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Helicopter Data Log
Helicopter ID: ____________________ Team: ____________________
Motor before windup Turns Torque Maximum Flight Turns You don’t know what you’re doing unless you
Date Width Length Mass max/launch max/launch height duration Remaining know what you’ve done!
(m/d/yr) (in) (cm) (g) ÷15* (in-oz) (ft) (min:sec) ÷15* comments
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* Replace “÷15” with correct number if your winder has a different ratio
1
Basic Helicopter Data Log Template: Why should I keep a log?
By Dave Drummer for NFFS
Keeping a data log for your ights isn’t just something you should do just to add some
bonus seconds to your helicopter times, but is an essential aspect of improving your
ights and repeating them consistently when you have things working well. The rules for
Helicopter specify 3 required parameters and also 3 additional parameters that you are
able to choose. The following discussion is not intended to be all inclusive of the
possibilities, but relates to the Basic Helicopter Data Log Template shown
below. This log can be downloaded as .pdf or .xlxs. (Links at end of description
paragraph for this document.) The spreadsheet le can be modi ed to t your particular
needs.
Basic Helicopter Data Log Template: What use is all of that data?
Required parameters (One from each item 1-3 below is necessary)
1. Motor size before windup. There should be enough information about the
rubber motor so that you could make another equivalent motor, and use that motor
to closely duplicate a particular ight. There are a number of ways to satisfy this
parameter requirement. It wouldn’t hurt to use all three of the ones below.
Width (in). If you purchase rubber in a stock width, like 3/32”, you can record
that, either as 3/32 or the decimal equivalent. If you purchase rubber from one of the
kit suppliers, it will be marked, eg. 0.087”. We stripped our own, and used to record
the width to which our stripper was set. Inches used for this because strippers are
typically marked in decimal inches, and rubber is sold marked in fractional inches.
Length (cm). This would be the length of the loop, measured in some repeatable
way of your choosing. I used cm for the units so there is no need to deal in fractions.
Decimal inch rulers are hard to nd!
Mass (g). Mass in grams of the loop, including o-rings, if you use them. Many
experienced iers like to record the linear density of the loop, because rubber
density can vary somewhat along the strip. Loops of the same mass and length tied
from a particular width of rubber should be fairly equivalent.
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2. Turns or Torque (in-oz) at Launch. If you are using optimal winding
technique, you really want both of these. Once again, the goal is to use an equivalent
motor to match a previous ight with an equivalent winding method.
Turns. “Turns” means how many times the rubber has been twisted through one
360o rotation. If you count and record how many times you crank the winder handle,
this column should be labelled as “Turns÷15”*. Good to know so you can anticipate
how many turns to wind while stretched out, when to start moving in toward the
torque meter.
* If your winder has a ratio different from 15:1, change the label on this column!
Torque. Torque is typically measured with units of inch-ounces (in-oz), though
there are some inexpensive torque meters that have an arbitrary scale, like 1-10.
Good to know so you don’t exceed a torque that is likely to break the rubber.
Important! Helicopter motors are typically wound to very high
torques. It is recommended not to wind a wire element torque
meter more than on complete rotation of the dial, or you may
damage the meter!
3. Flight Time (min:sec). Labelled on the referenced log as duration, a fancy name
for time. This one is obvious, though it is maybe not so obvious that the units should
be labelled as shown. All parameters should include appropriate units, unless they
have none.
Three additional parameters chosen by the team.
Additional motor parameters. To satisfy the required parameter 4.a.i.(1), you
need the motor’s width or length or mass. Since varying these motor parameters is
by far the most important part of optimizing your ight times, it is not a bad idea to
record all three of them, and this covers two of the additional parameters.
Torque (in-oz) at Launch. If you used turns as a required parameter, torque is a
good additional parameter if you are winding with a torque meter. Measuring torque
while you wind can promote better ef ciency and longer ights, for reasons discussed
elsewhere in the NFFS resources.
Maximum Height (ft). Unlike when you are ying an airplane, the helicopter will
typically pin itself up against the ceiling during most of its ight. If you y in different
locations with different ceiling heights, this parameter will be useful in comparing
results when the height is different.
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Turns remaining. When you pick up the helicopter after it lands, prevent the rotors
from rotating. Transfer the motor back onto the winder and whatever you hook the
other end to, and count how many winder turns are left by winding backwards. In
general, if you run out of turns before landing or there are very few remaining, this
suggests a longer loop might be better. Conversely, many turns remaining suggests a
shorter loop is warranted.
Other parameters. As stated previously, the parameters on this log sheet will
easily satisfy the requirements in the SO Flight rules, but are not intended to be an
all-inclusive list. One thing you might add at some point is the linear density of the
rubber in a particular motor, if you use that method, as described in the Next Level
Helicopter Flying resource.
Comments. Miscellaneous things that you observe, maybe things you need to change
on subsequent ights, or a reminder that something did or didn’t work. If you have a
comment lled in for every ight, an event supervisor might count this as one of the
3 additional parameters, but it may be better to err on the side of caution, and to
have 6 columns of numerical data.
A sample log that includes the parameters discussed above can be downloaded as a pdf
or modi able Excel le via the links on the NFFS resource page, down at the bottom of
the paragraph that describes this document.
Summary: Make sure that you have enough recorded data to satisfy
the rules. If you record all three of the motor size parameters,
turns at launch, maximum height, and duration for 10 or more
ights, you will satisfy the minimum requirements.
For pdf and Excel versions of this same log, see the links at the end of
the description for this resource document.
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