cgpirre Registered User Thread OP

Discussion V911 Basic Treatment & Mods

Thanks to this awesome forum I've learned quite a bit about it, and so I decided to do write down my 'new v911 procedure' so that new people can also benefit from this without having to read a thread that's several hundred pages long

All of this will be basic stuff that does not require any extra upgrade parts.



For those that are new to the hobby, I'd like to start with some basic info: Use your common sense. Don't fly close to people, animals or traffic. It's small, but the blades spin at high speed! Fly in a large open space so you learn how to control it properly

Beginner mistake: don't think "let's see how high it goes". It can go higher then you can see it, and winds up there are a lot different from down on the ground. You wouldn't be the first to lose a helicopter this way (I too learned this the hard way...)

Treat the batteries with respect, and never charge them unsupervised. They are small, but can be a real fire hazard if something goes wrong

Discard any damaged or swollen batteries, don't let them charge for too long, and let them cool down for at least 10 minutes after charging and flying, this will also increase their lifetime

The helicopter itself can take a beating, but the electronics are still sensitive. Cut the throttle immediately (=pull the stick down) if you crash or feel you are going to crash, and just let it fall. The drop most likely won't hurt it, but if you keep the motors running while the blades are blocked, they might overload and die

Never fly without the canopy for the same reason, it protects the control board

Check the tailrotor after every flight/crash, if it rubs the casing this will wear out the motor and drain the battery (see picture #1)

Let the helicopter cool down for 5 minutes between flights. The little motors get hot quite fast, if you let them cool down they will last a lot longer

Now, the modifications and improvements I do on a new V911.



First step, take it apart! Don't be afraid, it can handle quite a lot of abuse, which is one of the reasons this little helicopter is so awesome. My first one, on which I learned to fly, had crashed hundreds of times before it broke down badly enough to need replacement parts!



The canopy just pops off, you can't really go wrong with this. This will give you easy access to the servo links, which you will need to pop off to mechanically trim it out (more about that later). Take a close look at everything, and you will see it's relatively simple. It's all just tiny, and that makes working on it harder.



On the second picture in the attachments below you will see the tools I use. Just a PH000 screwdriver, a hobby knife, fine sandpaper (grit 600 or 800 usually), tape, superglue, and hotglue.

On the third picture I named some components, so you know what I'm talking about.



What I usually do first is pop off all the links, and use the knife to cut/scrape/sand off any flash, so that everything is nice and clean. There are tools to pop the links off the balls, but I just use my fingernails.

Note that the connect link is not symmetrical, you need to place it back like you took it off!



Next, take off the flybar. It's just 1 screw, don't lose it! Drip a tiny bit of superglue on each flybar weight, these tend to get lost on hard crashes. Put it aside to let it dry.

Do the same to the tail motor mound, so it doesn't wriggle itself loose to snap a wire.

Also put a little dab of hotglue on the backside of the tailmotor, so the wires are covered up and protected, they are a weakspot. See picture #4.



Now, put the flybar back on, the screw goes through the larger hole in the head. Tighten it, then unscrew it by a tiny bit at a time, and flick the flybar after every time you do this. It should be -just- loose enough to bounce up and down a few times by itself, but not so loose that there is noticeable side-to-side movement.



Pop the links back on, remember, the short end of the connecting piece should be on the left. Watch out you don't push em too far over the ball (picture #5)

You will notice the swashplate has 2 sets of ball connectors, one with short arms and one with longer arms. You are free to choose which set you use, the shorter arms will tame the heli down a bit, so you might want to use these until you are more comfortable with the controls.



Put the canopy back on, and you are almost ready for the first test flight! What you might want to do first is to put some protection on your batteries, especially if you fly over concrete. Hard & scraping landings cost me 4 batteries so far because I damaged the outer layer of it.

I just cut a tiny bit of ductape and put it on the ends of the batteries, so far this works like a charm (picture #6).



Now, a bit of info about the controller. Most will be in mode 2, this means the right stick controls direction (front/back and left/right), and the left stick controls throttle (up/down) and rudder (rotation left and right).

Each stick direction has a little button next to it, this can be used to trim out minor errors. For instance if the heli drifts a little to the left, you can click the button below the right stick to the right a few times until the heli stops moving by itself.

