First taste of the sky

[leccyflyer]

8 hours ago, Peter Jenkins said:

Rather unkind Arthur.   We are all different in how we approach things.  Also, few clubs allow complete beginners to teach themselves by crashing.  That's not safe for the other club members.

Agreed. I thought it was rather unkind as well. A number of members here did express concerns early on in Toto's journey that he was spreading himself a little thin by diving in and very rapidly acquiring multiple trainers, rather than concentrating on building his flying hours, but it was clear that he was never going to want to just buy a cheap  foamy, a few batteries and do it himself. That simply isn't how he wanted to enter the hobby and, as you say, we are all different in how we approach things.

 

Toto has been very thorough in how he has approached his start in the hobby and has taken it seriously from day one. He's had extraordinary bad luck, in terms of equipment failures along the road, which have been exacerbated by there being so much equipment involved and jumping in at the deep end. I think I mentioned a long way back that launching one's first electric flight participation with a multi-kilowatt, 6s system would be unusual and challenging, but that was the size of model that Toto was keen on flying- but it's his choice.

[Rich Griff]

The Cream.....

 

Perhaps a more basic ( less to go wrong ! ?? ) 3 channel motor glider and/or a sloper version, kit or all hand made, may have been a better introduction, but toto seems time poor and sufficiently cash rich...

 

In this hobby you have to have the mentality that you may be taking home your model in a bin bag, or warming your self by a "Viking funeral" at the field.

 

I have been known to drag   broken models from the flying field bin, to fly again, but I was time rich and cash poor at the time.

 

Yes, laugh, better than crying, like the chap who watched his beautifull large vintage soarer, which must have taken at least 100 hours to make, serenely and rock steady  float out over hell's mouth on its way to bardsey ......." No control, *!1t ! " He said........

 

We completely lost sight of it after about 5 mins. I do reckon it landed on bardsey.

 

Keep the faith toto, you will get there.

 

Get at least two foamies up and running reliably, then spend some time on your force engine to learn reliable setting up and installation In your reliably reconned " arising star" was it, and fly the socks off that as well.

 

I still think a basic sloper is the best way into this hobby, but of course you need a slope.

 

Mine was cilan headland ( thanks mum in law, 50 ish miles from home ) then egryn abbey ( thanks robin ) slope by the rabbit Warren, about 3 miles from home, crusader r + e 72inch veneered foam wings, cheapest kit at the time.

 

I still have a pair of wings and the plan.

 

Fancy making a "my home brew" toto, minimum balsa and covering, r + e, a good week of two hours per evening ?

 

Sloper, small electric ( 3 channel, George's 4 Max value pack ) or small IC ( 3 channel ), even a bungee or towed launch....

 

These days, electric powered, but the battery is heavy....

 

Anyways, keep plugging away toto, problem solving makes you stronger and more experienced, have a great day.

 

Ps, does bachmann mean anything to you by chance ?

 

 

Edited January 21 by Rich Griff

[leccyflyer]

Another stream of consciousness posting banging on yet again about what Toto has previously said, multiple times, that he's not interested in.  He's not wanting to learn how to fly with a slope soarer. He's made it quite clear how he wants to participate in the hobby and folks adopting an "Ooooh, you didn't want to do that!" attitude if he hasn't proceeded to start off in exactly the way that they did, years ago,  really aren't helping. It sounds like Toto has found the right club for him, he has a dedicated and experienced instructor and he just needs a run of weekends when he can get some flying hours in.

[Rich Griff]

Keep the faith toto, you will get there, etc....

[toto]

No worries,

 

I get everyone's frustration. It must be agonising watching the posts on issue after issue unraveling week after week. There are some great bits of advice always coming through but ..... so many of them ...... all trying to pull me in different directions as they are all honest opinions coming from various peoples own experiences.

 

Currently ..... I have settled into a trainer ( the Domino) which up until now has been really quite reliable. My instructor also agrees that it's a great model and a suitable one. .... eventually I have got something right.

 

It's unfortunate that I am now experiencing an issue with my NX8 .... bought new not even a year ago. I will be having a look at that later today to see if I really need to send it back to the manufacturer for attention or whether a firmware update may resolve. .... as a sideline ...... I still find it very coincidental that its starts playing up just as I recalibrate one of three issue ridden Overlander ECS's but it could be entirely unrelated. I have around three 100amp Spektrum Avian ESC's I could try but refuse to stick a £100.00 plus ESC in a model like a basic Domino ...... not happening.

 

Over the last few weeks, given my position and luck to date, I went out and bought a couple of back up models to use should the Domino come to a hard end. ..... my Tasman and a Supercub ...... both foamies, quick to construct if required and no faffing about ...... plug in RX .... battery .... quick bind and set up and away you go.

 

My Mentor knows I have these and he knows that if he thinks it's a good idea to bring them into service, he only needs to say. However, I am leaving that up to his judgement. I think he is happy with the Domino so far as am I. 

 

As I said above, ai have a little trial and error to do with the NX8 to see if it needs attention under warranty or if it just maybe needs a reboot with a firmware update. I also need to strip the motor from the Domino to gain access to the nose wheel as there ie an issue with the steering which can't seem to be addressed by the available adjustments in the sector throw settings.

 

For now, the Domino is useable as my mentor has kindly tethered his DX9 transmitter to my NX6 which works fine so in reality ..... as far as keeping my Domino in the air goes ...... it's just a bit of playing around with the now wheel which I'll have sorted in time to resume flying next weekend.

 

Happy days

 

Toto

 

 

 

[David Davis]

How is the Domino's nose-wheel pushrod attached to the servo?

 

I always adjust things mechanically before going to the computer in the transmitter, a DX9 in my case. Mind you I'm Old School.

[PatMc]

2 hours ago, toto said:

...It's unfortunate that I am now experiencing an issue with my NX8 .... bought new not even a year ago. I will be having a look at that later today to see if I really need to send it back to the manufacturer for attention or whether a firmware update may resolve. .... as a sideline ...... I still find it very coincidental that its starts playing up just as I recalibrate one of three issue ridden Overlander ECS's but it could be entirely unrelated. I have around three 100amp Spektrum Avian ESC's I could try but refuse to stick a £100.00 plus ESC in a model like a basic Domino ...... not happening.

 

 

 

Toto, I probably used the wrong phrase in saying "re-calibrating the Tx", the procedure was actually the Tx being operated through it's full range in the normal way with th ESC "learning" & committing this range to it's memory - i.e. the only software change is within the ESC.

[toto]

Hi David. 

 

Its attached via a plastic clevis. 

 

I'll post up a couple of photos later .... I think it's more to do with potential slop at the front end.

 

Toto

[toto]

Hi PatMc

 

The TX comes up with a fault warning and one of the suggestions is to ensure that the latest  version of the software is uploaded onto the TX. 

 

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing. I will take a photo of the message on the TX when I boot it back up later and you can see what you think.

 

Toto

[leccyflyer]

Toto - I had some problems with my DX9 last year with the model memories and having initially resisted making any updates in the end the suggested update was relatively painless and solved the problem I was having. The update was advised by Andy Kunz at Horizon Hobby and I was very sceptical at the time, but really didn't want to be sending my transmitter away, potentially for an extensive period. It might be worth you raising your question with Andy over on the RCG Spektrum support threads.

[Don Fry]

Re nose wheel steering on a primary Trainer, Toto, and a foam jobbie to boot, I would say, an unrequired  complexity. Point it into wind, open it up, and the rudder will hold it into wind as soon as it’s moving. Fly, land, charge, point fly…..

Just anchor it straight ahead. 
Game of blood, KISS applies. 
As a stress reliever, learn to make chutney. You will never touch that turnip chutney you all seem to be addicted for cheese sarnies again. 

[GrumpyGnome]

@toto recalibrating an esc can't gave had any effect on your tx - it's just teaching the esc what 0 and 100% throttle signals look like.  It's just coincidence.

[toto]

Thanks for that Grumpy.

 

I will be looking into the TX issue after dinner. If I remember correctly, I have had a similar issue way back at the start of my journey. Some fault came up in the TX. It wouldn't let me do anything and it was resolved with a reboot of the firmware. I'd need to search back through my early threads to find it.

 

My first stop will be a reboot and if no results ..... I'll get in touch with Andy from the Spektrum support as suggested by Leccyflyer.

 

I'm sure it will just be a glitch and I'll be back on track again before long. 

 

It's a bummer as we spent so long on Saturday implementing a work around that it reduced my flights to 2 instead of at least 4. 

 

I'll post up the TX screen message prior to starting on the firmware update when I hit the shed later.

