Fairyland

Eratic Flight Behaviour After a Crash

2008-01-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

If you chopper is doing really wierd things, like jerking forward, stopping, veering one way or the other uncontrollably, check to make sure the li-po battery has not come loose changing the center of gravity of the little heli. The battery is attached to the pc board using 2 sided foam tape and can come loose. Re-securing the battery is the fix here, but disassembling the canopy is required. See the post on disassembly. (coming soon)

Batteries

2008-01-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Be sure you have fresh, or at least good batteries installed in the controller! Many issues can be linked to low charge levels in the copter or controller. Even though the green "charging" indicator may go out indicating a full charge, the heli may not be charged to it's full potential. You'll be surprised how may flights you'll get out of the batteries, but when you notice flight times getting shorter, it's a pretty good indication your batteries in the controller are getting low. I keep 2 sets if NiMh rechargable batteries on hand, charging one set while using the other. Keeping charge levels high in the heli will make troubleshooting other issues easier.

De-cambering the Blades

2008-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a little tip that will put a little zip into your copter and give sligltly longer flight times. Before each flight. de-camber your blades by taking a bit of "curl" or camber out of them. Grab the blades between your thumb and index finger and bend the blade back on itself while moving down the length of the blade. When your done, your blade will have less camber, spin faster, and not have as much drag, allowing for better performance and longer flight times.

Instructions Included with the Fairy

2008-01-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

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Here are images of the instructions that come with the Syma Fairy

Adjusting Airspeed - Slower Forward Flight

2008-01-15T07:50:00.001-08:00

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See the somewhat related post "Balance Modifications" as well.

Hold your heli so the rear of the copter is toward you. Grab the tailmotor and tailboom with your thumb and index finger and twist it counterclockwise about 45 degrees and then release. The tailrotor will retain a slight upward attitude. In flight, the tailrotor will force the heli into a nose-up atitude, decreasing your forward speed. Also as you apply more power to the tailrotor you will loose speed in clockwise turns and speed up in straight or counterclockwise turns. This is a good way to adjust speed without adding weight to you heli.

To have even speed see the post on "Balance Modicications"

Adjusting Airspeed - Faster Forward Flight

2008-01-15T07:49:00.001-08:00

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See the somewhat related post "Balance Modifications" as well.

Here is a quick and easy way to increase forward flight speed without changing the balance of your heli. Hold your heli so the rear of the copter is toward you. Grab the tailmotor and tailboom with your thumb and index finger and twist it clockwise about 45 degrees and then release. The tailrotor will retain a slight downward attitude. In flight, the tailrotor will force the heli into a nose-down atitude, increasing your forward speed. Also as you apply more power to the tailrotor you will gain speed in clockwise turns and slow down in straight or counterclockwise turns. This is a good way to adjust speed without adding weight to you heli.

To have even speed see the post on "Balance Modicications"

Short Flight Times

2008-01-13T13:53:00.002-08:00

Short Flight Times - Naturally you think of the on board li-po battery when you experience short flight durations, but this is rarely the case. If you have a new copter, it may take a few charge cycles to bring the battery up to full capacity. Try decambering the blades... because of the manufacturing process, blades can become over-cambered. I have found this makes more difference in flight time and performance than any single mod. See the post and video on Decambering the Blades. (post coming soon)

Severe Vibration

2008-01-13T13:53:00.001-08:00

Severe Vibration - Severe vibration is almost always caused by one of three things: The main rotor shaft is bent or you have lost weights from the stabilizer or your connecting rods have come loose.

With a bent rotorshaft you may be able to fix it by identifying where the bend is and gently bend it back. This may require removal of the blade and shaft (see post on blade removal) .

If you are missing a weight, try to find it and glue it back on! Replacing the entire blade and shaft is another option. Many online retailers stock them (see resources post)

Check the rods that connect the stabilizer to the blade and re-attach if necessary.

