build log summary

[Helifino]

I stole this idea from heli-cuzz based on his flite log summary,cuzz I thought his was a great idea for a thread.

It seemed to me that not a whole lot of us are flying yet,some starting to build, some still building and others dreaming of building.

Any and all makes of helis welcome, big or small, electric or nitro or whatever else floats your boat(as long as it's a heli :D ).

Post your daily progress on your build, upgrades, problems your having on your build and how you over came them. Any building tips that you can offer for others. Things you would do differently. Likes and dislikes. Post pics of your build from start to finish. You don't necessarily have to be doing a build from scratch. If you purchased a arf(almost ready to fly) kit or a rtf(ready to fly) kit, you still have some setup to do. Let's hear from you.

Even you more seasoned flyers. You guys do upgrades, and occasionally have a crash or two :p . Most of you have more than one bird. Feel free to jump in.

Comments are always welcome, but if we could keep it in a log format like heli-cuzz's flite log thread and not a question and answer thread I think that it would work better. Besides, there are plenty of other threads that deal with that.

I'm not trying to take away from heli-cuzz's flite log. I just thought it would be interesting to see people document going from build to flite.

I'll post later tonight to get it started, unless someone beats me to it! :)

[heli-cuzz]

Sweet :D I have a couple of rebuilds coming up. :cool:

[Helifino]

Okay, after being plagued by one problem after another,I decided this week to convert my 450 cde back to an hde(which is what it was originally). A very easy conversion, 30 minutes max.

So far the hde setup seems to be working alot better. By manuually working the rod linkages, I notice the blade grips are working the way they are suppose to and there is no tilt in the flybar(was evenly spaced believe it or not) as before with the cde setup when giving collective.

All ball links have been resized(did this prior to re-converting but didn't help) and are loose but not too loose.

I converted originally from hde to cde mainly because I didn't like the levers rubbing against the canopy. I felt that I would have to hack to much canopy up to eliminate that. I guess I'll have to accept the trade off.

Purchased and installed the lime green flybar paddles this week. I like the looks of them, pretty cool!

Re-installed the servos and rod linkages tonight. Only things left to install are the receiver,servo arms and center them, setup the tail and servo and setup tx for hde.

I messed up the flybar and flybar holder trying to remove them to figure out one of the many problems that I was having. Good excuse to buy the lime green paddles while I was replacing the bar and holder anyway. :D

So far I have had to replace the blade grips-poor quality from factory. Replaced the spectra module in my hitec optic 6 with a single channel module(major glitches). I haven't had a chance to check it out to see if the glitch is gone yet.

I think that alot of the problems that I had with the cde version was probably having some of the rod linkages way out of wack,among other things.

Will try to post some pics this weekend.

[Helifino]

Connected servos to receiver today, but did not mount receiver to frame yet. Servos not centering to my satisfaction. :mad: Will have to dig out my surplus of servo arms if I can remember where I put them.

Did a radio check. The single channel module seems to have cleared up the glitches! :)

May have over did it on resizing the ball links after all. I'll need to go back over them and check to make sure. I saw an article in issue #7 on resizing ball links, didn't have a chance to read it yet. Might be a good idea if I did!

No pics yet until I can make her look a little more presentable.

[blax1]

Gidday Helifino
Check out this site on re-sizing link's http://www.tech-mp.com/trex_support.htm
Not sure how good it is but it may be better than actually reaming them out, I just thought it may help you along the way. :)
Good Luck
Ralph

[Helifino]

Thanks blax1.

I have one of those resizing tools but its too easy to over do it if your not careful. Now I think there is too much slop.

I'll try your tip. Thanks again :)

[Helifino]

Ummmm....So out of the 741 members on this forum, I'm the only one in the build stage eh? :rolleyes:

Well this was either:
a) A dumb idea for a thread
or
b) I'm the only one dumb enough to post
or
c) I'm the only one building and everyone else is flying. :(

Might have to check out heli-cuzz's flite log thread. Hope I have time to read them all today! :D

[heli-cuzz]

Ummmm....So out of the 741 members on this forum, I'm the only one in the build stage eh? :rolleyes:
:D


Yeah, and about 8 or nine members actually post, the rest of them are lurking and jerking. I'll be adding to this thread when I start my rebuilds. Be patient jedi. :D

[Helifino]

Looking forward to it heli-cuzz! ;)

[blax1]

Gidday Helifino :)
I to will post some info- when i get started, prolly this weekend, I spoke to Mike @ Trueblood he is mailing the mount kit to me, when i get it I can really get stuck into it, and will post bit and peices as i go, I should be able to sort it out myself but if I get stuck a little help will be much appreciated :)
Cheers Ralph.

[heliry2]

helifeno this is a great idea for a thread just like heli cuzzs
i should be able to chime in soon jennifer wants to upgrade
and i would like to build one totally unassembled i thought
she was going with the trex but after seeing the new midget
she is leaning toward that (because its cute) what ever keeps
her happy and off my back. my heli is down for a couple
weeks (differant thread) so hopefully she will make up
her mind soon we are going to a couple of differant
HS when i get off work today

[Helifino]

Great! Thanks guys, Looking forward to reading them. :)

[heli-cuzz]

Nothing to read here, but you can get an idea of the rebuilds I have here. A pile of helis :D

[heli-cuzz]

It looks like a mess, but I know every part laying there, and besides that, I have all manuals for my helis. BTW, that's my Caliber30 and Trex450 xl eccpm. :)

[superflyer]

wow alot of stuff to rebuild.

[heli-cuzz]

wow alot of stuff to rebuild.


not enough, just been to busy to start em'.

[Helifino]

Relocated receiver from front to rear inside of frame tonight. Also relocated esc from rear inside frame to side of frame.

Still need to:

Dress up all wiring.

Install tail servo 3110. Will need to do slight mod on servo to mount. Set up tail.

Check that all servos are working properly.

Check,balance and install blades.

Double check all ball links. replace any that are oversized :o .

Double check radio settings. Check blade pitch

Program esc

Setup gyro

[Helifino]

Installed the futaba 3110 tail servo today. Still have some minor issues with tail that will require some tweaking.

Finally getting there. The list is getting smaller! :)

[heliry2]

well jennifer went with the midget.she talked to
the owner of the hobby shop sunday he will
order it today i asked him to get me one that
is just a box of parts if possible no pre build
as soon as she gets it i will start working on
it and get some pictures and comments up
here.

[Helifino]

Looking forward to it heliry2! :)

[Helifino]

Re-programed radio for HDE setup
All servos centered
Swashplate and control arms level
Radio controls working all servos correctly

Still need to:
Set and level flybar
Balance and install blades
Clean up wiring
Check ball links
Program esc
Setup gyro
Test fit canopy for any interference with linkages

Almost forgot..install training gear! :eek:

[Helifino]

No updates tonight...need to get in some sim time!

[blax1]

From this to this to this :D

[heliry2]

looking good blax1.
talked to the hobby shop owner who was going to order the
midget for jennifer on thursday and was informed the midget
isn't on the market yet they are taking orders but
it won't be available until christmas time. so we are going
to go out this evening and see if we can find the trex she
was originally interested in i don,t remember the name but
it was blue with a short tail boom. hopefully this will work
out i think i know where one is. we are going to keep the
midget on order i think that will be a fun litttle heli.

[heli-cuzz]

Nice Trex ralph :D

[Helifino]

Looking good! I see your work bench is the kitchen table also. :D

[Helifino]

heliry2, keep us updated and good luck. Hope to see lots and lots of pics! :D

[Helifino]

Status still the same. No new progress. It's snowing outside now. Had company this past weekend, wife wanted her kitchen table back after 6 months. I coundn't understand it! I'll have to find some place else to work on it now. :(

[blax1]

Helifino Hello
I finally got some good news about my servo mount John at Readyheli emailed me they have them instock now, so i've ordered it and a set head dampners as well, so they should be here early to mid next week :cool: I've also get a new 7.4V Li-Po battery for my CX, I had one battery up an die on Sunday arvo , no duration can only get 2foot hover for about 1min strange thing was it was perfect the day before, I just charged it in the usual manner, and it all over :confused: It was 14 month old though, so perhaps it just hit the used by date :confused:
Cheers Ralph
PS Sorry hear about your table, just build another and move on :)

[Helifino]

blax1, curious to hear how that mount works out, especially after you've had to wait so long for it.

[blax1]

ME TOO I'll Get Back To You :cool:

[heliry2]

blax1 did a new battery fix your cx problem?

we had the same thing with our cx and it was 1 of the motors
10 dollars to replace instead of 25.

[blax1]

Hello Heliry2
Oh Ok makes sense, I heard motor can just die?? :confused:
I've got two batteries the heli-fly's fine with one not the other, so I assume its dead, although I did check it with a multimeter. it had 8.3 v but I dont know about the amperage?? New Batt- should be here mid next week :cool:
Battery was 14 months old
Cheers Ralph

[heliry2]

blax1 didn't know you tried 2 batteries.what happened with
ours when it was a motor was the first 15-20 secs the heli
was fine then the power would go and you couldn't get
more than a foot high we suspected battery at first but
ended up being a motor. the one would get alot hotter than
the other so that was the suspect but actually ended up
being the other.

[heli-cuzz]

Don't know if this should be in this thread, but I'm breaking down my Caliber50. Gonna check the main mast, spindle, heli and engine bearings. I just got a true spin balancer. I balanced the TR assembly after 9 gallons of fuel, what a difference this makes, I didn't realise how badly it was out of balance. Anyway, gonna balance the entire rotor head assembly.

[heli-cuzz]

Balanced the fan and clutch, they both were dead balls perfect. :cool:

[heli-cuzz]

You can see the magnets for the revmax sytem, the fan was perfectly balanced.

No removal of any material.

[Helifino]

Don't know if this should be in this thread, but I'm breaking down my Caliber50

Are you kidding...this is great stuff!

