bigrcr
06-24-2004, 08:03 PM
Miniature Aircraft has long recommended the use of aluminum upper side frames when using the gas machine for heavy lifting or camera work. I have discovered that the power of the G-231 will also stress the upper frames and the added power also "tweaks" the upper frames enough to cause rapid main gear wear. This mis-alignment also robs power from the head and can lead to bearing failures as well. I recommend that the doublers be used when running a G-231 (or G26 :puke ), especially for 3-D.
Part of the problem is the upper area forward of the upper main bearing cracking from the stress. The frames also can flex allowing the gear mesh to be disturbed from torque.
A simple upper frame doubler can be easily made and installed in less than an hour, which will tighten up the flex and add integrity to the area just under the upper main bearing block. After making this set of doublers, I immediately could tell a big difference in useable power to the head when pushing the machine. This is due to the main gear/pinion staying in proper mesh and not consuming power that is then tranferred to the head. Viola!.... Instant power upgrade!
Use a set of broken frames from a ST, CT, SE, etc. or even an old set of bent (single) frames. Cut out the upper area from behind the main bearing blocks to the front of the frames and use these as doublers. Make sure to use all of the tops as shown in the pictures, as this will capture the main blocks, start/clutch stack block and tie up into the front of the frames.
BTW. Use extreme caution when cutting any carbon fiber. The dust from cutting or grinding is very harmful to breathe! Use a respirator when doing any carbon cutting/grinding.
Use a drill, and open up the hole for the bell crank pivot so that the doubler will slip over the pivot without removal. The bell cranks will need to be temporarily removed though. Depending on the frames you cut your doublers from (I used a bent frame set), you may have to open the upper bearing block holes upward a bit to get the holes to line up. This is because the upper bearing is a bit higher on the gas machine than the original X-Cell bent frame model. It may also be neccessary to elongate the clutch bearing block slots in the doublers also so that it will match what you have on the gas machine. Use longer bolts when you bolt in the doubler as there is more thickness to pass through. Set the gear mesh and you are done!
Later! :glasses2:
Part of the problem is the upper area forward of the upper main bearing cracking from the stress. The frames also can flex allowing the gear mesh to be disturbed from torque.
A simple upper frame doubler can be easily made and installed in less than an hour, which will tighten up the flex and add integrity to the area just under the upper main bearing block. After making this set of doublers, I immediately could tell a big difference in useable power to the head when pushing the machine. This is due to the main gear/pinion staying in proper mesh and not consuming power that is then tranferred to the head. Viola!.... Instant power upgrade!
Use a set of broken frames from a ST, CT, SE, etc. or even an old set of bent (single) frames. Cut out the upper area from behind the main bearing blocks to the front of the frames and use these as doublers. Make sure to use all of the tops as shown in the pictures, as this will capture the main blocks, start/clutch stack block and tie up into the front of the frames.
BTW. Use extreme caution when cutting any carbon fiber. The dust from cutting or grinding is very harmful to breathe! Use a respirator when doing any carbon cutting/grinding.
Use a drill, and open up the hole for the bell crank pivot so that the doubler will slip over the pivot without removal. The bell cranks will need to be temporarily removed though. Depending on the frames you cut your doublers from (I used a bent frame set), you may have to open the upper bearing block holes upward a bit to get the holes to line up. This is because the upper bearing is a bit higher on the gas machine than the original X-Cell bent frame model. It may also be neccessary to elongate the clutch bearing block slots in the doublers also so that it will match what you have on the gas machine. Use longer bolts when you bolt in the doubler as there is more thickness to pass through. Set the gear mesh and you are done!
Later! :glasses2: