first crash.... some questions

[triten]

hey guys im very new to heli's picked up a b400 for my first heli..

had it about 2 weeks put maybe 15 packs in.. and can control is very well with tail in...

today i was practicing some 90 deg orientation on my backyard deck.. (that is the mistake right there considering i live in a cirlce) while practicing side ways hover control i gave it to much forward pitch and when i tried to swing it back to tail in to stabilize it; it was to late!!!

i crashed it into the deck post... 1 of the blade grips is broken and i bent the main shaft.

how hard is it to replace the main shaft being this is my first heli.. and about how much in replacement parts.. anything special i need to pick up while i goto the LHS to pick up the replacement parts..

anything i need to know while i tackle this project..

it bummed me out i was doing really well but it was my fault should have taken it in the front yard..

other then that phoenix sim is coming in tomorrow and cant wait to get her back up and running so i can get my orientations down so i can start to fly this bad boy.

i use to fly gas plans when i was younger.. been reading this board for a couple of days and this is my first post..

any advise would be greatly appreciated.. thanks in advance

[notreallyme]

well it's not too bad to replace or that expensive, make sure to check your servos for broken gears( it has happened everytime i have crashed) you probably have a bent feathering shaft also. as for how to do it check the b400 threads for videos i have seen alot of helpful videos to help out with new fliers like myself.

[HeliMix]

Yep, what he said. Feathering shaft is surely gone too. But all the repairs you probably need to make are fairly straight forward, especially if you are mechanically inclined.

Most LHS have all the parts you need. But you can also order them online from many different places. From what I have seen so far, all stock replacement parts are priced the same, which is sort of nice.

And as notreallyme said, videos up here, tons of them and a few others else where that will help you a great deal.

So do not worry yourself about it. Watch the videos over a few times before you begin. Look at your heli, pause the vids, ask questions. You will get through it and back in the air in no time.

If you have a digital camera, you may even consider taking photos as you go along so you can have something to look at to see where things were on your heli before they came off. Oh yeah, and if you have a dial micrometer or a decent scale in millimeters, measure things like the distance of the flybar paddle grips (the silver piece o the flybar rod that the paddles screw on to) from the main blade grips.

But pay close attention as you pull things apart and watch for small things like spacers and washers. There are some small ones I almost missed the first time I took mine apart.

I would suggest, if you think you may be crashing again, I would use stock parts for now for they are inexpensive and also will break easily, which is nice so you do not transfer the energy of a break to another part of the heli that you do not want to have to replace.

[JohnLund]

how hard is it to replace the main shaft being this is my first heli.. and about how much in replacement parts.. anything special i need to pick up while i goto the LHS to pick up the replacement parts..


The main shaft is very easy to replace, just pop off the swashplate links, remove the bolt that goes through the main gear and pull the whole thing out, head and all. Put the new main shaft in, replace the bolt. Remove the main shaft collar, and the jesus bolt that goes through the head block on the old one, and slide it all off, and drop it onto the new main shaft, tighten the collar, put the jesus bolt back in and pop the links back on. Make sure that your main gear doesn't have a stripped spot, and as mentioned before, more than likely your spindle is bent.

EFLH1417 Main rotor blade grips = $5.39
EFLH1421 Feathering shaft = $4.04
EFLH1447 Mainshaft = $4.49
EFLH1452 Main gear w/oneway bearing = $8.09

[anthony7656]

Best thing might to bring it to LHS and show them the broken parts and see what you might need.
Extra tail parts wouldn't be to bad to stock, boom, blades, maybe belt and landing gears they do break easly.
Good luck with rebuild and don't stress, and always ask for advise, and get some oil too. :)

[triten]

thanks guys....

i am very mechanically inclined so i dont see this being an issue... kind of excited i haven't had a project in quite some time...

i am heading to the LHS today to pick up some pieces... if i have any questions while im rebuilding ill post here.

[Twmaster]

Watch all those little washers, bearings, shims, and spacers in thos grips.

I used the photos HERE (http://www.repairblade400.com/) to help me get my crashed B400 back together correctly.

And, yea, the parts are not very expensive. I like this about the Blade.