[Helifino]

I know these are probably stupid questions,but,if the fan and clutch were out of balance,how would you go about balancing them? Are you using magnets instead of weights? If they were out of balance, how would you be able to tell without tearing them down? Vibrations during flight?

[heli-cuzz]

They're not stupid questions. Most people know what balancing is, but don't know how to remedy the problem. The fuel tank is a great visual check to see high frequency vibrations.A foamy tank is a good sign of vibrations. The tail fins, boom stabilizer fin , and skids are areas to pay attention to as well.
I've heard that you can add weight, but with the high rpm of nitro engines, you're much better off to remove weight. The fan magnets are for my rpm limiter, they send two magnets for balancing reasons. to remove weight, you simply drill dimples on the heavier side, making sure not to bore to deep. Proper balance results are, the item being balanced should hold its position at every point of a 360 degree radius, if it spins to a heavy side, you'll know. I check mine after balancing, by spinning the fan, clutch bell,TR assembly, and MR assembly, if it stops at any point with no movent. Its balanced.
You must have a balancer to do this.

[heli-cuzz]

I'm trying a slightly different method to balance my MR blades.
Has anyone tried balancing the entire MR head as the whole assembly with flybar and paddles?

I removed the main mast with the RH assembly and fylbar with paddles still attached but no main blades. I checked the flybar with paddles first, it showed a perfect balance in 360 degree rotation{Lucky} :cool:First, I check by balancing the flybar until its level, in this case I was lucky and had to do nothing. I then spin the flybar while in the balancer many times to see different stopping points , if it stops at various positions of the 360 degree radius, its good to go on to the next step.

[heli-cuzz]

Next step. Attach MR blades and snug the blade bolts so they don't move while in the balancer. Make sure both blades are straight out as if they were in flite. Place in balancer and check. The MR blades are out a little bit, but I already knew that, so in this case, I'll add tape to the lighter blade to balance them to a level position, then check the rotation balance. Perfectly balanced blades will stop at any point in a 360 degree radius while in balancer. Next step, reassemble heli and fly.
I did my TR assembly earlier this week and what a difference how smoother it flys and operates.

[heliry2]

now that the caliber 400 is back up i was
able to start building the trex 450X a couple
of nights ago. at some point today when i get
out of here and the honey list is taken care
of i will start sizing the ball links and rods.
this is my first build from scratch and have a funny
feeling this is going to be a pain we'll see.cuzz
nice pics and info both on the engine and balancing.
i know its time to go through justins cal 30 end to
end he had a good crash a couple weeks ago
and hasn't had time to get it put back together
so this will probably be a good time. yours and tds threads
yesterday gave alot of info thanks.although i am
begining to wonder about justin having time considering all the
lobbying hes' doing with me and mom about a T 600.
grades coming home from school this week.christmas around
the corner eyeballing me sittting at the table with the
450. who knows.

[heli-cuzz]

Thanks heliry :)

All re-assembled and I'm gonna FIRE IT UP in my backyard. :D

[blax1]

Terrific photo’s and information Cuzz, Were did you get the balancer tool from? I wouldn’t mind getting one of them, so I can properly balance up my T-Rex as well.
BTW how did she go in the back yard? :D

[heli-cuzz]

Terrific photo’s and information Cuzz, Were did you get the balancer tool from? I wouldn’t mind getting one of them, so I can properly balance up my T-Rex as well.
BTW how did she go in the back yard? :D


That's a dubro true spin balancer. Try this for balancers blade balancers (http://www.helihobby.com/html/blade_tools.html#PART631080)

Here's how she went. It runs and the sleeve is still off-center.
Goofing off in the backyard. :D Very, very windy.Click here to watch goofing-in-the-backyard (http://media.putfile.com/goofing-in-the-backyard)
Click here to watch more-goofing (http://media.putfile.com/more-goofing)

[blax1]

Nice goof-offs!!! :cool: I bet the guy in the ute that drove by, had to have a second LOOK!!! :eek:
Thanks for the link as well. I will give them a try, its has to be better to balance the complete MR assembly, I’ve already got one of those Align, shaft and two blue nut ones (that’s sounds good) that is shown in the link, for the main blades they are fine just for the blades but that’s all. :)
Cheers Ralph

[heli-cuzz]

LoL

Balance the TR assembly, it will help a great deal eliminating vibration.

[blax1]

Ok I will :)

[heliry2]

was able to get all the ball links completed
last night what a pain that started out to be getting
the ball links on the rod.after the first 2 links i
got out a M0-80 tap and put the initial thread into
the link to get the rod started then it was a piece
of cake.the plastic parts that came with the kit seemed
very sloppy to me and i wasn't real thrilled with the
way things went together and felt so i decided to go
and pick up a couple upgraded metal parts rotor hsg,and
control levers after getting those together and seeing and feeling
how much nicer things moved i decided to upgrade the entire
column.i should be able to have the entire rotor head assmbly
completed by friday and will try to put up some pictures of
the kit aambly next to the upgraded assembly. i do need to pick
up another main shaft as i am going to build 2 main rotor columns
the kit and upgrade parts.

[heli-cuzz]

looking forward to pics, heliry2. :)

[cbflys]

Pulling the ol' 5 out of service for a few days for some preventitive maintenance ...

Inspect and JB Weld both T/R belt pullys
Adding Thunder Tiger servo mounting plates under all the servo screws
Replacing the boom mount screws with machine screws and nuts
Replacing fuel filter with Mavrikk T-Filter
Re-balance main and tail rotors
Balance cooling fan and flywheel
Inspect OS .50 Hyper
Sporting new graphics (thanks to Callie @ www.callie-graphics.com)

Standby for pictures ...

[heli-cuzz]

hey cb, how many gallons through your hyper?
My C-5 is holding up strong, linkage is tight and no problems found with my preventative maintenance check. I changed the tp boom screws before the first flite. The only prob found was the cylinder sleeve has rotated about 1/4 inch off center in my hyper. It still runs great, just has power like a 30 sized engine. I flew a brand new hyper50 two days ago in a rappy 50, what a difference in the way it runs with the sleeve correctly centered.
I'm sending the engine back.

Looking forward to some new pics. :cool:

[cbflys]

cuzz,

I only have about 3 gallons through my engine. But these forums have convinced me it's time to fix the pullys. So while it's apart, I figured I'd rebalance everything. With regards to the engine, I'm just curious how the rear bearing is holding up.

Here's a teaser pic of the new clothes ...

[blax1]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chop Chop :D

[heliry2]

nice clothes cbflys

[heli-cuzz]

cuzz,

I only have about 3 gallons through my engine. But these forums have convinced me it's time to fix the pullys. So while it's apart, I figured I'd rebalance everything. With regards to the engine, I'm just curious how the rear bearing is holding up.

Here's a teaser pic of the new clothes ...
Yesterday 05:10 PM

I don't think you'll have a problem with the bearing if your engine has been tuned properly. A lottle on the rich side. I run a full gallon through the engine when breaking in before I'll tune it to its potential. I have 9 gallons through mine even though the sleeve is off center{I believe its a factory mistake}, you saw the pics I posted. My crank bearings are smooth with no play whatsoever and the internals are in pristine condition.
I think most problems I've heard with the hyper is, they're running lean, then complain because something fails. All is it takes is one real hot run to kill an engine. It definitely doesn't hurt to check three gallons in. :cool: I enjoy working on and maintaining my helis.

Oh, BTW, Ooooohhhh I really like the new clothing. *drools*
.............VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV................
http://rchelimag.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=452&stc=1

[heli-cuzz]

I noticed your exhaust deflector facing downwards. I positioned mine directly to the leftside blowing away from the heli. I tried the down position and you have less oil residue when facing it directly to the left side{away from heli}even when flying inverted and such.

[cbflys]

cuzz,

Good point on the exhaust deflector - I'll change its position. Did my maintenance today - everything looks excellent. Only thing I didn't do was replace the self tapping screws holding in the tail boom (didn't have any hardware on hand). I'll do that with the next maintenance check.

Those decals are pretty inexpensive. She'll even do custom work. Check out Callie's web site - she has lot's of different schemes and colors to choose from. From what I understand, the vinyl doesn't lift like the stock decals do.

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post.

cb

[heli-cuzz]

Sweet, I'll check callie's site out. Love the color scheme on your C-5, it really is sharp looking.

[blax1]

Crickey’s I’d forgotten how fiddley these machines can be, :eek: in order to get the aileron servo in between the carbon fibre frames I had to take the back cover off the servo Sheeeeeesh!! These Hitec HS65MG,s must be only 1mm wider than the Spektrum ones supplied with the DX6 kit, I didn’t want to stretch the frame and maybe crack it, anyway its in there now all is good , moving on to the next two which will be easy. :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

Seems a shame to take it apart :)

[blax1]

Here she is with S9650 servo on board :) now what do I do with the gyro? I had it mounted under the boom for protection in case of the rotor striking the boom, maybe I could mount it up front, but I'm not sure about that :confused: . Any suggestion??

[blax1]

Here she is with the swash servo's mounted, I decided to re-route the wires on the inside of the frame this time just to tidy it up :D they are cable tied out of harms way.(rotating parts etc)

[tdswan]

Here she is with S9650 servo on board :) now what do I do with the gyro? I had it mounted under the boom for protection in case of the rotor striking the boom, maybe I could mount it up front, but I'm not sure about that :confused: . Any suggestion??

Protect that gyro. I've had one ruined before because I just didn't plan on crashing, so I mounted it on top. Something funny, but I guess I haven't ever planned on crashing. :p
Find some way to put it under the boom or elsewhere. I know electronics placement is difficult, mine is mounted under the boom.

[heli-cuzz]

I'd mount it right above the boom entering the frame. I've heard problems with the flybar paddles hitting the gyro in the event of a crash. I crashed mine a couple of times and had no issues with the paddles striking the gyro. My gy401 is mounted above the boom entering the mainframe. You can mount a gyro anywhere as long as the gyro is sitting level.
You know what?




