Radio Control: Helicopters
OPPORTUNITY knocked at my door recently. I opened it up, and welcomed the chance to fly an Airtronics PCM Spectra 7H installed in one of GMP's Shuttle XXs, and I thought I'd pass along a few notes on the experience. The Airtronics Spectra PCM 7H is an excellent, middle-of-the-road Helicopter radio. It's not quite a JR Galaxy or Futaba 1024 PCM, but it's definitely a step up from a Conquest. I think that Airtronics and Sanwa have come up with a great
Radio Control: Helicopters
WELCOME BACK! This month we're going to take a look at Electric RC Helicopters-where they've been, and where they are going. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure that the first use of electric power for Helicopter use was by Mr. Arthur Young, designer of the famed Bell Helicopter rotor system. Back in the early Thirties, Young made use of a remote power supply to power a remotely controlled helicopter via the now-familiar extension cord. This proved valuable for his work, as the electric motor was very consistent, thereby achieving easily reproducible results.
Radio Control: Helicopters
LAST MONTH we took a look at Gorham Model Products' new Legend, a flybarless-rotor-head, sport/competition machine. If you recall, I really liked the Legend's aerobatic prowess and exceptional autorotation capabilities. To pick up where I left off, I've now got even more experience with the Legend-about five gallons of hard flying's worth. Nothing has cracked or fallen off, but I have found a few things to watch out for. First, keep the tail rotor drive belt tight. It's difficult to describe to you how tight makes it right! It's basically set properly when you can't rotate the main rotor while restraining the tail rotor (of course there must be no excessive drag in the system!). If you run the tail rotor belt too loose, it could wear out the front plastic drive pinion. If this occurs, the only recourse is to replace the pinion.
Radio Control: Helicopters
REVIEWING GMP'S Legend: Welcome back. This month we're going to take a look at John Gorham's latest effort, the new GMP Legend. Instead of going into the standard, "the kit arrived in a well-packed, colorful box" routine, let's skip that for a few minutes and get right to the heart of the Legend. The machine features a flybarless rotor and is, straight from the box, without a doubt the best all-around Helicopter I have ever flown. In the hands of an average chopper pilot, the Legend is capable of incredible aerobatic flights. In the hands of an expert like Robert Gorham, the Legend gives demos that will leave others envious.
Radio Control: Helicopters
We're going to cover several subjects this month that seem to have come our way all at once. I hope you're getting lots of flying in now that the great summer weather is here. As always, I'm constantly looking for new material for the column. If you've got a picture of you and your favorite whirlybird, why not send me a copy and maybe include a few words about you, your ships, and your club. I could really use the help, as it's difficult to keep up the column on my own. Inverted landing: Mike Mas is no stranger to this column. Besides being a great guy and a good flier, he's always up to some new trick or maneuver to test his Helicopter and challenge his skills. While I was at the .30-size contest in Champaign last month, I saw Mike perform his latest achievement, an inverted landing. The following press release was prepared by Mike and is presented here for your enjoyment:
