Fudd
04-17-2008, 08:04 PM
I finally got round to fitting the sd kit today. I bought it at the same time as the heli but had no reason to fit it as the belt was trouble free. I ended up stripping a thread on the plastic boom mount and I had the cnc mount to go on, so I figured it was time to check it out.
Once the belt parts were removed I put them on the scales - 8.3 grams. Then I weighed the sd boom, shaft, tail case and tail shaft. It weighed 15.8 grams :shock:. This was meant to be an upgrade??? At this point I started to wonder if it was worth the hassle.
The shaft itself is a rod of what looks like fg about 3mm diameter. I think the main reason for the extra weight is because of the three bearings inside the boom. One at each end and one in the middle. I got a spare titan anodised shaft too and the bearings came fitted.
There's a cf frame plate included with the kit which is meant to increase the clearance for the gears. Before fitting it I compared it to the part that was still bolted on and it was identical. No point changing that then ....
I worried that getting the pinion fitted right would be tricky, but I just pressed it on cold with a g clamp so it was flush with the end of the motor shaft. Luckily I got it right first time :P.
So far, I've only hovered 3 packs in my living room. The first thing I noticed was how much quieter it is. I actually feel more comfortable flying it indoors just because it doesn't sound so vicious. You can hear blades cutting air more which is pretty cool :smokin:. And a good reminder that they still spin up to almost 200mph :shock:.
Bad points? With the extra weight at the back I'm using the fg canopy to try to get some balance to the front. You can definitely feel the extra weight compared to the belt with plastic canopy. It bounces up and down more with the air currents indoors.
The jurys still out on this one until the winds die down and I get outside. I think the shaft sounds alot smoother than the belt and this may translate to more power for the motor/collective.
I'll keep ya's posted when the wind dies down.
Once the belt parts were removed I put them on the scales - 8.3 grams. Then I weighed the sd boom, shaft, tail case and tail shaft. It weighed 15.8 grams :shock:. This was meant to be an upgrade??? At this point I started to wonder if it was worth the hassle.
The shaft itself is a rod of what looks like fg about 3mm diameter. I think the main reason for the extra weight is because of the three bearings inside the boom. One at each end and one in the middle. I got a spare titan anodised shaft too and the bearings came fitted.
There's a cf frame plate included with the kit which is meant to increase the clearance for the gears. Before fitting it I compared it to the part that was still bolted on and it was identical. No point changing that then ....
I worried that getting the pinion fitted right would be tricky, but I just pressed it on cold with a g clamp so it was flush with the end of the motor shaft. Luckily I got it right first time :P.
So far, I've only hovered 3 packs in my living room. The first thing I noticed was how much quieter it is. I actually feel more comfortable flying it indoors just because it doesn't sound so vicious. You can hear blades cutting air more which is pretty cool :smokin:. And a good reminder that they still spin up to almost 200mph :shock:.
Bad points? With the extra weight at the back I'm using the fg canopy to try to get some balance to the front. You can definitely feel the extra weight compared to the belt with plastic canopy. It bounces up and down more with the air currents indoors.
The jurys still out on this one until the winds die down and I get outside. I think the shaft sounds alot smoother than the belt and this may translate to more power for the motor/collective.
I'll keep ya's posted when the wind dies down.