A couple of questions on building a Raptor 50

[PPainter]

I'm sure these questions have been asked, but I can't find them.

1 - How tight should the linkage balls be screwed? Should they rotate freely? Or should they be secured tightly to the ponit they don't rotate?

2 - Has anyone had issues screwing the fly Paddles onto the flybar? My paddles were so tight, I had to hold the fly bar in a vise to attach the paddles. This twisted the bar slightly. Is there a trick to assembling the paddles to the flybar?

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,

[wtr]

ball links should be tight, so that they don't move, nor rotate!

getting the paddles aligned on the flybar can be a pain in the ass.
The can indeed be very tight when screwed on the first time.
I personally would not put the flybar in a vise, little damage is there before
you know it.
Just take your time for it. It took me like an hour or two to get it
right the first time :D

[WayneBrown]

If you have it, use black (tire mounting) CA glue on the threads of parts screwing into plastic, if not, a medium CA can be used. The parts should NOT turn...
Metal flybar into plastic paddles is an issue across all manufacturers and is not indicative of a problem with your machine. Generally a slightly smaller drill bit will be used to chase the hole in the paddle, or at the very least, and exacto blade is used to chamfer the opening a little. Never use a vise! Ball link pliera have two grooves in them, one for link rods and flybar paddles, the other for spindle axles.
Use the correct tool for the job and you minimize damage to parts. While adjusting the length of links during your test flights, hold the link rod with the pliers, and rotate one link at a time.

[Rcer22]

Have you ever been to Raptor Technique?

[ClayK]

Have you ever been to Raptor Technique?

www.raptortechnique.com helped me with mine, check it out.

[Rcer22]

A lot of information there!!! :)

[PPainter]

I appreciate the help. My Raptor is built, and I am ready for flight. I hope to meet up with one of the experienced flyers at the local field next weekend.

Thanks again for the help!

[phaed]

wish i would have known about raptortechnique before i started building. there's a lot of good info there. i've screwed up my flybar trying to get it together, and think i could have prevented that if i'd read their tips. ah well, got a spare in the crash kit!