Caliber 5 questions

[Magnasanz]

Well seeing as lauren has been asking why no one posts here i thought i'd post a few queries.

I've been flying my Cal 5 for around 3 months now and have a few questions with regards to setup and general maintenance/checking.

1) Do you guys strip down any parts of the heli periodically or just wait for failures?

2) How many degrees of swash travel should there be? -7/+7

3) I've noticed that the there is quite a few links on the head that have some play in them, although don't 'pop off' easily. Should i replace them for ones with a tighter fit (As suggested on the Finless vid Ball links 101)

4) I'm just getting into loops and rolls and wonder whether or not i would notice slop?

5) I'm also looking at getting some better servos as i'm using the 3001 for everything apart from the gyro (401 with digi servo). What do people suggest? I will be doing 3d stuff asap but also don't want to spend to much just yet.

6) I've recently bought the Phoenix sim (Reflex is a bit poop) and wondered if anyone has this and which model they use to best simulate their Cal 5?

Well that should do it for now :)

[Laurens]

1) I just check my heli visuallly and wait for failures. Those are mostly "Thumb"related failures.

2) Cyclic or Collective? Collective is -10 +10 here. I might increase it to 11

3) On my C5 they are tight/loose enough. You don't want them too loose that they can pop off, but neither to tight as hovering will be much harder.

4) I'm into loops and rolls and some more too and I don't notice any negative effects.

5) If you don't want to spend too much I'd recommend a 9252/9255 for pitch, unless you run eCCPM instead of mCCPM. With eCCPM you got to change all 3 servo's.

6) I'll let Kraaijer answer this question for you as I have reflex.

[exnexusluver]

First,I have to give my report on flying my new Cali5...I love it and it can hold a candle to a Rappy 50 any day..Im very aggressive with my heli`s.I do alot of hard and fast 3-D work with them.The Cali handles this great and stays right with me..I dont wait for failures and if you do,your gonna be paying cash for it..lol..I check my heli`s after every days flying.You dont want the links tight but not too loose either..If you feel alot of play and can even pull them off with out much effort,replace them..Many times I only have to replace links once a year and try to do it whether it needs it or not..I have never had a failure of a link..I inspect every nut and bolt as well..Check your swash links by trying lightly to move the swash ,feel and watch for any play.Shouldnt be much if any in it..Im picky,I dont like any play..Im running -10 and pos 11 in my ship.Its plenty.Collective management is the most important to get the most out of your pitch range.In a tic toc you dont need all 10 deg. of pitch to keep it smooth..I also set my birds up to run a steady 2,000 RPM at the head..I love the heli and am so glad that kyosho put this out and got me back flying Kyosho...Walk softly and fly a Kyosho...

[shaun.kendall]

I check mine fairly regularly. Now. You might have seen an earlier post I made where I talked about my blades coming off. Scared me real good. One of my blade grips vibrated loose and it informed of it when it sent the blades flying out at a high rate of speed in seperate directions. Turns out those things play a key role at keeping the heli in the air.
I figured out since no one was around to be killed that it was my sign to pay close attention to everything. Now after a days flying when I am wiping it down, I check everything for tightness.
Don't be too complacent, having a blade whiz by my head taught me that lesson. The heli wasn't damaged as it was about 4-5 feet off the deck when it happened, but I could have been. If you haven't seen it, you might not believe how far they traveled and how fast.

[shesha]

After every 5 flights, complete denatured alcohol bath, on bearing related areas, and shafts, the amount of dust there is over here is not a joke.

Other then that, a general look over things will keep her tip top :)