UMMAGAWD Vortex 250 Pro- Still learning to fly this thing!

My brother recorded me test flying my UMMAGAWD Vortex 250 Pro at the park near his place.  I'm still trying to get used to how it handles.





I also have the same flight as recorded by my Fatshark HD3 goggles DVR!  It's interesting to compare how the flight looks via FPV vs 3RDPV.

Maiden FPV Flight of my UMMAGAWD Vortex 250 Pro

FPV racing quad addict!

Got my Ummagawd Edition Vortex 250 Pro!  Installed the Spektrum Quad Serial Racing receiver.  I also had to install longer battery straps for my Tattu 4S 95C 1550mah batteries. 

I also had to put some rubber feet on the bottom for the frame to sit on while on the ground so I wouldn't wear down the titanium screw heads.  Maybe later I'll print up some parts to protect the flight camera, some landing gear, and a GoPro Session mount. 

I got to quickly test hover it and omg! The power is so addicting!

 

Gone to the darkside!

I've gone to the darkside!  I just bought a 250 size racing quad!

I picked up the Vortex 250 Pro, UMMAGAWD Edition!  This thing is all decked out!  Upgraded motors, CCD flight camera, titanium screw kit, carrying case, extra 4 blade props!

Hopefully its delivered before Christmas!

Vids of my Inductrix FPV flying around SDRC Raceway

Flying through a few gates


Flying around the track layout

Micro FPV quad, Blade Inductrix FPV

On an impulse I decided to try FPV flying with a micro quad, the Blade Inductrix FPV BNF. Being a bind an fly model there was nothing for me to set up!  Program the radio (which was minimal), bind, fly!

At first I flew around my apartment breaking in the batteries like I normally do (LOS). But then last Saturday at SDRC, I got to try flying FPV when I borrowed my friends goggles.  I've never flown this way before and I managed to get the hang of it pretty quick. I'm just having difficulty holding my altitude as it's hard to tell how fast or slow I'm going up or down. 

I flew around the pit area mostly. But after track maintenance I was able to fly a few laps around the track!  This was really fun!

Unfortunately I've already crashed a few times also, causing 2 of the struts in 1 motor pod to crack. I guess this is the weak point of this design. The struts are very thin and the material brittle, so they break easily when you crash. 

I tried to buy a replacement frame at the LHS, but they were out of stock. But one of the employees suggested that I try and find a 3D file to print!  This is a know problem with the Inductrix and people have created frame braces which you can download for free and print. 

The frame braces I tried were created by Ozydego and scootersps which I downloaded from the Thingiverse site. I printed them on our 3D printer at work and installed the lighter one on my Inductrix. 

                   The parts printing. 

                  The finished parts. 

       The lighter design installed. 

Hopefully the brace keeps the struts from breaking if I crash and the brace survives the crash itself :)

Big ass batteries for the Goblin Black Thunder 650!

I finally picked up the last major component of the power system for the 650. The 5000mah 6s batteries!  I went with 45C packs as I was able to them 15% off :)

I also picked up the programming box for the Hobbwing 160A speedo I picked up last time. 

Big ass speed controller for the Goblin Black Thunder 650!

The speed controller itself is the same size as one of my car batteries!  The box it comes in resembles a box for a cell phone!

I can't wait to get it flying!  I'm only missing the flight batteries now. I'm planning to use 2 6s 45c Pulse 5000mah packs. These will also work in my Trex 550.

Big ass motor for the Goblin Black Thunder 650!

I sized the motor for 700 size blades (690-710mm) as I plan to stretch my 650 to a 700 size heli at some point in the future.  SAB recommends the Xnova 4530 525kv motor for this application, so that's what I picked up. 

This is my 1st Xnova motor, as I've only flew Align and Scorpion motors in my other helis. This thing is huge!  It's about the size of one of those short 6oz soda cans. Lol!

Hoyt Park, Sunday 8/21/16

I headed to Hoyt Park to get more flights in on the 550. It flew awesome!  I had a bunch of fun flying it!  No new tricks though. Just some fast sport flying. 

Ming and John were there today also. And some guy came by looking for help with his co-axial heli mall toy. lol. 

