After 50+ flights - my thoughts and tips that worked

[starpower4u]

Most of them came from reading this entire string thanks to all!! In addition I found a couple of of items of interest - as said before, right after taking it from the box and BEFORE your 1st flight (can be done before the 1st battery is charged!) do the hot melt on the forks and grommets on the swash, I then learned the hard way (should have paid more attention to the numerous posts about this weakness) about how easy it is to break the tail boom. I never got a full break off, but splits in the CF boom. CA glue did the trick each time but gets old soon. On my last (?) glue job I also did a wrap over the entire length of the boom with good quality Scotch Tape. don't do a spiral as there is little reinforcement, but instead run the tape the length of the boom and carefully wrap tight. It is hardly noticeable and still a bit nose heavy. Despite my best attempts, and boy have I unintentionally tried, I have not been able to break it again and the boom itself is much weaker than one that was not split 3 times 1st! If I ever break it I'll probably go to the solid extended boom. However, with this tape wrap out of the box it may never happen to the new pilot. I also found an easy way to set the CG - I put a couple of strong magnets on a 1.5mm allen wrench and then turned the blades to be at 90 degrees to the tail, set them straight and then just lifted the heli by the feathering shaft with the allen, it's just like balancing on a pin tip and works great. I found neutral CG with the RED dot of the battery directly under the main shaft (battery pulled out about 1/8").

[Besen]

Very clever to use the magnets to find the CG. Thanks for posting.

[aack73]

Why not use heat shrink tubing on tail boom instead of tape for reinforcement. Just a thought.

[starpower4u]

I think that could be even better, but the tape does not require the removal of the boom and soldering those tiny wires, probably not advised for a newbie. The tape is a quick fix right out of the box before the 1st flight. I would not tell someone to remove the boom before their 1st flight. However, if replacing a hollow boom the heat shrink would be the ideal.

[mejmea]

Originally Posted by aack73

Why not use heat shrink tubing on tail boom instead of tape for reinforcement. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by starpower4u

I think that could be even better, but the tape does not require the removal of the boom and soldering those tiny wires, probably not advised for a newbie. The tape is a quick fix right out of the box before the 1st flight. I would not tell someone to remove the boom before their 1st flight. However, if replacing a hollow boom the heat shrink would be the ideal.

I think there is a question of weight also. Heatshrink weighs more than CA or tape. I did an extended solid boom with the wires wrapped around the outside and used just a couple short pieces (roughly 3/8") of heatshrink spaced along the boom to make sure the wire stayed put rather than doing it along the whole length.

[ChaosShadow00x]

Nice post. I've done some of these, and something of my own.

I notice some people complain about the tail fin, and like many, i agree. However, I'm not the slickest pilot to hit the skys, and as such, find it much easier to land sideways in a bush/tree then right side up on the ground. This being said, i personally like having the fin on, especially for rough landings. High wind conditions (15mph+, frequently more) where i live make it nearly impossible for a smooth landing with out some great finesse.

I nearly bought a carbon fiber one, realizing its design was more aero dynamic, and also lighter, then i realized i could do it my self... After experimenting on an older broken one, i did this.



The holes make it far FAR less resistant to air moving across its side, while still providing some straight line stability. Yeah, you can still feel it, but its a fraction of what it was before.

All it took was some finger work with an xacto and bam, done. Just be careful since theres not alot of room to grip it and its easy to spring a leak if you slip.

I'd be curious for others to try this aswell and tell me what they think.

[mejmea]

Originally Posted by ChaosShadow00x

Nice post. I've done some of these, and something of my own.

I notice some people complain about the tail fin, and like many, i agree. However, I'm not the slickest pilot to hit the skys, and as such, find it much easier to land sideways in a bush/tree then right side up on the ground. This being said, i personally like having the fin on, especially for rough landings. High wind conditions (15mph+, frequently more) where i live make it nearly impossible for a smooth landing with out some great finesse.

I nearly bought a carbon fiber one, realizing its design was more aero dynamic, and also lighter, then i realized i could do it my self... After experimenting on an older broken one, i did this.



The holes make it far FAR less resistant to air moving across its side, while still providing some straight line stability. Yeah, you can still feel it, but its a fraction of what it was before.

All it took was some finger work with an xacto and bam, done. Just be careful since theres not alot of room to grip it and its easy to spring a leak if you slip.

I'd be curious for others to try this aswell and tell me what they think.

Awww, come on. Post the incriminating photo again!

Looks interesting, I may have to try this.

One other thing I've learned...... with the green canopy and tail fin it's really hard to see and find the mCPx in a tree that has green leaves. Don't ask me how I know, I'm just sayin'.... The red canopy might be a good choice in that regard if it's spring wherever anyone may be.

[ChaosShadow00x]

Originally Posted by mejmea

One other thing I've learned...... with the green canopy and tail fin it's really hard to see and find the mCPx in a tree that has green leaves. Don't ask me how I know, I'm just sayin'.... The red canopy might be a good choice in that regard if it's spring wherever anyone may be.