Problem solved,

















don't crash so hard.. LoL :D

[blax1]

Thank you fellas I really appreciate your input :)
Its interesting to see totally different opinions, every thing I've read tells me to keep the gyro down the back of the heli- but Mike Trueblood actually has his mounted way up the front were I have the ESC??
Here she is with the ESC back on board, (maybe temporarily) the Spektrum reciever is almost finished being re-wired and LGG Li-po Gas Guage is ready to be retaped on.... I just have to make a decission on the GYRO, at the moment I think i'll just stick it on the boom, BUT my Gut says NO!!!!
I'll sleep on it, thanks for your help :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

It's amazing what happens when you read the instructions :D
"Quote" When using the GY401with a motor helicopter, install the gyro at least 10cm from the motor drive. "Unquote"
I think they are talking about a nitro or gasser but I will take their advise. :D

[heli-cuzz]

My gy401 on my Caliber30 and C-5 are mounted up front. My Trex is on the mainframe where the boom enters. With the nitro helis you have a bit more space to work with.
Just a note blax, your gyro can become damaged anywhere you mount it in the event of a crash. Mount it in the front and have a nose-in to the deck, and Kablam, your gy could be damaged. I think you're better off with the mainframe-boom mount.
Here's my C-5 gy401 mount, plenty of space and I can see the arming light through the canopy shield.

[heliry2]

blax1 on my caliber 400 my 401 is
mounted just above the tail boom were
it enters the main frame. i have had a
few nice crashes and it hasn,t been hurt
there. the cal 400 would look just like
cuzzs picture above just scaled down.

[CLM]

how about mounting the gyro inverted and taped to the tail servo? Use the tail servo as a gyro maount ;)

Chris

[blax1]

You know CLM, I was actually thinking of that yesterday arvo, and I did hold the gyro up underneath the servo, the problem is the gyro would only be taped on by approximately 3/4s of it surface area, plus it’s a bit crowded and way off the centre line of the heli- frame, so at this stage I think I will head for the top of the boom, I’m obviously going to have to adjust the gyro during my test flights and this is the easiest place to do that, so I will go with the boom at the moment So CLM I appreciate your input as well and thanks very much. :)
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

After getting kicked off the kitchen table, I went to Lowes this past weekend and bought a 4' folding table to have someplace to work on my Trex. Woudn't you know it, I came home from work and my wife has all of her stuff piled up on it.

Well I set her straight and showed her who wears the pants in this family(I'm back working on the kitchen table) :o

Upgraded tonight to a complete metal tail assembly. Not so much for the "bling" although it does look cool, but the stock tail assembly just seemed to have too much slop for my satisfaction. I also ordered some metal parts for the head(swashplate, washout base and some control levers) hopefully they should be here tomorrow.

Hope to be able to post some pics soon, especially of those cool looking lime green paddles! :p

[heliry2]

helifino what did you do go out and buy her a new table for the laundry and didn't
now it.hope your parts show up soon good luck with that.lookin forward to seeing it.
i got the main body put together last night and hpoefully i'll
be able to start on the tail tonite.

[heli-cuzz]

how about mounting the gyro inverted and taped to the tail servo? Use the tail servo as a gyro maount ;)

Chris

I don't recommend taping electronics to electronics. Ya never know, it could cause a possible glitch.

[blax1]

I don't recommend taping electronics to electronics. Ya never know, it could cause a possible glitch.


Hello people
Thanks for your help and input on this one!!!! :)
I've done it------ Its on the boom (RIP Gyro) :eek: NO!!! it want happen LOL :D
Wish me luck ;)

[heli-cuzz]

Trex tail servo mount!!!!
Notice the servo is mounted at an angle so the arm is centered with the pushrod. This will dramatically reduce binding of the arm and pushrod. You won't see it with the heli being set-up. There's a lot more stress on linkages while in flite.

[heli-cuzz]

This is another reason why not to mount a gyro to the servo. My servo could be angled more, its a little off-center from the pushrod hole in the boom stabilizer mount. Notice how the pushrod is slightly bent, it probably slid off-center from the last smackdown.

You'll be OK blax. :)

[blax1]

LOL Thanks Cuzz- :)

[Helifino]

Installed metal swashplate,metal control levers,metal washout base and metal flybar control levers tonight.

My canopy was deformed from the factory due to poor packaging. The plastic control levers were rubbing against the canopy. The metal control levers eliminated that problem!
I did have to trim a small V shape around the linkage rods, I can live with that.

Still have a little bit more work to do on her. If I get the blades balanced and installed, I'll try and get some pics uploaded tomorrow.

[blax1]

Installed metal swashplate,metal control levers,metal washout base and metal flybar control levers tonight.

My canopy was deformed from the factory due to poor packaging. The plastic control levers were rubbing against the canopy. The metal control levers eliminated that problem!
I did have to trim a small V shape around the linkage rods, I can live with that.

Still have a little bit more work to do on her. If I get the blades balanced and installed, I'll try and get some pics uploaded tomorrow.

Helifino Gidday :)
Sounds like its full steam ahead at your place :cool:
Looking forward to picy's
Have fun!! Ralph

BTW Love that mad avatar LOL :D

[heliry2]

glad to here you got your parts helifino looking forward
to seeing pics. the flybar control levers in my kit were
the reason i started buying the metal parts the had
severe interferance.

[Helifino]

Here are a few pics. I still have some work to do on it. Having some problems with collective and blade pitch. I may need your help.
(Note the lime green paddles heli-cuzz :p :D )

[blax1]

Helifino
Great shots looks good :) , I'm about were you are collective and pitch, is giving me a hard time as well, kind of run out of time to play lately, but I will sort it out soon!!
Cheers

[heliry2]

helifino
looks great nice pics

[heli-cuzz]

Here are a few pics. I still have some work to do on it. Having some problems with collective and blade pitch. I may need your help.
(Note the lime green paddles heli-cuzz :p :D )

That's butter :D SMmmoooootttthhhh. Looks awesome helifino.


I believe the collective is blade pitch, if I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

[Helifino]

I believe the collective is blade pitch, if I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

Your right. :)

The problem I am having is when I give it pos. or neg. collective on the tx. only one blade is changing pitch, the other blade doesn't move. :confused:

I don't know if I have the linkages way out of wack. Servos center as do the levers and swash is level. If I remove the linkages, everything seems to move freely by hand with no binding.

I still need to replace all of the ball links from oversizing them, although it did that before I got carried away with the ball link resizing tool! :D

I thought maybe switching to metal parts would help, but it didn't. I figure it's something simple that I'm overlooking. :o

I forgot to mention(the most important thing) that when moving the collective stick on the tx, the flybar drops to one side. If I hold the flybar level and move the collective, then both blades will change pitch. Maybe that's where my problem is?
The paddles are equal distance apart from the flybar control set.

[heli-cuzz]

Ok, when you apply collective/throttle, your swash plate should rise in a level and even fashion with no tilting any way. It sounds like you're having set-up issues with your TX programming.

Are you set-up in mccpm or eccpm?

Also, your flybar may tilt to one side is no big deal, but if you're applying collective and your paddles change pitch, something is wrong in the set-up. Your paddles should not change pitch when collective is applied. The flybar works with the cyclic stick. That's what makes the heli tilt forward/backward/side to side.

[Helifino]

Swash raises and lowers even and level. I have it in normal(mccpm)on the optic6.

I turn on tx,low throttle,normal mode,plug in battery,everything centers,apply collective,flybar drops to one side,one blade chages pitch,other blade barely moves.

When applying elevator pitch of paddles change(ok),when applying left or right aileron, flybar does not tilt in either direction and paddles will change pitch slightly. :confused:

I agree, it's definitely in the setup.

[tdswan]

If your swash is moving up and down in an even fasion to your collective inputs and tilting in the respective direction when you apply the cyclic, you're done. The head won't move correctly until there's centrifugal forces on it, I.E. when it's spinning. It's normal to see the head just flop around to your inputs, a blade could not be extended straight out, and the flybar will flop from side to side and only one blade will appear to move. This is normal.

Here's a video of the cyclic on my gasser (http://webpages.charter.net/tdswan/11-11-06V.mov), you need quicktime to view it. The file is 6 meg, so it may take a bit to load. It will show you how the head will just flop around like you're describing.

[Helifino]

Thanks td, I'm downloading your vid now. :)

[tdswan]

I had to push the flybar into position to get it to flop like you're describing, that was because of the free movement on my head. I don't think you've got any problems at all. I hope it helps!

[Helifino]

Thanks, I was reluctant to power it up until I was sure. I'm replacing all of the ball links now. Wasn't able to download your vid, combo of dialup and a lousy isp. :mad: Thanks anyway though,I appreciate it.

[tdswan]

Make sure you have quicktime. The link will open a new page and look like it's doing nothing until the whole vid is downloaded. I'd have liked to convert it to wmv, but I don't have a decoder to convert it.

[blax1]

That's butter :D SMmmoooootttthhhh. Looks awesome helifino.


I believe the collective is blade pitch, if I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

Hello Cuzz
Sorry I led you up the garden path there!! :(
What I meant to say, is I'm having trouble with servo programming I've got servo's going up when they should be going down etc :eek: I just need a bit of time to sit down and work through it properly, been busy doing other stuff lately, which has a bit to do with "the honey to do list"
You know what I mean :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

BTW Td
I watched your vid :) Thank you great info- :cool:
Cheers Ralph

[heli-cuzz]

Hello Cuzz
Sorry I led you up the garden path there!! :(
What I meant to say, is I'm having trouble with servo programming I've got servo's going up when they should be going down etc :eek: I just need a bit of time to sit down and work through it properly, been busy doing other stuff lately, which has a bit to do with "the honey to do list"
You know what I mean :)
Cheers Ralph

I like gardens :D

No prob m8

I just removed the hyper50 from my C-5. It's going back for warranty repair or replacement.
Tomorrow nite I will remove and inspect the one-way bearing, replace or re-grease it.

