Heli-Max Axe EZ

 

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The advent of the twin-rotor model helicopter has opened up the vertical performance world to thousands of RC fixed-wing pilots. Most of us never thought that we would be flying “mix masters” because of the complexity and extra skills involved in vertical flight. It is difficult enough to hover a 3-D airplane; never mind trying to get an airborne basket of rotating parts to safely stand still.

But twin-rotor helicopters are just not like that. They are sensitive to control inputs, but not critically so. The twin blades cancel torque effects while the on-board gyroscope helps the pilot keep the aircraft pointed in the proper direction. The twin motors are powerful enough that flight is never “marginal” and the Lithium-Polymer (Li-Po) battery powers flight times well over the ten minute mark.

Twin-rotor helicopters are easier for a fixed wing pilot to fly than standard helicopters and the Heli-Max Ready-To-Fly AXE EZ is probably one of the very easiest. Not only do the twin rotors compensate for the main rotor “torque” that wants to make the helicopter spin on its axis, but the AXE EZ has a gyroscope built into the receiver that helps to keep the helicopter flying in the same direction the pilot points it.

The AXE-EZmeets all the aircraft requirements of the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ (AMA) Park Pilot Program. The aircraft weighs less than 2 pounds (the Program’s upper weight limit) and has a level top speed under 60 mph (the Program’s upper speed limit). For complete Park Pilot aircraft details, follow this link.

The AMA Park Pilot Program offers non-AMA members the opportunity to become AMA members at a much reduced cost. Park Pilot membership includes a great magazine “Park Pilot”, $500,000 personal liability insurance, $2.5 million liability insurance for your indoor flying site’s owner (see insurance details) and membership in the world’s largest sport aviation association – the AMA. For complete information and details about Park Pilot membership, just click here.

Yes, it is true that all twin rotor helicopters have both these features, but the AXE EZ appears to have one advantage rare in the twin-rotor helicopter world – its left-right directional trim settings do not significantly change as the twin motors heat up during flight. Once trimmed, the AXE EZ keeps this setting with extremely minor, if any, changes during flight.  

An instructional DVD is included to make things even easier. The DVD covers assembling the helicopter, installing the training gear and contains some basic flight lessons. Watch the video regardless of how many helicopter hours you have in you log book. There are several important hint s in it.

 

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The AXE EZ packaging is also its own carry case. The assembled helicopter and all the necessary equipment, including a few extra flight batteries, fit comfortably inside the case that even has its own carry handle. This makes transport easy.

  

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Note that the AXE EZ includes a carbon fiber/Styrofoam training landing gear at no extra charge. But you must look under the main Styrofoam container or you will not find it. I didn’t know it was there until I read the instructions that were telling me it was included in the package. Most two-blade helicopters charge extra for the training gear so this it a real plus for the AXE EZ.

   

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The AXE EZ is available in 6 different color schemes including one in cameo. We choose the red one, (surprised?). The same decal sheet is included with all the colors. No matter the color body you selected, just about any of the decals will fit. Photo 5 shows some of Heli-Max’s color scheme suggestions but feel free to do your own.

 

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There are sufficient decals to decorate about 10 AXE EZ helicopters but I went easy and created a low-key, US Naval patrol helicopter. The AXE EZ’s “lines” resemble the Cobra gunship of the Vietnam Era making a military scheme seem about right to me. But this is not mandatory by any means.

The decals were easy to apply as they could be placed and then removed without damage. Since they were small, it was not necessary to wet the area before applying the decals. However, if you choose to apply the larger decals, especially along the tail boom, then wet the area with “wet water” (a few drops of dishwashing liquid in 8 ounces of water) with a spray bottle. Slide the decals into position and squeegee out the excess water. For complete details on this decal application method, see the Sport Aviator article “Black Horse Liberty review” by Maria Bueso in the On the Flight Line Section.

Once the decals of your choice have been applied, the AXE EZ is about ready to fly. The only things left to do are to install the eight “AA” alkaline dry cell batteries into the transmitter and then charge the airborne battery pack.

