Lama v3 acting weird!! HELP!!!

[rnbiker]

I have an Esky Lama v3. I've upgraded to the all metal head, swashplate and blade grip assembly, put on the extreme skids and extreme boom and canopy sets. I had trouble getting the trims exactly right before the upgrades and after a pretty good crash (antenna got wrapped in the blades-stupid newbie me!). Anyway, now when I try to fly it's like a loose cannon. The responses are really extreme and it is so bad that I can't just get it to stay in a hover. It is almost as though any input I give the servos is making a HUGE adjustment in the swashplate and it flies so crazy I can barely even control it! I have tried adjusting the gain on the 4-in-1, and I've tried to adjust the bell links to get the swashplate as level as possible (at least to my eye). I had originally put extreme blades on the thing, but thinking it may be a little top heavy with those, changed back to the original blades with no remarkable improvement. This thing is just twitchy as heck! Is it possible that I don't have something in proper adjustment? If so, where do I begin? I originally went to the all metal stuff because I was breaking the bell link connector between the upper blade grips and the stabilizer bar, but now I'm wondering if that was such a great idea. I've read reviews on this metal upgrade and people seem to love it and have no problems, so I figure it has to be something I'm doing wrong. Can ANYONE PLEASE HELP!!! Yes, I'm a newbie to the hobby/sport, so please be gentle

[JasonJ]

You need to make sure you lengthen the links when you put the metal swash on so it will be level. First center your trims, turn on the tx and power up the helicopter, let the servos center, then turn everything off. Disconnect the swash links and turn the eyes to extend the links until the swash is level. A lot of people have had problems with the metal blade holders, but I don't think it is the blade holders as much as it is the set-up. You also have to make sure the flybar and the upper rotor are level with each-other and the flybar is very free to move. Any binding or mis-adjustment in the flybar will cause the helicopter to not respond well because the upper rotor will fight the lower rotor, and you end up with Toilet Bowl Effect. Again, when you switch stock with cnc, the link on the flybar has to be adjusted. Those parts are not plug and play, you have to adjust your setup. Stick with the Xtreme blades, they are much better than the stock blades. also, with the cnc bits, the helicopter will be more responsive, and you'll have to get used to that. It makes it more fun to fly and more durable.

[rnbiker]

Thanks for the reply. I did notice that the flybar doesn't move as freely with this rig. It is very hard to get these blade grips to hold and not be free moving (the little screws tend to back out!) I was going to try some thread locker. Also, the bits that the bell links connect to on the blade grips are hard to keep level. I suspected that this might be the problem. I also noticed that my blades don't swivel as freely in the grips. All good things to look at. I'm also wondering, after reading several posts, if my outer shaft isn't slightly bent. I'm just dying to get this thing flying right! Thanks again. BTW, is there any way to test whether or not my 4-in-1 is working correctly? I suspected I damaged it in the one bad crash I had because the helicopter never seemed to trim correctly after that, but I keep getting a green LED. Thanks again.