[blax1]

Hello Guys
Not a lot to report at the moment, but I think I have made progress on my servo problem, I think I had the DX6 Tx set up in mccpm not eccpm :o So I have re-programed the Tx and I will see how the servo's react tonight :)
Wish me luck
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

G’day
Well I finally sorted out the servo’s last night, they are all behaving themselves and are going up and down when and were they should , tonight I will use the Trueblood leveller to level the swash and sort out the ball link lengths, in the text about the leveler, he discusses off setting the aileron horn about ten degree’s so it doesn’t get court in the main gear, sounds like a ripper of a design fault to me :eek: anyway I'm going to investigate the possibility of cutting the excess off the horn to stop this from happening , I will let you know how I get on :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

Hello people

Here are a couple of shots of my T-Rex with the swash leveller in place. I have to say it was easy to use and the swash is perfectly level now, which for newbie pilots has got to be a great help in the early stages of learning to hover, if the machine is set up properly it has to make life easier!!! :)

Here is the Sub trim adjustment that I made to centre servos
AIL -7
ELE +15
PIT +5
Travel adjustment (end points)
AIL -95%
ELE -90%
PIT -100%
The sub trim in particular are interesting the closest I could get without the leveller was in and around 20 which is border line.
I hope this info- is of benefit to anyone else trying to do swash set-up. :)
Cheers Ralph

[heli-cuzz]

That's cool ralph.

I just eyeball my swash with the top of the frame where the main shaft enters. I believe all my sub-trims{ail. ele. pit.} are under 15%. The closer to zero the better.

if the machine is set up properly it has to make life easier!!!

It definitely does. An incorrect set-up will most likely result in a crash.

[Helifino]

Looking good blax1. I also have one of those swash levelers. I agree with you and if it can make it easier for me to set up, then I'm all for it! :)

[blax1]

Looking good blax1. I also have one of those swash levelers. I agree with you and if it can make it easier for me to set up, then I'm all for it! :)

Hey thats cool!! Helifino
Well you know exactly what I'm talking about!!! It was so easy it had it all done in ten minutes EASY!!! :cool: How are you going with your chopper, you must be close to flying her now, I will try and wind mine up this weekend, but the weekend is shaping up to very busy doing other stuff :eek: I still have to re-program the ESC and tidy the wiring up, time will tell,,
Have fun Ralph

[Helifino]

I'm about where you are. I replaced all of the ball links cause I didn't know when to stop with that resizing tool. :o I got a couple of things out of wack,so I still need to level swash, program esc, double check tx settings and install training gear. But like you, work seems to get in the way :mad: and I'm still trying to get in some firewood before the "big one" hits! :D

If I have the time, I don't have the energy, If I have the energy, I don't have the time. Hey, that's what my wife always tells me anyway(She ain't talking bout helis) :rolleyes:

[heliry2]

good luck there helifino
i'm having problems trying to fit time
in to finish up that rex god willing real soon.

[heli-cuzz]

I started putting my Caliber30 back together tonite. Pics soon. :)

[blax1]

I started putting my Caliber30 back together tonite. Pics soon. :)

OK great :)
Is that the one with the poddy cat?? :)

[heli-cuzz]

OK great :)
Is that the one with the poddy cat?? :)

LoL

No, it's the smaller of the two. The one with the poddy cat is my C~5. :)

[heli-cuzz]

Here's the piston to my OS32sx-h. This pic is the before the engine mod begins. The crankshaft was modified and balanced. Should have the engine back this week.

No its not my OShyper50.

[heli-cuzz]

and connecting rod. When the mod is done, this engine should run almost like a 50... Powerwise.

[heli-cuzz]

Never forget this important little item. The mainshaft collar. Without this, your rotor head will take off without the heli. :eek:

[heli-cuzz]

Swash linkage is complete. Flybar to swash phasing is complete.

[heli-cuzz]

Main blades attached and almost ready to fly once again.

[heli-cuzz]

Checked out the Rx/gyro/servos and Tx programming. Just like it was before the heli-kartwheel. :D The C~30 is almost ready. Need to fix the skid mounts on the frame. Install the newly modified OS32sx-h engine, mount the canopy. That should do it until the field, hoping for this weekend.

[heliry2]

finally found some time to finish the body build of the trex
now for the electronics i am going to invest in a transmitter
on this one and have been thinking about the JR I really
like the no crystals part and this radio will be taking care
of this build plus another when they start shipping the midget.
any thoughts and comments on this transmitter would be
appreciated.

thanks

[Helifino]

Received the 65's today and got them installed. Alot beefier than the 55's for sure. I didn't really see where they centered any better though. Still, I like them alot more than the 55's.

Had to relocate the receiver to the front. I didn't want to run extensions on the leads with it mounted in the rear. Need to install the ecs where the receiver was.

Still having issues with the swash not coming back to level after input on the sticks! I gave it a few drops of tri-flo again with no positive results. I guess I need to drop back and give the head assembly a good going over(again). I've definitly got something way out of wack. :o

I will get this sucker flying if it kills me or I go broke doing it!! :D

[blax1]

Hello people
Simple question the main rotor on my T-Rex spins freely in both directions now, I only just noticed this, does that mean the one way bearing is shot?? :eek: And what would the likely consequences be if I don't repair the bearing :confused:
Thanks in advance!! :)
Ralph

[CLM]

Hrrm consequences of a bad one way... Well you don't need that motor anymore it's just dead weight as it can't power the blades ;)

Hrrrm Heli-glider! :D

Chris

[blax1]

Thanks for your response CLM :)
I'm nearly ready to fly this bird, I don't have the main gear and pinion in mesh yet, I'm just about to re-program the ESC hopefully tonight!! :) But I just noticed the rotor head spins freely each way :confused: I thought the one way bearing made it lock up in the anti clock wise direction Oh well, I shall continue and see what happens, Isn't the one way bearing something to do with auto rotation?? ;)
Cheers

[CLM]

yes, the direction it locks up allows the motor to power the blades, the direction it's free allows the blades to continue to spin when the motor is off, if it doesn't grab either way... there is no way for the motor to spin the blades. Think of it as a car with the clutch held in while in gear. no matter how much gas you give you won't go anywhere.
Chris

[blax1]

Thanks Chris, I will check it tonight :)
Ralph

[blax1]

Just a couple of shots of the finished product, I thought I had better post some finished photos of the machine, before I start flying her again!!!!! :D

[blax1]

RCHeli Decals applied!!!! :) :cool:

[CLM]

That's one good looking whirlybird there Blax :)

Also nice seeing I'm not the only one who mounts the window from the inside ;)

Chris

[blax1]

That's one good looking whirlybird there Blax :)

Also nice seeing I'm not the only one who mounts the window from the inside ;)

Chris

Thank you Chris,
I've put a bit of time and effort into this one, I think the windscreen is probably the most difficult part of the entire build, the instructions leave a lot to be desired, yes I believe it must go on the inside :)
Cheers Ralph

[tdswan]

I never thought of that! I screw mine to the outside like the Raptor. There's extra screws provided with the kit that aren't mentioned in the instructions and I just used those. The inside does look a lot cleaner. Nice idea, Ralph!
Cheers!

[CLM]

I did both the stock yellow and my hand painted blue and white one like that, trimmed to the line and shoe-gooed the screen in the inside, I then took a black marker and painted the weatherstrip area black ;)

Chris

[Helifino]

Looking sweet blax1! I like your idea of mounting the windscreen on the inside also. Does give it a cleaner look. :)

[Helifino]

Still trying to figure out the deal with the swash. This has me really stumped. It's the only thing left to straighten out before I can get this sucker in the air! :mad:

[blax1]

Still trying to figure out the deal with the swash. This has me really stumped. It's the only thing left to straighten out before I can get this sucker in the air! :mad:

Hello Helifino :)
I don't get it :confused: if you have mounted the servo's with horns off, and turned radio on with throttle in middle stick position, let the servos's centre, put the horns on and connect up the swash linkage, it should always centre back to level swash. Obviously sub trims are required to get it perfectly level (as per trueblood) but the servo's should always come back to centre, hence swash some were near level!!! the problem must lie in the servo centre department in the initial set up..
Any one else got any ideas ??????? :(
Good luck Helifino I will be working on my chopper later I will have another look at the centre set up and come back to you.
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

It's hard to explain,but I'll try.

Servos center no problem. I replaced the 55's with 65's. Did have to add a little subtrim on aileron to get servo centered.

Swash will raise and lower level when giving collective on tx, no problem.

Swash was "sticking" in one direction(not coming back to level) when giving left or right aileron. Don't know what I did, but it seems to not be doing that anymore.

Swash still sticks(not coming back level) in one direction(one direction ok, and other direction sticks) when giving up or down elevator on tx. It doesn't "stick" alot, but enough to throw it off to where it wouldn't be a pretty site if I were flying and wasn't ready for it.

I can feel/hear servo motor when I release tx stick(not good,tells me something is binding/sticking somewhere). If I "bump" tx stick I can get swash back to center most of the time. If I add trim, it will start "sticking on opposite side from before. If I adjust linkages, same problem, just sticks on opposite side and side that was sticking is ok.

Got me baffled :confused:

[Helifino]

Footnote to above.

I did the tri-flo on swash. Resized ball links. Loosened screws. Removed anti rotation bracket. Checked elevator control arm. Loosened screws on levers.

[heli-cuzz]

Your swash should return to a level position when the stick is at center. Sounds like its binding.
Do all the parts move freely or can you notice any binding when moving by hand?

[Helifino]

Ummm...seems to be several posts missing. I must have said something to offend.

Anyhow, I think I finally fixed the problem with the swash. As suggested by CLM and blax(you wouldn't know because the posts are missing from last night) I removed everything from the head and started from the bottom up. The old process of elimination trick!

