Swash Plate Conversion

[damyxz]

We all know that the E-smart swash plate develop a lot of slop in a very short time. There are other swash plates out there but most good quality swash plates uses a 10mm bore. Some of us E-smart flyers have used a trex 500 swash, but then again, align made swash plates have a bad reputation of developing slop after several flights. Also 500 size swash plates will not hold up in this application due to the size of the bearing used. Today I have successfully converted a 10mm swash plate(outrage 550) to be used on an 8mm shaft using an inexpensive readily available part of the E-smart.

What you need:

1. An aftermarket swashplate(swift 620, outrage 550, velocity50, logo500)
2. Esky main gear cover set part # EK5-0356

Tools needed:

1. hacksaw
2. dremel tool with cutting wheel and polishing wheel
3. cordless drill
4. JB weld

Measure the width of the swash ball by turning it sideways and use a caliper for measurement.(I used an outrage 550 swash = 8mm width. Then take the cover set and remove the C-clip and the rest of the hardware included. leaving you with a sleeve with a 10mm OD and 8mm ID. Cut the sleeve from the side with the C-clip to the measurement you got using a hack saw. Place the sleeve in the jaws of a drill with the cut end out. Use a dremel to grind the end even, while spinning the sleeve with the drill. Continue with the polishing wheel(rubber) polish the edge. Use a cloth polishing drum (need to fit inside the sleeve) with the included red polishing compound to smooth out the inside of the sleeve. Wipe the inside of the sleeve clean with a paper towel and test the sleeve on the E-smart's main shaft for smooth movement. Continue polishing the inside of the sleeve until you achieve a smooth, buttery movement. Rough up the outside of the sleeve with a 80 grit sandpaper. Rough up the inside of the ball bushing of the swash plate with a 150 grit sand paper. clean the sleeve and the inside of the swash ball with a degreaser(a swab with denatured alcohol is best). mix up a small batch of JB weld and apply it outside the sleeve and apply a small amount inside the swash ball, Slide the sleeve in the swash ball and make sure you clean up the excess JB weld after you have pushed the sleeve even with the swash ball.
use a cotton swab wet with denatured alcohol to clean up around the swash ball. Let dry for 24 hrs. Replace the old swash with the converted one, enjoy. I will post pics later.

[damyxz]

I just finished testing the new swash plate conversion. I can say is that the outrage swash plate actually sped up the cyclic response. I can compare this now to an outrage 550 on intermediate settings. I used a 340mm flybar and a set of KBD yellow paddles. The heli now tracks better and is more nimble. The slop on the rotor head was gone. I think I might decrease my cyclic travel a little bit. Overall there is a significant improvement with performance using an aftermarket swash plate.

[damyxz]

OK finally I got some time today to take pics of the swash mod as described earlier. I have been testing this mod for a while now and I have not have problems yet. The shim stayed put. As said before the cyclic response is faster than stock and if you are not used to this type of response, I suggest putting about 30-45% expo on the aileron and elevator control.