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Review:
Quick 30 Pro
Having
wanted to actually pilot Remote Control Helicopters since I was a
kid, and with my increasing age coupled with
my own children out on their own now, the opportunity has
finally and gratefully arrived. I am in my 3rd
season of flying
these marvelously complicated and rewarding machines!
As a flyer yourself, you are aware of the fantastic
technology that has been developed over the years of growth in the
RC Industry and in which, we who presently fly, are so obliged
to enjoy here at the turn of the millennium. Our hearts go out
with many thanks to the genius of those who came before us to have
tweaked and detailed and refined
these tiny, yet incredible designs, which in a special manner,
allow our very souls to take the air as eagles to the wild
blue! This is a fabulous and rewarding way to pass and savor
the
time we have been given to live, enjoy and share our
lives. There is a distinctive camaraderie among those of
us who
have so discovered that we can actually spool up and place these
whirling dervishes into the air stream surrounding us. Not
very many can accept the complicated challenge.
To
this end I have come to tender my personal conclusions regarding a
wonderful new design in Model Helicopter Technology - The QUICK 30
PRO!
Having flown the Shuttle, the Raptor, and the Kyosho
Plastic helicopters, they have brought this pilot to the delight
of discovering an ALL METAL 30 Size helicopter, in
the same price class, that
is as charming to build as it is to fly. If you are looking
for a new machine that is astonishingly
Smooth and Easy to fly and will do all the tricks. This is one that
you will want to look at. You can really get this baby airborne for
way under the thousand dollar
plus price tag of
the 60 class machines, and you have found a winner.
When you first begin to look for a new model, the very
Inexpensive Plastic Kits available on the market today appear
respectable. But the
amazing feature of the Quick
30 Pro is that there are no necessary upgrades of any kind ever
needed. This puppy is
complete in every way!
The other popular machine of this day is in desperate need
of extra's including a complete renovation of the Ball Links of a
more capable and
smoother type, as well as the Tail Rotor Hub which, in my opinion,
is totally unsatisfactory as an offering from the factory for a
Ready to Fly Machine. (Yes, dear, I
have Loctited the Grubs and still flung a Tail Rotor blade!)
Although the factory now offers an Upgrade part to
"Correct" the deficiency, this continues to add to the
expense. These
continued sneakings into the wallet to rectify mistakes bring the
All Metal Quick 30 Pro
into the limelight as a great little Saturday and Sunday flyer!
I will grant you that as your pilot-in-command curve log
rhythmically proliferates, and
your budget will allow, you will no doubt wish to jump up into
the very much more expensive
60 Class Machines. But this fine little All Metal kit is THE
Contender for that intermediate
and smooth running ship as you learn and grow more proficient.
Let's take a look at the inner workings and assembly of the Quick.
The Manual doesn't appear in the box! Only a little piece of
lexan strung along with zero's and one's on it the
Computer adept individual's instantly know as the CD-ROM.
(Should one not have a PC available
today, the local Kwik Print can make this an easy task!) I had
no difficulty at all in
putting together the model from the Pictures and Instructions
contained in the guide. I must
mention there were a couple of places I did get stuck and had to
think through what was
the designed intention to complete that portion of the task. It was
a joy to assemble such
a nicely machined Metal framework.
I believe it best to put together the frames without locking
compound first and slightly tightening
the 3mm screws
to get the frame precisely true and square. Then when the Main
Gear
goes in with the addition of the 10mm main shaft, the gear mesh is
perfectly set utilizing
a piece of regular paper folded over and cut 3/8 inch wide,
this is inserted into the
clutch drive pinion and rear Counter gear which are positioned by
the oblong slots along the
bearing pillow blocks and secured. Then each screw is taken out and
blue Loctited. Now
is go the time to go
back and Blue Loctite the screws for the entire frame one at a
time. This
will give you the best possible build, keeping things true and
square. It is an extra Step to
be sure, but worth it in the long run, not to mention that with a
rig this fun to build, you should
be in no particular hurry.
Since the machine is cut CNC in Japan, all the bearings are
of Japanese make. These are Good
Bearings! There isn't a bushing anywhere. Every pivot point is tight
and precise.
The head comes already assembled from the factory.
Take care to check the artist's workmanship
and check for tightness on every screw and re - Loctite as
necessary. As I did
find a few a bit loose. After all, the
Engineer's envisioned a grand design that had safety
as it's forefront, can have their vision immediately negated by
placing
such in uncaring
hands. Take your time, check and enjoy
each step as you go through the construction
process and see the model slowly take shape right before your very
eyes. This
to me is one half the fun!
The Three Point Mixing Swash Plate design that Quick calls
EMS for Electronic Mixing
System, is the same as CCPM. (Collective Cyclic Pitch Mixing).