380 motor rebuild testing

I headed out to Hoyt park last Sunday to test my rebuilt motor for the 380. It needed new bearings and a motor shaft. It turns out it was also missing a spacer which kept the motor can from moving up and down!  No wonder my motor belt kept changing position!

Anyway, the motor testing went well. My motor temperature went down by 25F with new bearings :). But I wasn't flying very well. I felt really nervous and shaky. I decided to limit my flying to figure 8s and hovering to prevent a crash :)

I also got a couple of flights in on my 550!  It flys awesome and feels light and powerful!  I do need some new batteries for it though, as the original 30C packs are getting puffy. The IR is still good and they balance ok though. Go figure. Lol!

Sunday session at Hoyt Park

I headed out to a rare Sunday session at Hoyt park. Normally I only fly here after work during the week. 

I brought out the 650 for show and the 380 / 550 for flying. The 380 was flying awesome, but I almost crashed it into myself trying an inverted hover!  Luckily my Vbar rescue saved it and punched it away. 

Then I flew my 550 at all my headspeeds. It also flew awesome, but the governor bogged a little on a banked turn at 2500 rpm. I'm guessing because my pack voltage was sagging since my packs are fairly old. It flew fine at my mid headspeed of 2300 rpm though, so I'll probably just use that for these packs. 

I also figured out why the Scorpion motor keeps running hot. The bearings are shot and the motor shaft keeps moving back and forth because a washer was missing below the c-clip!  I had taken the motor out of the 380 because my motor shaft shifted again and I wanted to figure out why. That's when I noticed that a washer was missing while shopping for replacement bearings and spare c-clips!

I ordered some parts from a shop in Vista and I should get them in a few days. But now I need an Arbor press so I can replace the bearings without damaging them or the motor :-/

Vbar Neo and BK servos ready for install

I completed the initial setup of my Vbar Neo and bound it to my Vcontrol radio.  I also installed the servo horns on each servo and installed the "Free Swash" app on my radio so that I can individually trim each cyclic servo to level the swash like I'm used to. So now I don't need a laptop to setup my heli!  I can do everything via the radio now :)

Trex 550 test flight successful!

The rebuild and setup was finally done and it was time to test fly my 550!  I crashed it in August of 2015, then finally started rebuilding it at the beginning of June 2016. 

Some upgrades I put in during the rebuild were thicker frames from the pro model,

KDE tail control upgrade, 600 boom from the pro, Vbar Neo with rescue, Vcontrol radio, and Vcontrol current sensor. 

The test was a success!  But the tail gain needs to be turned up and I need to do a trim flight. 

650 mocked up!

Last night I was able to finish building the tail case and mount it into the boom. Of course now I had to install the boom in the frame and put the canopy and blades on and compare its size to my 550! Lol!

Oh and my BK servos were delivered also :)

The 650 is huge!  The blades reach up my chin!  The 550 to my chest. I can't wait to fly them!

650 tail shaft done!

I was only able too assemble the 650 tail shaft with the blade grips and pitch slider. Next up is completing the tail case and boom. Just so I can mount it to the frame and install the blades and see how big this thing is!  Lol!

Goblin 650 head assembly completed!

I managed to complete assembly of the head on the 650 last night!  I did need to make a run to Home Depot though for a 5mm Allen wrench, as I needed 2 of them to tighten the spindle screws for the huge blade grips on this thing!

The black carbon frame disappears into my black tabletop. Oh well. Lol!

Trex 550 setup 99% complete

I sort of completed the setup on my Trex 550. Only "sort of" because it turns out the stock Align servo horns are too long to work correctly with the Vbar Neo control loops. :(

My collective range is too low at about 72 for positive and 74 for negative. For the control loop who work correctly these numbers need to be between 80-100.

I was about to test fly it, but decided against it until the setup is perfect!  Plus, I would hate it if I crashed on my test flight due to being impatient. I ordered some SAB servo horns which have mounting locations for the ball links closer to the output shaft of the servo, which should bring the control loop range above 80 :)

Goblin 650 Black Thunder Build Underway!

I was able get the frame and transmission plate built during the last 2 evenings. No had one assembly problem though with the upgraded landing skids. The mounting holes in the carbon didn't line up with the mountain holes in the frame!

I ended up increasing all of the mounting holes diameters until they were big enough to compensate for the misalignment. Lame. 