On the screen you will notice it says 'mode 1' in the top left corner. You can ignore this, it stays on that unless you have an updated version.

The button on the top right has no function, it is used on similar controllers for other WL toys models.

The button on the top left switches between high and low rates. On low rates, the heli will move less fast, so it's good for beginners, or indoor flight.

If you don't know if it's in low or high rates, move the right stick to either direction. On the screen it will show 3 bars for low rates, 4 bars for high rates (



For the first flight, you probably need to bind the helicopter to the controller. You only need to do this once, then they will 'remember' each other.

To bind them, just plug in a battery in the helicopter, put it down quickly so the gyro can properly initialize (always do this), and turn on the transmitter. When the heli stops blinking, it is bound properly. Try again if this failed.

Once it is bound, it doesn't matter anymore in which order you turn on the heli or controller, but to be safe you should always turn on the controller first, and turn it off last, so that the heli doesn't take off on its own for some odd reason.

This probably can't happen with the v911, but it has happened on other models, so it's a good habit to learn.



Now, the first flight. I find it easier to launch it by hand, but if you want to take off from the ground, you should know that it will drift sideways until you are properly off the ground. There is nothing you can do about this beside counter-steering.

If you take off from the ground, it's best to give it a little boost to take off and clear the ground effect (when the heli is close to the ground it will be unstable because of its own turbulence bouncing off the ground).

If you take off from hand, just give throttle until you feel it's supporting itself, and let go.

You will probably notice the helicopter isn't 'hanging straight' in the air, this is also normal, and nothing to worry about.

Now, don't get discouraged if you can't seem to be able to control it at first. It took me 10 flights just to keep it in the air for longer then 30 seconds. It will be a while until your fingers have 'the feel', so just practice and don't give up.

Try not move the sticks smoothly, don't jerk the sticks around, and try to anticipate the movements of the heli. Don't react to the situation it's at, but to the situation it -will- be at.



So, if you manage to make it hoover, you might notice it drifts in a certain direction, without you giving any input. This is where mechanically trimming using those servo arms comes in to play.

Say, it drifts forward. Take the battery out, remove the canopy, and pop off the right servo link (right = with the heli tail towards you). You can twist the plastic part to move it up and down. Give it 1 full counter-clockwise turn, make sure it lines up with the swashplate arms, and place it back. Put the canopy back on, and give it another try. Keep doing this, using full turns, until it stops moving forward.

There might be a point where it either drifts a bit forward, or a bit backward. This is where you should use the digital trims on the controller.



Turn that same arm clockwise if your heli is drifting backwards. Turn the other arm clockwise for right drift, and counter-clockwise for left drift.