Rofl that happened to me. I found it by wiggling the sticks around so the servos made some noise.

[johnsma22]

Originally Posted by Finless

No I am not using that mod. Not sure it is needed as the remaining slop is now on the U bend where it goes into the servo arm.

Bob

Don't know where I read it, but I found the solution to the slop where the U bend in the linkage rod goes through the servo arm. Put a dab of CA right in the hole that the U bend goes through and let it set up. Gently move the U bend to break it loose from the CA. The cured CA essentially makes the hole tighter and removes the slop.

[ChaosShadow00x]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

Don't know where I read it, but I found the solution to the slop where the U bend in the linkage rod goes through the servo arm. Put a dab of CA right in the hole that the U bend goes through and let it set up. Gently move the U bend to break it loose from the CA. The cured CA essentially makes the hole tighter and removes the slop.

I'm considering that, but i dont have the balls to put CA next to a sensitive part that isnt replaceable at the present time.

Mines still pretty snug though, The remainder of my slop appears to be the little white bit the hook goes into wiggles. The brass nut is tight, and i highly doubt it matters, its so little.

Still, have you tried this yourself? If so, how did it work for ya?

[johnsma22]

Originally Posted by ChaosShadow00x

I'm considering that, but i dont have the balls to put CA next to a sensitive part that isnt replaceable at the present time.

Mines still pretty snug though, The remainder of my slop appears to be the little white bit the hook goes into wiggles. The brass nut is tight, and i highly doubt it matters, its so little.

Still, have you tried this yourself? If so, how did it work for ya?

Haven't tried it myself yet as I don't have any slop there as of now. One of the guys at my lhs did it and said it did in fact remove the slop in the linkage there.

[Beebad]

As for the tail fin blocking the tail rotor. For one, I like being able to see it and two there is a little bit of protection with it. So I just slid the fin forward of the rotor and glued it in place. Now you have the best of both worlds.

[heliflyer711]

Great Thread I think this summed up in 6 pages what took 700 pages over on that other forum lOlZ....Anyways, I never could figure out tailfins on heli's, although all mine still have them. If you can see the Canopy you are seeing the front of the heli, the tail rotor is guarenteed to be at the opposite end. Ahh but what about 360 degrees of seperation you say, well I guess when you get that good you already know where your tail will be. Kind of like chess...6 moves ahead . I thought Finless went with out the Horz Stab, but you gotta have the Vert Stab on the 450's and up I would think. Thats torque Tube/umbrella gear suicide

[Quit Killing Me]

I use white Teflon tape to eliminate the slop in the ball links. Just fold the tape in half and press the link on the ball, trim down a little for appearance... It also keeps the links from popping off as easy also.

[ola.c]

Originally Posted by Quit Killing Me

I use white Teflon tape to eliminate the slop in the ball links. Just fold the tape in half and press the link on the ball, trim down a little for appearance... It also keeps the links from popping off as easy also.

Thank you removed my slop in the ball links and with the rubber gromit mod it has almost completely stopped the vobbling/shaking that occured from time to time.

[newhelliguy]

I took a wire tie and trimmed the end to fit into the canopy grommet, then cut it to length where it reached across the frame and hot glued it to the frame just below where the pin broke and angled it to line up with the other side.

I fixed two in less than 5 minutes.

[ShiftyPowers]

hey man, interesting fix. do you have a pic of this setup?

[newhelliguy]

Here are some pics

Just trim the sides of the end of a wire tie until it fits through the canopy grommet.


Cut it and hot glue it to the front of the frame behind the 5in1 at an angle that lines up with the pin on the other side.

I fixed mine without removing the 5 in 1 but removing it would make it easier, and probably a neater job. I was looking for fast and easy.

I also included pics of the landing gear broken pin repair

just cut off the end of a small wire tie until it fits snug in the frame.

cut it a little long and bend a 90 deg angle and hot glue it to the landing gear as shown in the pics.
this gear has both pins replaced this way.

[CX2Pilot]

I have deleted my post and pictures.
This is due to running the motor wires through the tail motor mount
and flush against the flat spot only lets the boom into the mount 5mm. This is not far enough. It should go in 10mm.
I now run my motor wires completely outside the tail motor mount.


Tom

[trickybit]

Originally Posted by CX2Pilot

Finless, I have also changed over to a solid rod for my tail boom after breaking 5 booms learning flipping and inverted hovering/flying.
I just snapped my solid rod boom in half though in a hard crash so they can break as I found out.

I did this for the motor wires and I thought I would share it with people.
This way there is no need to unsolder the motor wires to get them
out of the tail motor mount and then solder them again.

Solid Carbon Fiber Rod. Cut U Shape in tail motor mount with sharp exacto knife.
This will also allow the tail fin to fully snap in and be help in place tight. Otherwise the motor wires will be in the way of the tail fin mount brackets.


Tom


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I'm not sure that cut's deep enough to keep the wires from getting crunched.

Can you move them around or are they quite pinched?

Nice idea.