RC Micro heli.

[MrBean]

I just got one of those little "indoor" dragonfly helicopters. Great fun.
While searching for heli related stuff I came across a this tiny heli. No servos and no swashplate. How the hell does that work then?

http://pixelito.reference.be

I'd love to have a go at scratch building a small heli. But not quite that small.

Anyone have any ideas on how it operates with no swashplate.

Or servos for that matter. Maybe small proportional actuators instead of servos??

Regards Terry.

[chronon1]

I recently got the dragon fly --- on ebay -- then read a reveiw about watchera on Rcuniverse or something like that --- basically they call it worse than cheap junk.. if u keep it inside it shoud be fine .. but i do see signs of wear on certain areas around the swash plate --- it was $75 and after all the other crap about $103 but it is new ..
the website is absolutely horendous s www.watchera.com ....

'get what u pay for ' !!

the only thing i've seen is the double rotor to counter balance to eliiminate the tail rotor need -- but it still spins in a video i saw ...

i think u would have to be a mad man to try and machine micro swashplate parts !!! and have too much time o n your honads !!

i make sure to lubbe it before each flight to extend whatever limited life it has -- it is a 4 channel so .. i get oogood control but am still mastering --- i like the simulator that hooks the radio up to your computer to allow u to get acclimated !

[MrBean]

i think u would have to be a mad man to try and machine micro swashplate parts !!! and have too much time o n your honads !!

That's why I was wondering how the pixel operates with no swashplate.


Terry.

[chronon1]

Well Terry -- from reading that stuff on his site with my brother it looks like he cant reveal it because his patent application was licensed so he has to keep it under the rug because he got the payout $$$ !!

it could be electronics it could be a mechanical feedback thing .. i wonder how well it works in a people moving scale .... like a bell helicopter fishbowl size...

copters are quite neat .. and i'm having fun getting my turd of a dragonfly off the ground for the few brief moments.. tomorrow ill be using the garage floor instead of the living room !!!

[tauscnc]

I think it is electro magnets. Bacially there is a swashplate but with magnets. Intead of a servo pushing or pulling if you apply a charge it either push or pull the magnet above. Have 4 little magnets spinning with the rotor and 4 under that plus on and off and you get the throws. I think I read that somewhere. Really neat.

taus

[MrBean]

and i'm having fun getting my turd of a dragonfly off the ground for the few brief moments.. tomorrow ill be using the garage floor instead of the living room !!!

Sounds familiar.... I can hop mine around the living room and that's about it. The highest it's been is about 12" from the floor and travelled about 3 feet. The box says from age 8. Yeh right?

I think it is electro magnets. Bacially there is a swashplate but with magnets. Intead of a servo pushing or pulling if you apply a charge it either push or pull the magnet above. Have 4 little magnets spinning with the rotor and 4 under that plus on and off and you get the throws. I think I read that somewhere. Really neat.

taus

That sounds like the only way to do it. I guess the electro magnets could be made proportional by varying the current.

[CNCRob]

I think it is electro magnets. Bacially there is a swashplate but with magnets. Intead of a servo pushing or pulling if you apply a charge it either push or pull the magnet above. Have 4 little magnets spinning with the rotor and 4 under that plus on and off and you get the throws. I think I read that somewhere. Really neat.

taus

That must be kind of like what that tiny 9" Micro Flyer airplane from WattAge uses for its controll surfaces.

[chronon1]

[QUOTE=MrBean]Sounds familiar.... I can hop mine around the living room and that's about it. The highest it's been is about 12" from the floor and travelled about 3 feet. The box says from age 8. Yeh right?


I think my rotor is about 51cm diameter ... I have gotten it a couple feet up (also for brief moments) --- hovering is not something its good at so just need to keep upgrading my building sq ft & ceiling height! (a gym sounds good !!)

There is a ton of tunig / trimming ] tweeking to get it good - the old CG ..

I put my own 'training' things on the skids --- some straws taped to the underside-- helps alot to keep the blades from hittign the ground.

[tauscnc]

Hey Rob,

Kind of. I think it uses, in simpler terms, a power meter as the acuator. Apply the current and the meter moves a certain amount. Add a tiny pushrod and you have "flight."

here is a sight for you guys to check out. They have a forum and servos, etc.

www.smallrc.com

Man that stuff looks awesome! I can't even imagine what we will see in the next 10-15 years!

taus

[chronon1]

www.smallrc.com

Man that stuff looks awesome! I can't even imagine what we will see in the next 10-15 years!

taus[/QUOTE]

i dont know .. that flying car as seen in pop. mechanics for decades has yet to be used in and around the US where it was invented ?

[itsme]

Hi there,

I also bought a Dragonfly off eBay. I've also got a Raptor .30, but I figured that if I could sort of learn to fly the Dragonfly, then the Raptor would be easy.

I haven't even attempted to fly indoors with it - my Mom would kill me. I tend to practice on the (sloping) back grass. So far, I've had mine about 6 feet off the ground in a sort of stable hover for maybe 30 or 40 seconds. At the start I was only going a few inches off the ground, but then I thought I may as well see what it's got. Surprisingly, it was much easier to control once it was up in the air - I'm not too sure why. The quality is hardly spectacular on this little machine. It works, but with lots of slop and play in the moving parts - quite disappointing after playing with a bigger copter like the Raptor.

BTW, it's also always impressive when it meets the garden fence...it keeps the whole family entertained and is surprisingly robust, considering the fit and finish!

Regards
Warren

[MrBean]

I think "Ground effect" makes flying / hovering hard if you're below a couple of feet. I'll upload a video of my "Best" flight. It's not very long at all.
You can all have a good giggle at it.

Only had the heli for 2 days tho'.