Beware of Idle Up Switch

[MGYCT]

When I first joined this forum I had a new Heli-max axe cp. After researching I decided I wanted something with a belt drive tail rotor and a heading lock gyro so I found KA Planes n' Kopters which had a Black Hawk 500 which is bigger than my Heli-max at 29" in length which had all the features I was looking for. Well when attempting to hover in my garage my finger accidentally hit the idle up switch and the heli rapidly came at me before I could react. The blades hit my right leg cutting the skin fairly deep even though I was wearing heavy jeans.

I don't understand why the transmitters have this dangerous switch in such an easily triggered place without having some sort of failsafe such as a switch cover which must be opened to activate the switch. My crude solution to the switch issue is to place a heavy rubber band around the back handle on the transmitter and loop the ends around the switch. This requires a fair amount of force to move the switch to idle up and if sufficient force is used the switch snaps back to normal.

[Flyinfool]

That switch was intentionally put there to be very easy to use in flight.
What you need to do is to get your idle up set up correctly.
The heli should not do much of anything except change headspeed when you flip that switch.
If the heli jumps or moves then you have a setup problem.
What is supposed to happen with idle up is that the throttle curve will go to a V curve so that you are at full throttle at full up stick and full down stick and most people have a higher headspeed set up in idle up than in normal mode.

As a rule I never leave the ground unless I am in idle up.

You can check some of this on the bench to track down the problem.
FIRST DISCONNECT the motor from the ESC.
Now with the heli on the bench you can flip the idle up switch safely. If anything moves you will have to find where the problem is in your setup and fix it. There are a lot of things in the TX programing that can cause this.
If you can, get some help from a local heli pilot with some experience.

[citrus]

It's not the idle up switch that will get you....it's that spinny thing on top of the heli you have to watch out for.

Sorry 'bout your leg though.

[CSpaced]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Flyinfool
	That switch was intentionally put there to be very easy to use in flight. What you need to do is to get your idle up set up correctly. The heli should not do much of anything except change headspeed when you flip that switch. If the heli jumps or moves then you have a setup problem. What is supposed to happen with idle up is that the throttle curve will go to a V curve so that you are at full throttle at full up stick and full down stick and most people have a higher headspeed set up in idle up than in normal mode. As a rule I never leave the ground unless I am in idle up. You can check some of this on the bench to track down the problem. FIRST DISCONNECT the motor from the ESC. Now with the heli on the bench you can flip the idle up switch safely. If anything moves you will have to find where the problem is in your setup and fix it. There are a lot of things in the TX programing that can cause this. If you can, get some help from a local heli pilot with some experience.

Pretty much what he said, if it does something funky when you go into idle up then it is a setup problem that needs to be addressed before flying.

Just to be clear, you don't have to be in idle up to leave the ground or even use idle up at all while you are hovering around. This is just a preference of more advanced pilots.

[MGYCT]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Flyinfool
	That switch was intentionally put there to be very easy to use in flight. What you need to do is to get your idle up set up correctly. The heli should not do much of anything except change headspeed when you flip that switch. If the heli jumps or moves then you have a setup problem. What is supposed to happen with idle up is that the throttle curve will go to a V curve so that you are at full throttle at full up stick and full down stick and most people have a higher headspeed set up in idle up than in normal mode. As a rule I never leave the ground unless I am in idle up. You can check some of this on the bench to track down the problem. FIRST DISCONNECT the motor from the ESC. Now with the heli on the bench you can flip the idle up switch safely. If anything moves you will have to find where the problem is in your setup and fix it. There are a lot of things in the TX programing that can cause this. If you can, get some help from a local heli pilot with some experience.

The heli was on the ground with the throttle near full down stick when I accidentally hit the throttle up switch at which point the heli lifted off. Are you saying that the throttle up switch had increased the head speed but the heli should not have lifted off? I was in the process of balancing/adjusting the heli for a stable hover and did not want it to lift off more than a couple of inches or stop it if it drifted or lifted unevenly while on the ground. I thought the idle up was inappropriate for this operation.

[Lowkey3D]

If that is the case it should not have lifted off. Idle up at low stick should have fill negative
pitch and full throttle. The blades should have spun up but the negative pitch should have
pinned it to the ground.

Example setup for idle up switch.
High stick Throttle +100 pitch +8
Mid stick throttle +50 pitch 0
Low stick throttle +100 pitch -8

[Nitrohuffer]

No matter what heli I'm flying Throttle hold is always on until I'm ready for take off. I burned out two clutches from hot starts when I was learning inverted autos. Starting a 90 in idle2 is not a pretty sight or smell.

[CSpaced]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Nitrohuffer
	Starting a 90 in idle2 is not a pretty sight or smell.

Nor is the clean up after the fact

[Flyfalcons]

Also if anyone was wondering, trying an inverted hover in normal mode doesn't work too well. Especially on my new (to me) T-Rex. Just sayin'.

[CSpaced]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Flyfalcons
	Also if anyone was wondering, trying an inverted hover in normal mode doesn't work too well. Especially on my new (to me) T-Rex. Just sayin'.

[rede2fly]

dude not being a smart azz but, if you dont know what the switches do ,you should seek out a little help. also just to make shure your setup is somewhat correct. sometimes a little help goes a long way. good luck with the heli

[MGYCT]

	Quote: Originally Posted by rede2fly
	dude not being a smart azz but, if you dont know what the switches do ,you should seek out a little help. also just to make shure your setup is somewhat correct. sometimes a little help goes a long way. good luck with the heli

Being a beginer I had no intention of hovering inverted. All I can surmise is that the idle up switch bump had bad results seeming to cause the heli to come at me at an angle skidding and flopping along the floor until it hit my leg and there was blood pouring down. When I said it lifted off I didn't mean it lifted off completely but was more or less bouncing along the floor. I have read that similar incidents have occurred due to accidental bumping of the idle up switch at 0 throttle on the ground. One account states the heli "flopped around like a wounded bird" when hitting idle up at 0 throttle. I know the idle up switch causes the heli to go to 100% throttle and full negative pitch at or near 0 throttle that is how you increase altitude in inverted flight but I don't think its intended to be thrown on the ground at 0 throttle. Therefore, until I am given a good reason why I shouldn't, I am keeping the rubber band to prevent accidentally hitting the idle up switch for normal flying. I have joined the AMA and am joining my local RC Club so I am seeking help. And yes "dude" I think you are being a little bit of a "smart azz".

[red_z06]

For nitro helis, using devise like SwitchGlo will elimitate hot start. I'm testing it on a DX7 equiped heli. It is Y connected to the throttle channel. It will fire only when throttle signal is below 20% in normal and in throttle hold only. It will also put out a tone to let you know that the glow is on.