H&Q

dose it fly well?

Ron S

Here ya go! Just use two small strips of "Light Hook Velcro" and put them on the bottom of the battery. That way you can use the batterys in both the Vapor,and mCX heli. I got the velcro from an multiplex plane kit,but the wife informed me,that you can get all diffrent kinds of velcro from a fabrick shop (female thing). You don't want the thick (industral strenght type).Ron

gfdengine204

I haven't done this, just thinking out loud, but you could CA a thin piece of ply to the underside of the battery tray of the mCX, and attach velcro there. Then you can attach packs with the velcro there, and still be able to slide the original OEM packs should you not put velcro on those.

Make sense?

I can't imagine this would add enough weight to matter to the heli.

Ron S

Yeah,Kev! That would work too! There are alot of ways to make it work,you can "cut the straps" on the mCX battery holder,and make that work as well. Being lazy by nature,I just use the two small strips,and it works well! Ron

swimmer

I can only speak for myself but my Vapor flys very well and it is still a lot of fun after more than a hundred flights. I have had only one mishap where I had to epoxy one side of the landing gear but other than that no other problems.

swimmer

gfdengine204

I may not NEED to cut the straps; with the Tenergy 130mAh batts, they are a smidge tighter. I am waiting til I bust one of the straps clean off.....

Oh, Ron, did you get to fly indoors yet?

Ron S

Yup! I flew 3 day last week. The only problem we have is, it's closed on week ends. But we can fly Monday thru Friday from 8:30am to 3:30pm. I was wrong about the rafters/trusses. It has a arched ceiling (no trusses) I'll try to get some pics. next week. It sure gives you allot of room to fly verticle manuvers. Ron

gfdengine204

Wow, I am jealous! Our gym is nice, but dang, arched ceiling? Suh-weet!

Ron S

Yeah,I just wish we could fly evenings. It would get a better crowd! But can't look a gift horse in the mouth!:o It must be 70 degrees here today,but real windy! Maybe this evening I'll get a little backyard flying in. Ron

caltrop

I always use the medium to thick CA for repairs. It does not run all over the place and into places I don't want.

There's also a reinforced/flexible CA; it's clear. Mercury (LHS) & Loctite (Hardware Store) have it. Zap CA I think has it too but is black (like Loctite Black Max) and designed for rubber wheels on RC Cars. This stuff does not shatter under impact like normal CA does.

A lot of the CA companies are starting to do what Mercury did and put a pin in the lid to keep the bottle from clogging.

I really like plastic epoxy - Loctite Plastic Repair. Duro used to make some too but I think Loctite bought them. This does not shatter like regular epoxy. It's a creamy color, not clear.

swimmer

Throughout my rocketry experience I used a lot of Bob Smith 2 part-5-30 minute epoxy and put a lot of stress on it especially the fin to motortube/bodytube attachment points. I never once had any shattering problem other than the occasional crash and then maybe a joint would crack. Is this a problem that is experienced by RC pilots? Other than a crash, I cannot envision any shattering problem with epoxy on RC airplanes unless there are adhesion or mixing proportion problems. I have made some extensive repairs to my Super Cub with epoxy and have had no shattering or adhesion problems. I use epoxy because I can control it from running into areas it will cause problems but I haven't used any of the gel or thick bodied CA to get a comparision. I can see where thin CA would be difficult.

swimmer

caltrop

I've had regular clear epoxy break off of my glue job but not the plastic epoxy. I think it is a urethane epoxy and it is TOUGH stuff.

Where I've had trouble is when adding a tail wheel to a tail dragger like the mini Ultra Stick. I mount the tail wheel to the back side of the servo horn. The music wire & plastic I epoxy it to have a lot of stress and regular epoxy fails after a short time. Since using plastic epoxy I have yet to have a failure and I've been flying it for two seasons now.

I thought since we're talking about repairing carbon fiber which flexes a lot that plastic epoxy would be perfect for this application.

But use whatever works for you.

mini Ultra Stick Tail Wheel

crosborne

I finally pick up a Vapor RTF from Hodges Hobbies yesterday. This thing is a blast!! When I got home it was dead calm outside; so, that is where I maidened it. Out of the box my Horz Stab look like it was attached crooked, but it work correctly. So I flew it anyway and there were no problems. It flew very well as was very easy to manage. Later I flew it in the house. I just got a new house with a 19x 25 space that is our living room and kitchen. While it was being built I imagined fling a Vapor or mCX in it. There was plenty of room for flying the Vapor. Today I practiced landing on the kitchen counter/bar.
If you don't have a Vapor... GET ONE!

crosborne

You can bind the Vapor RTF to another DSM2 radio. I bound mine to my DX-7. My thought behind this was on trips where I want to travel light I would take the Vapor TX and leave the DX7 behind.

k_n_browning

Hey Rabbitcreek any ideas on longer flight times in the colder weather.Went out before dark no wind for a change but the flight only lasted 3 or 4 mins.Kevin

caltrop

Bigger batteries like the Blade mCX battery or the new ones on the market - the 130mAH.

If the batteries have sat around for a while they will not perform well for a couple of flights. This happens to my BIG LiPo's after a winter on the shelf; a few flights later and they're back to normal.

Try keeping them warm before using. Any battery will not do well if it gets cold enough.

caskydog

I bought my Vapor three weeks ago and have been flying our three indoor sites and having a blast. Sometimes we put 8 foot streamers on them and try to fly combat chasing the streamers and that is really fun. The streamers are only 1/2 inch wide and I am thinking of making them 1/4 inch wide.
I shot some video and you can see it at -
[media]http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfhuylszgs0[/media]

My other YouTube videos are at -
http://ca.youtube.com/profile?user=c...og&view=videos

Bob

[email protected]

Rabbitcreekok

Kevin, in general, the ability of a battery to release energy is reduced in cold weather. So you won't get as long flight times. You can help by keeping the batteries in your shirt pockets, under your coat. That will keep them warm at the beginning. Batteries generate heat as they discharge, so they will stay warmer and you should get longer flight times.

By the way, I think we will be flying indoors again soon. I will let you guys know when.

bspredator

I have my Vapor landing gear repaired with thread and CA, loving it though. Took it outside yesterday and really let it loose in some light wind. New 110 mah battery is definitely worth the upgrade and my local hobbyshop has them for only $8. My average flight time is longer than I care to record however probly 20+ minutes.

caskydog

Eight bucks and that is cheap so where can I get them?

Bob

bspredator

Here in huntsville alabama it's the local hobbytown. Good group of guy down there that enjoy RC.

caskydog

Thanks Preditor.

aviatordave

You can get 130 mah batteries for 10 bucks here. limited time though -

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42546

crosborne

After flying the Vapor for about a month I really think it is almost perfect as is. The only issue I've had is the battery tray. The Velcro is weak and I really don't understand why the battery tray points down. So, the only mod that I have wanted to do is flip the battery tray. I really over though this and tried to debond the super glue so I could slide the tray off and put it back on so it pointed up. Like I said, I over thought it. All I really needed to do was twist it 180 degrees and call it done. Super easy mod and no more hanging batteries.

caskydog

Thanks for the great idea and I will try it.

SKYDOG