heli-cuzz
Key Veteran
Location: Pittston, Pa. USA
My Posts This: Topic Forum | I recently had purchased an Outrage FBL head for my Caliber5 from helidirect.
I built the head in twenty minutes and it sat for a month collecting dust.
Lately work has been slow so I had to hold off on the 280 dollar skookum sk360 for the FBL set-up.
Well today was the day.... I have always wanted to try FBL without the fancy electronics to see how the heli responded with just 2 rotor blades and servo to swash control and ofcourse the rest of the heli.
Let me tell you.... I was a bit intimidated from all the reading I have done and all the responses I have read on this particular subject. I've even viewed a few vids of other pilots hovering around very unstable and sloppy with a FBL and no stabilization system but with a 450 size.
I simply took the entire fly-barred head, swash, and main mast off my everyday Caliber5 and installed the Outrage FBL head, swash, and a modified main mast. My friend used his end mill and took just under a 1/2 inch off the top of the mast. I had to do this for pitch reasons and to keep the 2 pitch link rods as short as possible.
I started out with 75% expo and had the dual rates down to 65% keeping it as tame as possible. Pitch curve are no different than the flybarred version. I toned the headspeed down to 1700rpm.
I hovered the first two tanks. By the end of the 2nd tank I had backed off on the expo to 0% linear and the dual rates were back to 100% as well as a 1950 headspeed.
This heli is as stable as it is with a flybar. I was amazed how well it handled the wind just before the thunderstorms we had.
Two more tanks after dinner with my buddy Aaron, but this time it was in idle up. I checked the climbouts and climbdowns then onto loops, rolls, flips, and lots of FFF. No signs of porpoising or ballooning at all.
It flies as stable as its cousin the flybarred version. It flies like its on rails. It rolls and flips faster. Seemingly longer flight times. Full +10 and -10 pitched loops with no engine bog whatsoever. Amazing.
I'm very happy with its performance without the 2 axis stab sytem.
Tomorrow is going to be fun and exciting. I'll try and get some vid of the FBL Caliber5 and some stills.
A stripped down FBL Cal5
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