Journey to a 90size...PART II

Finally got pretty much every single thing ready for the 90 size.



My very finalized setup would be:

YS91SR
MP5
Radix 710mm SB
ATG with 9254
Solid-G with BLS 251
Ino Lab 760mg(cyclic)
Dualsky VR8L with Flightpower Evo-rx 2100mah

Ino-Lab 760mg



Pretty ok spec, even on 4.8v. Not sure how accurate the spec is though.

It is really 52g.

Futaba BLS 251

Slower and weaker than the logictech 6100 servo, but at least the wires are pretty well wrapped.





BUT there is still one problem...I DON'T HAVE A KIT YET. At the moment I am considering...after looking at the build manual, here is my thoughts..

T-rex 700N
Looks pretty ok and parts are definately going to be highly affordable, but there seems to be nothing, absolutely nothing that is tunable or adjustable on it. Also, align has NEVER ever released a heli w/o any major issue... like weird static glitch, clutch and bell exploding, fans eating governor sensor, swashplate seperating in flight...oh well, nobody is perfect, isn't it.

-nice production canopy
-main shaft only supported by two bearings
-frame design and build seems to be average, should be durable enough
-HATE THOSE BUTTON HEAD SCREWS, the head tends to wear off/strip
-very light weight and nice tray for mounting everything
-the type of ccpm/elevator arm setup that I really like
-plastic in the correct places

RJX X-treme 90
RJX quality hasn't been quite good, at least on the 50.. While many have had success, many have had issues too. Main gear stripping in flight, pinion wearing very fast, metal fatique, soft metal parts, and even the Chinese themselves(who supposedly should support their own domestic goods and production) say that there is no precision in the parts. I haven't really seen the 90size in real life yet, so I can't quite comment on it. Parts for the 50 is not cheap, so parts for the 90size is definately going to be a lot more expensive.

-whatever happened to them, the canopy on the 50 was just right, the one on the 90 is tiny and looks ugly, canopy mount comes with a breakoff tab though.
-looking at the manual, the frame might be quite susceptible to cracks in a crash. From what I know, its also 2mm thick, but it seems to be the weakest of all. The fan shroud area is just left totally open with nothing in between as shown in the pictures below.


X-treme 90


700N


Aurora

-3main shaft bearing
-very nice looking mixing arm
-hate the anti-rotation
-G10 frames available, in all honesty, I prefer G10 to CF, because its cheap and doesn't affect my pcm rx
-adjustable head
-certain things like the tail pitch slider arm could been in plastic

Avant aurora
-Really nice design and very good frame and rotor head design
-expensive parts($40 main shaft!!)
-distributor for SINGAPORE IS A INDONESEAN HOBBY SHOP????WTF?? So Basically I must ship the heli and parts from a thousand miles away and go through the hassle of custom, shipping cost, unknown "LHS", when in Singapore, the real LHSs are all within a radius of less than 30km no matter where you are in the country/island...so much for a local distributor.
-frames are very well re-inforced and the tail/torque design is very good from the way it is mounted on the frame to the open tail case, great design
-Real question is- Is the aurora a myth or reality??


I know I always say that unless you have got people earning a sizeable amount of income or profit for you...otherwise don't waste your hard-earned money on a 90...but somehow along the way, 90 size equipments/electronics seems to have gotten a bit cheaper than it was, making it more tempting, more affordable. Even the 90 size kit are going down in prices. So for now, I guess the only worry that is remaining is...FUEL COST.

All photos of the different frames are taken off their PDF manual, which can be downloaded online from the respective manufacturer's website.

ATG

Tried the ATG v3 on the raptor. In comparsion to the TJ pro....

Physical/Package....
The atg comes in a box that is similar size to the solid g and its physical size is the same as the solid g control box. Unlike the cheap zip lock bag that the tj pro comes in. However, the atg only comes with 1 magnet. Not sure if it will cause any balance issue in the fan, but throwing another magnet into the package probably only cost them 10cents more right? Sensors between the two are compatible.

