Great video. Some people would call self level a crutch, or not really flying, etc., etc. Personally I have several Blade Helicopters with SAFE mode, and I love them. Not all of us are cut out to be, or have any desire to be hotshot 3d pilots. I have flown non self leveling helicopters, in fact learned on a blade mcpx original version, flew a 130X for a while. I'm 63 and just don't have the reflexes and eyesight any more to keep the helicopter properly leveled and oriented. A 2 second distraction or slight misjudgment of orientation can spell hours of repair work. I do occasionally fly without the self level, but to be honest, it makes flying a pleasure instead of a harrowing experience.
Thanks for the video. I'm in the same dilemma as you. Busy with work, not a gamer, don't have a whole lot of time to practice. I'm not real happy with the beast! Self level. It never flies the same way twice for me between batteries
Not being a 3d pilot, and having poor eyesight at a distance, I prefer to fly with auto level on. Some will tell you not to do this, but it seems to me it is basically the same as S mode on the Blade Safe system. My frankenheli Blade 450 flies great using this setup.
Marty, That was great. Your video has a clear story line, is efficient, puts the problem and solution in the context of the customer's needs (those would be yours), is concrete/practical, is well delivered and is rooted in a no-BS philosophy. With similar time constraints to yours, and with a similar desire to spend more time flying and less time picking up pieces of demolished helis and sitting at the bench fixing them, it resonated with me. Do more of these - you're good at this! And I say that as someone who did executive education ("C" suite executives, Fortune 100 and international equivalents) for 30 years. Bravo. Tom Craig
Hi Rome, thanks for the vid it really helped, could not get my self- level right, until I put the silicon gel under the ikon like you said, now it works fine. I had just the ikon gel tape and it was not enough. These 450 heli's are really vibrators. Cheers Dolf.
Marty I have two icons and I love them but the problem is is the self-leveling is when you let go the sticks and the helicopter levels in my right because somebody tells me that and the other videos they say the self level is a bailout but that's a completely different thing in my right Marty. Like you said I need my helicopter to act like a quad when you let go of the sticks I wanted to level is that what you're trying to say
Hello Paulie, thanks for the comment, but this is a very old video and I don’t fly helicopters anymore. Got into HD FPV and have been pretty much just doing FPV on quads of various sizes. I don’t think a helicopter will ever fly like a quad. The only time I have ever been very stable with a helicopter it was a 500 size and it had a more complex stabilizer system on it. Now I fly in Acro mode with quads. I found helicopters were too fragile. Got tired of ordering parts.
It also gives you more confidence to try new aerobatics that you would not try without it, it makes the learning progress way faster by giving you that extra confidence, plus saves money and hours of rebuild, but a preventive maintenance is required, better safe than sorry.
Wow, great explanations and suggestions. I am off to test my self level settings without blades on the heli. You said you would go back in and "tweak" the self level if it was drifting. How/where did you do that? I do not seem to see anything on self leveling in the advanced menus. As for practicing in Phoenix, try turning the wind and turbulence up if you didn't already; makes for more realistic flying. You can also turn up the simulation speed slightly. Thanks
Found the self level settings in "gov & stab" advanced menu. By the way, Ikon tech support told me not to fly the heli in auto level. Seems you were able to fly in auto level just fine. I am curious what your gain and max angle settings are.
HI, great conversation and comments. Questions, 1. I am trying to set one up on my trex500 now. cant seem to tell if the self level is correcting the right way in testing.... not much movement at all... and the system goes in and out of lock so it is very hard to tell what it is doing. Suggestions for testing this ?? 2. when flying.... does the unit make the Heli fly like a co-axial in turns.... no aileron correction needed or not ????to Adolph..... asking about the 500 vs a 450..... wow what a difference. I parked my 450 and bought a 500..... best thing I did.