 

Many thanks

 

Toto

[Peter Beeney]

Indeed, I couldn't agree more Don. Disconnect the push rod from the server arm and just anchor with a 5A electrical ‘chocbloc’ . If I were a learner at this stage I’m sure would be asking the instructor for some takeoff practice as well, flying basic square circuit, left or right as the site orientation dictates, overflying the strip and the next stage is a landing approach. I think that getting used to flying near the ground would really inspire my confidence, and indeed, I too have to abide by the KISS rule, Keep It Strictly Simple, anything else would be a bit too clever by half….

 

A very long term, from single channel days, flying colleague had a couple of maxims he always quoted to beginners, ‘If you think you are going to get upset crashing a model aeroplane, don't even start,’ and secondly ‘If you don't fly in a wind you will never do any flying’ and I must admit I don't think I've ever had any occasion to argue with that.

 

Over the years I don't think there is anything else that quite comes close to sometimes turning normal rational human beings, usually the more senior type, into more or less quivering imbeciles than learning to fly a model aeroplane. One little bit of advice I tend to throw out right from the start is ‘Whatever happens. try to appreciate and enjoy all this scary stuff because you won't be able to experience this twice’ and of course the the same applies to the first solo flight, you only ever do it once.

 

Blue skies
                  
PB

[toto]

Hi Peter,

 

Thanks for your input.

 

My flying is at the stage where I now always do the take off. I have been working on basic circuits and proceedural turns. My circuits have been a bit rough and we are currently working on my special awareness, and alignment with the runway. Just lately.... the last couple of weekends, my instructor has been working with me to start getting used to aligning the model towards the runway with the intention of an appropriate line for landing .... so that is happening. 

 

It's just a bit unfortunate that I have been having a couple of technical issues that have hampered the no of flights that I am having due to ha ing to resolve issues rather than getting further flights in.

 

Generally, I feel that If I can retain the reliability of the model and spend less time adjusting things, my progress will come faster than at any other point so far.

 

I am lucky that I have an instructor that is prepared to push me a little but without taking unnecessary risks. Last weekend, I had undertaken two approach moves, the second of which had me flying quite smoothly and reasonably accurately over the runway. If things had continued into this weekend without the unfortunate glitch, I truly believe I might have been on my way to my first landing. We believe that the softer wheels on the Domino are very forgiving and may even have accommodated a little bit of my harsher treatment.

 

I think that I will have accomplished al, the main moves required for a successful taxi, take off, flying circuit, approach and landing very soon. Admittedly ...... ut may not look the prettiest but will be the point from which to start improving on the basics.

 

I just need to get the gremlins dealt with to allow me consistent air time.

 

Cheers

 

Toto

[Peter Jenkins]

29 minutes ago, Peter Beeney said:

One little bit of advice I tend to throw out right from the start is ‘Whatever happens. try to appreciate and enjoy all this scary stuff because you won't be able to experience this twice’ and of course the the same applies to the first solo flight, you only ever do it once.

 

Blue skies
                  
PB

To me, the scary stuff is what it's all about.  Model railways had no adrenaline rush for me once I've run the train round the oval track a few times.  No one like crashing their models but that's how you learn quite often.  If you find that you are losing your aircraft in the same way every time then you are not learning and perhaps flying model aircraft isn't for you.  But there are only a very few like that.

 

Toto seems to be having a wide range of problems  but learning from each.  Well done Toto and, although it's not the way I went about things as I only had one I/C trainer that I had to repair a few times before I completely destroyed it, I can understand his desire to get on quickly.  When I came back into aeromodelling, my background helped me enormously.  I had built and flown free flight, control line and single channel radio control while I was at school and even built a single channel radio kit (with valves!) and a solid state proportional radio set from a kit of parts before heading into full size flying.  On my return, I understood all that was involved in building models, running engines and the radio had gone from iffy to plug in and switch on and away you went.  It certainly surprised my instructor when I managed to badly damage my trainer fuselage by losing it at 5 ft on approach (rolled the wrong way!) to see me the next morning with a fully repaired and decorated model raring to go.  Past experience was worth its weight in gold.

[toto]

So I have hit the shed for a quick moment. 

 

I wanted to get a picture of the following .........

 

 

This is the screen that I have on my NX8 transmitter.

