New Bearing Upgrade for 1st Stage Gear

[Seasick78]

I purchased the new 3rd bearing for the 1st stage gear from PeakAircraft. I was pleased to find everything needed to do the mod, with the only thing lacking being that there are no instructions with the kit. Nevertheless, it was a pretty simple upgrade.

First I removed the links from the swash and also completely disconnected the anti-rotation bracket from the upper bearing plate.

I then removed the two forward bolts from the left upper bearing plate/side frame, as well as the upper X-bracket bolt so that the jig could mount flush to the side frame. I mounted the jig using the long bolts supplied with the upgrade kit. I used two pieces of post-it notes to stick the the inner and outer frame, just below the area I was going to drill. These pieces acted as catch gutters to allow the carbon debris to fall onto them without getting on any of the other components (see pictures below... Although this is all after the upgrade was complete, you should be able to get the basic idea). Repeat for the right hand side...





Next, I removed all of the hardware from the upper bearing plate, as well as the two bolts and nuts on both sides of the anti-rotation bracket. This allows the upper part of the frame to be spread open enough to lift the entire rotor head, along with the main shaft, swash, etc... All in one piece (NOTE: be careful to spread the frame enough so that the gear clears the frame. Also, be careful to keep track of any shims which may have been used with the main shaft spacer... They will be needed later).

Next, remove the pinion from the top of the 1st stage gear shaft. Now you can remove the spacer tube from the shaft and replace it with the spacer tube that comes with the upgrade kit. Make sure that the holes you drilled are clear of loose carbon, and install the new bearing with the bearing flange on top and the curved part of the plate facing aft. Install the supplied bolts (dry for now) to check the spacer and gear for play. If there is any vertical play, use the supplied shims to ensure a slop-free installation.

From this point forward it is just a matter of reinstalling the parts which were removed in reverse order. Prior to adding locktite to the hardware I installed everything just so everything was snug. This was to ensure that no play exists with any of the components. I did end up putting one shim on top of and below the pinion prior to locking it back down on the first stage shaft. This eliminated a slight amount of vertical play I had with the pinion prior to tightening the grub screws.

Hopefully this summary might be of some use to somebody.

[ChadL]

Awesome...thanks.....this is on my list of winter updates. Along with installing the receiver battery tray and Linus's (guy who makes the jlog) buffer circuit

Chad

[smsodhi]

Nice...when is the maiden??

[Seasick78]

I got a quick 5 min maiden in on it last Friday. Haven't been able to get back out yet, since then. Looking forward to more flying soon though.

Flew very well on my first flight though! A little elevator tuning needed on the 3SX and it'll be dialed in!

[smsodhi]

Cool, let us know what you end up with. I have ele filter at 7 and D 14 on V123
I was thinking of reducing ELE filter and inc D a bit
Be interested to see what your values are.

[Seasick78]

I'll post what I end up with. I use version 123 as well.

[Seasick78]

Originally Posted by smsodhi

Cool, let us know what you end up with. I have ele filter at 7 and D 14 on V123
I was thinking of reducing ELE filter and inc D a bit
Be interested to see what your values are.

Got in a few more flights... LOVE THIS HELI!!
Version 123

Rigid gain = 60

Aileron gain = 12

Elevator gain = 16

Agility = 12

Initial response = 3

Elevator filter = 4

P portion = 45

D portion = 17

Attitude hold = 9

Decay rate = 5

She flies rock solid at 1600 and 1800. Will be raising the head speed a bit to see how I like it around 1900. Flew easy patterns for 10 mins each on two 5300 mAh Spyder sticks.

[smsodhi]

I love flying her at 1500 and 1700 for 8-10 min flights, nice and smooth with plenty of stability, will occasionally flick to 1900.
ele filter 4 D 17
So no ele bounce with these settings? I was going this way so I'll try it. I don't have bounce, just want to reduce the ele filter, I have a slight "stickiness" in ele tictocs sometimes.
My Total HG is at 77 and P is at 40. I see your P is at 45 and total HG at 60
Any advantage running a higher P and lower total gain?
Thanks, it's great to have another BD guru in here

[Seasick78]

Originally Posted by smsodhi

I love flying her at 1500 and 1700 for 8-10 min flights, nice and smooth with plenty of stability, will occasionally flick to 1900.
ele filter 4 D 17
So no ele bounce with these settings? I was going this way so I'll try it. I don't have bounce, just want to reduce the ele filter, I have a slight "stickiness" in ele tictocs sometimes.
My Total HG is at 77 and P is at 40. I see your P is at 45 and total HG at 60
Any advantage running a higher P and lower total gain?
Thanks, it's great to have another BD guru in here

I ran my HG all the way up into the 80's also, but the elevator bounce started to creep back in after a while. It's all a combination of the various parameters. The elevator bounce for me, is which rapid stick inputs. Just flying around its fine even with the head gain cranked way up. I set my 2nd flight with head gain at 50, and 45/17... Then set elevator filter to real time tuning and adjusted it until I was happy. I stopped at 4 and never even went to 5.

Then, I locked that in, disabled RTT, and found the HG setting that I liked the best while adjusting it in flight with a knob.

I also run my sinus linearizer at 0 which means my collective travel is in the high 60's in order to get 13* pitch. I run cyclic pitch at 10*.

Changing the sinus linearizer in combination with the P and D settings on the rigid page, really speeds up the elevator (in a good way IMHO).

[jcflyer]

Hey Josh,
Nice write up on the upgraded part. I told you that you were gonna love this machine!!! i see you also got to 13* collective!!! The more you fly it the more you will like it!!!

[Seasick78]

Just tweaked it some more so I can let it rip at 1900/1950 on my next outing.

You're right... Sorta makes everything else I've ever flown feel like child's play. That's no exaggeration. No placebo here, it flies so much nicer than any previously owned Heli I've ever had (personally).

[jcflyer]

Josh,
You know I hate to say it but, I told you that you would throw rocks at everything else after flying this machine!!! LOL!!! It is just a great machine and flyer and the more you fly it the better it gets. Be carefull at 1950 things start to really get moving at that HS...

[HeliFX]

was not aware that mini made this upgrade.

I'm presuming its to help combat some potential gear stripping for those who like being a little aggressive with the stick.

[Magneto]

Originally Posted by HeliFX

was not aware that mini made this upgrade.

I'm presuming its to help combat some potential gear stripping for those who like being a little aggressive with the stick.

Heres whats you missed!https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...=522957&page=3

[HeliFX]

ah I see
yup certainly missed that one.

have to say Gerd is certainly on top things

thanks for link

Originally Posted by Magneto

Heres whats you missed!https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...=522957&page=3

[jamin_00]

Nice one Josh.

I was lucky enough to get Dave who makes these frames for Minicopter to do mine as he gave me a new set as the original ones had no motor mount slots so when he had these I asked if he would do this mod to which he kindly agreed as I didnt fancy doing it myself but I have to say you made it look pretty straight forward. Good job man!!

[Seasick78]

Thank you!

[tribe3]

Is it me or the Pyro 850 and the bearing upgrade are a no-go?... it's with a 19T pinion

[Magneto]

Originally Posted by tribe3

Is it me or the Pyro 850 and the bearing upgrade are a no-go?... it's with a 19T pinion

I run a Pyro 800 with a 18t pinion with the third bearing block so a 850 with a 19t is no problem.

[tribe3]

Originally Posted by Magneto

I run a Pyro 800 with a 18t pinion with the third bearing block so a 850 with a 19t is no problem.

You are right! my eyeballing is not the same as it used to... It doesn't touch the frame either although it's damn close. Thanks!