Best Head setup for MCPX...need opinions

[Lessthanryan]

Looking for feed back on head setups for the MCPXv2. I have heard mixed reviews on some of the parts available and would like to hear about personal experience and opinions. Please let me know how the quality was/is, fit of item (ie tolerances etc...) and overall impressions.

I currently have a MH titanium main shaft and delrin black main gear ready to go on. I would like to add a CNC swash, hub, and grips. Deciding between Rakon and MH (don't think ther are any other real players). I have heard that the MH pieces tolerances are not great and that there is, at times, a fair amount of play on the linkages...etc...

Thank averyone in advance.

Also, got my first inverted action in yesterday and it was awesome!

[UKHeliBob]

Do you want it to look better or fly better ?

I have read bad reports about the delrin main gear, but have no personal experience. However, I have good personal experience of the MH swash which I fitted principally to prevent the swash balls breaking on the stock swash.

Congratulations on the inverted. It certainly feels good when you first do it and don't crash.

[Killgore Trout]

I only have MH pieces on my rotating assembly for my MCPX, so I can't really compare to RKH. I have not had any problems with manufacturing tolerances being off. My 2 cents on each item follows:

MH Swash - Best upgrade you can buy imho. The stock ball links break way to easily on crashes. I've never damaged my CnC swash despite hundreds of violent landings over about 4 months. I do find myself lubricating the swash bearings with white lithium quite frequently now, but I think that is more the result of my sandy/dusty flying environment (and since I don't have to replace the piece...ever). The MH "X" swash opens up the option to move the Anti Rotation (AR) bracket to the rear as well. I upgraded my standard MH swash to "X" and moved my AR bracket to the rear...wow, what a big difference on flips. It took me a bit to "unlearn" the corrective habits I picked up from the stock AR position, but I couldn't be happier.

MH Titanium MAIN shaft - great upgrade imho. It reduces the torsion on the main shaft and keeps everything well lined up. I've never bent mine or had any issues with it. After 3 months running an aluminum head/rotational setup, I have noticed some really minor wear on the shaft from metal on metal contact. I'm sure a carbon fiber shaft would have worn much more by this point. On that note, I'm still on the same shaft 3 months after swapping to the solid titanium shaft.

MH Titanium FEATHERING shaft - Complete trash! This thing will bend if someone farts in the next room. Stock shaft is the best solution imho...WTB a decent feathering shaft upgrade that won't bend!

MH Grips - Nice bling, but really unnecessary. The blade grips make the most striking visual difference, but functionality is near identical to stock. The aluminum grips pretty much mandate that you use Blue Loctite to make sure that the screws don't work loose mid flight. I had a scare with mine when I first got them and tried them w/o the loctite. My grips are now 4 months old and still perfectly true. They do have some scratches on them from inverted crashes though...the drawback of anodized metal.

MH Rotor Head (hub) - Bling + functionality. The rotor head looks nice, and the blade grips look weird without a matching rotor head imho. I cracked a stock rotor head prior to swapping to metal, and the metal head is still solid after 1.5 months. The linkage retaining system is a double edged sword. It is nice to have your links "protected" by the rotor head, but you'll need to devote some time to getting your set inserted for the first time. The fit between the retaining arms and the links is SLIM. You won't be able to get the larger link ring through the arms, and the small link ring BARELY fits with some coaxing. However, once you get them installed the new head retainer eliminates alot of the play that you would experience with a stock setup. The links don't move as much, and as such, don't break as much. Since I swapped to the MH head 1.5 months ago I've used the same set of links. This kind of blows my mind as I was breaking or losing 2-3 links per 30 minutes of flight prior to this upgrade. The head has virtually paid for itself in links.

Xtreme Black Delrin gear - Trash...The delrin is way too soft and slippery to be used as a main gear imho. After one crash the alignment notch won't even be visible. Even my MSR provides too much torque for the Xtreme delrin gear to hold. I had high hopes for the black gear, to match my black/red theme, but just ended up being really disappointed.

[Lessthanryan]

Awesome feed back! Thank you guys very much.

Any good upgrades for the main gear?

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by Lessthanryan

Any good upgrades for the main gear?

Nope! Stock is still the best option.

[Lessthanryan]

Ok good to know. I am assuming the small white stress marks are rather normal on the base flat side? Does not seem to effect performance at this point as they are very minor

[Lessthanryan]

If I go with the MH "X" swash, will I need a new frame if I move the AR to the rear? I am assuming so, just want to double check. If I do not plan on upgrading frames, is there any advantage to the "X" vs standard. I did read with the "X" it makes it a very tight squeeze for grommets on the rear ball linkage?

[Mounds]

the mh x stuff is the way to go. It allows proper movement with out unwanted twisting, however to will need to get the new x frame to get the benefits. If you just get the swash it will work with the stock frame but not give you the advantages of the x frame. I think the frame upgrade is worth it though, especially if you plan on doing some serious flying or upgrading to BL.

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by Lessthanryan

If I go with the MH "X" swash, will I need a new frame if I move the AR to the rear? I am assuming so, just want to double check. If I do not plan on upgrading frames, is there any advantage to the "X" vs standard. I did read with the "X" it makes it a very tight squeeze for grommets on the rear ball linkage?

Get one if these. They work great on a stock frame if you are planning on using a MH "X" swash.

http://astroid-designs.myshopify.com/products/product

[Killgore Trout]

There is no advantage to the "X" swashplate unless you move the AR guide to the back. You can do that by either buying the MH "X" frame, or by doing the modification yourself. Dylan from Astroid Designs offers a delrin AR bracket that you can add to a stock frame.

I had been waiting for my "X" frame for 2.5 months from Horizon, so I took matters into my own hands. A few weeks ago after a canopy pin broke for the millionth time. I cut off the AR bracket from the side and secured it to the back with some scrap plastic and CA glue. I then reinforced the whole thing with cotton thread + CA (if you are unfamiliar with the awesome reaction then please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate).

I replaced all my plastic canopy pins w/ 1.8mm carbon fiber at the same time.


I'll attach a pic from my phone in a minute.

[Killgore Trout]

AR guide moved to the rear with nothing but CA, some black thread and a knife!

[Lessthanryan]

Thanks for the awesome advice and imput. I will probably go with the X frame and BL at some point down the road, but for now I will probably do the astroid design mod and go with the X swash. Looks like a quality piece. I would like to keep the grommets on and I am afraid the tolerances on the rear servo ill be too tight? Any imput?...

[Killgore Trout]

Just screw the rear swashball in a bit tighter on the X swash if the clearance is too close.