Walkera V200D03 CCPM Flybarless Heli

[JimCR120]

A good friend gave me a Walkera V200D03 Heli. It has sporty looks and he says it'll do 3D but my only heli experience is my little mSRX which is plenty different. He gave it to me with the understanding there would be some work to do but once done it'll fly great.

The receiver it came with was for a Devo which I neither had nor intended on purchasing. Instead I chose to get a Spektrum AR636 6 CHannel AS3X Sport Receiver which would bind n fly with my DX7. I've replaced the power lead connector with an XT60. And I have landing skids ordered. I think it might have 1 servo that needs to be replaced too.

What I am seeking is:
1. Some knowledge about how to hook this to my receiver.
2. How to set it up in the tx.
3. How to set it up for newby pilots.
4. Any advice on flying it.

 

[F106DeltaDart]

Very cool Jim, I am going to have to do a bit of research to help with this particular aircraft, but here are some basic things to start. To start, you will need a few basic tools.
Blade balancing tool: https://www.helidirect.com/align-blade-balancer-2mm-h25069-t-rex-250.html
Swash Leveling tool: https://www.ebay.com/itm/RDLohr-4mm...zed-Blade-130-X-180-CFX-300-CFX-/291303288800
Pitch gauge: https://www.amazon.com/Helicopter-250-800-Flybarless-Sensor-Display/dp/B00CHY2MDU or something similar

For the AR636, did you buy the one from the blade 230S Spares? To my knowledge, the normal AR636 is not programmable with a heli mode. I could be wrong there since I've never messed with them though. Typically, I use an ikon FBL like this one: https://www.amainhobbies.com/ikon-ikon2-mini-flybarless-system-ikn2005/p522070 that can be connected to a spektrum sat rx. However, FBL controllers are like boards for quads. Everyone has their own that they stick to, so if the AR636 works, I see no reason to change.

The first place to start would be mechanically centering the servos as best as possible. My guess if that's probably already been done, but best to check anyways, especially if replacing a servo. Do NOT add any subtrim, this will be adjusted in the FBL controller setup.

Next would be balancing the blades. Put both the blades on the shaft facing as they would on the heli, and tighten down the nut until they are secure. Then, balance to rod on your fingertips or nearest convenient fulcrum, and the heavy blade will dip. Add small pieces of clear scotch tape to the light blade until they are sitting even.

 

[PsyBorg]

Jim, good to see you starting to get this back in the air mate.

Don't buy the swash leveling tool or the pitch gauge. I will send you the RCLogger digital set I have.. Found it shortly after I got back from FFE. I also have a buncha spare parts as well. The three main servos are brand new metal gear replacements. The only one I had not replaced was the tail rotor so they "should" be fine.

The rotor head was set up multiple times and would hover and track perfectly. The problems I had was as soon as I tried to put any control movements it would roll right over. After researching I found that receiver / flight controller had issues with gyros failing. Which is where I had left off with it when I got the Quad copter bug.

After reading DD's post about his first runs on the Apache and his phasing being off I thought back and figured that may have been the issue all along. He will be better to say whether the reactions I had were in fact phasing or if it was the gyro issue common to that Walkera unit.

When I got interested in mini helos I did TONS of research and this little thing is a beast in the proper hands. There were a lot of features over other copters like a mechanical tail not electric, flybarless, tons of power, and looks great.

PM me your addy and I will get that gear sent out soon as I cash this months checks.

 

[JimCR120]

PsyBorg, I'll send you my address but how essential are these tools? Will it fly ok?, poorly? dangerously? If I could get by until next FFE then you can just get them to me there. Can I mitigate potential problems without these? Either way, there is no rush I'm just looking to move forward on my multiple projects.

One of my first questions is which servo goes to which channel when hooked up properly. And how do I configure the tx? There are so many options for heli's but with some models the easiest aircraft type to select just plain Acro.

 

[F106DeltaDart]

PsyBorg, I'll send you my address but how essential are these tools? Will it fly ok?, poorly? dangerously? If I could get by until next FFE then you can just get them to me there. Can I mitigate potential problems without these? Either way, there is no rush I'm just looking to move forward on my multiple projects.

One of my first questions is which servo goes to which channel when hooked up properly. And how do I configure the tx? There are so many options for heli's but with some models the easiest aircraft type to select just plain Acro.

First off, Psyborg, that is awesome! The regular generosity here is part of what makes this place so unique. That RClogger gauge is the same one I use and works excellent.

Jim, the tools help you achieve a good base setup. I use them religiously on my bigger birds, and a FBL controller works best with a perfectly level swash and well setup head. Absolutely necessary? Maybe not, but it could save headaches later.

