How To Glue Stock SR Swash.

[Rookiepilot83]

Hey HeliFreaks,

there has been several requests on how to glue the stock SR swash plate so I thought I would share how I have been doing it. So far I have about 20 flights (about 80 by the time I sold my SR) on my glued swash with no separation so here's how its done.

1) You need to separate the two halves of the swash as shown in pics 1-4, this can be done with a pair of ball link/needle nose pliers or any pliers that will fit between the two halves as shown in pics # 1 & 2. (ball link pliers are used in pics) Once separated it should look like pic # 4.
2) Now clean off any oil on the inner bearing (pic # 5) and the round part of the upper half of the swash (pic # 6) that fits inside the bottom half. Refer to pics # 5-8.
3) Now VERY CAREFULLY apply a thin even layer of CA glue (I used super) on the outside of the round middle part of the upper half of the swash. Refer to pic # 9 And then immediately move to step # 4.
4) Snap both halves back together (making sure not to get any glue in the bearing) and let dry.
5) FINAL STEP, Donate to the buy Rookiepilot83 a T-Rex 500ESP fund, Come on, its a worthy cause, LOL! For real though, after step # 4 your done!

Well I hope this helps even one person avoid crashing from a separated swash, good luck everyone and Happy Hovering.

[Mojappa]

A+

Good write up Rookie, very informative. I was thinking about getting a vid the next time I did one but this will definitely help make the process clearer.

[HELI CRAZY]

Thank you very much!!!!!!

[Rookiepilot83]

I recommend doing this immediately with the stock swash to prevent separation.

[marcoeldragon]

Great Job thx for posting.

[crashhappySR]

As well as gluing the swash plate, an easy and quick fix is to use your soldering iron to cause a greater burl under of the plastic on the bottom. Just touch the plastic ring 6 or 8 times and you cause a reinforcing lip which holds forever.
Thoughts from a complete beginner in heli.

[Rookiepilot83]

Originally Posted by crashhappySR

As well as gluing the swash plate, an easy and quick fix is to use your soldering iron to cause a greater burl under of the plastic on the bottom. Just touch the plastic ring 6 or 8 times and you cause a reinforcing lip which holds forever.
Thoughts from a complete beginner in heli.

That's exactly what my friend who is an experienced rc pilot told me to do when my SR swash first separated. At the time I wasn't confident enough with a soldering iron to attempt it and gluing it just sounded easier. I eventually got the Microheli CNC swash which worked great for a couple months and then I sold my SR to fund my 450 Pro build. I did like my SR but she was just a little to small (for a rookie) and the tail motor eventually got to me, however, I'll never forget my first CP Heli.

[JFandL]

CNC swashplate is a must for the SR , glue on stock part which failed is really not a good idea. But its your call.

[Rookiepilot83]

Originally Posted by JFandL

CNC swashplate is a must for the SR , glue on stock part which failed is really not a good idea. But its your call.

CNC metal parts are always going to be better then plastic parts (especially injection molded) as they are more precise and stronger. I have to disagree that gluing the stock SR swash (weather it failed or is NIP) is a bad idea. Its now common knowledge that the stock SR swash is prone to separating and it can happen at any time. If your a rookie and it separates in flight then chances are your not going to get her down in one piece. If you follow my instructions and glue the swash correctly (using CA, Super or epoxy, not Elmer's lol, & being very careful not to get any in the bearing) you will have nothing to worry about as once glued it will never separate again unless you crash SERIOUSLY HARD or literally pry it apart. If you have the means/money, then YES absolutely get a CNC metal swash but If you don't have that luxury then you have two options: 1) Fly the stock swash as is and pray to the rotary god's it doesn't separate in flight . 2) Take ten minutes to glue the little bastard and be done with it, no more worries . As I stated in Post #4 I recommend doing this IMMEDIATELY before it has a chance to separate. You can decide for your self but to me its a no brainer.

[johnsma22]

I wouldn't say that ANYTHING made by Microheli, cnc'd aluminum or not, is better than ANYTHING made by E-Flite. I bought an SR the day it came out. My swash separated that same day, causing a spectacular crash! It took all of about 5 seconds to realize that simply CA'ing the two parts of the swash together, carefully, would solve the problem. That CA'd swash has hundreds of flights and several crashes and it's still holding up.

[Rookiepilot83]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

I wouldn't say that ANYTHING made by Microheli, cnc'd aluminum or not, is better than ANYTHING made by E-Flite

I never said "ANYTHING" about any particular brand being better than any other brand. All I was saying is that CNC metal/aluminum parts are always going to be better than plastic parts especially injection molded plastic parts. However, I admit I may be slightly incorrect. If for instance a clone (Tarot, Flasher, EXI etc) CNC metal part was cut with a dull enough bit (a bit that had made hundreds or thousands of cuts) the quality of that part may not be as good as a CNC plastic part. So I should have made the statement "Usually" CNC metal parts are better then plastic parts. I stand corrected .