For the price it had damn well better! Technology has come a long was concerning this and I have no problem using it. The old timers can just forget it. Just because they have loads of money for repairs and time to fix a damaged heli doesnt mean everyone that wants to fly has to. I am working on an Align 450 Trex Pro to convert it to a flybarless system so I have to upgrade the gyro as well as other parts. Seriously I have probably less than $200 invested in this heli so far. when I am done and if I add the self level system, double that. Even at $500 , I am getting one hell of a great deal. My brother told me his first heli ran in the thousands. It was nitro and at the time, it was top technology. Now its vintage. I got my hands on a Nitro heli for $40 . Grandted, its going to be a project, but I intend to install the Ikon system in it for a user friendly experience and ditch the mechanical gyro it came with. My intent is to convince Vintage owners to dust off their old heli's and get them back in the air again. Its a shame seeing old technology going by the wayside because newer guys just want instant flying experience. With todays technology tyed to the older units, these guys can get back in the air. Especially those with physical limitations due to age. At least thats my goal. I have always been a cheap ass, but there is nothing wrong with vintage. Night Flyyer has shoed me that. Hes the guy that invented the electric tail motor for helicopter use . He has a You- Tube channel. I suggest you watch him if you fly heli. He is a pioneer and we need to thank him for where we are today.
i have a 450x and a 600x i have the ikon is going on my 600x, in your video the heli drifted alot, and I wanted to be able to fly figure 8s and flip a switch and have my 600x hover rock steady, im I wanting to much with the Ikon???
Max Knight yes, I am afraid you are. The only way for a craft to hold position is to install GPS and barometer or some other similar technologies. Even then, it will drift a bit. I have a Flymentor on my 500 and it does hold level very well and can hold position through its camera technology if it is close enough to the ground. There are other technologies available, though quite expensive. However, with a little practice, I have found that I can do figure eights with both of my helicopters and the technology makes that easier. Good luck.
'KDS Flymentor' also very useful for beginner. I can build my first heli 'Assault 450l' soon so i will use 'KDS Flymentor' in that. If you can help for better option for 'Assault 450l' so please tell me. Also i also like 'Helicox TG-1 Auto-Stabilizing 3-Axis Gyro' but i am confused which i want to use. I want a comparision between 'KDS Flymentor' and 'Helicox TG-1 Auto-Stabilizing 3-Axis Gyro' Thanks :)
I have a flymentor on my 500. I like it very much but would recommend not using the tail gyro. Get a better one. I think he flymentor would not work well on my 450. Too much vibration.
+Yaseen Mallick Your English is easily understood. Good luck with the 450. I find them the most difficult to fly. 500 and larger are much easier to control.
Do i have to have a Sat, i cant get pass the receiver setup page on the IKON, i have a AR6115e, dont know if that will work, please let me know what i should do, thanks! btw this is going on my 450x, i using something else on my 600
Max Knight there are some excellent videos about setting up the ikon. I suggest you watch those first. They go through all the settings and the interface screens. I do not believe the ikon can be equipped with gps or any position hold technology.
Yes, one will work, but if I remember, you need to first bind the satellite with it connected to a spectrum receiver then move it over to the ikon. I don't think it will go into bind mode when connected to the ikon. You might want to search for threads on that topic. I can't remember what I did to get it to bind but I am pretty sure I used a receiver to bind my two satellites to the radio then plugged them into the ikon.
Hi there Marty, you say that 500 is easier to fly than a 450 , by how much is it easier?, is it worthwhile buying a 500 if you have a 450?? I have a V4 microbeast on my 450 and have to tweak it all the way down before I can fly it (advanced hovering) However still find it challenging . I have bought an Ikon and will try that one and see. Thanks for the video found it interesting. and gave it a thumbs up.
Hello Adolph, yes, 500 size are more stable and easier to fly. I have a 500 with a flybar and with a flymentor and it is much more stable than my 450. 450s are harder to fly in the wind in particular. If I had it do over again I would have started with a 500. I do like my 450 now, but it's a long learning curve. Good luck.
Hi there Marti, I have bought a 500heli now and put the IKON on it, got it to work great also self level works great. Still a little intimidating. But one thing bothers me, in the advanced (gov and level ) section I had to set Aileron to 7.8 and Elevator to 17 I dont understand what is the problem here. Because on the 450 I build it was only a couple of points. Is the Ikon not mounted level on the heli??? Dont see how because I mounted it straight on the flat spot behind the anti rotation bracket. Any input is greatly appreciated.
+Adolph Janssen Hello Adolph, I suggest you look at dbutzer's video about advanced settings. If I remember, the numbers don't mean much. It has more to do with the mechanical setup of the heli.