The assembly of the transmission plate went smoothly though, so I'm happy again :). Next up is assembly of the head block and swash plate. Just so I can mount the blades and see how big this sucker is!

Went plane flying!

I was able to get out to the field and get 5 flights on my 48" P51 Mustang foam plane. I went out about mid afternoon and it was windy like it always is, but I handled it ok. I just flew circuits and practiced my landings.  Last time I flew I managed to break the rudder off, but I repaired it with about 4 layers of tape. Loll!

Vcontrol current sensor is in!

Tonight I installed my Vcontrol current sensor in my Trex 550. Once I install the needed apps on my radio, I won't need to fly by a timer, but actual current usage!  An alarm will sound when I reach the capacity I set for the battery I'm flying. 

The Goblin Black Thunder 650 size heli is here!

It's massive! The box was 3ft long!

The blades are 27 inches long while the boom is about 30 inches!

The tail fin is 10.5 inches tall!

The canopy is 3 feet long?!

I'm so looking forward to building it!

550 repair 90% competed!

The frame, boom, and head are rebuilt!  The servos are even in the frame!  Only the rest of the electronics and control links need to go on and she'll be ready for setup :)

Goblin Black Thunder!

I finally decided to get a 650/700 class heli running on 12s!  Woohoo!  The rotor diameter is a little under 5ft!  It's about a foot bigger than my 550 heli :)

It will still be a few months before its flight ready though as I'll collect the electronics for it when I can get them on sale. 

Here's a list of the parts I plan to fill it with:

Vbar Neo with Rescue- delivered

BK 7002HV coreless cyclic servo x3- on order

BK 7006HV coreless tail servo- on order

Hobbywing Platinum Pro V4 HV 130A ESC with 10A BEC

Xnova 560kv motor

SAB 22t pinion- on order

Pulse 4500mah 45C 6s batteries x4

RC Proplus 6mm connectors- on order

Trex 550 head and frame tear down

I competed the rebuild of the tail boom on Sunday and also installed my KDE tail pitch control upgrade kit at the same time as I replaced the damaged parts from the crash. 

Next I completely tore down the frame and rotor head for inspection. Luckily the main shaft, feathering shaft, head block, blade grips, and blade grip arms were not damaged in the crash. Just the main gear stripped. 

After rebuilding the rotor head, I planned another part order to rebuild the frame.  It should arrive later this week, then I can get my 550 back together :)

Trex 550 rebuild finally begins!

I finally decided to begin rebuilding my Trex 550, 9 months after crashing it. I started by removing the front gearbox from the frame, then removing the bent boom. 

Next up is rebuilding the tail case with my new KDE upgrade kit, then placing the 1st order to replace all the damaged parts that I can see so far. 

Getting the hang of it!

I had a great flying session at SEFSD on Saturday afternoon 5/21/16, while the TNS race was going on at SDRC. 

I also got to try out my new wind speed gauge!  Turns out the wind speed was about 8 mph on average with gusts up to 10 mph. Lol!

This was the 1st session with my 48" P51 Mustang where I was able to fly around, retract the landing gear, and was able to land without tipping over onto the prop (mostly). It was great!

I was also able to fly my UMX Habu, taking off and landing from the runway :)

SEFSD Sunday afternoon session, 5/8/16

I broke my prop!

My prop finally had enough of my tip over landings and broke on my 2nd landing attempt of my 1st battery. Oh well. 

The stock Eflite prop was out of stock everywhere, but I was able to find a cheaper aftermarket prop from a new online hobby shop I found :). I ordered 4 of them and got them in only 3 days!  Winning!

Birthday flying

I took my Birthday off from work for the 1st time ever and headed out to the field to fly my new 48" P51, despite the threat of rain. Unfortunately it was a bit windy, but I tried to fly anyway. 

My session was going ok, but the wind caused the plane to pitch up, then stall, as I was trying to land and it came down hard!

Crinkled nose. 

Dented wingtip. 

Waiting to fly. 

Club members getting the pad ready for the drone race on Saturday. 

1.2m P51 Mustang Maiden!

I maidened my new and 1st big plane Sunday 5/1/16!  At 1st I tried using the flaps, but with the wind, the plane floated too much which made it hard to land! Lol!

