Turnbuckles???

[Hibrass]

06/12/2008

Hiya all! Noob question...

I have recently started to fly helis... Hence I have crashed alot... :-) So I have gotten pretty familar with the way my helis is supposed to be adjusted after each rebuild.

One thing I miss compared to my other RC items is the apparent lack of Turnbuckles for all of the links on these birds... Does anyone make a set of Titanium Turnbuckles sized to fit a Trex 450 for example??? If not, I'm surprised that noone has done so before now...

Thanks,


Ed "Hibrass" Harley

[Gregor99]

Same here. I used Ti turnbuckles on all the links on my cars and that was 20 years ago. I was surprised when I learned that I'd have pop the off the ball links Where's the progress?

These are the ones I'm using on my Esky HBK2. There has been at least one report of them fitting on a Trex 450 head. I lost the included adjuster the first week and now use a pushpin.

http://www.helidirect.com/product_in...oducts_id=6360

[Hibrass]

Gregor!

Thanks for the Link! At least thats a start!

Now if we find some one else to get seriuos about the rest of them.. ;-)

Hibrass

[tz250w]

It's a heli thing. No self respecting heli pilot would be caught dead with "car" parts on his / her heli.

[rexingtheair]

they would be cool- fine adjustments for sure

they just need to put heli on the packet instead of car and we'll be rite

[OUCaptain]

I'm definitely going to remember this idea for my next 6 or 700 build. God, the fine tuning it will allow is nearly infinite.

[emag remrofni]

What are turn buckles?

[warpspeed]

Surprised the old timers haven't jumped down your throat yet! I asked the very same thing my first couple of days here on the Freak and was pretty much shot down for my newb-ish ignorance.

Old farts don't know what they're missing......

(Especially on Align helis-who's the brainiac that came up with ONE SIDED links anyway?)

[tz250w]

One thing that might go unnoticed. Links also act as a fuse during crashes. I'm guessing that's part of the reason we don't use titanium (besides the cost).

[emag remrofni]

But you guys still haven't answered my question, what are they? What do they do? I think I would have figured it out by now, I've been flying for almost two years.

[Ecklund1]

Here's a little picture of some big Turnbuckles...

...and here's a big picture of some little Turnbuckles.

I always wondered why helis don't use them either.

[bullaculla]

Yeah, I dont get it either. Sometimes a full turn on the Align links is just too much.

hmm. that woman seems to be looking at those extra large turnbuckles quite lustfully

[Pinecone]

One problem will be, if the threds are tight enough to not move under vibration, if you just ut a wrench on them, they will pop the links off the balls.

And if they aren't TIGHT, the vibration of heli will make them turn and change in flight. That will be exciting.

[Hibrass]

Turnbuckles are great because they have different rotation threads on each end i.e. Left hand on one end and Right hand on the other...

The end result is that by just grabbing them in the middle and turning them you can adjust the length without removing the clevis or end link... And they are infinitly more adjustable than say the current method on a Trex 450. (The only Heli I'm familar with.)

I have used them on Large 3D planes and 1/8 scale off road fuel buggie with no problems and I'm just surprised not to see upgrade kits for the more popular Helis out there.. I know I would buy one I just got done rebuilding and adjusting the tracking on my Trex 450 for the 2nd time this week... LOL

Later,

Hibrass

[Ecklund1]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

One problem will be, if the threds are tight enough to not move under vibration, if you just ut a wrench on them, they will pop the links off the balls.

And if they aren't TIGHT, the vibration of heli will make them turn and change in flight. That will be exciting.

Very true (both points!). But, they only pop off now to facilitate adjustment. Otherwise a more secure thru-bolt/hollow ball design could be used (like shown). And ends would never fall off.

Jeff

[bugdozer]

Originally Posted by emag remrofni

But you guys still haven't answered my question, what are they? What do they do? I think I would have figured it out by now, I've been flying for almost two years.

A turnbuckle is a replacement for the threaded rod that has right-hand threads on one side and left-handed threads on the other and a small flat or square in the middle for a wrench. This way, you can adjust the length of the connecting rod without removing the ball link.

I have used these for 20+ years in off-road racing but I would NEVER put them on a heli. The reason, you can get creep in the links, changing the length of the connecting rod. Not a big deal in off-road but could be a bad thing on an aircraft. Also kind of a wast because once you heli is set up, you don't change things much and when you do, the ball links come off easy. In RC cars, you are constantly tweaking things and the ball links are a b**ch to remove, so turnbuckles are priceless. Stick with the existing setup and avoid inducing problems by adding an un-needed mod.

[Rªzª]

my only problem with turnbuckles is the potential for slippage. the last thing i want is for a turnbuckle to start readjusting itself.

[Skiddz]

Jam nuts would stop the slippage, but that's just one more thing to deal with (and check in preflights) in setup.

[HEIM JOINT]

Originally Posted by Skiddz

Jam nuts would stop the slippage, but that's just one more thing to deal with (and check in preflights) in setup.

I made a set of small turnbuckles for my trex500 just for the blade pitch adjustment It lets me get perfect tracking and they havent moved in 50 flights

[Gregor99]

Ok, the slippage comments are very surprising. Is this theory or personal experience? I have turnbuckles on the link for the tracking adjustment. On the Esky head they are pretty much required otherwise you'll never get close.

The ball links are very tight, just loose enough that turning the shaft won't pop the balls off. How could virbration cause that thing to rotate? The rods seem too snug to move without rotational force. I could be wrong, so I'll make a note the current location and see if in fact they do move.