Raptor 90 Kasama Srimok head build

[jsenicka]

Thought I would take a second and write up my overall experience with the brand new Kasama Srimok head for the Raptor 90. I have 3 Raptor 90's currently. All are identical with respect to power plant and electronics. Each runs an OS91SZ with OMI/Cline modified 60M carburetor, Hatori SB18L pipe, CSM 720 gyro, CSM RL10 Revlock and CSM CarbSmart.

Grand RC is my supplier of choice for all of the CSM gear, including the CarbSmart http://grandrc.com/goveners?start=15

2 of my R90's run the full Thunder Tiger SE head, bird cage, updated flybar to get the new mix ratio, Infinavation dampers, and all the other goodies. These two fly very well. R90 #3 has a full Top Dragon head on it and for me it just never felt as good as the SE config. I was in Grand RC a month or so back and wound up spending a Saturday out at the flying field watching Ed and his son and a few of their friends tearing it up with a few nice TREX 600, a beautiful Synergy and an awesome Stratus. The Synergy and Stratus were both loaded with all kinds of Kasama goodies. I was talking to Ed about potentially updating my #3 R90 to the new 903D config to get it as crisp and precise as my first 2. Ed mentioned that Kasama was releasing a new Srimok head for the R90 that would look essentially identical to the Kasama head on the Synergy I had been watching in awe... Since I already have 2 Raptor 50's running full Kasama heads, that part was an easy decision. And since my R50 Kasama heads and pretty much all of the CSM toys on all of my birds came from Grand RC, working with Ed and family was no question at all.

I went in that Monday and picked one up!

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48855&d=1211477307


The head arrives in two bags, with everything packed separate pretty much how it will be assembled

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48856&d=1211477307
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48857&d=1211477307
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48858&d=1211477307

[jsenicka]

The head build is pretty straight forward, with only a few minor things to look out for, and a few areas that I had to sit back and think through how best to make things work.
Kasama has a very good illustrated parts break down available at: http://kasama.com/kasamafile/ASSEMB...RAPTOR%2090.pdf

So let's get started.
Assume we are going to use Locktite Blue on every bolt.
The first thing I did was to assemble the grips. The grips are absolutely beautiful as far as machining, and have full radial and thrust bearings installed from the factory. When you assemble, notice items numbers 12 and 13 in the Kasama drawing. You need to be careful here as the two bolts for the grip arm have a different length. They will go in either way, but if you place the the long bolt in the hole closest to the blade bolt it will bottom out into the thrust bearing and kick the thrust bearing slightly out of alignment. Very easy to notice when you try to slide the spindle in and the thrust bearing binds up a little!
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48860&d=1211477644

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48861&d=1211477644

Next I installed the bell/hiller mixers on the end of the grip arm. The mixer comes pre-assembled. All there is to do is run in the stainless bolt. Every bolt that passes through a bearing is perfectly machined stainless, and has the correct length shoulder to remove the need for those pesky aluminum sleeves used on the TT parts.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48862&d=1211477644

[jsenicka]

Next came the head block itself. This is a simple matter of assembling the dampers. The dampers are very similar to Infinivation or other O-Ring style. 3 O-Rings slide over the damper support. The damper assembles with the larger flange on the damper support to the outside. I gave the dampers a shot of Tri-Flow and slid them into the head block.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48863&d=1211478225

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48864&d=1211478225

Next piece is the flybar carrier. This is very simple. It slides into the headblock, and is attached using two M3x7 bolts through the pre-installed bearings in the head block.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48865&d=1211478225

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48866&d=1211478225

[Raptile]

Kasama make awesome product :)

[jsenicka]

Once the carrier is in place, you can add the ball links. Kasama calls these the "Srimok linkage double ball" (part number 23). These go on the inner holes, on the back side of the carrier with respect to head rotation.

