20 flights with the 700N and my thoughts on it...

Been a busy month with all the reports and quizzes in school...so I am having very little time for fiddling with the heli in between surfing forums and school work...

But anyway, here is my take on this heli...

Problems/ Complaint...
1. Main Gear- Don't know why they make it white, it is super dirty, even more so than the raptor's 87T ones.

2. Tail pitch slider/arm- Mine is getting slightly loose from a combination of slop from different places along the tail shaft. Don't feel it in the air though. The grip are loose too, but I thought it should be normal coz of the thrust bearing.

3. Ball links are wearing...unbelieveable...20flights ball links feel worst than 200flights old raptor links.

4. No sure if its because of the spacer I used on the canopy mounting post, but the canopy simply does NOTHING to shield my electronics from oil. I get oil droplets on my regulator.

NOT ALIGN/700N induced problems...
5. WHY is there no normal mode on the solid-g? I am used to carrying the heli around in non-heading hold mode and then spooling it up before turning on the heading hold so that the tail won't start spinning on spool up. Due to the lack of non-heading hold mode in the solid-g, I have been fighting my tail quite a bit on spool up. I am sure wiggling the stick before spooling up helps, but I don't have that habit...

6. The anodizing on my YS engine is dropping...not sure why. I stripped the engine coz I thought it might have gotten too hot...but apparently it isn't...Wiping with tissue shows the bits are falling off. It makes good power, so I am not too worried about it for the time being.

From 90size

From 90size

From 90size

From 90size

Flight Characteristic
This heli is amazing compared to the raptor. While the quality is not quite there, the flight characteristic is exceptional. Cyclic is VERY fast and direct, which means now I can do multi-point rolls/flips without struggling. I might try some super stubz in the future, but for now, the stock paddles are good enough. Collective "pop" is impressive too. Anytime you want the heli to stop, just bang the stick and it stops right there, with a nice "pop" sound. The punch is exceptional too. And as with all 90size, this thing has got that hang time, whereby it just stays in the air without losing height even when you put it in knife edge and its most noticeable when doing piro-flips and slappers. However, because of that floatiness, I am still having a little trouble learning to control it so it comes down nicely.

Only thing that I think is still lacking is the tail gear ratio. Its a little too low which lowers the tail authority. Somehow, the tail authority on the 700N just doesn't feel as good as the raptor. Other than that, everything else is great. Also, it tracks very good in forward and backward flight, with no hint of pitching. Everything has become faster, even a simple big loop just get BIGGER AND FASTER.

BUT having said that, this thing is in not a unboggable heli. It still requires good management, even more so than the 50size. On my raptor, most of the time I am using the full pitch range on the throttle stick, but on the 90size, most of the time I am just playing around between the +/-7/8 region. Full stick will definately bog it. The full stick is really just for that instantanous pop. A 50 size uses rpm to produce power and lift, but a 90size uses its torque. Comparing them is like comparing a 2.0l engine with a big turbocharger(a 50size), where you have to keep the revs up, vs a 6.0l v10 american muscle which just pulls and pulls from the start. Its definately worth that extra fuel cost. Like the saying goes, 2 good(and expensive) flights is better than a few average(and affordable) flights.

Futaba T10CHP 2.4ghz FASST review...

NOTE: The large photos appear lope sided...click on it to open the photo...

After flying ccpm on the T-rex 700N, I found a lack of precision, as if the servos or tx is lacking resolution. When I moved the stick in extremely tiny steps, there are instances when the servos don't move at all. I tried it with my hitec 6965hb and found that the problem was with my TX. In mechnical mix, there is no such issue, just in ccpm. Since my 9C was long due for replacement, I got the 9C replacement, the Futaba T10CHP.

Got it about two weeks ago. I have spent quite a bit of time with it, playing with the menu and exploring the new features(not that there are that many...). Since I got this as a replacement for my old 9C, I will be comparing it to the 9C in this review. Because I don't fly any plane that requires complex mixing, I will only be covering the heli functions of the TX.

I got the 2.4 version, there is also a PCM version which comes with the 1410DP rx. This thing does not work with G3 PCM. To use pcm1024 on a 2.4 set, a PCM module from the 9C is required. I tried the pcm module off my old 9C and it works flawlessly. Initial feel is great. Smooth gimbals although they are not quad bearing ones. Menu is the same as the old 9C and 9C super, except for a few changes(good ones), so it is still very easy to use and program. Only complaint is that the antenna for the 2.4g module goes behind the tx handle.

Box opening...



Whats in the box...same old charger, nicd batt and rx switch that the 9C came with...



Very nice LCD backlight.



Still pcm 1024...instead of the newer G3 pcm. Fasst 2048 is great.



Size comparsion with the 9c.



Module and receiver.



Whats inside the casing...




Initial Feel/ Physical Design

The 10C is very similar to the 9C. From the stick feel, to the switch layout, to the navigation buttons and even the TX battery itself, is the same as on the 9C. I have read a few complaints about the idle up switches being too close together, but so far, I have not found it so be so. It feels a little less weighty than my 9C, but the balance with the 2.4G module is a lot better than on the 9C, not perfect, but better.