[barneyrubbel69]

Originally Posted by Rookiepilot83

Hey HeliFreaks,

there has been several requests on how to glue the stock SR swash plate so I thought I would share how I have been doing it. Please forgive me as my grammar isn't the best and I am not very good at explaining things in writing. So far I have about 20 flights on my glued swash with no separation so here's how its done.

1) You need to separate the two halves of the swash as shown in pics 1-4, this can be done with a pair of ball link/needle nose pliers or any pliers that will fit between the two halves as shown in pics # 1 & 2. (ball link pliers are used in pics) Once separated it should look like pic # 4.
2) Now clean off any oil on the inner bearing (pic # 5) and the round part of the upper half of the swash (pic # 6) that fits inside the bottom half. Refer to pics # 5-8.
3) Now VERY CAREFULLY apply a thin even layer of CA glue (I used super) on the outside of the round middle part of the upper half of the swash. Refer to pic # 9 And then immediately move to step # 4.
4) Snap both halves back together (making sure not to get any glue in the bearing) and let dry.
5) FINAL STEP, Donate to the buy Rookiepilot83 a T-Rex 500ESP fund, Come on, its a worthy cause, LOL! For real though, after step # 4 your done!

Well I hope this helps even one person avoid crashing from a separated swash, good luck everyone and Happy Hovering.

ok a question from a complete newbe on the SR. First off that was a great writeup but what i need to know is how do i get to that part that need glueing? do I need to disassemble the whole head from the top down ? OR ?? Thanks

[Lunchbox]

After you take off the ball links attached to the swash, you can take out the screw holding they hub on. It's the screw below the blade grips right above where the metal main shaft meets the plastic hub. That will let you take the hub with the head assembly attached off. And you can take the swash out from the top.

Or, you can take out the main gear and pull the head assembly with the main shaft out from the top. Then you need to take off the retaining collar and you have access to the swash from the bottom.

E-flite Blade SR Head Disassembly Part I (8 min 14 sec)

This guy shows you how the head assembly is connected. You can do from about 3:20 to about 5:50, and just take the ball links off to get to the swash, but it'd be a good idea to watch the whole thing to get an idea of how the head is put together.

[JFandL]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

I wouldn't say that ANYTHING made by Microheli, cnc'd aluminum or not, is better than ANYTHING made by E-Flite. I bought an SR the day it came out. My swash separated that same day, causing a spectacular crash! It took all of about 5 seconds to realize that simply CA'ing the two parts of the swash together, carefully, would solve the problem. That CA'd swash has hundreds of flights and several crashes and it's still holding up.

You should let E-Flight know about this maybe they can fix the part so no one need drop CA on their failed Part.

[Rookiepilot83]

Thank you Lucnchbox for explaining. I would like to clarify that IMHO anyone who is starting out in CP helis should learn how to disassemble and repair their birds FIRST before they REALLY start flying. I guess, if your really impatient (and if you are this might not be the hobby for you) you can do some low altitude (approx 3ft) hovers just to get it out of you system. I'm guilty of this my self but it did result in a couple of crashes in which I couldn't repair my bird because I DIDN'T KNOW HOW!! Trust me, down time because you don't know how to repair your bird, especially when you have the spare parts, SUCKS!! Find someone in your area that can teach you how to setup and repair your bird. If you ask around the forums or at a LHS you will eventually find someone willing or even egar to help. Good luck fellow rookies and happy hovering.

[moncherou]

thanks for the thread, my swash plate came partially apart in flight, caused a sudden loss of lift and down it went. luckily it didn't come apart completely and at full throttle it had enough lift where the heli only endured a hard landing.

[mikeonthebike]

I wish I would have seen this forum and this post before i bought and flew and CRASHED my brand new blade SR. I have flown r/c airplanes since I was 13 and I learned to fly heli's on a simulator and I flew some real 30 sized copters doing fast flight and basic aerobatics many years back with not a problem. then I finally decide to buy a CP choppper and purchase the Blade SR several days ago

My problems. BRAND NEW chopper. I ran through ALL the set up and safety procedures and then went for the first lift off and noticed negative pitch. i backed off and wondered if maybe had a decent amount of negative pitch at the beginning of throttle? then I throttled back into it and got lift off and hovered for a second then went for some forward flight and turns to feel this thing out.

the first turn in the flight and the helicopter went wild out of control and was all over the sky putting myself and friends at risk till It was able to crash to the ground....

the crash ended up in a stripped main gear. bent pinion and blown up main rotors blades and the thought of damn maybe this thing is wild and I lost control and panicked.

a visit to the local hobby store later and hours of frustration learning how to work on this thing and it's back to flight ready. went to a park. got it airborne, hovered and trimmed it out and got about 2 minutes of buzzing around and then a few wild turns in it goes dead to the sticks except the throttle and rudder and crash again. this time takes out the tail shaft and rear motor mount and rear blades and nocks the wires off the motor and takes out another pinion shaft and mildly chewed the main gear

so here I am about 40 dollars more into this thing than purchase cost and I havn't even drained a full battery yet..

I know I can fly good and I fealt like something mechanical was holding me back I just got done with the second rebuild and MANY hours of work into this thing and I'm just checking things over and notice the swashplate slides up and down and will sepperate and then slide back together.

so I started searching about swashplate failure on these helis and here I am.

this is a DANGEROUS situation when it happens and they really need to upgrade to a better swashplate or glue it themselves or put it in the manual that 'Your model may be a serious risk to you and others around it and the helicopter WILL lose control at any given time WHEN the swashplate comes apart!!! "

so I am going to glue mine up now, I'm glad you guys were here for the info about this and hopefully I will be able to have fun tomorrow with my new machine and go through the factory pack AND the other bat pack I bought.

[palmtree953]

Originally Posted by mikeonthebike

BRAND NEW chopper. I ran through ALL the set up and safety procedures and then went for the first lift off and noticed negative pitch.

Congrats on your new SR! Yeah, the setup is always key, and it will definitely fly better after proper setup (and with parts that are working ). The content in the SR bible is very good for setup help, etc. The SR manual really doesn't go very much into proper setup. (Might want to double-check your pitch, etc).

Originally Posted by mikeonthebike

this is a DANGEROUS situation when it happens and they really need to upgrade to a better swashplate or glue it themselves or put it in the manual that 'Your model may be a serious risk to you and others around it and the helicopter WILL lose control at any given time WHEN the swashplate comes apart!!! "

Fortunately I haven't had this situation occur with mine, and I can understand the frustration, but realistically I think this is just one of many many parts on the heli, and for many of those parts a single failure may easily fall into the category of you "WILL lose control at any given time". And when I'm behind the radio, this can easily happen even when the heli is working perfectly. (And thinking about all this now just stresses the reasons why we all fly in an appropriate place, make sure people are safely away and understand the situation, and the importance of inspecting the heli).

Good luck on your next flights. Sounds like you have much more experience than me, so it likely won't be long before you're well on your way with it.

[mikeonthebike]

Originally Posted by palmtree953

Congrats on your new SR! Yeah, the setup is always key, and it will definitely fly better after proper setup (and with parts that are working ). The content in the SR bible is very good for setup help, etc. The SR manual really doesn't go very much into proper setup. (Might want to double-check your pitch, etc).



Fortunately I haven't had this situation occur with mine, and I can understand the frustration, but realistically I think this is just one of many many parts on the heli, and for many of those parts a single failure may easily fall into the category of you "WILL lose control at any given time". And when I'm behind the radio, this can easily happen even when the heli is working perfectly. (And thinking about all this now just stresses the reasons why we all fly in an appropriate place, make sure people are safely away and understand the situation, and the importance of inspecting the heli).

Good luck on your next flights. Sounds like you have much more experience than me, so it likely won't be long before you're well on your way with it.

yeah I love all the content in the sr bible. AND I've been working Google hard lately on info and all the little mods for these things.

seems there is the tail motor issue. found a thread where a guy is addressing the tail motor burnout problem...... don't know if it's on this forum, but I don't think it was

there's a few issues with it. one is proper break in of the electric motor without load (no blade on it) was said that it should be ran 20 minutes no load with a few batteries hooked up to it to break it in. makes perfect sense.

then there's the next issue. BURN UP due to overheat and over work. there is a certain direction the blade should be turned. the pitch is different and bite different just by flipping the rotor. that being said there is this tail wobble issue. what happens is the blade is blowing TOOO hard and the motor fires up blows to hard and gyro scales it back or slows it down then revs it back up. all this leads to that rev rev rev rev rev tail wobble problem. flip the blade over. it's blowing less wind runs consistent. it revs up and down a little still but it way more stable

they guy on this forum discovered the blade direction change by his motor theory of burn out due to tooo much heat.

the motor is in dead air while in operation with no air moving across the motor or heat sink. it's just burning itself up so this guy flipped his motor mount to the opposite side, redrilled the set screw hole in the tail tube and reversed the polarity of the wires to make it blow the right direction again. this makes it to where the blades blow air over the motor keeping it cool.

and then this is when he made the discovery about the tail blade direction cause his was now spinning the opposite direction it used to since it was sitting opposite side now and rewired.

I havn't changed the the motor to the opposite side yet but i tested his theory by switching my tail blade around and throttle it up with the heli bobbing around on the floor and in my hand and now the motor doesn't throttle around as hard or make that nasty vibration BUZZ sound. I swapped it back and forth several times and it's a deff difference. havn't flown it yet because I am waiting for my new swashplate to show up. I'm going to do the motor flip over mod too before the next flight. I will post back up and let everybody know how it went.

now on to the last part of this. sory for the book but I am bored and wanted to get this out there for others to learn a little from my research .

I called up Horizon Hobby as another member said to do somewhere on here and got a VERY helpful and sympathetic tech on the other end of the phone and went through my list of problems with him and he's taking care of me very good. got a nice box of replacement parts on the way now. top notch customer relations/service

will post my progress soon!!

[Rookiepilot83]

Since this has been such a problem for the stock SR swash shouldn't this thread be Sticky? I have heard a couple people say "I wish I found this thread sooner" and unless its on the first page of the forum some people don't even know it exists. I think by now its apparent this thread should be Sticky, anyone second the notion?