Close Call

[Tman49]

So I decided to make my #2 Hirobo Shuttle fly again. I had cannibalized it a year ago. It didn't take much to get it ready to fly. I converted it to electric, so I reinstalled 2 servos, a rx, and an esc. I checked the alignment of the motor, replaced worn ball links, parts associated w/the head and tail.

My man cave has room to hover a heli, so that's where I test them. After a couple hovers I needed to adjust the gyro and swashplate. On my 4th spool up, just as the heli got light on the skids the plastic tail exploded. In a split second my Shuttle lie lifeless. There was a blade strike that caused obvious damage to parts on the head, blade, and tail boom. The wood blade broke from the blade holder and flew about 12' and stopped on the floor. The twin 3s 4k mah batteries connected in series were ejected. When they were exiting their seat they took out the rx mount/rx. All but one servo wire pulled out of the rx.

After assessing the damage, I believe the crash was caused by the tail belt that broke. I believe the belt to be from the 90's at least.

I was standing about 8' from the heli when this happened. There's a couch between me and the heli when testing them. Sometimes I hover at a level higher than the back of the couch. Never again will that happen. So now I'm contemplating on whether to fix it or part it out.

[learnedthehardway]

You replaced loose links but left a 10+yr old belt on it
Oops!!! Lol

Guess it depends on how much you want to fly it, I'd probably just use it for spares to keep the other one going. Although if I had a lot of time and money into converting and resurrecting it then I would be too stubborn to give up now

[Tman49]

Originally Posted by learnedthehardway

You replaced loose links but left a 10+yr old belt on it
Oops!!! Lol

Guess it depends on how much you want to fly it, I'd probably just use it for spares to keep the other one going. Although if I had a lot of time and money into converting and resurrecting it then I would be too stubborn to give up now

We all live and learn, right? Thanks for your reply. As the flying season approaches in Ohio, my ritiual is fly my Hirobo before the Trex. Might be just the 1 Shuttle though. Just trying to keep the old school alive.

[Tman49]

Well I got around to checking the damage to the Shuttle. Bent main shaft, pitch arm, tail boom, rudder control shaft, feathering spindle and flybar. Broken blades, washout arm, swashplate, belt, tail case, horizontal fin, rx mount, tail blade holder, and tail drive pulley.

As it turned out, I had all of the parts on hand. :thumb up: So I replaced everything. Most parts are new. The only thing that got damaged that I didn't have on hand is the tail servo. When the rudder control shaft was ripped from the servo, it ruined it. So I'm on the hunt for a new servo. I want a HS5245MG.

A LHS gave me a deal several years ago on their remaining Hirobo stock. It turns out the deal was a wise investment because I've gotten most of my $ back from selling what I didn't want, and the rest I needed for times like these.

[Tman49]

I got the Shuttle rebuilt w/little problem. I relocated the tail servo close to the tail. It's quite tail heavy w/o a battery. I have plenty of space for battery adjustment to achieve proper cg. I also needed to relocate the esc and bec for horizontal balance.

I'm setting up the head now and will be ready for spool up shortly afterwards. I'll post pics and maybe a vid soon.

[TSK UK]

Sorry to see, i like flying shots ...