As for the RX setup, I am not sure yet, I have to do some more research on the AR636 tonight. Did you buy the one from the blade 230S (or other CP heli) spares? Or just the normal one? From what I've found so far, I'm not sure the normal one can be programmed for helis, it seems to be a specialized software drop only for their chopper receivers.

 

[PsyBorg]

Not sure about spectrum radios but there should be a setup for helicopters. This allows you to choose swash plate type. This one is a 120 degree set up as there are three servos spaced 120 degrees apart around the swash plate. That is where set up starts. Once the model memory is made then physical set up can begin. It is quite the daunting process at first but gets easier after a few times like anything else.

As for the tools they are VERY important as the copter won't fly at all if not set up correctly AND can be dangerous as well. Unlike quads and tris these blades are longer and carry momentum better. Making sure the swash plate and the head are both level and working equally together will determine how well it flies. Blade tracking is also important for vibration as well as proper response to control inputs, and finally the pitch gauge sets the pitch mins and maxes and makes sure each blade is even with the others. Having one blade not pitch the same as the others causes really weird or potentially bad behaviors.

Oh and I should probably send you the manual I just dug thru my paper work and found as well.. there is important things like throws and channel mappings you might want to know For now.. to get ya started. The servos looking at the helicopter from the rear with the heli facing away from you.. front center servo controls elevation the right side controls pitch, and the left side is aileron. The servo on the boom is the tail which is rudder.

I will also burn a copy of the Ebooks I have for set up that I learned from. I believe DD has the same books or had mentioned them earlier in helicopter discussions.

 

[makattack]

Hey Jim,

I believe what folks are saying is that you need a HELI version of the AR636 receiver, which is the AR636H model:

https://www.horizonhobby.com/ar636h-replacement-as3x-helicopter-receiver:-200-sr-x-spmar636h

This offers a flybarless flight controller built into the receiver that you would need for that heli since it doesn't have a mechanical flybar.

Another option would be to get a seperate flybarless controller such as:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/tarot-z...tem-w-usb-program-adapter.html?___store=en_us

but I think that can be a more expensive route.

I do have an extra Devo 8S running DeviationTX that will work with the original FBL Devention RX that came with it, if you want to try it, but I guess PsyBorg is thinking the gyros in it might be shot. I was going to gift the Devo8 to someone else, but have changed my mind about it.

 

[F106DeltaDart]

Thanks Mak, that is exactly what I was trying to say. Except he will need to one from the 230S, not the 200, since he needs one programed for a CP heli.

 

[PsyBorg]

I still have the original Devo 7 that came with the copter. Jim said he did not want to take it as he used spectrum. I can easily send that as well as the other stuff so he can try the original FC.

DD... The heli would spin up fine and hover nicely. I wore out the original motor hovering it in my living room over winter after I first got it. When spring came and I took it outside for forward flight is when I started having issues. As soon as I would break ground effect and start to power up it would roll over to the right and crash. Same thing if I tried forward flight. Is this a a symptom of a "Wrong Phase" issue like you described the Apache having? If so then there is nothing wrong with the FC and it was a bad set up from the factory. Funny how they state they test hover every heli and "tune" it. I assumed it was the bad gyro issue after researching similar problems of others. If this is the case he can have the devo 7 as well and go back to all original to save some set up hassles.

 

[F106DeltaDart]

I still have the original Devo 7 that came with the copter. Jim said he did not want to take it as he used spectrum. I can easily send that as well as the other stuff so he can try the original FC.

DD... The heli would spin up fine and hover nicely. I wore out the original motor hovering it in my living room over winter after I first got it. When spring came and I took it outside for forward flight is when I started having issues. As soon as I would break ground effect and start to power up it would roll over to the right and crash. Same thing if I tried forward flight. Is this a a symptom of a "Wrong Phase" issue like you described the Apache having? If so then there is nothing wrong with the FC and it was a bad set up from the factory. Funny how they state they test hover every heli and "tune" it. I assumed it was the bad gyro issue after researching similar problems of others. If this is the case he can have the devo 7 as well and go back to all original to save some set up hassles.

I see, that would probably be the easiest then.

Psyborg, I don't think that phasing could have been the issue there, mostly because phase adjustments are only done for multiblade heads since it is difficult to properly place the pitch links 90 deg ahead of each blade. 2 blade heads, and this one in particular however, have fixed phasing and shouldn't need any adjustment. However, if one of the channels, servos, or correction directions were reversed, it could produce the same effect.