Fold your GAUI blades

[Gr4yb3ard]

All,

I got busy on figuring out the head, and could not resist fixing the blade folding problem.

I'm reasonably sure most have seen this, but on mine, the blade tips could not fold back to more than within a couple of inches from each other, making it impossible to use a blade holder, and scary to transport.

I first took a look at the arrangement of the grips and blades, I considered both woodies and plastics in this. I used my MKIV eyeball computer to analyse stresses and evaluate the potential for failure on the modified part.... ;-)

Next, I made up an angle guide on paper to help with the orientation. Note that only the training edge blade slot needs to be filed, at about a 30d angle. I carried the angle back to the "shoulder" of the grip holders, as a way of measuring.

I made sure to weigh the grips before and after, to help keep them balanced, looks like I took of about .1g in the process (way cool - <gram freek>).

I put plastic tape inside the grip ends to protect the surfaces, and used a square jewelers file (Radio Shack, most Building supply stores..) to cut the angled notch. I made sure to clean up any rough edges and used some sanpaper to even out any stress risers. Then washed and cleaned the whole thing with q-tips and solvent.

Lastly the end result. I can now fold my blades, and the Heli-in-a-briefcase idea is back in business...

Gr4yb3ard

[Jetleaf]

I just filed a little off of the blades. I didn't want to mod the grips.

[Buzzkill]

Gr4y, your the man. :thumbup:

[rotorhead58d]

thanks larry. i might be doing that to mine. :thumbup:

[Gr4yb3ard]

Thanks guys,

It *was* worth the effort. She folds, 'nuf said on that...

PM me if you go there, but I'd say do it, for each set of grips. I could now do the mod in 5 minutes... No sense in fiddling with each set of blades!

No tach of my own as yet, but measured 3700 on 3s with the modded grips, no problems. Did'nt think so.

Even as ugly as that was, they should be good for 8,000 rpm, at least, If you're worried, I'll buy your trashed heli, okay? Don't worry about the stress on the grips,or the mod. There's lots more to worry about than that....

Gr4yb3ard
"...Wilbur made me say that..."

[psindrup]

GrayBeard - you are a genius - or just bored. :)

Peter
Grounded due to those d... fragile "arms"

[Jetleaf]

Thanks guys,

It *was* worth the effort. She folds, 'nuf said on that...

PM me if you go there, but I'd say do it, for each set of grips. I could now do the mod in 5 minutes... No sense in fiddling with each set of blades!

No tach of my own as yet, but measured 3700 on 3s with the modded grips, no problems. Did'nt think so.

Even as ugly as that was, they should be good for 8,000 rpm, at least, If you're worried, I'll buy your trashed heli, okay? Don't worry about the stress on the grips,or the mod. There's lots more to worry about than that....

Gr4yb3ard
"...Wilbur made me say that..."

Helifreak is here for "Fun, Learning, Friendship, and Mutual Respect" and I assume sharing of information and opinions. That being said here is my opinion. One should never casually dismiss the efficacy or consequences of any mod to a RC Heli. The main blade grips are two of the most stressed components on any heli hince my hesitancy to mod the grips. The main blades on the other hand are relatively cheap should I make a mistake and ruin them and the impact of removing a small ammount of plastic to enable the folding of the blades is less harmful to the overall design than modding the grips. Weighing the grips after modding insures that they weigh the same. What about balance? How do you balance a blade grip? I balance all my blades anyway so the only addtional step for the blade folding mod for me would be actually removing some of the plastic at the blade root which requires bolting the blades together and using a sanding drum on a dremmel and sanding away the plastic from both blades at the same time. This is much quicker than modding the grips imo and is not just "fiddling with each set of blades" No more so than it would be fiddling with each set of grips. If you are using woodies I would not recommend modding the blades as this would surely damage the covering on them. No one here, myself included, is an expert. So unless you are a design engineer for Gaui, everyones opinions are just that lest you are able to support your opinions with some empirical data. My posts about this mod or anything else on this site are just my opinions and should not be perceived as anything more. However, as a licensed airframe & powerplant mechanic I do have a modicum of insight as to design aspects of aircraft be it fixed wing or rotorcraft. As was so eloquently stated before "She folds, 'nuff said on that..."

Results of my blade folding mod.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll115/Jetleaf/foldblademod3.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll115/Jetleaf/foldblademod.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll115/Jetleaf/foldblademod2.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll115/Jetleaf/foldblademod4.jpg


Jetleaf
"...don't blame Wilbur"

[stoatnchips]

Jetleaf... is that a Gr4yb3ard quote on your canopy?

[Jetleaf]

Just a twist on Gaui's "A new storm is arriving";)

[Buzzkill]

Not to get in the middle of this whole thing but I think you both have good mods. Both are equaly good and will work for the intended purpose.

( Besides, I've never let good judgement keep me out of a fray :thumbup: )

[psindrup]

Jetleaf

Cool pictures.

Tell me about the landing gear on your Gaui - please!

Peter

[Jetleaf]

If you look carefully you can see that it is Beam landing gear that I narrowed to fit under the Gaui and the skid pipes were shortened. I wanted to get the tail up higher since I have the shaft drive. Tell me if you think it looks out of proportion to the heli.

[rotorhead58d]

i wonder why gaui didn't make them so they fold?