Now your helicopter should be in perfect flying condition! I hope this guide was a bit helpful, and that you will enjoy your helicopter as much as I do! I've ordered various v911, most for myself, a few for friends and friends of friends.Thanks to this awesome forum I've learned quite a bit about it, and so I decided to do write down my 'new v911 procedure' so that new people can also benefit from this without having to read a thread that's several hundred pages longAll of this will be basic stuff that does not require any extra upgrade parts.For those that are new to the hobby, I'd like to start with some basic info:Now, the modifications and improvements I do on a new V911.First step, take it apart! Don't be afraid, it can handle quite a lot of abuse, which is one of the reasons this little helicopter is so awesome. My first one, on which I learned to fly, had crashed hundreds of times before it broke down badly enough to need replacement parts!The canopy just pops off, you can't really go wrong with this. This will give you easy access to the servo links, which you will need to pop off to mechanically trim it out (more about that later). Take a close look at everything, and you will see it's relatively simple. It's all just tiny, and that makes working on it harder.On the second picture in the attachments below you will see the tools I use. Just a PH000 screwdriver, a hobby knife, fine sandpaper (grit 600 or 800 usually), tape, superglue, and hotglue.On the third picture I named some components, so you know what I'm talking about.What I usually do first is pop off all the links, and use the knife to cut/scrape/sand off any flash, so that everything is nice and clean. There are tools to pop the links off the balls, but I just use my fingernails.Note that the connect link is not symmetrical, you need to place it back like you took it off!Next, take off the flybar. It's just 1 screw, don't lose it! Drip a tiny bit of superglue on each flybar weight, these tend to get lost on hard crashes. Put it aside to let it dry.Do the same to the tail motor mound, so it doesn't wriggle itself loose to snap a wire.Also put a little dab of hotglue on the backside of the tailmotor, so the wires are covered up and protected, they are a weakspot. See picture #4.Now, put the flybar back on, the screw goes through the larger hole in the head. Tighten it, then unscrew it by a tiny bit at a time, and flick the flybar after every time you do this. It should be -just- loose enough to bounce up and down a few times by itself, but not so loose that there is noticeable side-to-side movement.Pop the links back on, remember, the short end of the connecting piece should be on the left. Watch out you don't push em too far over the ball (picture #5)You will notice the swashplate has 2 sets of ball connectors, one with short arms and one with longer arms. You are free to choose which set you use, the shorter arms will tame the heli down a bit, so you might want to use these until you are more comfortable with the controls.Put the canopy back on, and you are almost ready for the first test flight! What you might want to do first is to put some protection on your batteries, especially if you fly over concrete. Hard & scraping landings cost me 4 batteries so far because I damaged the outer layer of it.I just cut a tiny bit of ductape and put it on the ends of the batteries, so far this works like a charm (picture #6).Now, a bit of info about the controller. Most will be in mode 2, this means the right stick controls direction (front/back and left/right), and the left stick controls throttle (up/down) and rudder (rotation left and right).Each stick direction has a little button next to it, this can be used to trim out minor errors. For instance if the heli drifts a little to the left, you can click the button below the right stick to the right a few times until the heli stops moving by itself.On the screen you will notice it says 'mode 1' in the top left corner. You can ignore this, it stays on that unless you have an updated version.The button on the top right has no function, it is used on similar controllers for other WL toys models.The button on the top left switches between high and low rates. On low rates, the heli will move less fast, so it's good for beginners, or indoor flight.If you don't know if it's in low or high rates, move the right stick to either direction. On the screen it will show 3 bars for low rates, 4 bars for high rates ( picture ).For the first flight, you probably need to bind the helicopter to the controller. You only need to do this once, then they will 'remember' each other.To bind them, just plug in a battery in the helicopter, put it down quickly so the gyro can properly initialize (always do this), and turn on the transmitter. When the heli stops blinking, it is bound properly. Try again if this failed.Once it is bound, it doesn't matter anymore in which order you turn on the heli or controller, but to be safe you should always turn on the controller first, and turn it off last, so that the heli doesn't take off on its own for some odd reason.This probably can't happen with the v911, but it has happened on other models, so it's a good habit to learn.Now, the first flight. I find it easier to launch it by hand, but if you want to take off from the ground, you should know that it will drift sideways until you are properly off the ground. There is nothing you can do about this beside counter-steering.If you take off from the ground, it's best to give it a little boost to take off and clear the ground effect (when the heli is close to the ground it will be unstable because of its own turbulence bouncing off the ground).If you take off from hand, just give throttle until you feel it's supporting itself, and let go.You will probably notice the helicopter isn't 'hanging straight' in the air, this is also normal, and nothing to worry about.Now, don't get discouraged if you can't seem to be able to control it at first. It took me 10 flights just to keep it in the air for longer then 30 seconds. It will be a while until your fingers have 'the feel', so just practice and don't give up.Try not move the sticks smoothly, don't jerk the sticks around, and try to anticipate the movements of the heli. Don't react to the situation it's at, but to the situation it -will- be at.So, if you manage to make it hoover, you might notice it drifts in a certain direction, without you giving any input. This is where mechanically trimming using those servo arms comes in to play.Say, it drifts forward. Take the battery out, remove the canopy, and pop off the right servo link (right = with the heli tail towards you). You can twist the plastic part to move it up and down. Give it 1 full counter-clockwise turn, make sure it lines up with the swashplate arms, and place it back. Put the canopy back on, and give it another try. Keep doing this, using full turns, until it stops moving forward.There might be a point where it either drifts a bit forward, or a bit backward. This is where you should use the digital trims on the controller.Turn that same arm clockwise if your heli is drifting backwards. Turn the other arm clockwise for right drift, and counter-clockwise for left drift.Now your helicopter should be in perfect flying condition! I hope this guide was a bit helpful, and that you will enjoy your helicopter as much as I do! Images View all Images in thread Views: 2248





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