Rotorworkz Helifreak Extreme "HFX" Build Thread

[Ticidytoc]

It's here boys and girls ! :woohoo

The first production run kit is done and on my workbench. Charlie did a great job packaging up all the little screws and pin nuts so you don't get lost. If you built the HFE kit you will be right at home with this one, if its your first Rotorworkz.com kit your in for a treat, Charlie out did himself with this one. I think the wait was well worth it.

So whats new? Custom bearing blocks and servo bridges have been added to the kit. I'm not going to do a step by step like 'ol Finless, I'll leave that to the pros. Charlies instructions are pretty good so I will try to help with any questions.

You start the kit off by installing the pin nuts in the frame holes accordingly. If you have a small hobby c-clamp your set, these can be picked up at Home Depot and come in very handy. I use a small hammer to get them started, then finish them off with the c-clamp. The instructions explain how to do this, it's not very complicated at all.

[bullaculla]

On my HFE, I found that channel locks work well also for putting in those nuts. Just open them up one groove and they line up nicely.
with a piece of wood to protect the CF/G10 of course.

[bartwaw]

Could you scan all frame parts and send it to mail ?

[Finless]

Yea... thats going to happen!

Bob

[kenkamm]

Could you scan all frame parts and send it to mail ?LOL. The nerve of some people. I hope that was sarcasm.

[Finless]

LOL... yea... makes me want to scan them and then undersize or oversize them so the dude wastes a bunch of money making worthless frames ;)

Bob

[WillJames]

Sweet looking frameset and hardware!!! Thanks for doing a build Matt!!

[Ticidytoc]

Your welcome Will, Charlies kits go together so well so not much of a build. :thumbup:

Next are the bearing blocks, these are pretty simple also. 3 major pieces and the now familiar pin nuts and screws to hold everything together. This will make servicing the bearings fairly easy and now is a good time to get some new grease in them.

If you don't already have one I highly recommend "The Greaser" for greasing your bearings, it will do every bearing on most heli's starting with the smallest size and working your way up to the largest. I'll enclose a picture of this tool, very handy.

Now that the bearings have soaked in denatured alcohol, they are cleaned out and greased. Time to put them all together. Take the bottom plate of the bearing block and install 4 pin nuts just as you did in the frames. Drop a bearing in, add a spacer plate and then the top plate. 4 screws with washers are used to sandwich all of the pieces together and there you have it.

I opted not to use the washers on my install. After you build the 3 blocks you are ready to install them into the frame halves.

There are 4 nuts that are pressed into the bearing blocks that allow you to use the stock screws to lock them in place. This along with the interlocking feature of the bearing blocks make for a solid connection.

For reference the stock bearing blocks weigh 17.6g and the new blocks are 21.3g. Yes they are heavier, but lets not forget the frames are shorter so we lost some weight there. All up weight of this kit is projected to be 7.5lbs on 8S with Flightpower EVO25 8s 3700 packs.

One thing I'd like to note, when screwing the blocks together, there is no need to crank down hard on the screws. Use blue Locktite and snug them up. That's it, if you crank down too hard you will snap the heads off the screws.

[Finless]

Nice work Matt!

I will be putting one together for Will soon and this will help :)

Also you gotta come on out to Arbor sometime and show me that sucker flyin! Or let me fly it :smokin:

Bob

[docjoe]

IBJ (I be jealous!) Waiting for mine to come as soon as they start shipping in bulk! It's a nice teaser though. Thanks Tic!

[OICU812]

GJ Matt, I am jealous!!! :D


Excited to get mine for certain. Can I ask why do we have these custom bearing blocks and why were the original style not incorporated into the design? No biggie, I just do not completely understand the reasoning is all. :dontknow I will be trying mine on 8S and 10S as well to compare balancing and performance. :glasses2:

[bullaculla]

those are some trick bearing blocks!

[Ticidytoc]

Next step, while the frames are still apart install the servo bridge posts and the elevator servo. You can install the elevator servo with the frames already assembled, it's easier to do it with them apart.

The kit provides all of the necessary hardware and spacers to get everything lined up where it needs to be. There are a few extra parts in this kit that are new and pretty trick little features that we didn't have in the previous HFE version.

