Charley--any word on the hardened elevator shaft? [Archive]

gcopas

03-09-2009, 12:31 PM

Hi Charley,

Just wondering if the new hardened evevator shaft that was talked about a while back is coming?

Thanks, George

Scotty T

03-09-2009, 12:35 PM

ok, that just sounds dirty. ;-)

Can you explain to us that do not know what the hardened elevator shaft is?

DominicD

03-09-2009, 12:39 PM

it's the rod that connects all of the bell cranks.

ckoelliker

03-09-2009, 02:05 PM

What about a new belt, and the black dampers?

trextuning

03-11-2009, 07:23 PM

hardened elevator shaft would go down great for me right now, just had my 550 bury itself due to the elevator shaft giving way.....should have replaced the darn thing after the last crash. Fortunately not too bad damage but it came pretty soon after the last crash which was a spectrum lockout.

Charley Stephens

03-12-2009, 07:36 PM

According to the warehouse they are instock and have replaced the non hardened shafts :cheers

New Belt Still waiting on supply

Dampers are being made so anytime

flag8r77

03-12-2009, 09:07 PM

Can I assume this is the new one? Usually on HD, the part will say "new" which this one doesn't.
http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=38_568_690&products_id=9702

Scotty T

03-13-2009, 06:29 AM

ok, I guess I didn't ask my question the right way.

What happens with this shaft? does it bend or break? What should I look for and should I think about replacing this right away?

Foxden

03-13-2009, 06:59 AM

Scott, if you don't slam it into the ground on hard landings ;) you will be OK, we've only changed ours once after a crash. what usually happens is on a few hard landings the set screws inside the frame securing the "A" arm allow the arm to move slightly causing the elev to pitch forward or backward and require allot of trim and it never really centers.

I would order one as a spare and change it when you need to, We haven't seen them break but they are on the soft side so it can bend slightly, I don't think I seen where they have actually broken in the air just cause as I mentioned fore/aft non centering.

trextuning

03-13-2009, 11:39 AM

Nalla

03-13-2009, 12:31 PM

mine went in the air, post crash the elevator A arm was able to spin on the shaft with a reasonable amount of pressure. The grub screws had just torn through the metal and gave way. The hardened shaft is a welcome replacement, I knew about this issue just wasn't thorough enough after the previous crash.

Same thing just happened to me this morning :bawl .No previous crashes. Heli just flipped forward onto its nose on lift off, guess the anti rotation bracket provided enough resistance to allow the arm to spin on the shaft.

ktm520

03-13-2009, 12:34 PM

Do the recently back in stock G10 kits at Helidirect have the hardeded shaft included?

flag8r77

03-13-2009, 01:23 PM

Trextuning and Nalla....did you both use red loctite on that grub scew that holds the arm on the shaft?

Nalla

03-13-2009, 01:35 PM

Just blue on mine as per instructions. Will use red next time though.

Can anyone confirm if this is the new hardened part? It states its been available since the 25th of Feb, yet it was only yesterday i think that Charley posted the new part is in the warehouse.
Slightly confused.
http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/r550335-ss_hardened_control_degree-p-6185.html

Scotty T

03-14-2009, 10:26 AM

Ok, so I didn't really know what this issue was until I actually had the problem.

Man what a pain in the......

I leveled off my swash and sure enough, move the cyclic around a little bit, and those screws don't hold and my elevator is way off.

Oh man, where for art thou hardened shaft. Please oh lord of helis send us this shaft soon.

Do we have a part number on this shaft yet so when we order we know we are getting the hardened shaft?

Wait a minute, I think I just found it. Is this the right one?
http://www.helidirect.com/r550335ss-hardened-control-degree-p-9702.html

Mecos

03-14-2009, 11:06 AM

Wait a minute, I think I just found it. Is this the right one?
http://www.helidirect.com/r550335ss-hardened-control-degree-p-9702.html

Yep, thats the new one.

In the manual the original is numbered R550171
The replacement "Hard" one is R550335-SS

So as a precaution I would recomend that anyone getting a kit to also add this item to the cart in the event the original kit still has the old rod.

Only $4.00 for peace of mind.

:)

flag8r77

03-14-2009, 06:41 PM

Can someone describe the issue with the old, softer shaft? Is the grub screw giving way, or the shaft getting deformed?

Foxden

03-14-2009, 06:52 PM

Can someone describe the issue with the old, softer shaft? Is the grub screw giving way, or the shaft getting deformed?

Yes and Yes

Charley Stephens

03-14-2009, 08:36 PM

This is what happens
1. If you Crash
2. Land Very Hard (bad auto)
3 Misalign during installation

Damaging the Control rod this is due to it being made of mild steel.
If any of the 3 above happens, you will see that the cup point set screw gouges the machined flat spot on the rod causing the elevator bell crank to be loose fitting / having slop or play during movement.

I have only seen this issue if the above 3 items have happened.

The new hardened shaft "should" prevent the gouging from happening.
If I crash I simply replace this item as my own since of security.

Scotty T

03-14-2009, 09:12 PM

That's what happened to me, slight blade strike and some broken skids was all it took.

Pulled out the shaft and it was gouged in enough to make the elevator arm slightly loose.

Scotty T

03-15-2009, 10:31 AM

Here it is.To help people understand the issue this is what it looks like.

This little tiny bar and it's dents are just enough to cause major headaches with your swash plate.

http://helifreak.com/picture.php?albumid=1942&pictureid=15277

Mecos

03-15-2009, 11:18 AM

This just from normal flying? or a result of any bump type hard landing?

Scotty T

03-15-2009, 12:06 PM

Yep, my previous post states, I had a blade scrape, broke a blade and skids.

Everyone is staying this shouldn't happen with normal conditions.

You'll know when it happens though. You'll really notice.

DominicD

03-15-2009, 12:10 PM

Am i the only one who thinks this is a good thing ? If the control shaft fails instead of a servo or something else its cheap and easy to replace.

Scotty T

03-15-2009, 01:27 PM

I think it can and can't be.

I have quite a few helis, I typically go Metal gear. I have had zero issues with metal gear servos.

Nylon is a different story.

But then again I've never had a nylon tail servo go on me, I guess the tail doesn't really take much impact.