The switch from Spektrum to Futaba has been a very pleasant experience so far, and I have adapted to the new programming with little trouble. The transmitter feels great in my hands, and I feel more connected to my helicopters than ever.

Having said that...I am having a tough time making the Align G600 governors on my nitro helicopters, play nicely with the 14SG`s programming. I tried every possible setting and configuration to no avail, and after the last attempt, decided to go a different route.

My last attempt to make the G600s work, resulted in the governor applying full throttle when I moved the throttle stick to just above idle. Thank goodness I NEVER let go of the head while the engine is running, because it could have been ugly. I was able to keep it under control and shut the fuel off to stop the engine, but the clutch liner is ruined.

After a lengthy phone conversation with a good friend of mine, I decided it would be best to use governors which are designed for use with the 14SG and other Futaba transmitters.

So I purchased two Futaba GV-1 governors, and I plan to install them this coming Saturday....6-20-15. Futaba discontinued the GV-1 governor, which is a shame. They are really good governors, and very accurate. I was able to find them at one place, which is only about 80 miles from me. Graves RC Hobbies in Orlando, Florida had them in stock. I ordered them and had them the next day. 

After reading the GV-1 manual, they seem to be very easy to program, and I am looking forward to installing them and flying my nitros again. I`m not thrilled about having to use a magnetic sensor, as I much prefer a back plate sensor. But I really don`t want to modify my back plate sensors to work with them either. So Magnetic sensors it is. That`s all for now, but I will post my thoughts on the GV-1s in a couple weeks... so stay tuned for that.

Happy Flying.

Its been several weeks since I started flying Charity RC`s Tata packs ( 6s 5200mAh 50C series connected for 12s) in my electric TSA 600 helicopter. These batteries are holding up very nicely. I have put 50+ not so gentle flights on them so far with 2300 RPM head speed, and I have been field charging them at 7.5 amps. They have a tremendous amount of punch, and flight times are around 5.5 minutes. After a 5.5 minute flight, they are coming down very cool and at about 36% capacity. Plus, IR is still the same at 1.6 per cell, and cell balance is near perfect. The cells are also firm and showing no signs of puffing at all. They look just as they did when I removed them from their packaging.

They will be available in all popular cell counts and mAh/C ratings very soon at charityrc.com. Once they become available, anyone who is interested in trying them can contact me here, through my contact us form. Or contact me on Facebook to receive a one time use discount code. Good for 20% off your first Tata packs purchase.

For about a month, I have been testing a brand new brand of lipo battery for an up and coming company called Charity RC. So far, they have been performing extremely well, and I have really enjoyed flying them.

The packs I have been testing are 6s 50C 5200mAh on my 12s TSA 600E Pro helicopter. Which is set up with Zeal Energy 600mm blades, a Castle 120HV ESC, Scorpion 4035-560kv motor, with a 2300 RPM head speed in idle 2.  I am also testing a few 3s 50C 2500 mAh packs as receiver packs in my nitro helicopters.

They balance nearly perfectly, and after a five minute flight in idle up 2, they come down cool and with about 46% capacity remaining. Their internal resistance is also very low at 1.6 per cell.

Now a little about the company, Charity RC. Charity RC has stepped up to help stamp out breast cancer, by donation a portion of their sales profit to fight breast cancer, and to spread awareness.

Which is why they chose the name of their packs....Tata packs. They will sport pink shrink wrap to show their support for the fight for curing breast cancer and they will be available in all popular cell counts and mAh ratings.

These battery packs are high quality and very competitive with the major brands already on the market today. We still have a little more testing to do before they are to be released. But from what I have experienced with them, they are going to be a fore to be reconed with.

I have very proud and honored to be representing a company like Charity RC.

When I started flying RC helicopters back in late December 2010, I was using a Futaba 6EX transmitter to fly my models. After a short time, I switched to Spektrum, ( a DX8) because I had purchased a T-Rex 450 Pro 3GX helicopter, and it required more channels than the 6EX offered. I went with Spektrum, only because the hobby store did not have any 7+ channel Futaba transmitters in stock and I wanted to fly my helicopter. So I bought the DX8. I have flown the DX8 for four years now, and it has been a fantastic transmitter.

However, I felt that I was getting bored with it and just needed something new. So after several months of researching and comparing many brands of transmitters, I have decided to return to Futaba. About a month ago, I made up my mind to purchase a 14SG. The programming in this thing is amazing, and so much more involved than the programming in the DX8...and was definitely not intended to be a beginner`s transmitter.  I spent a few weeks getting to know it and learning to use the settings and how to program it for my own needs before trying to set my helicopters up on it. Now, a month after receiving it, I have all of my helicopters set up and ready to test fly tomorrow ( 5/7/15).

My initial thoughts:

The programming is very in depth and a little hard to understand in some areas, and can be quite overwhelming. Which is the reason I did not put my helicopters on it right away. But the more I dig into it, the more I like it.

The touch sensor pad that is used for scrolling between setup screens is pretty nice, but its a little too sensitive. I think it would be nice to be able to adjust it( maybe it can...I just have not found how to do it) to be a little less sensitive so it won`t exit the called up menu when I`m trying to change settings. 

One thing I am a little nervous about is the fact that Futaba does not incorporate model match. So I am a bit concerned that I may power up the wrong model. That`s all on me though, and I will have to triple check that before I power up.

Ahhhhh....the gimbals! The gimbals on this transmitter must have been built by angels, because they are incredibly smooth. They are definitely the best gimbals I have felt on a transmitter, and that is right out of the box. I had to take my DX8 apart and clean and polish the gimbals to make them smooth. The 14SG was perfect right out of the box, and the only thing I did to them was shorten the gimbal sticks because I`m a thumb flyer and I like the sticks to be as short as possible.

The stock 1800mAh NIMH battery was fine, and would have been sufficient, but I replaced it with a Turnigy 2100mAh 20C LIFE pack so I can go longer without having to recharge. Just a personal preference.

I am going to meet a friend and fellow pilot at the flying club tomorrow to test fly my helicopters with the new 14SG, and I am really anxious to feel how it flies. I`ll post more about it as I fly it more and get to know it better. So until then...Fly Safe, and Have Fun. :)

The setup flights of my new TSA 600E went slowly, but well this weekend. I had a few small issues with gain settings, both in the 3X and the Scorpion 130 ESC. But I was able to get it sorted, and get the helicopter dialed in to my liking. I spent most of Saturday tweaking and tuning a slight tail problem that just would not go away. Last night, I was relaxing in my chair when it hit me. The P gain in the ESC might be a bit too high, and that may be causing the issue I was having. So today at the field, I tried lowering the P gain in the ESC a couple points....the tail still blew out, but nowhere near as much. So I lowered it two more points, and the tail was rock solid.

The tuning being out of the way now, it was time to fly it. So I charged the packs back up and took it up for the first real flight.. I had to land twice to tweak the head gain a little, and then it was time to fly. What a powerhouse this helicopter is with the 4035-560 in it. So much, that I decided to remove the 13T pinion and install the 12T pinion. The head speed was just WAY too fast with the 13T.

I got several good  flights on it today, and I am very happy with the performance of this helicopter.  I can`t wait to get back to the field after work tomorrow to put some more flights on it. I will have more feedback as I get more flights on it.