Clockwise Spins

2008-01-13T13:50:00.001-08:00

Clockwise Spinning - Although not nearly as common, a clockwise spin as viewed from above is an indication that too much power is being applied to the tailrotor. More likely though it is an indication of binding in the main rotor that is "dragging" the tailboom around. Check the main rotor shaft to make certain you have not picked up any debris (hair, threads, cobwebs) that has become entangled around the main rotor shaft. If there are no debris, lightly oil the shaft as it runs through the plastic "bearings" the length of the shaft. Use a very light oil like WD-40 and apply with a toothpick or similar tool. Make sure to oil the gear where the center rubs against the frame when under power. A silicone lubricant or graphite will work too, just be sure to use it very sparingly. If you still have issues, suspect a bent main rotor shaft... See the post, "Severe Vibration"

Counterclockwise Spins

2008-01-13T13:46:00.001-08:00

Counterclockwise Spinning - If you heli is spinning counterclockwise as viewed from above then this is an indication that the tailrotor is not supplying enough power to counter the torque of the main rotor. The first thing to check is to make sure debris... most likely hairs or cobwebs or carpet fibers, have not become entangled around the tailrotor motor shaft. It doesn't take much to affect the speed of the rotor so get out a magnifying glass and examine the shaft. Even the tiniest, almost invisible micr0-fibers can cause problems. I use the sharp point of an X-acto knife to work the debris out. Flying in a clean area can minimize this problem.

Another issue that can cause counterclock rotation is a loose tailrotor. If you suspect your rotor may be slipping use a small amount (and I mean small!) of super glue to affix the rotor to the shaft. Excess glue will work it's way into the bearings and freeze your motor. I apply the the glue to the end of the rotor hub that is the fartherest from the motor!

I suspect the little tail motor is not really designed for continous use. (They are used in pagers and cell-phones) The motors will get warm and this has a tendency to dry out the bearings. If your heli is still spinning after trying all the above solutions. Take off the rotor and oil the bearing by taking a can of WD-40 or other lightweight penetrating oil and using the plactic straw that comes with the oil, slip the straw over the shaft and give a quick burst of oil. This forces oil into the bearings and also helps to flush out any debris entrained between the bearing and shaft. I have done this repeatedly with no adverse effects.

Survival 101

2008-01-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

While the Fairy is very durable and will survive most crashes, here are a few tips to minimize damage to your heli.

1. The rotors are the most vulnerable parts of the heli, especially the tail rotor. If you are heading for a certain crash, it's far better to power off and let the heli fall than to crash into an obstacle with the power on! Following this simple rule will preserve your rotors and rotor motors!

2. The helicopter is programmed to hold power levels if the infrared beam is interrupted momentairly. This is usually a good thing, however if you heli falls behind a chair, say, you may not be able to power down and the heli may spin around on the floor and do damage to the rotors. So power down early if a situation like this arises.

3. reinforce your tailrotors, see the posts on "Strengthening the Tailrotor"

Paper Canopies

2008-01-02T18:57:00.001-08:00

View or post tips by clicking "comments" below.

Body Modifications

2008-01-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

View or post tips by clicking "comments" below.

Strengthening the Tailrotor

2008-01-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

This is the #1 must have mod:

Your tailrotor will probably eventually break from a power-on crash or an unlucky fall. You can save much dissapointment and aggrevation waiting on that new set of tailrotors you had to order by peforming this simple mod. By strengthening the tailrotor at the root, you can make the rotor almost indestructible. Here's how.

You will notice if you examine your tailrotor carefully, that there is a small "stem" on one side of the rotor where the root of the blade attaches. Using some 5 minute epoxy, fill in the area between the "stem" and the blade root to provide a stronger root-to-hub connection. I use a straight pin and place a drop (actually much less than a drop) of glue so it bridges the blade root and the hub or "stem".

This simple mod will save you a lot of grief!

Balance Modifications

2008-01-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

See the somewhat related post "Adjusting Airspeed" as well.

The Fairy comes pre-balanced from the factory and should not require any adjustments. However, sometimes the balance is a bit off and you may want to make adjustments.

Under normal circumstances, the heli should be just a bit nose-heavy. This will keep it flying forward at all times. If your heli moves forward, stops, moves forward, stops etc. this is and indication the helicopter needs a bit more nose weight... or less tail weight. It's better to reduce weight whenever possible, so I prefer to take some weight off the tail. You don't have too many options when reducing tail weight, but luckily, with the Fairy, you can remove the small rudder that hangs from the tailboom. With this rudder removed, the heli will be a bit more controllable, will move forward faster and will fly a bit longer because of the reduced weight.

