Poop!

[EKron]

Dumb pilot error crash yesterday with my 425 that should not have happened. Not too bad EXCEPT the pin on the swash that rides in the CNC anti-rotation bracket broke off in the swash. Ugh!



I'm going to give a try at getting the broken pin out but not feeling too confident that it is going to go well plus it looks like the pin is only available with the CNC anti-rotation bracket upgrade? I've got one in my 450 stuff but haven't checked to see if it will fit.

I checked around and found one of the HeliOption gimble swashes for the T-Rex 500 for $35 bucks so went ahead and ordered one. It might work? If not, I'll have to fork over fifty bucks for a new Gaui swash



I've got most of the parts on-hand but did have to buy some replacements like a new HS-225MG elevator servo for $26 and another set of CNC main grip levers ($18). Yay for using cheap servos!

The rest of the stuff needed, I had in my spares box

Spindle Shaft
Head damper set
Rear main gear
tail boom
boom supports
ball link
Main blades
T-Rex 600 flybar rod
Somehow, the mainshaft is not bent at all.

The good news is the tail came out unscathed which is good since I just got it working perfectly. So, I guess it's out to the shop to see about getting the broken pin out of the swash. Bummer is this was a new stock swash with only half a dozen flights on in. .

I'll be ready to go again this weekend and at least after crashing I got to fly four packs through my 450 so the day wasn't a total waste. Chances are good my X2 will be ready to try to fly again too and the weather here is great right now so I'm not too bummed about crashing my 425 although I would have preferred not to.

-- Elisabeth

[Mikej]

I lent one of the guys a Trex 500 swash that I had as a fill-in for his when his heli was down and that worke fine, so the gimbal swash "should" work.

Bugger about the swash though, I would be very tempted to dremel a slot from corner to corner of the square section, heat it up (to break the loctite and because holes expand faster than screws (plus aluminium expands faster than steel)) and then use a screwdriver to unscrew the stub. It looks like there is a lot of metal there and you would only need to go in a mm or so to get a screwdriver onto it

[Jerrymac]

Hmmm, I knew when I saw in the thread title it probably wasn't good.

Sorry to hear about your crash. Hope it didn't damage your great looking canopy that I saw a pic of in another thread. I would try what Mike suggested to get the broken guide pin out.

I need to get a new swash plate for my HeadHunter framed Hurri 500. The bearing is very notchy. I was going to pick up one for the X4 to see if it fits. The X4 swash is $33 versus $49 for the Hurricane swash, and it comes with the anti-rotation pin already installed I think.

Good luck on getting your Hurri repaired and back in the air soon.

It snowed again here today............

[fiveflat]

Or something as simple as an EZ-out drill bit. I think you can find them that small at your local hardware store.

[PTcaflyer]

...you might need to heat it a little to loosen the Loctite...I use a LH twist Cobalt drill bit and they usually just turn right out...Usually....

[EKron]

Arrgh! Got sucked into a black hole with work for a few days, like 48 hours with 5 hours of sleep and haven't gotten much done. My initial attempts at removing the broken threads from the swash weren't going too well so I gave up before I completely ruined it. Swash seems a bit notchy now anyway so its probably not worth the effort at this point? The HeliOption gimble swash will be here today and I'm hoping it's going to be a quick fix? If it doesn't work, there's still time to get a Gaui swash but would really rather not spend another fifty bucks.

I started working on the rest of the head and prior to assembly, the bearings in the grips felt okay but once I tightened the feathering shaft down got that crunchy feeling. Dug into my mega wad of spares only to discover the new bearings I thought I had don't fit in the Gaui CNC grips. I ordered the last set in stock from All e RC which will also be here today but the good news is I have two brand new sets of thrust bearings ready to go.

Having now broken 3 elevator servos, I disassembled them all to see why and maybe to salvage any unstripped gears but I was surprised to discover the gears in all three were completely intact. There's two little bosses on the inside of the top case that support the gear shafts and the middle one had broken on all three causing the middle gear to go off center and lock up.

