Click for JetForums Click for Westport Click for Nordhavn Click for Mulder Click for Perko

Attn: Carl - Crazy RC Helicopter Tricks

Discussion in 'YachtForums Yacht Club' started by PropBet, May 10, 2011.

  1. PropBet

    PropBet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    1,216
    Location:
    Is Everything!
  2. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2002
    Messages:
    20,353
    Location:
    South Florida
    That's Alan Szabo, Jr.; one of the best 3-D pilots in the world. Not a bad FAI pilot either, which is my preferred style of flight... precision maneuvers with exacting accuracy. At one time, I could place top 10 in most FAI competitions (if the really good pilots didn't show up!). I met Alan Jr. during the IRCHA Championships in Muncie, Indiana back in 1999 or 2000, can't remember which year now. At the time, he was about 8 or 9 years old and he was already defying the laws of physics.

    It's been years since I've flown and I'm afraid my skills have deteriorated to that of a barnacle covered hull with dry rot. But all is not lost... I bought (and built) an Align 700-E with a flybar-less system and 3G gyro about 6 months ago. I haven't had a chance to fly it yet, but I was hoping to trim it out this summer and start twisting the sticks again.

    Attached Files:

  3. PropBet

    PropBet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    1,216
    Location:
    Is Everything!
    That's awesome! I couldn't tell the guy from Adam and you know exactly who I'm talking about. We won't mention your age when and if you saw him when he was 8 or 9 years old! :eek:

    Get that Align 700-E spun up and and dust off the sticks!

    Red Wings won, we're going to game 7, I can see the bottom of my wine bottle. It's time to hit the bunk.

    Cheers!
  4. MaxPower

    MaxPower Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2008
    Messages:
    427
    Location:
    At Sea ... Aahhh ...
    yet to see anyone handle a r/c chopper better ...
  5. Marmot

    Marmot Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2007
    Messages:
    3,311
    Location:
    9114 S. Central Ave
    I tried R/C helicopters and my first flight looked just like the video clip ... for about three seconds.
  6. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2002
    Messages:
    20,353
    Location:
    South Florida
    For ANYONE interested in this hobby, do yourself (and innocent bystanders) a BIG favor... purchase a flight simulator. I'm not up to speed on the latest sims, but historically RealFlight has been the defacto standard. Trust me when I tell you, these sims are TRULY proportionate and digitally realistic. There is no need to buy an r/c helicopter anymore. These new sims are as real as it gets.

    Flight sims didn't exist when I started flying back in 1986. They came about 12 years later. I've had 53 helicopters over the past 24 years. I buried a couple dozen birds in the first few years. The cost (both in parts & time) is something that can be avoided with a flight sim.

    Here's a few pics, back when I had time to fly...

    1. Cruising south of the Sunrise Bridge at dusk, just before the Christmas Boat Parade. Later that night, I bolted on my night blades and strapped some cyalume sticks to the skids, then put on a night time air show. VERY SCARY!

    2. Touching my skids to the flagstaff while cruising by FLIBS before opening day, circa 2002 to 2003.

    3. Off the galley deck of our Broward, while rafted up to several other boats in the intracoastal during the Shell Air & Sea Show in Lauderdale, circa 2004, I did something very dangerous and very stupid... an engine-off autorotation from about 200' to the deck at the end of my flight. There was no recovery had I overshot the landing. (not shown in this pic)

    4. This is my speed machine. It's a TSK-60 'MyStar" with a BlackShark fuselage. Top speed about 115 mph. The paint & prep work on that fuse took me nearly 100 hours. Wish I had that kind of time now...

    Attached Files:

  7. Kevin

    Kevin YF Moderator

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2004
    Messages:
    3,049
    Location:
    Montreal, Qc, Canada
    Here's my contribution to the R/C helicopter thread: http://vimeo.com/17696229

    Not quite as dramatic as the Szabo clip, but more practical. I wish more motorsports would follow these guys lead and get setups like theirs.
  8. PropBet

    PropBet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    1,216
    Location:
    Is Everything!
    How awesome would that be in F1?!?!
  9. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    That was an awesome flight.
    If that has been a real copter with pax onboard, they would have run out of barf-bags in the first 10 seconds....:D
  10. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2010
    Messages:
    2,261
    Location:
    Beaufort, NC
  11. MaxPower

    MaxPower Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2008
    Messages:
    427
    Location:
    At Sea ... Aahhh ...
  12. Ju52

    Ju52 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2006
    Messages:
    148
    Location:
    Frankfurt
  13. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2002
    Messages:
    20,353
    Location:
    South Florida
    I've seen the less advanced version, the QuadCopter, in the local shopping mall. I think it was at Brookstone or Sharper Image. One thing I don't get... how do you maintain heading with these things? There is no head and no tail for visual flight reference. This could disorienting at a distance.
  14. sebisebman

    sebisebman New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2007
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Hamburg
    Well you don't... no just kidding. :)

    First of all these things fly extremely stable. If you lost your heading - let go of the sticks and give it some nick (acceleration forward) - where ever it goes = front. As a Kopter pilot you have to learn to trust the Electronics.

    If you are totally lost - flip a switch and it returns to its starting position (requiring onboard GPS - and hopefully no obstacle on its direct route home...)

    Many people (like me) fly these things with FPV-Setups (First Person View Life Video Transmission) so the heading is always known since it is the direction you are seeing.

    But it is true. Keeping your Heading is very difficult and distracting - especially when you are used to fly RC-Helikopters.

    Greetings from Hamburg/ Germany
    Sebastian
  15. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,952
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
  16. revdcs

    revdcs Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Messages:
    498
    Location:
    Fowey in Cornwall
  17. chuckb

    chuckb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2011
    Messages:
    199
    Location:
    Maine
  18. carelm

    carelm Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Messages:
    403
    Location:
    fairfax va
    Ten seconds? How about two seconds. The spins and then the elevator rides would do anyone in.:D The guy is fantastic.
  19. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,952
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
  20. revdcs

    revdcs Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Messages:
    498
    Location:
    Fowey in Cornwall
    There is a 'one man' prototype of the quad.

    I saw a video if its first test flight a few weeks ago, but can't find it now.