It is a wonderful concept
and is no wonder why the world champion's are using it on their
high-dollar precision
machines. One just
doesn't slap it together, but by precisely setting up the three
servos
that render full and complete Cyclic as well as Collective swash
plate movement, a slop-free,
and High Collective Torque head is available for instantaneous
commands.
I used
the very well made Futaba 9202's on mine.
The key to accurate alignment in the construction of this CCPM (EMS)
Head is to have the
Main Blade Pitch at ZERO when the Throttle/Collective lever is dead
centered. This places
the servos at their center of their throws when at zero pitch.
I set mine up with ATV's
set to achieve a plus and minus 10º's of pitch swing. Then utilize
the various pitch curve
points, of which
my Futaba 8UHFS has five, to achieve the following.
Normal
mode: Top end at +9, bottom at -6º.
Idle
up-1 and 2: Top and Bottom at 9º plus and minus.
Throttle
Hold: Each end at max 0% and 100% equaling Plus and Minus 10º.
Personally
I do not believe one needs 12 degrees of pitch on the top end to
auto-rotate accurately.
There is, after all only so much altitude available in an emergency
engine out
condition
where the full Negative TEN isn't enough to
get that head a swingin' to stop it at "6
inches AGL" with Ten Degree's on the top! Kinetic energy
management is the answer. And
should one forget to hit hold, the bird is still fully capable of
getting to the grass successfully
in any
of the other modes.
The Quick doesn't have an auto-rotation type of SLIPPER Clutch which
gives the pilot full
tail authority during a Power Off descent! And frankly, this is just
fine with me.
In the unlikely
event of a Tail Blade failure, Throttle / Hold will actually STOP
the Tail Rotor and
one can get her down by the forward motion and proper flare the Big
Boys use. Ever wonder
why a Full Size Heli has no Negative Pitch available on the
Collective? Transitional
lift, Weather-veining tail and flare will get your machine back in
one piece!
If
you fly like Curtis, it's time for a Big Expensive machine!
I set my Head control rods up so that the Washout Links are
horizontal at 5 degrees of hover
pitch. The manual says to do this at the Zero Pitch Point, but
frankly I like this
control
feel at the hover, and FFF is where I spend most of
my time enjoying the flight anyway.
There is a thought regarding this machine and about mounting the
Rudder Servo
so that the
Control Rod can be run UNDER the Tail Boom.
I tried this idea, but came back tore locating
the Rudder Servo
inside the frames with the Servo Control Horn coming out the
PORT side (L). The Three Control Rod holders can accommodate
the curve
of
the rod just fine. I use two balls inside the Horn to get the
rod as close to the Tail Boom
as was possible. One
could
place the servo within the frames prior to assembly, but
in
doing so a retrofit means that you have to disassemble one half of
the Rear Frame to replace
the servo. Once you have the Rod smoothly actuating the tail
control lever, you secure
the guides to the Boom. I used two layers of 3M black electrical
tape tightly wrapped
to the Boom with the sticky
side out to hold the guides in place on the Tail Boom.
You may have a different technique. Use this same technique to
hold the Tail Fin Mounts
as you will find that there is no way to tighten the plastic mounts
to keep them from
slipping on the Boom.
Watch out for the Tail rotor "Y" slider when all
done. It can touch the lever stand-off if
not corrected by ATV's on the transmitter during full RIGHT Rudder
Commands. Nothing
serious, just pay attention to this detail. (My Futaba 8U
accommodates this perfectly!)
I
like the little inexpensive Telebee GR-701! For under an Eighty
dollar bill, one
can have full Heading
Hold and Normal Tail Pitch control that is completely
adequate for
this type of Machine! I have mine set up
to the Idle-Up switch to be in HH mode, and revert
to normal Tail Control while descending and landing in
Normal Flight Mode. (Switch
towards ground.)
While in HH mode in Idle up a 45º backward FBF is
possible with
the tail staying in the direction of flight and no weather-veining at
all. Gains on Ch 5 ATV's
on the 8U are round 90% for both modes. On this machine
I am trying a Metal Geared
Hitec 625 which runs just fine with the GR-701 Telebee. Now
that is fine tail holding
power for a combined price of 80 plus 40. Not too bad indeed!
Sure one CAN spend
500 dollars for a Gyro Combo but why?
Save your money for that 2000 dollar machine
deserving such expensive equipment. After all, this
intermediate Machine is a wonderfully
smooth operator whose use is to simply support and Train those
reflexes as
proficiency expands.
On the tail boom cantilever support Carbon Rods - just JB
Weld them to the rods and set
them aside to dry. Be sure to tape them securely at the same lengths
while the JB Weld
sets up. The 22mm tail boom installs perfectly in the front frame
Grabbers. The Belt is
twisted 90º to Clockwise when looking AFT at the Tail as you set it
over the counter gear.