You can also add nose weights to enhance forward speed. You may think that adding weight will degrade flight time, but with the addition of just a little weight, the heli will move faster forward. Helicopters use less power in forward flight than they do to hover or move slowly forward. So flight time remains about the same with small weights.

I like to use small washers just below the windshield on the canopy. You can get an assortment of small washers from Radio Shack. They come in 3 sizes. I use super glue or tape to affix them. You can even paint them to resemble landing lights! The heavier the nose, the faster the heli will move forward. Noseweight will also assist in making straight forward flight easier too. You'd be surprised just how fast these little helis can move!

Trimming the Helicopter

2008-01-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

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You will need to trim the heli each time you fly. Each heli trims differently, so there's no set amount of trim that will work for all helis.

Immediately after lift-off or hand launching, your copter will, in all likelyhood begin to spin. If your heli begins to spin clockwise (as viewed from the top), press the left trim button repeatedly. Likewise if it spins counter-clockwise, press the right trim button. After a certain number of presses, the heli will stop spinning. You should set you trim so the heli flys in a slight clockwise circle as viewed from the top. This is the normal flying mode. You'll find that it is difficult to fly the heli straight or to make left hand turns... though with a bit of practice it can be done. Adding a bit of nosewight will help with straight forward flight (see Balancing Post).

If you copter still spins after trying to trim, see the Trobleshooting Post.

Controlling the Helicopter

2008-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Using the throttle control (left joystick) is pretty straightforward... move it up and the heli goes up, move it down and the heli decends. You will notice that with both the throttle and yaw control, there is a slight lag time between actuating the control and movement of the Fairy. After the first few flights you will become accustomed to this lag and you'll find yourself anticipating movement of the heli and adjusting accordingly... it'll become second nature.

The yaw control however, it a bit more tricky. Once you have mastered the lazy circles, you'll want more control over your heli. The yaw control will give you directional control over the Fairy and with a bit of practice, you'll be able to command the heli to do whatever you want. You will notice left turns are a bit more tricky than right turns... the heli will spin on a dime with very little control input.. with a bit of practice you'll be making left turns as easily as right turns.

You can also hover the heli momentairly by giving a quick left jab with the yaw control.. also usefull for changing directions abruptly.

For even more precise control see the post on "Balance"

Your First Flight

2008-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Hand launching the helicopter is the easiest way to begin a flight... the heli will likely scoot across the floor uncontrolably in ground effect if you try to take off from the floor. Once you are comfortable flying, you can practice floor launches. Hold the heli in your right hand with the tail pointing toward you. With your left hand on the left joystick, give it about 1/2 throttle. Release (dont throw) the heli and it will begin to fly. If the tail moves to your left and the copter begins spinning clockwise, press the left trim button (under the right joystick) until the helicopter stops spinning. Likewise, if the heli spins counterclockwise use the right trim button to counter the spinning. On your first flight it's best to concentrate on altitude control (left joystick) and use the right joystick mimimally. The Fairy naturally wants to fly in clockwise circles. Once you are flying stable circles, you can experiment with the throttle, moving the heli up and down. Once you are comfortable with this, you can begin experimenting with the yaw control (right joystick).

Getting Ready for Your First Flight

2008-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

When you first try to fly your heli, make sure you have enough room! I prefer to have at least a 10 x 10 foot square area for first flights. Clear the area if possible. It also helps if your space is relatively clean. Cobwebs and hairs love to get wrapped around the rotor shafts. Evan a single tiny cobweb can impede the free turning of the tailrotor causing your heli to spin uncontrolably.

Unpacking and Charging for the First Time

2008-01-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

There is nothing particularly tricky about unpacking and charging. Just take your time unpacking, and be as gentle as possible when handling the helicopter and removing tape. Make sure you have fresh batteries and that the power switch on the helicopter is in the "off" position. Plug in the charg cord. The heli will come partially charged and will not require a full charge cycle. When the green charging indicator goes out, the heli is fully charged (usually about 20 minutes for a full charge). Your battery capacity will slowly increase over the first several flights, so don't be discouraged if you only get a couple of minutes of flight time the first flight. It's a good idea to let you helis li-po battery pack cool down for a few minutes after each flight before recharging. This will prevant damage to the battery pack.