Handy Dandy LiPo Voltage Tester

I picked one up here.

Be Kind to Your Balance Connectors and Use AB Clips!

Lets face it, balance connectors are not the best design. It's all but impossible to disconnect them without pulling on the actual wires. I picked up a set of these nifty AB clips here which protect the connector and give you a place to grip.

Adjusting Dual Rates & Expo on the Devo 8 Transmitter

Awesome dual rate walkthrough on the DEVO 8 transmitter

Brush Failure in the Main Motor

Main motor blew out with a brush failure. I ended up replacing it with the the E-flight 370 replacement because thats what the hobby shop had in stock. I'm back in the air with extra power to spare!

I was also considering the following:

Mabuchi Gold Label High Performance 370 Motor:
http://www.heli-world.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=H&Product_Code=CNE056A

Graupner Speed 300 Motor:
http://www.modelflight.com.au/graupner_speed_specifications.htm

Anyone have any input?

Spare Parts

These are the two places I usually order parts from:

• http://raidentech.com
• http://www.cahobby.com

The local hobby store also started carrying the E-flight Blade and the parts for it so recently I have just been buying and substituting them!

My First RC Helicopter

I purchased the COLCO Thunderbird V2 in May of 2005 from Raidentech for around a 100$. It's a cheap little fixed pitch bird that is perfect for learning to fly. Out of the box all I really had to do was center the fly bar and get the stabilizing blades leveled. I also made sure to mount the battery so as to keep the CG centered! After a few quick adjustments to the gyro to dial it in, I was hovering.