HK450GT full alloy build

[lainchy]

Hi Forum,

Being a relative noob, I thought I'd just post my experience of the HK450GT build.

I have built my 450L Dominator before, so didn't go into this totally blind, but I have to say the flybar'd head was a bit daunting at first look.

Anyway, my experience of the kit was that the head assembly was well done, out of the box. The screws and ball links were already thread locked with a white compound that seemed to come loose with a little bit of extra "pressure" on the driver. This was cleaned off and re-done with some fresh. The main blade grips and head had been assembled using the same but I did have to warm the bolts to remove them. They were SOLID! Thrust bearings had NO grease on them at all, (take note if you think all is well out of the box!) and comparing the build to the Align manual, the races were installed the wrong way. Greased and reassembled, they still felt a little lumpy, but hey, this was £29! Certainly nothing that concerned me. When I re-do them, I'll replace the thrust bearings with better quality ones.

The frame again was assembled, so I stripped and re-assembled that. First thread strip was on the motor mount! The alloy is VERY soft compared to the Align components. New one ordered. Main shaft bearings were already retained in their frames OK. The tail drive belt assembly.... both bearings were free and floaty in the alloy frames Is this normal? I decided to put a small amount of retainer on the bottom one.. right or wrong... I thought it made sense. The main gear seems really cheap and isn't exactly flat. I spent some time on this, but still couldn't get it to rotate freely when autoing. When I fit a motor and spin it up, I'll check it again. maybe a genuine Align part will be required here.

Tail boom was reasonably straight forward... the rear assembly went onto the boom with some encouragement, and the belt was a fiddle, but eventually, It was mounted in the boom mount and the belt on the drive.

Now, this is where the build deviated from the Align manual, with self tappers being mentioned into plastic parts, when I had alloy and machine screws. the bags didn't seem to tie into build stages, but there was enough to complete.

The tail rotor clamps were pants though, again, soft alloy, so the pre-fitted blade screws had to be replaced with longer ones from the bag of bits and thread locked nuts put on the end.

The canopy was a bit rubbish, but I expected that... after others complaining on the net. I'm not worried about this, because I plan to fit a Hughes or Bell 206 fuz anyway.

just waiting for the electronics to arrive then. Should be good to go at just under £100!

Just be aware if you're building that the alloy parts are S O F T. That's my only gripe.

Ta

[Solmanbandit]

Going from a dominator to a FB clone, I think you will be disappointed on how it flies.

[lainchy]

Mmmmm. I'm not expecting the same... but would have liked a semi-scale fuz for the Dominator... Sadly not available.

Looking forward to getting it airbourne though

[Solmanbandit]

If you are wanting scale, go with a torque tube. I did a belt drive and it sucked big time.

[lainchy]

Will see how it goes. It's all good building and learning experience I guess. I believe that it could be converted later down the line, so I'm not too worried... It's another Heli, different setup, more experience, for less than £100

I did wonder about a FBL conversion in the nearer future, but then, maybe an upsize to 500 class?? Who knows. Early days

What's important to me at the moment is that I have the bug. I'm pleased to say I've not gone down the purchase, OML!!, and sell again route.

All good practice