Home screen
Not much difference from the old 9C, except that with the 10C you get a throttle/pitch % read out and the user name. The pitch % display the actual curve value, while the throttle % is just the stick position of the throttle stick. There are 3 timers now, instead of the 2 on the 9C.

10C vs 9C



Navigation Menu
The menu in the 10C is almost the same as the 9C. It can be good news, it can be bad. For me, I am glad Futaba kept the simplicity.

10C vs 9C Basic menu 1 and 2



10C vs 9C Advance menu 1 and 2



Changes to the Basic Menu and functions

In the parameter screen, there is now a picture of a swashplate to indicate the type of swash selected. Scrolling further down the parameter page will show the settings for the TX, including the Backlight brightness.

10C vs 9C

The timer function is pretty much the same as on the 9C, except for the 3rd timer. Again, options are provided for switch assignment, including the new Logic Swtich function.

10C vs 9C

So what is this Logic Switch about? It is actually triggering the function via two steps/switches instead of one. For instance, if you want to know the amount of time you spend hovering in normal mode(exluding take off and spooling up), you can set the logic switch to activate the timer when your throttle stick is above 27% and the flight mode switch is in normal. So at any point of time, even if you flip into normal but the sticks is less than 27%, the timer will not run.





Changes to the Advance Menu and Functions

Condition- A new feature in the 10C. While it sounds impressive, it is actually nothing more than assigning switch for your different flight mode. It is not like the real "conditions" on the higher end models.



In the 10C, there is also another new feature call the Hi-Lo pitch. This setting allows you to not touch the pitch curve and yet adjust the max and min pitch value for each individual flight mode.



Cyclic-throttle mixing is now a standard feature on the 10C. Previously on the 9C, the user had to give up the P-mixes if he desire such a mixing. This will be great for governors that work on throttle curve, like the ATG. There is alieron-throttle, elevator-throttle and rudder-throttle mix, seperate values available for each flight mode.



In terms of changes in the advance functions...

The delay function now includes delay for pitch and throttle servo. It is great for switching out of a auto because it opens the throttle servo slowly. For me, 20-30% is about right without too much lag.

10C vs 9C

The governor menu now allows changing of the governor gain base on condition (flight mode) instead of just a switch like on the 9C, which I tied to the idle up switch. As such, a totally different rpm can be set for idle-up 3.

10C vs 9C

The 10C features 7-point throttle and pitch curves as compared to 5 on the 9C. In addition to the extra two points, the curve menu in the 10C also allows the user to set the stick position for each point.

10C vs 9C

And lastly, the greatest change when compared to a 9C...the programmable mixes. In the 9C, each individual mix is listed on the 2nd page of the advance menu, but on the 10C, you have to get into the P-mix "content page" from the advance menu and then select the mix you want to edit. On the 10C, one will get 4 linears mixes and 2 5-point mixes, which is twice of what was offered on the 9C(2 linear+1 5-point). The mixes themselves are exactly like the same as on the 9C.



Settings/Flight

I installed the 6014 rx in my 700N and copied the 9C model file into the 10C. Everything works as it is. In fact, one can just copy all the values( Endpoints, gyro gain, curves...etc) from the 9C to the 10C and it will work exactly the same as on the 9C. A campac with 9c model files will work too.

I know that in theory, our servos can't resolve the the 2048 resolution and any 1024 resolution radio system is more than sufficent. However, I did find myself noticing the difference in flight. When I first started doing CCPM on my 9C, I started noticing a lack of precision compared to the mechanical mix mode. The servos were like moving in "steps" and I noticed that minimal movement on the sticks produced no movement on the servos. With the 10C, this problem has been resolved and I feel the control of the heli being more direct and precise. As to the latency issue of the 9C, I didn't quite feel any of it when I was using the 9C, so I can't really comment too much about latency improvement. However, I did find my usual piro-flip timing going a bit off with the 10C. Stick feel is very similar to the 9C, not super smooth, but good enough for me.

An unexpected difference was my rx battery consumption. Not sure why, but with the 10C and fasst setup, my servos actually consume a bit more power, about 0.3A more. I copied all the settings over from my 9C without any changes which means in theory, the consumption should be exactly the same.

Conclusion

It has been 7years since the 9C was introduced into the market. In this period, technology has evolved so much, from cheap CRTs to cheap LCDs, from pentium 3 to quad core, from notebooks costing thousands of dollars to UMPCs that cost less than $300. In this same time, the 9C/9C super has evolved into a 10C...which is erm...75% similar to what it was like and cost slightly more. So you be your own judge if this tx is worth it.

In my opinion, this is a worthwhile replacement if your old 9C/9X is getting worn and you are looking for a simple and affordable tx. The LCD with backlight is great and the buzzer sound on this is considerably louder than my 9C. It retains the simplicity of the 9C and add a touch of more advance features. However, if you are looking for a more advance radio, perhaps the 12FG might be a better option, considering that it cost just a bit more but comes with a lot more, including the quad bearing gimbal sticks.

P.S. The above is part of two articles I did for rcheliresource.com