After several hours and alot of cussing, the problem seemed to be in the linkages to the flybar control set and the flybar control levers. No amount of adjusting seemed to do any good. I ended up replacing(again) the linkages with new ones. Big difference for the better. I hope that puts that issue to rest once and for all.

Unfortunately the tx battery was getting low, so I couldn't do much else until recharging is complete. Next upgrade...better tx battery!!

[blax1]

Hey Helifino, Its doesn't matter about the missing posts that were going backwards and forward, Its just great to read that you have sorted it out. Probably would have been easier to make a phone call :D LOL
All is well that ends well!!
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

Probably would have been easier to make a phone call

Ain't that the truth. ;)

[CLM]

Excelent! Spin 'er up and lets see some pics! :D

Chris

[heli-cuzz]

I reinstalled my revmax sensor. The first one was lost in flite, anyway, I bought a few sensors for real cheap $ and soldered the new sensor. Here's what the sensor looks like before soldering takes place.

[blax1]

I reinstalled my revmax sensor. The first one was lost in flite, anyway, I bought a few sensors for real cheap $ and soldered the new sensor. Here's what the sensor looks like before soldering takes place.

Hey Cuzz is that Revmax OK??
(you seem to have some trouble with that thing)

Myself I have nothing to report for the build log summary, to busy partying :D
Training gear should front this week and then I will wind the Rex up, still have to program ESC, but that want take long, so maybe later this week I should be Ok to try her out :cool:
Cheers Ralph

[vapochilled]

Well I'm about 4 hours into the HDX build, so far, not overly impressed :(
Wires on the motor are enamel under pvc(a bitch to solder!)
Various nuts/bolts missing
Pretty sloppy ball joints, I don't think I'll have any choice but to change them soon after it gets airborn.
Instructions, lol, only a few build up vids by a third person(finless), and he appears to miss out quite a lot of info that is important, thank god for a background in engineering!
Glad I got it at a decent price, because I don't think this is a $300 heli right now.
Got an email from the LHS they wanted to confirm my DX7 order :( but said they have the JR7202 with 3 DS285 digi servos for $319, that would save me a bundle! what do you guys think, If I go DX7, I have 4 servos I don't need, then I have to buy 4 more at approx $180(3HS65mg's and a ds3400 tail)
Plus the added weight of twoRXs.
The JR deal seems pretty good, it's just the security of 2.4GHz is pretty atractive

[heli-cuzz]

Hey Cuzz is that Revmax OK??
(you seem to have some trouble with that thing)

Myself I have nothing to report for the build log summary, to busy partying :D
Training gear should front this week and then I will wind the Rex up, still have to program ESC, but that want take long, so maybe later this week I should be Ok to try her out :cool:
Cheers Ralph

No trouble, ralph. It took awhile to get the sensors. I only lost one since I bought the RM. I have throttle curves set-up so not using it is not a problem.

[vapochilled]

picked up the DX7 along with the 401 and the JR DS3400G today, me likes the DX7!! :p nice piece of kit.
I was worried about the dual Rx but it is so small it's not funny, I seem to remember my old Futaba was about the size of a packet of smokes, this things like a box of matches and the same weight.
So, all systems go, just a battery and we have everything :D Starting to get itchy fingers

[vapochilled]

well it burst into life tonight, had it hovering for a few seconds before the lipo died.
The apogee's are not here yet, so no extended practice,lol

[blax1]

Ok!! Well I've run out of excuses, she is finished, programed ESC and sorted the set up for the GY401, and all seems to be doing what it should.:cool:
However I've run out of time so tomorrow, after pack and Tx re-charges she will fly :eek:
Here are some photo's of the finished product, wish me luck :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

Next photo

[dugbug]

good luck. she looks good.

[blax1]

And another last one :)

[blax1]

good luck. she looks good.
Thanks dugbug :)

[Helifino]

That's one fine looking bird blax. Nice job!
Seems you and I are at the same stage. Good luck and keep us posted!

[vapochilled]

nice!! hope it flies as well as it looks ;)

[Helifino]

Today-programmed esc, set gear mesh, set blade pitch for normal mode.
Charging lipos.
Still need to make some minor adjustments on tail and install training wheels.
Tomorrow-first spool up and possible attempt at hover.
Hopefully, I won't need the dirt devil to pick up the pieces. :eek:

[blax1]

Sounds great Helifino, Take your time with it and you will be OK!! :)
As for me Tx charged, Li-pi charged, But the weather is supposed to be fine and hot (about 95-100F in your money) but its overcast and WINDY at the moment DOH!! :eek:
See what happens??
Good luck with it, have a great day :)
Cheers Ralph

[blax1]

Hey helifino, what did you end up doing about ESC programming, I set first setting Brake to low stick (disabled) and all the rest of the settings, I left at mid stick, then I just unplugged the ESC and that was it, on bench test (without blades) she started up in soft start (beautiful) It all seemed a bit to easy, Is this similar to what you did?
I will be very interested in your reply :cool:
Cheers Ralph.

[Helifino]

Well, I'm embarassed to admit it. I had a bit of trouble programming it. (Have to remember not to have throttle reversed on tx. Stupid...stupid...stupid :o) . After getting that straight it was rather easy to program.
Anyway, I ended up setting them all at mid stick. Now that you mention it though,I think I will go back and disable the brake.
I wasn't able to try it yet, lipo was dying and I didn't have the gear mesh set at that time.
I'll let you know how she does in the a.m.(your p.m.) :)

[Helifino]

Working on another canopy. Has more of a se look to it even though I have an hde. I like the colors more on the se, the other models seem to have a drab look to them. I was inspired by blax's photos of his bird(see this thread).

Also, seriously looking at the co-pilot that broke-again is/was using. Not sure where or how I could mount it. I'll have to do some more research on that one. Not a bad price though, if they do what they say they will.

Still waiting on my rcheli stickers to arrive.

[Helifino]

Made adjustments to tail.

Spooled it up on kitchen floor just to check everything before trying outdoors. Good thing that I did!

Sounded like a cordless drill running, thought maybe that was normal. Took it up to about 2-3 clicks before mid stick. Was spinning beautifully, slight vib in blades,need to recheck balance/tracking. Tail was holding great,no probs there. Took it up to mid stick +/-, was not getting light on skids yet. Blades started slowing down alot, but motor was still rev-ing high??? Shut her down, started her up again, didn't do it that time,also ran much quieter. Ran it for about 1-2 mins. and shut her off.

Checked her out on the bench to make sure everything was ok. Found main gear that drives motor was warped! Looking at a profile of gear, 2/3's was ok but the rest looked like a roller coaster. Almost as though it overheated and melted. Gear mesh too tight? Teeth on gear weren't stripped. Unless it came that way. :confused:

Looking at some down time now. :mad: Think I'll go with the blue gears, I think they are supposed to be harder. I'll have to try and figure out what caused the gear to warp.

Back to the drawing board. :o

[CLM]

Sadly stock t-rex main gears aren' t the apitome of round :(

Chris

[blax1]

Hey Helifino, LOL!! Sorry mate but these things, sure can give a bloke a hard time, its just one step forward two steps back. :D
Not a lot of joy down under either, but it isn’t gear mesh that’s giving me a hard time,
The weather was not conducive to flying at all yesterday , damn windy all day, but at 1700hrs the wind dropped, so I took the Rex out onto the back deck area at home, with actually similar thinking to you, just to spool her up and look and listen, she started up very slowly, nice and smooth no vibration, a few more clicks head speed really starting to wind up know, she was starting to sound like a T-Rex you hear on video’s, a couple more clicks just below mid stick and she stands up just about to hover (on training gear) two more clicks getting really light on t/gear one more click to actually mid stick position, and the whole helicopter rotates 360 degrees anti clock wise, :confused: Hmmm Oh Oh , no drama just shut her down slowly, reset heli- position tail in, and go again same thing happens, turn off heading hold and just use normal rate, same thing happens full 360 degree rotation of heli. Well that was that, my wife took some photos and a video of the event, so at least I’ve got something to work with, I’m not sure what is going on yet :( whether it's gyro rate or I simply have the something wrong with the tail rotor, she flicks around so fast, it makes me think the tail rotor is spinning the wrong way, maybe I’ve got the belt twisted, I’m going to check the basics tonight, I couldn’t be bothered with it last night I just put it back on the shelf, and decided I would just think about it!!
Question, If the main rotor spin clockwise which way should the tail rotor go?? :o
Cheers Ralph,
BTW My main gear is blue and I have no drama with gear mesh she sounds excellent.

[Helifino]

Question, If the main rotor spin clockwise which way should the tail rotor go??

The tail would spin counterclockwise. :)

[blax1]

The tail would spin counterclockwise. :)
Thank you :)
I will check it out, but I'm sure that is what its doing :confused:

[Helifino]

blax, sounds like you and I are in the same boat so to speak.

I ordered the blue main gear and blue auto rotation gear along with about $200 worth of other non essentials. :eek: I gotta find a cheaper hobby!

I didn't get the blue tail drive gear. I really didn't want to think of tearing this sucker apart to replace that. Although, I'm not sure if the blue auto rotation gear and stock tail drive gear are compatible. May end up having to tear it down anyways. :mad:

I got a couple of spare lipos and that lipo monitor from tech model products. Again,inspired by you blax.

So, I guess I'm looking at about a week downtime already before even getting my feet wet. :mad:

[blax1]

Helifino LOL

Yes we are up the creek, but money will fix it :D

Have a look at this site they sell the tail gears as a set is this what you are getting??

Scroll 1/2 way down the page :)

http://www.wattsuprc.com.au/product_list.asp?cid=68%5F78&offset=30

BTW You will like the Li-po Gas Gauge very handy little device :cool:

[Helifino]

No, I got everything seperately.

I was going to just replace the main drive gear with the new blue main drive gear and reuse the stock autorotation gear until that failed. I did order the blue autotrotation gear and one way bearing and shaft(all seperate) just in case I ran into a problem.