 

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The charger for the ElectriFly 800 mAh, 7.4-volt lithium polymer (Li-Po) battery pack is the usual 120 V AC unit. However, this unit will also work on 240 volts in case you travel to the Continent. The 500 mA charger requires about an hour to completely recharge the airborne battery after a flight. If you plan to do a lot of flying, a couple of extra batteries would be a good idea.

Since the AXE EZ is primarily an indoor aircraft, there should always be an outlet somewhere near your flying site. However, the AXE ERZ is capable of outdoor flights in winds slower than about 4 mph. If you plan to fly outdoors, you will need a 12-volt charger designed for Li-Po batteries. The ElectriFly PolyCharge is a good selection for this purpose.

The Heli-Max Tactic transmitter is a true four channel, Mode 2, FM unit working on the standard RC flight frequencies. This one was on 72.630 MHZ or Channel 42. Mode 2 is the transmitter style, right control stick for ailerons and elevator and the left stick for throttle and rudder, used by the vast majority of American RC pilots. The transmitter has servo reversing on all four channels but does not have, nor does it need, elevon or rudder-vator settings.

The Tactic transmitter does have a port for a standard Futaba buddy box trainer cord. However, since it does not have a “trainer” switch, it can only be used as the student’s transmitter when flying a different aircraft with its own transmitter as the “master” control.

 

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The Li-Po battery pack slides easily into the bottom of the AXE EZ. The battery was a tight fit but did not need the usual fumbling to install. This is an easy pack to switch. The first few flights may last only about 6-8 minutes depending on throttle usage. After this break-in period, most flights lasted more than 10 minutes on a single charge.

  

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Photo 11 shows the combination receiver and gyroscope unit installed in the AXE EZ. These combination units are the key to easy twin-rotor flight. Even though the twin rotor blades eliminate torque effects, the small helicopters would remain difficult to control without the gyroscope’s assist.

Notice also in photo 11 that the twin motors are not located side-by-side. Instead, they are positioned apart from each other. This “isolation” prevents the motors from transferring heat to each other. The result is cooler operation and fewer trim changes during flight.

The receiver’s other side, photo 12, has two control adjustments. The adjusters are those small Phillips head screws. The top screw adjusts the throttle output. The lower adjuster controls the gyroscope’s gain, its sensitivity. If set at too sensitive a level, the tail will “wag”, oscillate quickly back and forth. If this occurs, reduce the gain a little. Both screws are sensitive and are factory set. They usually need no changes.

There is also a tail rotor trim adjuster screw in photo 11 at the top. Most often, the pilot will use the transmitter’s trim tabs to control tail rotor trim. But in case the trims are not enough, use this screw to fix the problem. All the factory adjustments on this AXE EZ were perfect and only slight transmitter trims were needed to adjust for level flight and hover.

 

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One item to check is the alignment of the flybar’s, the metal bar above the rotors, linkage ends. Both of the flybar linkage ball ends should perpendicular to their ball shafts. If the linkage is misaligned, adjust it by turning each ball end clockwise until it is perpendicular to the ball shaft it encloses. This AXE EZ was set just right at the factory.

There are two micro-servos that control the rotor angles. These servos attach to the swash plate under the lower rotor and control side and pitch movements. The “tail rotor” is controlled by varying motor speed. Throttle controls altitude changes, (sound familiar?), just as it does on fixed wing landing approaches.

Before flying, align both rotor blades in parallel with the fuselage. Rotate the helicopter on its side while holding it. All four blades should remain in place. Then lightly, LIGHTLY, shake the AXE EZ. All four blades should drop about 30 degrees towards the floor. If they do not move at all, loosen the blade’s mounting screw just a very small amount. If the blades fall much further than 30 degrees, tighten the screw instead. All four blades should drop about the same. Mine did without adjustment.

 

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The 13.5 inch rotor blade AXE EZ weighed exactly 7.5 ounces as the book said it should. All the usual preflight checks were made; radio range, centering transmitter trims and rotor path during very slow operation. Everything checked out well.

With everything set right, it was off to the gym for a few test flights. I have flown several twin-rotor helicopters before this and was looking forward to learning how the AXE EZ performed. Because of my “vast”, (yeah, right! If about 60 nervous flights can be termed “vast”) twin-rotor experience, I did not attach the training gear for the first few flights.

