Flight Report: Arizona Regulator

Again, this is one of those things that either works, or it doesn’t. In my case, everything is working perfectly. It’s MUCH easier to pull the pin to turn on the heli than it was the way I previously had it, to say nothing of how very nice it is to be able to shut it off after a flight without burning my hand. Oh, and there’s still the “coolness factor” to consider.

I noticed no weirdness with the way the Arizona performed, and since I don’t yet have a flight data recorder (hello, Santa?) I can only assume by the distinct lack of crashing that there were no power issues. The regulator seems to be just about as efficient as the 2-in-1 as after two flights, I put 622 mAh back into the receiver pack. Immediately upon landing after the first flight with the new regulator, I checked the heat sink. It was a bit over ambient temperature, but not hot. This is good in that there’s not a whole lot of airflow under the canopy so if it’s not too hot, it means that that big, blue heatsink is doing its job well.

I would definitely recommend the Arizona Regulator to anyone with a need for a high-current regulator for their helicopter. It’s built well, and has excellent features. It’s priced reasonably and presents a good value for the money.

The Arizona Heli Regulator is available form most of the major online RC helicopter retailers (mine was purchased from Ready Heli – they ROCK!) or direct form the manufacturer. The MSRP is dependent on the battery connector configuration. No connector is $65, Deans $69.50, Power Poles in $69.50, or 9″ of 16AWG wire (longer than normal – unterminated) $68.00 The optional “Pin Flag” switch assembly (highly recommended) is $7.50. All prices are in USD.

Fromeco Scale Avionics LLC
http://www.fromeco.org
503-715-0020
503-766-3261 for orders (or order online)

Alternate contact (questions and sales):
Blake McBrayer
blakemcbrayer@bellsouth.net

Flight Report – SwitchGlo

This one was pretty simple. Either the device would work the way I had configured it, or it wouldn’t. The real question was, how much easier would it be than the old Align 2-in-1′s crummy button?

The answer is “a whole lot easier!”. Basically, my pre-flight procedure (up to and including engine start) now goes like this:

Fuel the heli and replace the fuel line plug.
Pull the plug out of the barf tube (hopefully)
Unclamp the fuel lines
Turn on the transmitter and verify that sticks and switches are in the correct positions.
Pull the pin and “arm the system” (I love how cool that sounds – see the Arizona review for more)
Wait until the receiver links and verify by moving sticks
Perform a range check if necessary
Grab the starter and put the start shaft into the socket on the motor.
Flick the GEAR switch to “OFF” (puts the gyro into rate mode and turns on the SwitchGlo)
If good tone is heard from the SwitchGlo, squeeze the starter and start the engine
On engine start, pull the start shaft out and flick the GEAR switch back “ON” (puts the gyro back in HH mode and turns the SwitchGlo off)
Go fly

So far, everything works great and I have no complaints. There seem to be no gyro issues caused by the addition of the reverser. The gyro is working just as it did prior to the install. SwitchGlo mentions that you can flick the SwitchGlo back on if your engine is idling roughly, but I had no opportunity to test this as the OS 50 is running very well.

I purchased my SwitchGlo second-hand (but unused) from a fellow HeliFreak member, but they can be purchased from most major online RC helicopter retailers, or directly from the manufacturer’s website listed below. MSRP for either the alligator clip version or the cotter-pin “hairclip” version is $64.95 USD.

Compudraft Engineering
Attn: SwitchGlo
9207 Deering Ave. Suite B
Chatsworth, CA 91311

http://www.switchglo.com
sales@switchglo.com
818-709-0268

The FMA Direct 510SR Digital Servo Reverser is priced at $16.95 USD and was purchased directly (no pun intended) from FMA Direct’s website:

http://www.fmadirect.com

FMA Direct
5713 Industry Lane, Suite 50
Frederick, MD 21704
Phone: 800-343-2934
Fax: 301-668-7619
Tech/Service: 301-668-4280

A Brief Note:

In Align’s defense, I really had no pressing need to replace the 2-in-1 shipped with my TRex 600N. The issues with it being hard to get to and me burning myself arose from the place I chose to mount the switchbox. At the time of the swap-out, the Align 2-in-1 was working well, and I had not yet experienced any of the issues reported by others on some of the online forums. I just wanted to add that lest a reader think that I was unhappy with the Align equipment.