After thinking about it some more, I placed another order for the blue tail drive gear assembly. I don't think there compatible with the stock gears.

Could have saved a pile of money if I had just ordered the set. Oh well, impulse buying gets me everytime! :o

[blax1]

I'm working on the compatibility bit, I'll get back to you :)

[blax1]

Here you go, they show blue and white mixed together :cool:

http://www.wattsuprc.com.au/product_detail.asp?pid=HS1152

[Helifino]

Now here's service for you.

I placed an order on Sunday about 5:30pm EST to tech model products http://www.tech-mp.com/index.htm . Just received an email from Joe Sunday 6:20pm refunding me $1.00 in overpayment of shipping charges and that my items will ship tomorrow.

I'm impressed!

[Helifino]

Cool, Thanks blax! :)

[blax1]

Now here's service for you.

I placed an order on Sunday about 5:30pm EST to tech model products http://www.tech-mp.com/index.htm . Just received an email from Joe Sunday 6:20pm refunding me $1.00 in overpayment of shipping charges and that my items will ship tomorrow.

I'm impressed!

They are great people to deal with :)

Hey have a look at this :eek:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=175540

[Helifino]

Wow! What are the odds. I feel sorry for the daughter that has to live with that image for the rest of her life.

[vapochilled]

Wow! What are the odds. I feel sorry for the daughter that has to live with that image for the rest of her life.

They say time heals, but that will last a lifetime. :(

[blax1]

Been reading instructions (sometimes helps :D )
They say the t/rotor should spin anti clock wise :eek:
Oh boy!!

[Helifino]

They say time heals, but that will last a lifetime

I have to agree with you on that one vapo.

[Helifino]

They say the t/rotor should spin anti clock wise

Are you getting it figured out? Which way were they spinning?

[dugbug]

you may need to revers the tail servo on the 401.I had to on my trex

[blax1]

Thanks dug, yes there are a few options, I'll try and have a go tonight :)

BTW Yes Helifino I think I've sorted it in my mind :) just have to apply it tonight LOL

[blax1]

you may need to revers the tail servo on the 401.I had to on my trex

Hey dugbug "you are the man" :)
When I got home, I checked all my mechanicals and the rotors are spinning in the right direction etc, had a good read of the instructions and flick the switch from normal too reverse and problem solved. Thank you :cool:
Cheers Ralph

Here she is winding up on the back deck :cool:

BTW the rotating disc is as flat and level, that Trueblood leveller did a great job, early days yet but it looks as though there will be minimal trim adjustments at this stage!! :cool:

[blax1]

Helifino, Thanks for your help as well and everyone else who helped along the way as well :)
Helifino, You can see the Li-po gas gauge!! Green for GO!! :D

[Helifino]

Hey blax, that light really does stand out. I guess it would be pretty hard to miss.
Glad to hear your problem has been resolved. :)

[vapochilled]

The ESC has a under voltage cutout, do you really need the light? I use it on my CPP as it has no ESC cut off, but I was not going to use it on the HDX, you think I should?

[blax1]

The ESC has a under voltage cutout, do you really need the light? I use it on my CPP as it has no ESC cut off, but I was not going to use it on the HDX, you think I should?

Hello vapo-
It was a way of trying to look after both the heli and li-po :cool:
You could call it comprehensive insurance, but as we all know insurance is great until you have to make a claim :D LOL

$24.00USD was pretty cheap so I went for it, It'll give me a quick indication to bring her down when the battery is running low, I don't really understand the preprogrammed cut off in the ESC is it just literally that, and have to do an auto?? :eek:

How is your HDX going?

[dugbug]

Your welcome blax.And your heli is looking good!!!!

[vapochilled]

Hello vapo-
It was a way of trying to look after both the heli and li-po :cool:
You could call it comprehensive insurance, but as we all know insurance is great until you have to make a claim :D LOL

$24.00USD was pretty cheap so I went for it, It'll give me a quick indication to bring her down when the battery is running low, I don't really understand the preprogrammed cut off in the ESC is it just literally that, and have to do an auto?? :eek:

How is your HDX going?

Some do just cut off, but the align at least "pulses"
Now that could be for two reasons, one, it's meant to, so you know it's time to land.
Or, and this is where my money is, it detects low voltage and shuts off, the second it does that, of course the voltage comes up because there's no load, so the ESC fires up again. and on and on and on.
Either way, it gives a very clear indication that it's past bed time.
While I was hovering the HDX in the garage, it happened, not like the CPP "glitch" where it drops 5' :eek: more of a very detectable pulse.
But, I do think the LED is a good plan, and I'll change it over from the CPP.
As for the HDX!
I broke the tail control rod, and I still need to get the head working right. I'm not happy with it, something is just not right, it should not bind up, and I can only get + - 9o which is shy of where it should be.

[blax1]

I'm working on a response vapo- get back to you :)

Yes I read a little more about the battery protection, I opted for the middle setting of 65% which was Finless's recommendation in his video.So I suppose I have double the protection Nice!! :D

Sorry to read about your mishap, it almost seems inevitable, with these things but the amount of damage can certainly vary, I was reading an article on the RC group forum, one of the guys I've been chatting to for a while, he has a belt CP , he was fly at around 150 feet and the thing just shut down, he's been flying for while and has a good understanding of the Tx etc, he figured it was an ESC problem and hit the throttle shut off a coupe of times and managed to start it up again, but she had lost considerable altitude by this time, she was at about 20feet when the ESC cut out again however because his attempt at saving the heli- had partially worked the imminent crash wasn't as bad as it could have been, upon diagnosis it was determined that ESC had in fact fried, so it was by just his flying experience that he recognized what was happening that he was able to crash kind of controllably :) LOL

The pitch problem is a bug bear thats for sure, I wonder if Td came up with anything yet I did see his post and he said he was still scratching his head, does Finless mention anything about it in the Video build on Helifreak?, I will have a look tonight and see what he reckons.. :cool:

Cheers have a great day
Ralph

[Helifino]

All of the parts that I ordered Sunday from Tech Model Products and ReadyHeli.com arrived today. :) Still waiting for Modefo's and heliproz stuff to come.

Replacing the tail drive gear, main drive gear, auto rotation gear. Purchased one of those gizmos to remove the one way bearing. Replacing the stock elevator control with the precision elevator control set from microheli. Installing the lipo monitor. Have 2 new lipos to charge up. And to top it off, a new blade balancer from heliproz. Got a little carried away while ordering stuff. :o

Now to find the time to tear this sucker apart and rebuild her.

[blax1]

Sounds :cool: helifino
What model balancer did you get, I just use the Align clampy one, that I seesaw on top of two VHS video cartridges :o She works

[Helifino]

I have one of those aligns also. This is the one that I just bought. http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=102282

[blax1]

Thanks helifino
Nice piece of gear maybe when you get time you could do a comparison to see if the align is accurate, and let me know :cool: . NO RUSH!!!!! :) I can't see why it wouldn't be, its only a pivot point after all.

[Helifino]

Good idea blax. I'll definitly try that and let you know. :)

[Helifino]

Removed original main and auto rotation tail drive gears. Installed new one way bearing and shaft in new blue main and auto rotation tail drive gears.

The blue gears may be stronger,but they aren't any less out of round than the stock white gears imo. Kinda reminded me of an old wagon wheel wobbling(slight exaggeration).

Still need to split the frame to install tail drive gear. Not looking forward to tearing everything down :(. Solder lipo monitor to esc and put everything back together...again!

[Helifino]

Now what!!! :mad:

I took everything apart, split the frame and replaced the tail drive gear with part # HS-1013-2S.

The problem,which I didn't notice when installing,is the new tail drive gear is larger in diameter. Now it hits the frame. Do I dremil out around it to give it clearance? Is this drive gear for an SE(didn't say in listing)? Is it going to work with the HS-1202 autorotation tail gear drive and HS-1154-02 main gear that I also purchased to replace? Do I just reuse the stock tail drive gear with the new autorotation and main gear?

All I wanted to do was just replace the main gear which was warped! :mad:

[heli-cuzz]

All I wanted to do was just replace the main gear which was warped! :mad: [/color]


Just one nut and bolt to get the main gear out at the bottom of the mainmast. Take some of the links off in the head set and pull the main mast straight up. Your main gear should come off within the first 1/4 inch of removing the main mast up through the frame.

Hope ya get this sorted out, helifino.

I'd use the stock gear and not alter anything on the heli that could damage the structural integrity of the frame.

Goodluck :)

[vapochilled]

Well the HDX should be finished this weekend, I've done the Align ESC mod, everythings mounted, I've shortened wires and tie-wrapped them up.
I have an annoying "tick" when I turn the head by hand, I think the one way bearing is crapping out on me :mad: May have to get a new one, I'll oil it and see.
Now the frame is trimed, the head and swash are great, no binding at all :cool:
I'm thinking by Sunday, I could be hovering, I'll break out the video camera

[tdswan]

The tick could be the tail belt catching. Check your tension on that before you look at the one-way. Don't put it too tight, but you may have it a bit loose.

[vapochilled]

The tick could be the tail belt catching. Check your tension on that before you look at the one-way. Don't put it too tight, but you may have it a bit loose.
This is with the tail belt off ;) that's what I thought it was at first too :p
I put a drop of tri-flow on the one way bearing, all is quiet now.

[Helifino]

I'd use the stock gear and not alter anything on the heli that could damage the structural integrity of the frame.


That's what concerns me. I don't want to weaken the frame.

The problem isn't with removing the main gear. I got that out ok and replaced the one way bearing no problem.

I was replacing the tail drive gear(belt drive gear) that the belt runs on which runs on the autorotation gear. I was only replacing that because I wanted to replace the main drive and autorotation drive gears with the blue stronger gears. I wasn't sure that the blue auto gear would mesh the stock belt drive gear, so that's why I am where I am. It's the belt drive gear that is hitting the frame by millimeters because it is larger in diameter. I may just put the stock gear back in and be done with it.