Always leave connecting the battery to last. Position the AXE EZ on a level, flat surface. Turn on the transmitter and move the throttle and throttle trim levers to the low position. This arms the safety which prevents the blades from rotating when the battery is connected. Without moving the helicopter, carefully connect the battery. A green light flashes inside the cockpit for about 5 seconds. Do not move the AXE EZ during this period as the flashing light indicates that the gyroscope is aligning itself for level flight. After the green light becomes steady, the AXE is flight ready.

With the AXE EZ centered in the “flight circle” better known as the center of the basketball court, and the battery fully charged, it was time to get the rotors turning. I moved the throttle control to full throttle, waited about 5 seconds and then returned it to low. This removed the motor safety that was armed in the previous step. The rotors would now rotate on command from the transmitter throttle.

The throttle was advanced until the blades were just turning. I let them idle this way for about 30 seconds just to allow everything to get used to operating together. Then it was time to lift off. The AXE EZ left the floorboards using about half-throttle. A few clicks of right tail rotor trim and a few more of left pitch and the AXE EZ hovered on its own.

   

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Pushing “down elevator” on the right control stick and adding just a very little throttle made the AXE EZ move out of the circle. Forward movement was positive, no oscillation, but the best “cruise” speed was about 5 mph. The AXE EZ could be pushed to higher forward speeds, but it didn’t really want to go that fast. Too much airspeed made the helicopter’s controls more sensitive. If this is your first helicopter, you might want to keep the forward airspeeds under 5 mph for the first few flights.

 

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The AXE EZ climbed very well; almost no effort was involved and the throttle only had to be advanced two clicks to start towards the ceiling. There is a lot of reserve motor power in this machine. The AXE EZ remained steady during a series of repeated climbs and fast descents. The helicopter never seemed to be “straining” or stressed while performing these rapid maneuvers.

  

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No matter what it was doing at the time, the AXE EZ would immediately enter into a stable hover if asked. This is a good feature for a “first” helicopter as it permits the pilot to stop midair if a “problem” starts developing. During hover or the “cross country” flights, the AXE EZ exhibited very little trim change.

This may be a function of the widely spaced motors. Many twin-rotor helicopters change trim as the motor temperatures increase. While there was just a little left tail rotor trim change, two clicks on the transmitter rudder trim eliminated it.

   

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Even when cruising at the far end of the gym, the AXE EZ was easy to control. For a fixed-wing pilot, this aircraft is an excellent entry vehicle into the vertical flight realm. If this is your first vertical experience, take it a little slower for your first flights. Keep the helicopter closer to you.

The AXE EZ hovers itself requiring little pilot input. But it does need some guidance so remember that helicopters are very sensitive to piloting inputs. The slightest control stick movements are all that is needed. Excessive control inputs result in wild side swings, rapid pitch changes and finally, a stress test of the training landing gear. Use tiny control inputs and you and AXE EZ, or any twin-rotor helicopter, will enjoy working together.

Landings were non-events. Stopping any side motion was not a problem. The AXE EZ responds well to throttle changes so gentle touchdowns were the norm. The AXE EZ proved so responsive and easy to fly that its second flight session was actually part of an indoor airshow given at a local school. The students loved it and so did I.

  

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After the first flights and the air show, several flights were made using the training landing gear. The AXE EZ needed two extra clicks of throttle to lift off but a lot of motor power remained for fast climbs and rotating hovers (one of the twin-rotor helicopter’s best tricks). Forward flight was stable and still felt comfortable. The wider stance landing gear made landings easier and protected the helicopter from falls if landings were made while still moving to one side.

If you are thinking about entering vertical flight, the Heli-Max AXE EZ is a great Ready-To-Fly helicopter for the job. Any RC fixed-wing pilot that has soloed will enjoy flying it and should not have any problems transitioning. Of course, complete part sets are available beyond the included extra rotor blades and landing skid. But it is probable that they will not be needed for a long time.

For more information about this easy flying helicopter, please go to: website

Pricing information ($170), accessories and extra parts are available at: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNYM9**&P=0

Short URL: http://masportaviator.com/?p=803