The next piece to assemble is the flybar and flybar control arms. Slide the flybar into the carrier from the side facing you. The flybar control arms sit in the two slots cut in the carrier close to the head block. The control arms are to the rear with respect to rotation. This means the one closest to you will face to the right, and the far side to the left. Another way to make sure you have it right is the flybar control arms are on the same side as the linkage double ball we installed earlier.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48868&d=1211481547
Before you can tighten the flybar control arms, you need to center the flybar in the carrier. The flybar is secured using two flybar collars (part number 25). Centering is pretty easy. Slide the collars on from both ends. Use an accurate ruler to get the same amount of fly bar on both side. I am using an MA Stratus fly bar, so I had about 178mm on each side of the collars. A Raptor fly bar is about 30mm longer total, so your numbers will vary. Once you have the fly bar accurately centered, tighten the collars with locktite.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48869&d=1211481547
The next step is to align the control arms. The goal here is to have the control arm grub screws 180 degrees apart. This puts in the correct "droop" on the control arms to give maximum control throw on the flybar. This is actually quite simple. First tighten up one of the arms so the arm is centered side to side in the slot. It does not matter where on rotation you are, just get the arm centered in the slot so it does not rub on either side. (Don't forget the locktite!) Now we need to get the other arm aligned. With a hex driver in the tightened arm, align the hex driver in the arm you need to tighten so they are exactly parallel by eye. The picture shows it better than I can explain.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48870&d=1211481547
Another source of info for setting up the fly bar arms is Finless Bob's great setup videos for the Kasama Srimok head for the TREX 600. http://www.kasama.com/index.php?opt...tentpage⊂=18 His demonstration on the fly bar arm setup is exactly what needs to be done on the Raptor Srimok.

[jsenicka]

At this point you can install the grips and spindle in the head. This is essentially identical to a stock Raptor configuration with a 5mm bolt and washer at each end. Locktite the bolts when you assemble and tighten it up. You may feel a little drag against the dampers here as you move the grips, but as soon as you pull outward on the grips (centrifugal force), they are smooth as glass.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48873&d=1211483075

Then it is time to install the head on the bird!. Remove your old head. Everything from the washout up goes.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48874&d=1211483075
Now it is time to put the linkages together. The Kasama instruction sheet gives exact length of the 2 different control link sets. I used Fortune Model Products Ultra Link ends with the supplied link rods. Assemble your linkages to the correct length and size the link ends using your favorite methods. Install the links on the head as per the Kasama drawing.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48875&d=1211483075

[jsenicka]

Ok, so now we have the head installed, and the control linkages setup. Time for basic radio setup. First we need to reverse the collective servo. The Kasama runs an opposite collective direction than the stock R90. Now when the swash goes up, collective goes positive. Reverse your collective and center your servo arm using sub trim. With the collective servo centered (center stick) and the swash level, adjust the collective rod length until you get the washout arms parallel. This is your baseline for collective adjustment. At this point the washout should be pretty much centered in it's travel range, and if you measure pitch you should be very close to zero degrees.
The flybar angle has a major effect on pitch measurement, so make sure you get it perpendicular to the shaft. For precise zero on pitch, I use a 11/32 drill bit between the top of the flybar carrier and the head block. This lets me lock the flybar level and get both blades zeroed exactly when measured over the boom. Done properly, you won't have a hint or tracking issues.

The last thing to complete on install is paddle alignment. With zero pitch and a level swash, paddle alignment is easy. I use a Robbe paddle alignment set. With zero pitch all around, the paddles should be directly in alignment with each other, as well as the exactly parallel to the main blades. In this picture, I would align the top of the paddle gauge to the dead center of my SAB blades

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48876&d=1211483417

[jsenicka]

This thing is gorgeous!

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48877&d=1211483673

Depending on linkage setup, the Kasama head is capable of +15/-15 degrees of pitch!!! Using the outer holes on the mixer gives a monster pitch range. I flew the initial flights with the inner hole setup. On the second flight I went to the outer hole on the mixer, and the outer ball on the linkage to the flybar carrier. This gave me a smoother feel. I dialed collective total servo throw back a tad to get +/- 13 degrees.

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48878&d=1211483673

[jsenicka]

Finally my chief quality control inspector had to give the new bird a final QC stamp of approval. My grandson Bly thinks Raptors are way cool, and Kasama is "whoa"

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48884&d=1211486270

[jsenicka]

In the air, this thing is fantastic.
On first lift off the heli felt solid, but just a bit twitchy on cyclic (I have over 8 degrees of cyclic available.) I landed and took my expo from 15% to 25% and lifted off again. Perfect! My blade tracking was spot on, the heli felt like it was welded to the head in cyclic, and super stable in hover. Super responsive to cyclic without a bit of nervousness in the air, even in the heavy winds. Flips and rolls were rock solid, with no Raptor Head Nod that I am used to.

On day 2, I moved the mixer link to the outer hole, and the outer ball on the flybar double ball. This settled the heli down some as far as feel and allowed me to go back to 15% expo. I am now set up with +/- 8 degrees cyclic and +/- 13 degrees collective. I still have more than 2 degrees collective available in each direction by simply dialing my collective end points back up a bit.

My quick summary is the Kasama is night and day better than the TDR head, and far better than my full metal SE config. My take on it is the Kasama head just makes the heli feel far more solid than the SE configuration. It is the exact same difference I felt when I went to a full Kasama on the 50's.