[blax1]

Holy crap Helifino :eek: Sorry to read all that, from one dilemma to another, I'm sorry I don't have any ideas on that one, there is no mention of that problem on any of the usual websites, so I guess you will just have to try it with the old gear and see what happens, don't chop the frame!! :( Nothing further to add regarding my Rex, I was going to fly her on Sunday morning, however we had a servre lightning storm Friday night which started several bushfires, so all day yesterday I was out chasing fires again!!!!! :mad: Bugger it, may try and fly one night this week, see what happens :)
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

Sorry to hear about the fires. You wouldn't think that there would be anything left to burn after what you went through several months ago.

I ended up using a hobby knife and shaved down the areas that were hitting the gear. Then I used a small file to clean it up. Seems like it will be OK. I have everything back together. I'll find out soon enough. Only thing left to do is solder(I'm not very good at btw) the lipo monitor to the esc and I'm ready to go. Still waiting on the blade balancer to arrive.

I think I would have been better off getting an SE from the start. Not so much for the bling as for the quality and fit of parts!

Good luck on you maiden flight, keep us updated. :)

[blax1]

Helifino, In issue two there is a guide to soldering that may help you if you have that magazine, There is still plenty of bush left and about 2 months of the fire season to go :eek:
we'll be right :)
I'm really looking forward to her maiden flight, it' will be great fun.
The SE, I must admit has been a dream to build, I haven't had any problem with the actual build and quality of the parts is amazing really, I just hope I don't dumb thumb it :(
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

I just hope I don't dumb thumb it

You'll be fine! :)

I can solder copper pipe no prob.
To bad I can't use a propane torch on these fine electronics. :eek:

[vapochilled]

You'll be fine! :)

To bad I can't use a propane torch on these fine electronics. :eek:


You can, but there may be a little unexpected results here and there :D

[heli-cuzz]

Replaced a bent main shaft on the Trex, straightened the flybar, and put on a set of align 315 woodies. Was going over everything and noticed the head linkage binding. I looked close and it appeared to be nothing but still heard and could see the linkage hitting a snappy point. It turned out to be a stripped elevator servo. Already have a few extra gear sets so she should be flying tomorrow. :)

[heli-cuzz]

Wrong gear sets, off to the hobbyshop to get the 55's. :)

[blax1]

Sounds like the same trouble Helifino had.
G'day cuzz

[Helifino]

I bet your missing flying the cal-50 cuzz. Did you put it away for the winter or are you still flying her?

[heli-cuzz]

I bet your missing flying the cal-50 cuzz. Did you put it away for the winter or are you still flying her?

LoL

Already into my 3rd gallon of fuel this year. :) I'll never pack it up for winter. Last year I was flying in temps in the teens.

Anyway, the story with my Trex. Its been sitting for a couple months. Decided to fix it now that I'm pretty much settled into my new home. Before the last smackdown, it was getting sloppy cyclic actions. At first I thought it was the servos due to many hours of flying. The other day I bought a new gear set and found a stripped gear{elevator}. I replaced the stripped gear and checked the system and it still was not working correctly. I bought a new servo the next day and sure enough, that was the problem. Today was the first test flite :D I was at work and breaktime came around so out she came. I spun the blades up and floated up about 12 inches. Yaw left, yaw right, all good, took it around the parking lot for a quick circuit. Trex is a go! The building I'm refinishing is seven stories high and the roofers were up there putting a rubber roof down. I hovered for a few seconds and pumped full pitch up above the roof in about 3 maybe four seconds{about 140 feet} It was a beautiful sight seeing the rex up over the building by a good 75 to 100 feet. The roofers came down and I asked them if they saw a little helicopter flying around. They were trippin' about that. LMAO
The way the rex looked coming down out of the sky was ... friggin' one of the coolest looking moves with a heli. I'm surrounded by trees and buildings so it was almost a 150 foot vertical drop into the parking lot.
Needless to say, the rex is back. Here's the rexy pilot.

[Helifino]

Crickey’s I’d forgotten how fiddley these machines can be, :eek: in order to get the aileron servo in between the carbon fibre frames I had to take the back cover off the servo Sheeeeeesh!! These Hitec HS65MG,s must be only 1mm wider than the Spektrum ones supplied with the DX6 kit, I didn’t want to stretch the frame and maybe crack it, anyway its in there now all is good , moving on to the next two which will be easy. :)
Cheers Ralph


Although I have the hde,I'm running into the same problem with the cf frame(just received it today) that ralph did. I don't see any easy way of getting the 65 installed other than removing the back of the servo. What a pain.

[heli-cuzz]

Although I have the hde,I'm running into the same problem with the cf frame(just received it today) that ralph did. I don't see any easy way of getting the 65 installed other than removing the back of the servo. What a pain.

Lightly file the opening and you should have no probs installing your servos.

[blax1]

Hmmm prolly good idea :cool: .
But from memory they were very tight, and it wasn't to bad taking the back's off they all still work OK
G'day helifino :) Hi Cuzz :)
Sounds like you are sorting it out, tomorrow is Sunday and the park is booked!! :cool:
I will be in touch , see how we go!
Cheers Ralph

[vapochilled]

Parts arrived from super skids today, so I have the CPP finished and trimmed, ran a pack through it in the garage to check her out. HDX is still waiting for the weather to improve, I'm not standing out in the cold for no one! :mad:

[Helifino]

Got the pitch servo installed. I had to take the back off to get it in. A couple of gears slipped out of place. I hope I got it back together right, haven't had a chance to check it yet. Would strongly recommend to anyone doing this to install servos first before putting anything together.

Esc,rx,motor,lipo monitor, all installed.

Having trouble with main gear(blue) rubbing a portion of the tail drive gear. Found a remedy on modefo's site. Have to trim some plastic off tail drive gear around shaft to eliminate interference. Very close tolerence. Doesn't help that the blue gears,like the stock gears,have alot of wobble in them. I'm looking at those new main gears with the bearings that screw in.
I'm thinking some of the wobble comes from trying to drive the one-way bearing in the main gear(even with the tool) and not getting it started straight really screws it up!

Broke one of the tail servo holders.:mad: Cheap plastic!

Need to make up new pushrods(7), Balance new blades(cf), Adjust pitch, and wait for servo holder to come!!

Btw blax, that lipo monitor is so cool! Bright as hell, was going blind looking at it.:D
Thanks for turning me on to it and to tech models web site. They have great prices and excellent service, I can't say enough good about them!!

[heli-cuzz]

.


I'm thinking some of the wobble comes from trying to drive the one-way bearing in the main gear(even with the tool) and not getting it started straight really screws it up!




Helifino, lightly tap the one-way bearing with a hammer until into place, if it starts to go in a little crooked, lightly tap the high side until even then proceed to put into its proper seating position.

[Helifino]

Thanks cuzz. :)

I know I always have a little trouble getting it started, then I get to impatient and WHAMO!

[blax1]

Thanks cuzz. :)

I know I always have a little trouble getting it started, then I get to impatient and WHAMO!

LOL did the WHAMO fix it or stuff it?? :)

QUOTE
Btw blax, that lipo monitor is so cool! Bright as hell, was going blind looking at it.
Thanks for turning me on to it and to tech models web site. They have great prices and excellent service, I can't say enough good about them!! UNQUOTE
I'm glad you are happy with it!!
Very helpful people!! :cool:

[Helifino]

LOL did the WHAMO fix it or stuff it??

It fixed it! :)

Made up the pushrods, no thanks to the directions. Had to do it the old fashion way. Swash nice and level all directions.

[Helifino]

Parts came today from http://www.tech-mp.com/index.htm
New servo holders and main gear with bearings that screw in, no more beating them in with a sledge hammer for me. :rolleyes:

Thanks for turning me on to it and to tech models web site. They have great prices and excellent service, I can't say enough good about them!!

Gotta say this for tech model products, I ordered the blue main gear and was shipped the white gear by mistake. One simple email and fast reply from Joe. He told me that he was shipping the blue gear out tomorrow,it should arrive by Monday and to keep the white gear that was shipped by mistake for a spare! That's a $17 and change part.:cool:

[/url]

.

[url="http://www.tech-mp.com/index.htm"] (http://www.tech-mp.com/index.htm)

[heli-cuzz]

Thanks cuzz. :)

I know I always have a little trouble getting it started, then I get to impatient and WHAMO!

easy with that hammer now, its not a block of wood.

lol :)

[Helifino]

Got everything back together. I spooled it up without blades and could find no problems.
Installed blades,still need to check/set pitch, install training wheels and spool it up and check her one more time.
To freakin bad there's a foot of snow on the ground and wind blowin like crazy! :mad:

[tdswan]

Alright, I haven't done much building lately. I have recently upgraded my servos on the gasser to JR 8311's. Still waiting on the servo horns for them. I moved the Futaba 9252's from there to my Raptor. I just finished setting up the pitch curves and such on it. They're much faster than the 3050's I took out. More torque, too! :p
That's about it for now.....

[theBZA]

Just bought a TREX 450 today.

Weather seldom cooperates, and time constraints prevent me from making it to my club field.

I hope this TREX helps me stay proficient on the sticks, so I can fly in the parking lot at work on lunch breaks and such.

I bought the TREX SA ARF,
GY401, HS65's for CCPM, and a HS56 for the tail (cuz I ran out of money)

I should have it ready sometime tonight.

[heli-cuzz]

Just bought a TREX 450 today.

Weather seldom cooperates, and time constraints prevent me from making it to my club field.

I hope this TREX helps me stay proficient on the sticks, so I can fly in the parking lot at work on lunch breaks and such.

I bought the TREX SA ARF,
GY401, HS65's for CCPM, and a HS56 for the tail (cuz I ran out of money)

I should have it ready sometime tonight.

That's the beauty of ep helis. Just plug in and fly. :) I bring my rex to work also. I just smacked it down on a roof of a building. Lost the TR in a hard banking turn. You know the rest.

