Duration

[yujamesyu]

How long does your helicopter last?
My helicopter isn't that great and only last for 10 seconds...

[illusionist]

I'm getting in the 1:15 range, still need improvement. Something I strongly suggest is to lower the weight of your helicopter. A lighter helicopter will fly much longer.

[sj]

We've gotten 1:32. We still have to increase the span of the rotors and increase the mass of our rubber.

[lllazar]

Nice Sj!

I was wondering, what would top 5 at state be in a competitive state...

[sj]

Im guessing it would upwards of two minutes...

[lonestar]

I'm having trouble getting mine to fly at all
It's 4.7 g, 3/32" motor, 900 winds, just drops to the ground.
Will getting the weight down to 4.1 make it the difference I need, or do you think there could be some design problems as well?

[lllazar]

Get the weight down, asap, and come back if it still isn't flying....

[blue cobra]

Get down to 4 grams, but even at 4 grams I don't think 900 winds on 3/32" will be enough for most helicopters. I used 1/8" rubber and could probably get to 900 without winding too hard. You should be able to easily get upwards of 1500 winds on that rubber. That's what I could get on ~3/32 with 1.5g, so with 2.0g you should be able to get even more. Lube with some Armor-All or something, and wind harder.

[lonestar]

And with more winds the torque will increase significantly? I was guessing that it'd only benefit how long it spins. Alright, I'll break a motor, see how much it can handle, and start working on another helicopter.

Edit: Ok, I broke at 1590 on a new lubed motor. I also freaked out for a couple seconds when the hook on my winder suddenly extended during winding. I didn't know it could do that haha.

[Nerdllama]

My helicopter can pretty consistently get over 1:30 with 50 winds on a 15:1 winder (750 total), and my record is 1:52.08.

The helicopter is 4 grams, and the two rotors are 40cm wide each. The rubber I use is 1/8'' thick and I usually use over 1.7 grams of it. At 50 winds, it gets to the point where it is literally a battle to get even one more turn on the handle, so we usually stop there out of fear of it snapping. How can I get more winds on it, since you guys seem to be getting 150+ more winds than I can? I do stretch out the rubber and lubricate it; what else is there to be done?