Based on measurements taken by a fellow Rappy pilot over on RR, the Kasama weighs 9.4 oz all up, versus 14.2 for the full SE head with metal grips. Nearly a 5 oz weight savings.

This one is a keeper. I liked it so much I already purchased the second R90 Srimok head, and will pick up a third in the next week or so.

In stock at Grand RC!!!

http://grandrc.com/inc/sdetail/128609

[jsenicka]

Hope to get some video shot next weekend at our Helis Over Tidewater 2008 fun fly.

I am also planning to kick the collective up to a full +/- 15 degrees and install a new CSM RL30 RevLock with Collective Management http://www.grandrc.com/inc/sdetail/125602.

This ship is pretty much all CSM. Love the SL720 Gyro. The CarbSmart makes even a dummy like me capable of getting max power out of my SZ power plants without worrying about killing the engine. Now the RL30 will even make my left thumb smarter!! :)


And finally thanks to Ed and Mark at Grand RC for all the setup advice and fantastic customer service!

[rotorhead58d]

i wonder if the t rex 700 head can be used on the raptor 90?

[Laurens]

Thats one hot head! Too bad I already have an almost full metal head.

[JimLerch]

I am soo close to putting this head on my Raptor. I told myself if I can successfully fly through 6 gallons of fuel WITHOUT CRASHING, I'll reward myself with this upgrade :-)

4 gallons down, 2 to go. However I am learning backwards upright flight, which is a lot harder than I thought...

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to ask.. "When I crash with this head, who do I order flybars and spindles from, Kasama or TT?"

[Laurens]

If you crash you can soften the pain with buying one of these Jim;-) Either way you'll be happier then with a plastic head.

[jsenicka]

Flybars are stock TT.
Even better is a MA Stratus flybar. 60mm shorter, and really wicks up the cyclic.

Spindles are from Kasama.

[Badger50]

First I would to like to thank jim for his building instructions and recommendations for the use of the Kasama head for the Raptor 90. This is by far the best heli upgrade I have ever used. My Rap 90 3D feels and handles like a 600n or Fury. No more head wobble, super clean and crisp cyclic and elevator control, and a super stable hover, and more pitch range than I know what to so with. Not to mention the 3 oz. of weight savings from the old TDR head I was using which was ok, but just didn't have that solid and controlled feel to it. My hats off to Kasama, and to Jim for a great product, and great building instructions.
Fly safe, fly hard....or go home. :thumbup:

[JimLerch]

OK, well I'm working my way towards this goal. I did my first ever upgrade on any of my heli's :shock: (an upgrade being the replacement of an existing functional component because the new component is "more better") This is different than crash upgrades, where new and better parts are installed to replace damaged parts (which I've done plenty of times! :YeaBaby:)

Anyway, I upgraded to the Thunder Tiger metal swash and metal wash out assembly with the CNC metal washout arms. Yea.... I can't say I felt a difference. Actually I can say, and NO I did not notice any differene in flight characteristics. The damn thing still wants to constatly commit suicide!

Fortunatly I talked it down for the umpteenth time.. However, Fast backwards flight has me feeling like a NEWB all over again..

Anyway, I'm one gallon away from upgrading to this head! Whish me luck :-)

[Badger50]

Don't feel too bad about "neccessary upgrade because I broke it again parts". After all, that's why we all have 2-3 jobs to support out addiction. I wish you loads of luck, and skill, and you will be amazed at the difference the Kasama head gives your Rappy.

"Do or do not, there is no try". YODA :fly

[jsenicka]

Ricardo M (Freya_Man101) beating up on one of my 2 Kasama Srimok equipped Raptor 90's.
The video shows a walk around on my 90SE, followed by Ricardo taking the 90STD chassis up for a test hop.

Equipped with:
Kasama Srimok head +/-13.5 collective, 8.5 cyclic
CSM RL30 RevLock (collective pull off down to 10.5 as needed)
CSM CarbSmart (at 110c)
OS91 CSPEC with Viper head, Viper piston, 60M carb with OMI/Cline mods
Hatori SB18L
CSM 720 with Futaba 9256
JR 8717 collective, Hitec 6965 cyclic
Radix 710 Stick Bangers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GheWAo6Chuo

[Laurens]

Have you gotten yours yet Jim?

[JimLerch]

No, not yet.... I meet my reward milestone, but something has me holding back...

Hmmmmm.... Why haven't I ordered it yet???

[Badger50]

The wife....maybe?

[JimLerch]

Ok, I'm in :YeaBaby:

From a plastic head to a full up Kasama.. Should be interesting :-)

[Badger50]

Now your talkin.:) I would definately recommend using Jim Senakas' instructions on this thread. It made the build a whole lot easier. Let us know what you thing when you get are done.