Man, what a difference 25 years makes!

[Bodywerks]

Heli's have come a long way...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNve7kzJhm4&feature=related

[ericb]

Thats funny right there!

[Kiwi]

Heck I can still do a fair few of those tricks even today. The funky chicken being my specialty.

Can I assume heading lock gyros were not even in wilkepedia in those days?? Or was Wilkepedia even a word.

Great stuff.

[Bodywerks]

not sure the phrase "r/c helicopter gyro" even existed!

[Sleepyc]

At IRCHA a guy flew a whirly bug, the heli with the airplane motor mounted to the main rotor, with its own prop.
Very cool. You will never forget the sound, that is forsure!
Rotating open header on a .25 or something....
OUCH!

[ConRadical]

Heli's have come a long way...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNve7kzJhm4&feature=related

camera's too!

[blax1]

Thankfully they worked out a better way to start the motor.. cool vid

[lowkey3d]

RC Helicopters Champ USSR 1982.

I think the USSR was way behind us in RC heli's. I remember watching a local pilot do pirouettes and auto's
at our local club in the early 80's. at least 1983 84..

[Flypaper 2]

Never got to far with my first chopper. That was around 1971 with, I think it was a Dubro Cricket, at leat a Dubro of some kind. It had a Super Tiger mounted on top of the rotor as mentioned above. Main blades were on a pivot with an arm with a weight on the end of it, mounted on the ends of the rotor blades. The faster the blades went, the weights would centrifugally force them into courser pitch. Worked at a marina at that time so I had it in the workshop on the floor with tethers on four sides tied to a brick and enough slack to lift about a foot. First flight off the tether did her in. As you say, no gyros back then. Went through a few since then but the first succesfull one was the LMH 100 in 96. Still flying that one elecrified. 3 other helis besides.

Gord.

[toro]

Heres one from IRCHA... DUBRO WHIRLY BUG way cool.... had a distinct wa,wa,wa,wa, sound




http://www.crackroll.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=701&d=1219012324

http://www.crackroll.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=704&d=1219012324

http://www.crackroll.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=703&d=1219012324

[alfred]

The days of learning without a gyro, them were the days LOL.
I must have crashed about 30 times before I was able to lift off for a few seconds and put it back down again, all still in one piece.
You were so heavily focused on the tail, that the rest just got away from you.
Breakthrough for me without a gyro was the Hirobo Gazelle with it's Fanstrom tail.
Due to the large vertical fin and the rather ineffective tail, the tail would waether cock very slowly, giving you a chance to correct and concentrate on the rest of the model.

[CSpaced]

Haha...that whirly bug is pretty funny - you have to wear ear defenders? lol

As for the USSR video - no plastic parts there!

[lowkey3d]

Is that a Futaba shirt in a time warp..

[flyordie]

is the motor also spinning on the heli???/

[flyordie]

Is that a Futaba shirt in a time warp..funny but true

[toro]

yes the whole motor turns with the rotors... Torque principle... Do you remember those cox 049 free flight helis. Same cool principle

[3dflyer88]

holy man i cant beleive what the helis looked like back then..makes you think what we'll have in a few years..small helis no bigger then the silverlit havocs and they will be full rc..Man stuff now adays is gettin cool

[skyzoid]

There sure were a lot of people hugging the ground in those days. lol

[Projectx]

How about the radios? looked like the antannea was long enough to to transmit to Mars, and the size of them, suprised they didnt have to have a cart to wheel them around on. We have come along way

[TCipolla]

That one photographer in the video was pretty brave crawling right up underneath one of those things. Nowadays, yeah, you can get away with that 'cause heli's are more stable. At least he had a hard hat on.:rolleyes:

I wish I had some training gear that big when I was learning too!

[Norrad]

I'd be scared to be one of the spectators there, for the helis that actually managed to get more than 10 feet into the air.