the flight area. 

380 crash landing!

I was flying the 2nd battery when suddenly the heli lost power and dropped to the ground!  I was only hovering at the time and all I could do was turn the motor off, but I guess it already was off?  The heli flat landed and tipped over!  The tail blades got scuffed up, one main blade had a small hole in it, and the boom had a paint chip. Pretty minor damage. I'll probably replace the main blades to be safe. I was pissed about the failure though. I'm wondering if the motor or ESC overheated? Maybe the battery is bad?  It was pretty hot out and I only waited about 10 minutes to fly again after my 1st pack. The damage was minor enough that I flew my last battery with no issues.

When I got home I tested the suspect battery. It was able to hold a constant 20A load with no problem. It's IR and capacity rating are what I would expect. I downloaded the data logs from the flight where the motor shut off. The esc temp peaked at almost 170F.  There were no drops in the BEC or battery voltage.  The only thing I can think of now is the motor was too hot?  Maybe a loss of the radio signal and it went into fail safe?  Maybe the Vbar governor cut the throttle?

I'm going to attempt to run the suspect battery again, but on the ground and see if it shuts down again. I'll need to pay attention to any error codes from the ESC or satellite receiver.  I'm also bringing my temp gun to get a reading on the motor. 

380 Session #2

Well I headed out to Hoyt Park after in hopes of getting rid of the bobble in the main rotor. I tried turning up the headspeed to 3100 rpm but that didn't seem to do anything. Next I used the Neo flight banks to test higher and lower main rotor gains. I set up bank 1 with a gain of 50, bank 2 with 70, and bank 3 with 90. Bank 3 seemed to eliminate the wobble!  I need to try it again to confirm though.

I tried flying around and the tail yaw rate and collective responsiveness seemed weird. I think it was because I was using the sport/beginner mode. I'll need to change that to 3D mode and see if the response feels better. 

I also got my first "crash" out of the way. I was trying to land and either the collective was super touchy or I lost power somehow, and it dropped from about a foot off the ground into the dirt next to the heli platform!  Luckily the only damage was a scrapped tip on the tail blades. 

Also, trying to tune by landing and hooking up to my laptop is a pain. Makes me want to switch to a Vcontrol radio. Hmmm. 

The plan for the next session is:

-change the pitch curve for Normal to a flatter curve for landing. 

-confirm 90 main rotor gain eliminated the wobble.

-perform an auto trim flight

-try 3D agility mode and see if the response is better

-tune tail gain

Trex 250!

I caved and picked up a Trex 250 using a Labor Day 10% off coupon at Heli Direct!  The plan for this is to be a training heli to try new maneuvers with, that flies better than my 130x and is cheaper to crash than my 380 and 550. I'll probably begin flying my 450 less, as it's getting hard to find replacement parts for.

I plan to use the speed control (Castle Phoenix 25) and batteries from my crashed and retired Blade CP, since it uses a similar power system.  I will also use the Brain FC from my 550 for it and install a Vbar Neo with Rescue in my 550 when I rebuild it. 

Goblin 380 maiden flight!

I flew the maiden flight of my Goblin 380, Labor Day, 9/7/15, in the late afternoon. 

It was uneventful, but it did have a head bobble, while in a hover. I hope it was because I was running a low headspeed for it, about 2600 rpm, per the manuals suggestion, for the first few flights, to break in the drive belts. 

The other issue I found was that the motor belt had moved up the main pulley to rub on the frame as it was going by. This resulted in some rubber bits inside the canopy and heli.  Unfortunately I didn't have any tools with me to adjust it, so that ended my flights on the 380 until the next session. 

I repositioned the motor belt such that there's more clearance to the frame and I'll bring some tools with me to adjust it at the field. 

Goblin 380 Build Update

I was able to finish my 380 on Labor Day, 9/7/15. 

Motor and servos installed. 

I got stuck during the build at the speed control install as I wasn't sure if I wanted to use the quick change battery kit I got or regular connectors. The 2600mah batteries I have are a tight fit on the battery tray and I needed to figure out how to wire the connector.  After a few days of messing around with placement of the battery and routing of the wires, and figuring out how long to cut them, I came with a method to install the battery onto the tray :)

I used a big wire tie and double sided tape to secure the battery on the tray. 

Figuring out how to route the servo leads and mount the Vbar Neo. 

Done!

Leveling the swash plate and setting the blade pitch was easy, but centering the tail pitch hub was a pain!  I tried different horn positions, ball link holes, and adjusted the tail rod length to get the correct servo throws!

I was finally done with the setup after l was happy with the tail :). Onto the maiden flight!