To get the proper spacing on the aileron and pitch servos I opted to sand down the back of the servos cases. I started with a file, gently taking material off the back until I could feel I was cutting into the screws. Then with some 320 sandpaper on a block I cut them down so they were nice and smooth. This is not totally necessary, You can use 3 spacers and leave the servos untouched, I opted to go with less spacers as this reduces the angle placed on the arms to the swash.

Another nice little feature are break out tabs for the canopy lugs and a new Opt. ratio tray cut from the same carbon. Very slick.

The bearing blocks were done to help gain some main shaft space. With the stock blocks you would have lost pitch and I know some would not be totally pleased that they lost their ability to get +-15 deg. This is why we have the new blocks, with these you should be getting +-13.5-14 deg. Then there is a mod to get more. I will touch on this at the very end of the build. Once we have our final pitch readings I will show you how to get a little more out of it.

Oh and the 1910/1Y/H has plenty of room to breath under the canopy, so no cutting for most motors to fit under the hood. I will post exact measurements once everything is bolted down and ready to go.

[WillJames]

:smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :smokin: :WOW :lolol

[Ticidytoc]

The final steps are installing the servo arms,servo bridges, and all of your electronics. The instructions are clear and show how to set everything up all the way down to aligning the servo arms.

The frames went together very well, I did however find a few things that I thought could use some attention. Charlie was receptive to my ideas and works very hard for you to be happy with the kit. He is a hobbyist first, and I give him lots of credit for the hard work and all of the thought that went into this frame kit. I really think you guys will like the changes and additions.

First flights were today, the frames felt very good. The 9451's moved the swash just fine with the long arms that are in this kit. There was one thing I found that I felt was necessary to change. There was a limit on the amount of pitch and cyclic that could be used without some binding in extreme throws. I'm sure the way the frames are as they sit will be plenty for most, but I know there are those out there that like the extremes. So I spent a few hours on the phone with Charlie working out how to go about making these changes and still keep the release date. I think you will like it.

Not much left of the original frames, just the battery tray, motor mount and the bottom plate. This is the slickest kit yet, lots of neat ideas with a few options.

The Neu 1910/1Y/H fits just fine under the hood with 10-12mm left to spare.

Here are pics from today. Oh and I do custom canopies if anyone is interested. :wink:

[bullaculla]

Nice! those arms and bearing blocks are really cool! The frames look a lot beefier than the HFE too. I noticed the gray nitro gears, can you tell the difference if any from the white stuff?

BTW Matt, your paint job sux :p
:mrgreen:

[Ticidytoc]

The gears on my HFX 600E are black. :wink: The grey nitro gears are the same as the white E-gears.

BTW Matt, your paint job sux :p

Aww man, are you sure you don't want me to paint one up for ya ? I'll sponsor you ! :lol:

[bullaculla]

The gears on my HFX 600E are black. :wink:
you bastard! tell me more! :twisted:


Aww man, are you sure you don't want me to paint one up for ya ? I'll sponsor you ! :lol:
Does that mean its free? :mrgreen:

[Ticidytoc]

Does that mean its free?

Yep free, just send me a canopy and I'll do it up real nice! :wink:

Charlie just send me a picture of the new updated design. Wow, you guys are gonna dig it ! I think the new additions and change are going to make this "THE" frame set for the 600 ! :thumbup:

[jT415Gz]

:lolol :lolol :lolol

[Ticidytoc]

I took some pictures of different pack options to use on this frame. 8s and 10s, 6s packs would be no problem in any config.

The 5s 3700's are the largest pack that will fit under the bearing blocks on this frame, the 3700's fit tight, but they fit. (2) 4s sticks or (2) 5s 3300's will also fit no problem.

You could use the battery try up and also mount a pack on it to lift the CG even higher, I'm not a fan of this so I prefer to stand my bricks on end.

Hope this helps.

[bullaculla]

Is the frame shorter than the HFE? It looks like the main gear is closer to the bottom. I guess thats why the bigger motors can fit under the canopy.

[Raven_darkcloud]

It looks good ticidy. You are lucky to one so quick. I will put that frame one after I kill the stuck one.

[Ticidytoc]

Thanks guys.

Yes the frames sit lower because the height was removed from the lower portion of the frame. The 3700 10s sticks just clear the lower bearing block, anything thicker and it wont fit.

[jT415Gz]

Tomorrow will be the 25th so I assume the frames will ship out to their paying owners?
Also what city are they departing from and what kind of delivery type will be used?
Hopefully... via USPS Priority Mail, 2-3 days.