500 Bell 222 Body Set Installation

[robs113]

CG is off a bit, tail heavy

Has anyone tried a bigger battery in there, maybe 5000 mAh?

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by Skapr1

I placed the foam material from what I can see in the Instruction Manual pic.. Not sure if it's correct....

Outdoor maiden test hover yesterday... vibrations from the horizontal stabilizer fin area made it a quick test. Maybe the foam material needs to go back (aft) further inside the fuselage (past the horiz fin), so that's what I did. Don't forget the reason for the foam is "damping".

Had almost no tail wag and I think this is due to what a few other Freaks mentioned about the tail case needs to be tightened just right and the blades snug.

[wavekatcher]

Sorry to hear about your vibration problem.

THE PICTURES IN THE MANUAL ARE A JOKE. WAY TOO DARK TO BE OF MUCH USE.

Hey Mr. Dribbe,

How about someone at least fix the pictures of the online manual? Or maybe a nice installation video? It surely would be much appreciated!

Thanks, Wavekatcher

[Skapr1]

Foam damp material was placed as pictured in the Instruction Manual... The online pdf clearly shows how to install (contrast/brightness adj on monitor makes it easier to view).

More fuselage damping can't hurt, right? That's why it was extended further aft.

But maybe something else is causing the vibrations. I did hover the heli before body install and all I noticed was a small tail wag. And removal and re-install of the tail section is required and anything could be possible...

[wavekatcher]

The foam in the manual looks to be wider than what you have installed. I would guess the more foam dampening the better, as long as there is no binding of the rudder servo, etc.

[wavekatcher]

Unboxed my new fuselage.

Nice, but not perfect. I have a big black paint run on top of the tail boom. Not too noticeable to an untrained eye. It kind of looks like just another rivet, albeit a big rivet.

Also, on my port side wing, I have some silver where there should only be black.

I am happy overall for the price point Blade is selling these at. Not to mention the price I paid

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by wavekatcher

The foam in the manual looks to be wider than what you have installed. I would guess the more foam dampening the better, as long as there is no binding of the rudder servo, etc.

Good catch.. Guess I'll be adding more today. I was a bit concerned about the servo mechs binding, but it seems ok!

[gianntsllos]

Thanks to all for all the imformation and for posting pictures! Mine should be here in a few days! Thanks

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by Skapr1

Outdoor maiden test hover yesterday... vibrations from the horizontal stabilizer fin area made it a quick test. Maybe the foam material needs to go back (aft) further inside the fuselage (past the horiz fin), so that's what I did. Don't forget the reason for the foam is "damping".

Had almost no tail wag and I think this is due to what a few other Freaks mentioned about the tail case needs to be tightened just right and the blades snug.

I installed a new set of tail rotor blades, did a quick test hover and the vibration is greatly reduced.

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by gianntsllos

Thank you! Thank you! Very nice pictures! Now we want a flight video!!!!! Thanks again for posting!

This is my Maiden Flight Outdoor Hover Test Video ... First time with a 500 X and Body Set..

Blade 500 X and Bell 222 Body Set (1 min 54 sec)

[Allen_H]

Nice! now give it a local PD or news team paint sceam and slap a good PVP system on it and tell them how much your run cost are compared to full scale and jet fuel you will get the job.

[Skapr1]

Second hover test with a higher resolution video. The (minimal) tail wag is there and it's ever so slight that I think I can live with it.

But major vibrations developed after cycling the elect retracts. Towards the end of the video I did land, spool down, waited a few secs and spooled up and the vibrations (shakes) was gone. I am open to suggestions as to what caused it and how to fix. HH is aware and hopefully they will get back to me in a few days!

Thanks for looking!

B 500X and Bell 222 Body (4 min 25 sec)

[amodemo]

Great flight, I also have my 500X in the 222 body and have had nothing but vibration problems. do you feel that the extra foam helped?

[TomC]

Originally Posted by Skapr1

Second hover test with a higher resolution video. The (minimal) tail wag is there and it's ever so slight that I think I can live with it.

But major vibrations developed after cycling the elect retracts. Towards the end of the video I did land, spool down, waited a few secs and spooled up and the vibrations (shakes) was gone. I am open to suggestions as to what caused it and how to fix. HH is aware and hopefully they will get back to me in a few days!

Thanks for looking!

If I were you I would drop the pinon down to a 12t, maybe even 11t. Lower HS is going to make it more scale-like and may help quiet down the vibs/wobbles.

Cheers,
TomC

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by amodemo

Great flight, I also have my 500X in the 222 body and have had nothing but vibration problems. do you feel that the extra foam helped?

I can't really say for sure extra foam helped reduce the vibrations due to the fact that my major vibes did occur when cycling the retracts. I did raise and lower them quickly and that's when the vibes to the horiz stab fin area developed.

Gonna do another test hover. This time I plan on raising the retracts and leave them up for a bit before lowering them.

Amodemo, I'd like to see a video of your vibe probs. Also I am still waiting for someone from HH to get back to me on this issue.

[amodemo]

I talked with Horizon Hobby today and the person who designed the Blade 222 body was there (dumb luck). The info that I received was to follow the directions for the build and to be 100% that nothing but the plywood mounting plate was in contact with the body.

[Skapr1]

Originally Posted by TomC

If I were you I would drop the pinon down to a 12t, maybe even 11t. Lower HS is going to make it more scale-like and may help quiet down the vibs/wobbles.

Cheers,
TomC

Thanks for the advice. I may in the future drop down to the 12t. For now I'd like to keep it "factory fresh" ..lol..!

[TomC]

Originally Posted by Skapr1

Thanks for the advice. I may in the future drop down to the 12t. For now I'd like to keep it "factory fresh" ..lol..!

Hard to tell from your pics but it looks like you are still using the stock plastic tail blades. If so I think you will find a big improvement in tail authority if you go to CF tail blades. I use and like Edge 72mm CF blades on the tail and really like them.

Just another thought. If you do end up trying lower, more scale-like headspeeds using a 11-12t pinion (and hence lower tail rotor rpm's) it might be a good idea to go to larger tail blades (~80-86mm). Looks like you have lots of ground clearance to do this and the larger dia tail will help steady that big draggy 222 fuz a bit better imho.

Thanks for all the great info on the 222 fuz install btw. Very good possibility I'll transform my 500x into my first 'Scalie' in the near future.

Cheers,
TomC

[Skapr1]

I did ask HH sales about the cf tail blades and was told "there's nothing listed in the parts"... Is this what I need: Edge 72mm SE Premium cf tail rotor blades RVCLE72SE?

Very much appreciate your input and yes you should consider transforming the 500x (is my first "Scalie" also)!

[Spetrotto]

Hey guys,

Just a heads up, we are working on some build videos for you on the Bell 222. Sean Sullivan is a little under the weather, but he will be doing the videos as soon as possible. Unfortunately the developers are leaving for a factory trip soon, so we may have to wait another couple of weeks before he is available to shoot these videos.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Bell 222 kits so far!