I basically practiced my landing approach  and landings. I didn't fly around much other than getting in position to land. By my 5th landing I was starting to get the hang of it!  But I was landing really far down the runway!

I can't wait to try flying it again :)

Ready to fly!

Windy!

Blade 230s and Trex 250 repairs completed!

I managed to finish repairs to both my 230s and 250, which I crashed a couple of weeks ago within days of each other.  The 230 was simple to fix. I glued the cracked frame back together, replaced the broken main gear, and installed a new set of landing gear. I checked both the main and spindle shafts; both were not bent :).  There's no way to set the blade pitch as the links are a fixed length. You can only level the swash and set the max and min pitch, which shouldn't have changed as the swash links were not damaged. Repair and setup done!

The 250 on the other hand required much more work. Both dfc links were broken, a dfc rod was bent, and a blade grip arm bent. The spindle shaft didn't break this time, but was bent. I also had to replace a bearing block that I broke while trying to get the main shaft out of the locked up one way bearing. However, all the parts have been replaced with new ones, but I still need to repeat the head and tail setup. 

Next time I fly the 250, I'm only doing 1 test flight, then grounding it for at least a month!  This way I won't crash it for at least a month. Lol!

Big ass plane is here!

My new 48" P51d Mustang arrived last night. This thing is bigger than I expected!  The box didn't even fit in the trunk of my car!  I had to put it in the front seat!

Box contents. The box's length came up to under my chin!

Assembly was pretty easy.  I did need to solder a Deans connector onto the speedo though as I don't use EC3's, which is the connector it came with. The hardest part was deciding how to route the servo wires from the wing into the fuselage and keep them tidy. I also needed to figure out how to tape the 2 antenna wires in a 90 deg position to each other. I ended up orienting the short antenna up and routing the long antenna towards the back of the plane in parallel to the fuselage. This way the 2 antennas were 90 degrees to each other. 

After figuring that out, I plugged in the battery and tested the control surfaces, flaps, and landing gear. The retractable landing gear was cool!

Size comparison between my 14" UMX P51 and the 48" P51!

What am I getting myself into?!?

Big ass plane on the way!

I caved and bought a 48" wingspan P51D Mustang!  It flys on a 3s 2200mah battery, the same packs as my Trex 450. 

It also has flaps and retracting landing gear :)

It is my bday present to myself this year. Last year it was the Goblin 380.

Crashed the 230s :(

Well I crashed the 230s!  I dumb thumbed it backwards into the ground practicing nose in hovering.  It happened so fast I didn't even think of hitting the rescue button!  I just turned off the motor as the heli impacted the ground.

Damaged parts for far:
Main frame
Landing gear
Stripped main gear
Tail fin
Cracked my new fiberglass canopy :(

I've already super glued the main frame and tail fin back together.  I managed to tape up the cracks in the canopy.  I've already ordered some new landing gear and a main gear.  I also picked up some spare main and spindle shafts just in case those were bent in the crash.

Oh well.  I've been having a lot of fun flying this heli, and rescue has saved it a bunch of times already while practicing inverted hovering.

Crashed the 250 yet again!

I managed to crash the 250 again on its 5th flight during the 1st session after rebuilding it. :-/

I was test flying it after the last crash and it was flying great!  I even did a few loops and nose in turns :). But it was getting a bit windy and while spinning the heli tail in to prepare for landing I over rotated, lost orientation, then tried to level it, and banked into the ground :(

Damage so far is:

Blade grip

Dfc link

Dfc ball links

Feathering shaft

Main shaft

Main shaft bearing block

I already have most of the parts, expect the main shaft bearing block, which I broke while removing the main shaft, because the one way bearing locked up causing the main gear to become stuck on the main shaft. :-/

Sunset session, SEFSD, Saturday 4/16/16

I tried to fly at Hoyt park mid afternoon, but it was way too windy!  My chair even blew over!  While waiting for the wind to die down, I installed my new fiberglass canopy in a bright orange and green, for my 230s. 

The wind never did die down, so I went to the SEFSD field an hour or so before sunset, hoping that the wind would be gone by then. 

Sun in your face in the takeoff direction of the runway. No wonder nobody flies here in the late afternoon. 

Pic of my Eflite UMX Habu EDF jet. 

Another pic of my new fiberglass canopy for the Blade 230s.