Initial set-up
Calibration is done via 3 buttons on the governor and throttle stick position. Its actually easier to calibrate this thing than the TJ pro. Rpm read out is done via the blinking of leds, but both of them will require a tach from rpm settings. The blinking light led on the atg is over 150rpm different from the actual rpm at hover, but the idle up rpm was pretty close. It might be partly due to the fact that I am using a futaba TX. Futaba mode is provided in the G-view, but since I don't have one....Super servo mode is also done via the G-view, again, because I don't own one, I just left the 9254 in normal mode.

In-Flight Feel

ATG has got 2 modes, basic governor mode and active mode. Basic mode will function like how the TJ works, while active mode will also take into account of how the throttle channel input from the tx. Idle up was set to slightly over 2000.

Basic mode

In basic mode, the rpm was pretty consistent when the head is unloaded. However, I found the rpm to drop off a bit more than the tj pro in between each load change, like for instance between each tic and toc in tic toc. Overall, it was still ok, just that the heli felt lacking a bit in power. Rpm wasn't exactly as consistent as the TJ and it was very evident in big loops and FFF.

Active mode

For a moment I thought my governor was not working, my engine was screaming its arse off when unloaded. It was really loud. No doubt the heli felt a lot more responsive, poppy and powerful, but I bet it was also running a lot harder. The headspeed was sky-rocketing when unloaded. Doing a long tailslide will reveal how badly the overspeeding was. TBH, the rpm was the most consistent when flying around with the engine constantly loaded like in a funnel. Suprisingly, rpm was very consistent when transisting from inverted to upright funnel in a "horizontal 8 shape". In a hover, the rpm will shoot up way too high, regardless of upright or inverted. It actually got pretty predictable when the heli will overspeed and the heli actually felt pretty good. I might use this mode and increase the "gain" if I can get a G-view.

Overall, I still prefer the TJ pro...and the TJ pro with the two cables is 2grams lighter and has a much smaller footprint. The tj is really so much smaller. The TJ performs a lot better as a governor for a weekend stickbanger. I might end up using the TJ on the 90size.




Size comparsion with TJ pro.

My 90size stash.

Been a while since I last updated...so here is whats happening. With the fund that I had originally saved up for getting a new 50 to replace the raptor...I got...


Radix 710mm SB
MP5-90
YS91SR
Dualsky Vr-8l
Solid-g
Atg V3

Not sure which kit to get, but probably the 700N because my budget for the kit is under US$1000. All I need now are servos and kit(which so unforunately is the bulk of the cost).

Still undecided on servos. Deciding between:

Hitec 7965mg-is the deadband under load still as large as the older series?
Ino lab 760mg-heard that it isn't quite smooth and very power hungry. Worst of all, the local distro seems to be totally uninterested in making my $.
Futaba BLS451- there were cases of weird glitching problem with these and for the price of the 8717 they are neither fast nor strong on 4.8v...
Jr 8717/8715 - best of the lot, but quite ex.

JR8900 or BLS251 - will the BLS really last longer? Anyway 8900 is out of stock at the LHS.


Managed to weigh some of the items at the shop I am working at..


Mp5-90 with header, w/o screws @229g


Dualsky vr-8l(Now also known at flightpower Vr-8l), 64g including failsafe switch. VERY very well built.


YS91SR @551g including check valve, main needle, woodruff key, etc..


Here's is whats in the box of the solid-g and atg, will weigh them when I have the time.






Updates.
Weights of the Solid-g and ATG





Thoughts on ATG here
Test of solid-g coming soon WHEN I CAN GET A SUITABLE SERVO FOR IT

Servos- A very kind flyer allowed me to have a look at his INO-Lab 760mg. Indeed, it was a bit rough. His collective servo was really rough because apparently it was over-stressed by the binding. The cyclic servo were ok, but nowhere as smooth as even the 6965hb. The movement felt a bit coarse. The deadband was very good though. No slop, no deadband despite the fact that it is using metal gear. You can put a bit of force on them and the servo will counter it immediately without any change in the angle of the servo horn, unlike my 6965hb but they don't look as fast as the 6965hb on the bench...overall I would say they are pretty ok buy for the price and should give the "pop" feeling that I am looking for. I might go for these if I can get a good deal.