 

I am going back indoors now to use my business laptop to update the software files onto both my NX8 and NX6 as the wifi signal is more reliable. I don't normally contaminate my business laptop with this kind of stuff but think in this case .... downloads will be quicker and more likely to complete without interuptions. 

 

I'll post back up and let you know if I resolve the issue.

 

cheers for now

 

toto

[Nick Cripps]

Post your picture up on this thread https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3732835-Spektrum-NX-Transmitters explaining your problem and ask for guidance. I suspect this has been asked about before but actually finding the relevant information in the 800+ pages is quite a challenge.

 

Andy Kunz frequents this thread and actively encourages questions here rather than direct contact with him by PM as it then allows the knowledge to be shared with the community.

 

You might also find what you need here https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3848191-Spektrum-NX-Transmitter-Info-and-Tips but if not, there is lots of useful information here to help you get the best out of your NX8.

[toto]

Thanks Nick ....... partial disaster averted.

 

Been online ...... here is the fix .....

 

Hold your finger on the scroll wheel ( pressing it down ) whilst booting up the transmitter ...... the big red screen is still there. Keep holding the scroll wheel down for around 10 to 20 seconds or so ....... red screen disappears and normal set up screen returns. ..... fault condition now gone.

 

However, I say partial fix as when I go into my system setup, choose select a model ...... my Domino has disappeared and in its p,ace is UNUSABLE MODEL.

 

I am assuming ( maybe incorrectly ) that my blown ESC is in some way connected to the transmitter issue as it was soon after that the TX went down. 

 

I have a new ESC back in the Domino and I am going to try rebounding the models RX to the TX and see what happens. This may be tonight ..... not sure yet.

 

Boy ....... what a larf.

 

Toto 

[JOHN MOSLEY 2]

6 minutes ago, toto said:

Thanks Nick ....... partial disaster averted.

 

Been online ...... here is the fix .....

 

Hold your finger on the scroll wheel ( pressing it down ) whilst booting up the transmitter ...... the big red screen is still there. Keep holding the scroll wheel down for around 10 to 20 seconds or so ....... red screen disappears and normal set up screen returns. ..... fault condition now gone.

 

However, I say partial fix as when I go into my system setup, choose select a model ...... my Domino has disappeared and in its p,ace is UNUSABLE MODEL.

 

I am assuming ( maybe incorrectly ) that my blown ESC is in some way connected to the transmitter issue as it was soon after that the TX went down. 

 

I have a new ESC back in the Domino and I am going to try rebounding the models RX to the TX and see what happens. This may be tonight ..... not sure yet.

 

Boy ....... what a larf.

 

Toto 

Delete the unusable model, then run model validate all models in Model Utilities, this is important. If any other models memory are shown as damaged delete them also.

 

Edited January 21 by JOHN MOSLEY 2

[toto]

Hi John,

 

It won't let me select Unusable model .... the cursor simply skips over it.

 

toto

[JOHN MOSLEY 2]

15 minutes ago, toto said:

Hi John,

 

It won't let me select Unusable model  the cursor simply skips over it.

 

toto

Your firmware is well out of date, dont try wfi, down load directly to pc, it will appear in downloads folder. Make sure file is called SPMTX.SAX , if it has a number in bracket use rename it. Copy to your micro sd file with only that file on it with transmitter off. Then switch on an wait be patient it takes a while. Current firmware is 3.12A

[toto]

Hi John,

 

I done that before I done the above exercise to get rid of the fault code. Rev 312A installed. I updated my NX6 at the same time. both are now running on the most recent software.

 

toto.

[toto]

The domino is now set up again on the NX8.

 

Bound, throttle cut set and dual ( or triple ) rates set back up again.

 

Everything working again.

 

One thing I will have to do is see if the NX6 and NX8 need to be rebound again. The Domino had already been bound to the NX6 but since I have recreated the Domino in a new file on the NX8 ..... the two transmitters may need to be rebound again. Not a hassle.

 

The main thing is ..... we are back in business again for next weekend. All I need to do is take a look at the nose wheel .... or as suggested ..... lock it up in the straight position. My preference would be to have it working ..... the lock up will be second choice. I have all week to faff around with it.

 

Life is good again ...... I can put the rasor blades away for now. 😄

 

toto 

[Don Fry]

Toto, nose wheels have hard lives. Lock it straight. One less failure point next weekend. If you have that much time make chutney. It’s a trainer, one job. No complexity.