On a brand new servo, I filed the middle boss down about half a mm then took a brass spacer and sanded it until it was paper thin. I then took JBweld and built up around the outside of the boss and secured the washer with it. I put it back together and put it on a servo tester and let it run for an hour then pulled it back apart again for inspection to make sure the middle gear wasn't binding on my added reinforcement. I sanded my addition down a little and put it back together and ran it on my servo tester for two more hours and pulled it back apart again this morning for another look. It seems okay?

I experimented a bit with the JBweld before deciding on the brass washer idea. You can see in the middle picture how the one boss near the end was already wobbed out but what is covered up is how the middle one had one whole half completely blown out. I don't know if this is a bad idea or not? Any thoughts? (Other than to use better servos )



BTW, these are Hitec HS-225MG's. They're $25 bucks and once I get over my learning/crashing phase will try something better.

I'll follow up later after the HeliOption swash arrives. I have the HeliOption one piece bearing block with thrust bearings in my 450 and have been impressed with the quality and performance. Shown below in comparison to the Tarot one-piece unit.



-- Elisabeth

[Mikej]

Elizabeth,

Have a look at these posts - people with exactly the same problem and some neat ways of fixing it (some very similar to yours, but I like the "rod" solution as well0

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589365

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=57832

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=78638

Cheers,
Mike

[EKron]

Wow! I'm not as stupid as I thought! I had no idea this had ever been done before. Saw the problem and came up with a solution. Now that I see I'm not the only one, I feel much better plus now I have two "junk" servos that can be fixed.

Thanks, Mikej.
I'm going to rip out my other two cyclic servos and do the same thing. The idea of just using a new longer pin is perfect and I even have a piece of the right stuff. That and a little JB Weld round the boss on the inside and I'll be golden. I've got a Futaba servo on the tail but don't even have to think about that one

New swash is here and is really nice. Will post up some pics later this evening.

-- Elisabeth

[EKron]

Man, this hobby eats up a lot of time. Like all of it.

The new swash was a straight up bolt in. Didn't even need re-level or anything. I'm really happy with it so far and am thinking about even writing up a review?



With all new bearings in my CNC grips and the new swash, movement in the head parts still felt a little less free than I wanted. Turns out I needed to replace all the bearings in the washout arms to finally make everything buttery smooth. I also did replace the mainshaft even though I couldn'tt detect any problems with the old one.

Think I might get one of these even though the price is a little steep. ($25 from Infinity)



So, I took her to the field yesterday for a post crash/repair maiden and had some unexpected problems - a big vibration and a slightly different sound on spool down. The tail fin was a blur but I carefully flew a whole pack in IU1 with an 89% flat ungoverned head speed. Was afraid to try IU2 with a flat 100. Went through everything and tried a different tension on the belt and a tiny piece of tape on each tail blade one at a time to no avail. I used half of my 3rd pack messing around on the ground with all the blades off.

Although I've read not to replace them until they scream, I think my main bearings are shot as well as those on the tail drive gear? I also had to make a new rudder control rod with a smaller diameter CF tube than I usually use with a metal control rod inside of it that may also be contributing to the vibes?

Now I've some decisions to make on what to do next but am going to start a new thread on that. I'm going to be busy as hell this week and with MotoGP starting this coming weekend, probably won't be going to the field. It's getting to be too hot in the afternoon here. Was almost 90º yesterday and I came hope pretty pink. Good news is my 450 is really getting dialed and the 4 packs I put through her yesterday were the best I've ever flown even though it was gusty. Unpredictable wind has always caused me panic but it just made me laugh as I got tossed around and up and down.

--Elisabeth

[Jerrymac]

Ha, be about 4 more months before it reaches 90 F here, that is, if it does. Usually doesn't get that hot here in Western Pa. Mostly 80's in July and August. Snow the rest of the year it seems like......

[edan978]

Does anyone know if the helioption swash will fit the blade 500?

[edan978]

Originally Posted by edan978

Does anyone know if the helioption swash will fit the blade 500?

Sorry I'm on my phone and just clicked a link after I googled that question. Didn't realize what thread I was in.