You want
the Tail Blades to swing UP into the down wash of the Main
Blades. The Tail
Rotor will be rotating Counterclockwise when viewed from the
STARBOARD (R) side
of the machine. Set your tail Blades for about 5 or 6º 's of
RIGHT Pitch to achieve astable
tail at take off. One Note: On the TELEBEE, the SUBTRIM menu
on the Transmitter
sets the Creep-Rate of the Gyro in HH mode. In HH set the
Subtrim so that the
creep rate is near zero, then Mechanically adjust the Tail Rotor
Control Rod to get the tail
to stay straight in Normal Mode.
Inhibit Rudder OFFSETs in all modes. Otherwise competition
will occur for trims since the 8U allows complete memorization of
the Trim Commands
while in the other modes! (In
Normal Mode the digital trim lever, trims and graphically
displays the Trim on the LCD. But while in IDLE/UP modes the ENABLED
OFFSET
for Aileron and Elevator (CYCLIC!) will carry the memorized trims
with no graphic
display.) Just un-inhibit Offset trims during radio set up on
all except Rudder. This
is the Hidden Secret for success with the Telebee Gyro. Just ask me
how I know all this!
The Hard way!
I utilized the OS32SX-H on my rig. She fits in like a
dream! One really needs a Throttle
extension clamp to make this work beyond just adequate. I set
mine to the TOP of
the Horn (and inside) to facilitate Carb opens CCW with AFT
throw on the Throttle Servo.
The manual shows this on the Down side of the horn but I like this
much better. The
key to a good Throw is of course to get the arms to be
the same length from center. Then
align the 50% center Point carb opening so that the actuator and
Throttle horns are in
their center positions. Set the Linkage length to this center.
Then with ATV mode enabled
on the TX, connect the Throttle Linkage to the Throttle Servo Horn
but NOT to the
Carb horn yet. With the Carb lever disengaged from the control
rod it is now very easy to
set the Full Open and Closed Carb position with the
TX ATV's! Then to get
her flight ready
Roll the CLOSED ATV (THRO LOW) a bit open to allow the engine to
idle. Then set
the Engine STOP command point to pull the
Control link forward just to it's stop. You
are setting the
End Points for 'Run and Stop' here. Then you can KEEP the
Throttle Trim
Lever near it's center during start-up and simply adjust the Low end
ATV to get the proper
Idle relationship. Be sure and check the cutoff one more time as to
not stall
the servo
when you are all finished.
The Canopy is a marvelous work of Fiberglass art.
To get it ready for painting I sanded the
Gel Coat with 400 grit to take away the shine and
made it ready for primer. I found out
that when getting ready to drill the Canopy for the four
stand-off's, it will make it easer
to find the center of the canopy if you glue an 1/8 piece of wood to
the bottom of the canopy
right where it meets the frame.
Then Prior to painting simply shine a light through for
alignment
of the four grommet holes and drill um out.
Nothing to it here. Then primer
it and hit her with your favorite colors and set the decals and
clear coat it. On my
canopy
I have placed a Volt Watch LED Bar Graph to see exactly what the
battery level is on
the Starboard (R) side. I fuel on the left, and the Main
Battery Switch is on the left
side.
As I start up the heli with the Volt Watch on this
side I know I have RX on line at startup.
Very important! As I am also captivated by the modern wonder
of the LED,
I have
placed five LED's on the outside of the canopy just for looks.
A separate 9Volt Transistor
Radio Battery and
220 ohm resistors in series with each light places the
forward
current at 22 milliamps, just right.
Blue, Aqua and Red!
Two switches are used: RX
battery, and Light pack battery. I have just begun to utilize
the Nickel Metal Hydride types
of RX batteries. I put a 2700mah in this bird just under the front
Radio tray. Why, if
it
wasn't for running out of fuel every fifteen minutes I could be
flying around all afternoon!
Slap a nice set of Carbon Fiber or Fiber Glass Blades of the
55 centimeter variety and take
this baby up for some fun. You'll be glad you did! The
Quick 30 Pro is a very well made
and smooth running
Model Helicopter. After
you get by most of the learning
and crashing
stages, it is The Next Step Up in Fun from the Plastic machines.
CCPM is a new nut
to crack and takes a little getting used to, but with perseverance
the accomplishment
will
be very rewarding. And
for just a C-Note more the entire Metal Frame Set can be
converted
to a "Lighter" Carbon Fiber Set. Nice!
It
is a Smooth, Capable and Precision designed Radio Control Model
Helicopter whose Price
and Performance Ratio make it a fine Value.
Thanks
for listening!
Have
a Super Flying Season!
Your
Reviewer,
Byron
L. Head
Member: Omahawks
RC, Inc. AMA 668462
Helihawks.rchelipad.com
Omaha, NE
March 12, 2001
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