[theBZA]

No building tonight. I put the servo's in, and thats it.

About my tail servo, I bought a HS56 for the tail, and I wonder about the mounting tabs. There are vertical tabs, and horizontal tabs. I am trying to decide which pair I want to use, and which I will trim off. Both seem to have pros and cons.

I just feel pretty lazy, and I am going to take it to work tomorrow to do all my soldering for my battery, motor, and esc.

Plus, the soldering iron I have at home just doesnt get hot

[theBZA]

Soldered connectors on my battery, ESC, and motor for my TREX.

I need to make some ball links, and I should be flying tomorrow at lunch.

[blax1]

Hello Helifino :)
When you replaced the main and auto rotation gears did you use this part numberHS1218-84
which is the blue upgrade gear from Align?
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

Yea, that's it. I have the white ones on there now. The blue ones came yesterday. I like them alot better. They seem to run more true.

Are you having problems?

[Helifino]

I need to make some ball links, and I should be flying tomorrow at lunch

I've read nothing but good things about the SA. Let us know how she handles. Post some pics if/when you get a chance.

[blax1]

Yea, that's it. I have the white ones on there now. The blue ones came yesterday. I like them alot better. They seem to run more true.

Are you having problems?

No!! all is well, I'm just trying to get all the right parts here the first time I've also ordered the the belt drive gear as well, You do have to replace that as well don't you? and if so do you have to split the frame to get it installed? I seem to recall you had to split the frame.

Thanks for your help :)

[Helifino]

Yes, you have to split the frame. I don't think you have to replace it(tail/belt drive gear) though. If you decide to go that route you may have to trim some off the tail/belt drive gear, otherwise it will rub your main gear. I'll find the link that shows the fix and post it in a few.

[blax1]

Thank you :)

[Helifino]

Here you go ralph. http://modefosheli.com/inc/sdetail/75174

It's a lot easier to do when you have it apart. I on the other hand already had mine together before I found out there was interference with the 2 gears. You can still do it with a hobby knife, just takes longer. You can also see how much needs to come off that way to.

Keep in mind that I have the cf hde frame, so I'm not sure how different your cf cde frame is or if there will even be any interference with the 2 gears.

[blax1]

Here you go ralph. http://modefosheli.com/inc/sdetail/75174

It's a lot easier to do when you have it apart. I on the other hand already had mine together before I found out there was interference with the 2 gears. You can still do it with a hobby knife, just takes longer. You can also see how much needs to come off that way to.

Keep in mind that I have the cf hde frame, so I'm not sure how different your cf cde frame is or if there will even be any interference with the 2 gears.
Thank you Helifino
Time will tell :D I should be able to sort it out.
And the link is great and will be very helpful
Cheers Ralph

[theBZA]

TREX SA

Im taking this real slow.

I just built my linkages, and screwing balls onto my servo horns.

There is a bit of guess work here, and I suspect it will result in a little trial and error later on, as I am trying to get the best 90's I can get.

Man, how I hate CCPM for quick and easy builds.

[blax1]

TREX SA

Im taking this real slow.

I just built my linkages, and screwing balls onto my servo horns.

There is a bit of guess work here, and I suspect it will result in a little trial and error later on, as I am trying to get the best 90's I can get.

Man, how I hate CCPM for quick and easy builds.

G'day
Are those things HDE or CDE?

[dugbug]

Blax1 thay are the same frame as your se but just made out of aluminum.

[blax1]

Blax1 thay are the same frame as your se but just made out of aluminum.

Ok so they are direct servo, to swash 120o ccpm cool :cool: Very easy to set up thats why I got Truebloods leveler, thank you, aluminum sounds interesting.
Cheers

[theBZA]

Yeah. It is the SA frame.

I dont think there is much weight difference between the carbon frames and the Alluminum frames. It also gives you much less flex.
I just can't justify spending $400 on the same helicopter.

You know those C/F tail blades and paddles? Yeah. they aren't carbon fiber. they are plastic with C/F look.

The SA has a metal headblock. Thats the important part, IMO.

so the grips, swash, and flybar carrier are plastic. That is the only other difference.
So, can you justify spending an EXTRA $200 on metal grips, flybar carrier, and a swash?
BTW, a carbon frame conversion can usually be found for about $40 if you really NEED one, (which no one really does)
I cant.

On a heli this size, it isnt worth the money. The plastic stuff is just fine.

Now, maybe on one of my 50's or even my 90, that is a different story. You won't see a whole lot of plastic on any of those.

So what it comes done to, the SA is the best value. AND, it is ARF.

[blax1]

Sounds like a great little chopper :cool: And for the money how could you go wrong!! :) , the old "SE" is just a bling, bling machine but when I've got it sorted man can it fly all I have to do is keep up with it :D

[CLM]

Well... finally a page of useless info I can contribute :D

I recieved my Century Hawk Pro on friday, I assembled it over the past two days up to the radio installation part as I haven't gotten the DX7 yet. The assembly aside from dissassembly and locktiting went real quickly with the prebuilt sub components. My only real gripe is the screws were all over the place and I had to open several screw bags to get enough hardware to complete steps. I really like the shaft driven tail, much tighter then the wiredrive in the nexus, and the only current heli that comes with one anymore. I'll leave the rubber bands to other people ;) The engine currently in it came from the nexus and has had it's crank bearings and piston ring replaced. For it's electronics I'm planning on going with the DX7 set and a gy401/ servo set.

Oh, I also recieved the motors and main chassis for my bell medivac blade cx, only need a battery, the dx7 and a 4 in 1 for it now :)

Chris

[blax1]

OK all my parts have arrived :cool: Now the head scratching begins :D

[tdswan]

I got all of the servos changed around and pitch curves back on my Predator. With those 8311's on there, I had to be careful not to get my fingers anywhere they shouldn't be! 125oz/in of torque X3 on that swash is a lot of power! Still gotta get the pitch curves set up on the Raptor with the new servos on there. Will also be buying a hyper this week and scrpping the TT50. It's just too finicky for my tastes and I'd rather fly this season than tune and tune. I also miss the power of the old Hyper.

[blax1]

Ok I have replaced the main and the auto rotation gears with the new blue upgrade set that Align supply, and I have also replaced the main shaft, I was looking at this task and I really wasn't interested in pulling the rotor head apart, using the ball link pliers etc, so I just took out the main gear bolt, loosened off the grub screw on the collar just below the swash, and I took out the last bolt on the rotor head itself, then I was able to slide the old shaft out through the bottom of the frame, obviously I had to be careful not to off balance the head but the still connected linkages supported the head quite well, it was a simple matter of replacing the gears and the new shaft by lining it all up again and just sliding the new shaft back up through the frame and into each component and fix the bolts and grub screw all back together!!! Easy it took me about 1/2 hour and the job was done, applied red loctite (not too much) to the bolts nip them up jobs done!! :cool:
That was enough excitement for one night, I'm going to sort out the tail rudder tonight, but I wont be able to finish still waiting on some more parts.
Cheers Ralph :)

[mongoose]

Well guys hopefully in the next few days or so I will be able to start my T-Rex 450SE build. I'll do my best to not embarrass myself!! :confused: :eek: :D

[Helifino]

Well guys hopefully in the next few days or so I will be able to start my T-Rex 450SE build. I'll do my best to not embarrass myself!!

Nothing to be embarrassed about. We've all been there. No one knows it all,although some think they do :p (joking). Everyday you learn something new in this hobby.

Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Post some pics if/when you can. :)

[blax1]

Nothing to be embarrassed about. We've all been there. No one knows it all,although some think they do :p (joking). Everyday you learn something new in this hobby.

Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Post some pics if/when you can. :)
I'll drink to that :)
Good luck with the build!!.

[mongoose]

I love this forum. I have been on some others where the newbees pretty much only lurk out of fear of being not just flamed but torched! From what I have seen thus far, you guys have been fully respectful of everyone - senior members and newbees alike! Great!!!!

[Helifino]

Off topic, but I just noticed ralph made moderator. Congratulations ralph! :)

[blax1]

Thank you Helifino :)
Cheers Ralph

[Helifino]

From what I have seen thus far, you guys have been fully respectful of everyone

That's one of the things that I like most about this forum,the respect everyone shows towards each other. You don't get that everywhere.

[mongoose]

That's one of the things that I like most about this forum,the respect everyone shows towards each other. You don't get that everywhere.

That's so true. It just makes me love helis that much more!!! :D

[blax1]

Ok down to business!!
I’ve rebuilt my T-Rex all the parts I required and more have all turned up this week, which has allowed me to finish the machine off again. The navy blue upgrade Align main gear and auto rotation set has been installed along with a new titanium main shaft, I didn’t have to alter the belt drive gear or shaft as they fitted the new gear so this Rex must have been the later version model than I thought, it doesn’t mention anything about that on the box which I still have, so that was great I wasn’t looking forward to splitting the frame assembly, I’ve also replaced the boom just went with standard metal boom at this stage, I was looking at carbon fibre, but I didn’t go with it, cant justify the price and I don’t think it would make any difference, performance wise , had a bit of a hard time getting the right yoke pitch slider for the tail rudder, a couple of emails to Joe @ Techmodel and all was sorted and she is back together. Last night I ran her up on the kitchen table (my wife’s cool about it, she knows I’m going through a strange phase in my life) without main rotor blades and no tail rudder blades, just to check for any vibrations and noises etc, she is as sweet as, the new gear is much quieter than the original and the tail rotor assembly is as smooth as, no vibration what so ever, so all is looking good for this weekends launch (down the park this time) Tonight I will check blade pitch angles and sort out the dual rates etc, I’ve re-set expo- to zero on Tx but I will leave the training gear on at this stage , I’m still not confident about trying to fly her without them at this stage, I want to see how she handles first! Time will tell?? :)
Cheers Ralph

[mongoose]

Hey Blax....you're setting your expos back to zero...does that make the sticks more responsive?