[psindrup]

If you look carefully you can see that it is Beam landing gear that I narrowed to fit under the Gaui and the skid pipes were shortened. I wanted to get the tail up higher since I have the shaft drive. Tell me if you think it looks out of proportion to the heli.


Thanks.
I think they look absolutely great! :thumbup:

Peter

[Jetleaf]

Hey thanks. I was a little concerned since it's a big change from stock. I really like the ground clearance for the tail.

[jimgrant]

Hi jetleaf........ how did you do the Radix look on your blades? paint or dye?

[psindrup]

If you look carefully you can see that it is Beam landing gear that I narrowed to fit under the Gaui and the skid pipes were shortened. I wanted to get the tail up higher since I have the shaft drive. Tell me if you think it looks out of proportion to the heli.

One more thing Jetleaf - if I may.

How did you "narrow" the Beam landing gear?
Could I ask you to explain exactly what you did to make them fit?
(And a link/part number would be highly appreciated too) :)

Peter

[Jetleaf]

Hi jetleaf........ how did you do the Radix look on your blades? paint or dye?
Hey Jim I taped out the blades with three triangular pieces and shot them with black Krylon paint. The bottom of the blades is all black. I wanted to dye them but the blades and paddles won't take the dye. Tail rotor blades and main gear will, they are both dyed. I was worried the paint would crack and peel off but so far it hasn't.

[jimgrant]

Cheers , looks great.

I use Radix blades on all my other helis. I emailed them to ask about Gaui size ones, and they said they had no plans to do them in the near future....:thumbdown:... guess I just have to paint them like you.

[Jetleaf]

One more thing Jetleaf - if I may.

How did you "narrow" the Beam landing gear?
Could I ask you to explain exactly what you did to make them fit?
(And a link/part number would be highly appreciated too) :)

Peter

Sure thing Peter. I cut out the center of the landing gear then rejoin the two halves with the cut ends butted together. I then took the piece that was cut out, (any kind of scrap plastic will work) placed it on the underside of the two halves, and centered it, marked and drilled two holes and screwed together. A one sided but splice sort of thing. Then I took a piece of heat shrink the same length as the width of the frame and slid it over the new joint and shrank it. On the rear I had to use two supporting pieces above and below the landing gear halves that were butt ended together. With only one supporting piece the weight distribution of the heli caused the rear to squat and spread more than the front so it looked a bit pigeon toed. I wanted it to flex for hard landings but it was to soft with only one supporting piece. I tried different plastics of varying thickness/stiffness, just scraps of old projects and what not and finally went with 1 piece of plastic similar to the landing gear skids and 1 piece of a softer more pliable plastic. A piece of heat shrink to cover the whole mess just like the front and bolted it up to the Gaui. With two supports it is rigid enough to support the weight and softer than just the unmodified Beam landing gear. The skid pipes are Beam skid pipes with the ends cut off. A dremel is a beautiful thing. The tips are pieces of Cypher skid pipe which is essentially a plastic dowel rod, that were attached to brass shoulder bushings with a screw and then glued into the cutoff end of my new landing gear. Hope this makes sense. If not let me know. Here are the links to the Beam landing gear at Advantage. Everything else I used I already had.
http://www.advantagehobby.com/product.php?productid=72685&cat=98&page=1
http://www.advantagehobby.com/product.php?productid=72686&cat=98&page=1

[Jetleaf]

Thanks Jim. It's a shame no one makes different blades for the Gaui. I guess it's up to the individual to do his own thing. I have another set of blades I painted red similar to the black ones that have 4 triangular areas. I guess you could call them redix blades:shock:? Cheers,

[Jetleaf]

Not to get in the middle of this whole thing but I think you both have good mods. Both are equaly good and will work for the intended purpose.

( Besides, I've never let good judgement keep me out of a fray :thumbup: )
I couldn't agree more Buzz.:thumbup:

[stoatnchips]

Jim.. Jet... What's this Dye that you guys are talking about? Is it literally some sort of red dye that you soak the tail blades in to get them that colour; it looks too vivid to be just dye?

[Jetleaf]

It's Rit dye. It's primary purpose is for dyeing fabric/clothes. I get it at the grocery store on the laundry detergent aisle. It is a powder substance you add water to and bring to a boil. You just toss in whatever you want to dye and when it is has been dyed to your satisfaction take it out and rinse with water. The longer you leave it in the more vivid or darker it will be. Some plastics won't take the dye like milkjug plastic, or in this case Gaui main blades and paddles. I have yet to see a main gear that will not take it and I have dyed My Beam gears orange, Diablo gears red, as well as my T-rex 500 and Gaui gears black. I really hate white gears, they get so dirty looking after a while and a dyed gear doesn't show it nearly as bad. Servo arms do very well too. Here is a link to the Rit site.

http://www.ritdye.com/home.lasso

[Buzzkill]

I use Rit dye http://www.ritdye.com/home.lasso for my white plastic parts. You'll get different results depending on the plastic your dying. I only dye white plastic, never tried any other plastic part colors as a base.Basicly you boil water, add the dye and a little salt (don't know if the salt is required but I do) and soak the parts until you get the desired color depth. The longer you soak the darker they get sorta thing. On my flybar paddles I used a Sharpie marker. Been using the Sharpie of heli's for a couple years, best fast dry no mess easy to do blach for heli parts that I've found :thumbup: