My favorite Esky 900 Helicopter just ate its tail boom in mid flight and crashed! Here's why.
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- My Esky 900 has been reviewed by me in magazines and has been my favorite for a long time. Folding Rotor blades (while in flight) are only found on models. I guess so if you crash it is supposed to save stuff, but it never has for me, and why I usually keep them tight, especially with slow spinning rotors like this one. Loose blades cause wobbles when they are not straight to boot, and especially if you do 3D. The Rotor blade also acts like a flywheel and quick jerks or dives, causes the body to move, but the rotor blade to want to stay like a gyro, so blades become very close to the heli too. It is just a matter of Physics. Xheli is sold out, but I will certainly get another Bare Bones kit when they become available, as this is just a pleasant heli to fly and nice to have a spare. Stay safe and thanks for stopping by,
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Dave
My Esky 900 has been reviewed by me in magazines and has been my favorite for a long time. Folding Rotor blades (while in flight) are only found on models. I guess so if you crash it is supposed to save stuff, but it never has for me, and why I usually keep them tight, especially with slow spinning rotors like this one. Loose blades cause wobbles when they are not straight to boot, and especially if you do 3D. It is just a matter of Physics. The Rotor blade also acts like a flywheel and quick jerks or dives, causes the body to move, but the rotor blade to want to stay like a gyro, so blades become very close to the heli too. Xheli is sold out, but I will certainly get another Bare Bones kit when they become available, as this is just a pleasant heli to fly and nice to have a spare. Stay safe and thanks for stopping by,
OH NO!!!! tail strike!!!!........ Unfortunately, for Us less experienced pilots this is a great lesson, but I am sorry you had to crash for it to be learned. Great content Dave!!!
This is the 6th time I've learned this. LOL. One jerky move can quickly change things. Thanks a lot Don, but all is good again.
@@NightFlyyer , Well I'm glad you keep fixing , and flying you make it look so easy, but a lot of accurate set up is involved. You have the most informative videos on CZcams with out the all the hype...Just great flying!!!!
That was very informative my friend..I shall check my blades often now...thank you for sharing..
Thanks very kindly AJ!
Sad to see the crash Dave. Well done on the repairs though. All part of the hobby.
It’s all part of the learning curve for sure. Thanks very much Sam.
Glad you figured that out, and had a successful run the next time. She's pretty and sounds so nice! Thumbs up video ~John
4:10 ''BOOM STRIKE!''
Sorry to see that happen to your heli thankfully you was able to see what caused and now it will never happen again..I hope? LOL Great job on the flight Dave!
It's good to see someone still doing Helicopter post. Seems like no one is supporting the hobby since the quad outbreak.
I agree. That's because quads are self flying these days and many do not have the patience to learn to fly Tail Rotored Helicopters. Thanks very much.
@@NightFlyyer I like quads and all, great for aerial photography but they fly too easily, it's not enough challenge... Nothing replaces the feel of a Helicopter!
Walkera didn't help things either in that regard.
@@NightFlyyer I have 2 align CF 600's one with an H-60 coast guard scale fuselage, an align 500 with an MD 500 Scale fuselage, a swift 16 with scale fuselage and a Hirobo .30 size lama. a few still fly and other need some TLC. Oh yeah a align 450 lol. I really need to get back out and do some flying, thanks to you I get some much needed encouragement.
Great to hear. Wait till you see the next video. That will encourage you more I hope. Thanks very much.
Man that was hard to watch! You know how much I love that heli. At least it came down in the best location possible in that thicket of brush. Ten feet closer and it would have hit that concrete runway causing even more damage. We’ve had this conversation before about loose vs. tight blades and I agree with you 100%, tight is better. I’m going to tighten mine even more before I fly it tomorrow now! Glad to see that you got her up and flying again, that is truly a great heli. Great flying as always sir, Semper Fi.
Thanks a lot Scott. I talked to you just before I flew this. What a fluke of an accident. Glad I had a bare bones kit I could borrow the parts from to get it back up the next day. Hope Xheli gets them back in stock again, as the barebones kit is an inexpensive way to get all the parts. Happy flying and Semper Fi.
Yep, what's for lunch: a "tail-boom strike," but not to worry with a Marine crew chief that knows how to improvise without missing a beat...! Oorah, Dave
Haha. Thanks kindly Bud and Semper Fi!
Your the man Dave Great job .I really enjoyed the video.
Thanks very kindly Dean. I appreciate you.
I think that your headspeed might have been too low for it to fly inverted. I noticed that it was bobbing back and forth just before the blade struck usually happens when you have low headspeed. I bet because you have flown that one so much the motor, esc, or battery might be going out causing your headspeed to drop right when you need it. I don’t know how reliable this information is but Align claims that the single blade bolt helps with controlling the lead/lag of the blade on their rotor heads that’s why they need to be somewhat loose.
from the eye-level horizontal shot (inverted), the blades looked like they were maintaining a good clearance from the boom and tail rotor.
They obviously were not when the blade hit the tail , because if you look close you can see they were not straight. But it was fine after I fixed it and tightened the blades for the second flight.
Great explanation. But how can you be sure the blades are 100% straight without additional holes? I left mine a little loose to let centrifugal force straighten them for me, but now I'm thinking that's totally wrong. Pretty sure you are correct on this one.
Even when tight centrifugal force will straighten them but they will tend to stay straight when throttling up and down it reversing pitch. Thanks and good flying.
Mine ATE the main gear first flight what angered me was I waited over a year for the part to be in stock and it never did
That is a real bummer. Sorry to hear that.
Oh No! Back to the work bench for repairs....
Yep, I did that for the second flight for sure. Couldn't do that at the field.
Nice
Thanks, Keith.
In another video with a blade strike you showed a piece of aluminum bent into a ramp to protect the boom. Was that only for the honey bee based helis?
Never had it happen to this one, so never put one on. I am considering that after this flight. LOL. Thanks.
@@NightFlyyer I would be interested in more detail on how you make that boom protection (maybe a short video). I have been flying FP for a while now and have a Blade SR that I am going to "graduate" to that I would like to protect the boom on. I really enjoy your videos and your contributions to the hobby over the years. I even made some landing skid "pontoons" from the info in that other video using the foam rope for my MSR and 120SR.
@@TX_Nano. Well, it may not be a warranted to make a video, and not sure if it would work on a big one like this. But a credit card attached firmly to the boom where the blade would strike at a 20 degree angle would certainly help. Glue it on with Amazing Goop. I am glad you liked and used my videos to help you along. Happy flying and thanks so very kindly for your comments. I appreciate you.
Hope no one was injured on board
Especially no animals were hurt either while making this video. Thanks.
Have you tried cutting out parts on a sheet of carbon fiber and making a replacement tail book from arrow shafts?
Not yet, but hopefully I don't ever have to. Not sure what a tail book is. Didn't know they made aeroshafts that big, if you meant tail boom. That is a possibility.
NightFlyyer a tail book is what Apple auto correct decided to change tail boom to.
@@keithwhisman Haha. LOL. Been there for sure. :-)
Couldn't you drill and tap a second mount screw to get to a more secure two point mounting?
Dave, I have just purchased DX8 G2 just like yours and am having problems to map my T-Rex 250 from Dx6i. Do you have any videos on how to do this, or perhaps you can recommend some other resources available on the web?
Not sure what you mean. If you copy all the parameters from the Dx6i , ie, pitch throttle curve, servos reverse, swash, into the DX8 Gen 2, it should work.
Ouch!
Yes.
Not agree: I seem to remember blades are supposed to be free to move a bit for lead and lag?
I worked on many real helicopters in the USMC, and they fold, but lock when extended. Props don't have lead and lag, so........ I have produced many videos like " My helicopter wobbles and here is why" that you might like to check out, as I prove why, including many 1 bladed helicopter videos. Heres's one from yesterday. czcams.com/video/U2G0TLUrj_0/video.html
I have a chance to buy a few old esky kits new in box. Can I still find replacement parts?
Those new kits in the box are the best parts bins for sure, but eBay has some listed too.
@@NightFlyyer guy has 3 exi 500s and isn't asking a lot for them.
Feel your pain. Had this twice now. Different helicopters but same result. Tailpipe rotated/ twisted by brute force of the drivebelt.
I don't think it is related to the "loose" blades. Its a simple torque issue and perhaps the tailpipe getting weak over time. I have examples where the tail pipe has been rotated almost 180 degrees... By hand I cannot bend/ twist the tailpipe.. If you would lock the tailrotor the force of the drivebelt will twist the tailpipe. In one occasion the gears at the tailrotor got stuck and it simply twisted the tailpipe like it was nothing.
Looking at your video the tail is bend at a location where the swashplate would have had an extreme angle. Near impossible I think so maybe another explanation would be possible. Perhaps the tailrotor got stuck somehow?
I appreciate your comments. I in over 50 years of flying helicopters, have never had the tail boom twist. It may be that on all my helicopters, the tail boom mount at the front and rear, (each half) has a plastic studs that stick into holes on the tail boom for proper alignment and cannot turn, including this one. Also after I picked it up, I could turn the blades and the tail rotor still rotated, even with the right angle bend in the tail boom, so nothing locked up. I straightened the boom back for the picture, so you could see the bend where the blade hit. Yes, I pulled a strong cyclic when I turned upside down, and the blades (spinning like a flywheel gyro) hit the boom when it moved the body too close. My Parkinson's makes my hands shake a lot these days and got me. If the blades were a little tighter, that would not have happened.
@@NightFlyyer Thank you and happy to see you got the helicopter flying again! I wish I had another 50 years to practice on my heli's but that's not going to happen. I wish you lots of fun flying and not hitting the tailboom again! Enjoy! I think its great you can still fly despite the parkinson and wish you safe and enjoyable flights!
@@onnobeckerhof5790 Thanks a lot Onno. I wish I had a few more years too, but in today's environment, I'm not so sure I want to be around, unless things really change for the better. Take care and stay safe.
A little hot glue and some duct tape and you'll be fine Dave!
Haha. Well it needed a little more than that, but, as you saw, it is fine again.
Liked 👅
Thank kindly.
Preflight Preflight m preflight
Choppers are nothing but a bunch of parts flyiing in close formation.
I always pre flight. That's an old fixed wing quote. LOL
@@NightFlyyer All I got to say is it's a good thing our butts ain't the seats in our models theyway we crash'em Guess that fome planes are sorta of a godsent easy repair with a little groilla glue or foam safe CA and you back in the air tilll the next crash. Not so much with fiberglasss and aluminum tubing don't fix well and spare parts get ecpensive. My first Trainer weighed about 4 lbs more with all the Epoxy.
@@HoundDogMech Well said. Thanks.