** Align 600 CF Pitch Challenge...

[bahamamon2008]

Greetings,
I just recently bought two Align 600e helicopters. And I am having some baffling concerns setting up the first.

I took apart the head and all of the linkages and reassembled and measured based on the manual. Good!

I leveled my swash plate using a swash level and my centered all servo's at 90 degrees. I leveled the washout arms and the flybar.

After this I checked the pitch and got +1.5 at mid stick on one blade and +0.06 on the other. I leveled out both blades at +0. Then i checked my high end pitch...this was at +10.5 and my low end pitch was at -14.3.

At this point i am lost...i tried to adjust via the pitch curve option in the radio - i thought i did it - as I leveled out the bottom at - 2 and mid stick at + 4.5 and high at +9.

Took the heli outside and spooled up....it just vibrated bad and never took off! What am i doing wrong here?? Is it the radio setting or did i overlook a step?

[Gladius]

Check that there isn't any slop in your components. Check for bent components. Re-measure all your linkages. Is everything in the head genuine Align? They didn't sneak in a cheap Hobbyking replacement, did they?

[seanh]

did you look at your blade tips and see if they track straight/even?

are all your trims middle (zero)?

verify no mixes are in the tx

what did you use to make all the links the same length...link tool? I used the old century control rod gauge...no longer available. sucks cuz it was a set it and match..no fumbling with a micrometer.

what did you to to verify 90 washout...eyeball? I use a hex wrench, drill bit etc through the ball link hole....get both sides lined up.

what did you use to level the swash...solid tool? there are some that are like a washer with a level that for me didn't work for crap.

assuming all is good with the tx, I'd go back through the setup...pull the head off, start at the swash and work your way up.

[bahamamon2008]

Yes...the head is all Align. Before I did the set up...I wiped the settings for the new heli, so there shouldn't be any mixes.

I am using a century link measuring tool....so it has been pretty accurate in the past. Now I must admit, this i the first time for setting up an electric heli....

But i did go by the book with the measurements, and I also watched some videos on youtube.

Now I just noticed something......on a video that I was watching the guy said that if my negative pitch was greater than my positive pitch that means that my swash plate was too low and that i would need to adjust from the links to lift the swash...i tried this but I was feeling that the links were solid as it should....thus i made the additional adjustments via the pitch curve in the radio.

Was this the error?

But when i was finished i checked the pitch and it was were i needed....as I mentioned in my first note....but still just bad vibration....heli never left the ground.

Thus....again.....I am lost!

[seanh]

Assuming that the blades are well balanced and tightened correctly (too tight or too lose can cause issues) I'd say that somewhere you have something that isn't at 90 when pitch is 0...go back and start over with the setup (start with the servo's) and work your way up. I know it's a pain but it will go a long way to easing your frustration. You can try the "maybe it's this link" method but you'll end up spending more time with that unless you get lucky or happen to see something obvious.

with swash/head off.
1, verify that your radio is all zero'd, neutral...no sub trims, end points at 100%
2. center your servo's...may require readjusting endpoints.
3. get Ail/Elev bellcran's at 90.
(there may be a step missed here but you get the point)

4. set swash control arms as per factory instructions, put swash on, put links to swash.
5....important step- if you're going for zero pitch mid stick.-- set your stick in the middle, then measure from top of MS to swash....push stick up- measure, pull stick down- measure. If you did the first part correctly then you should be very close here. If not, you'll need to make the necessary adjustments in your radio.

6. level swash.. Between 5 and 6 you may need to adjust endpoints to make the two sides of the swash movement equal.

7. Now I put the washout block/head on with the link length based on spec.
8. I'll adjust endpoints so that I don't bottom out and don't smack the washout block...I'll leave about .020" gap on top and bottom.
9. I'll set mid stick and set washout arms to 90...I should be very close at this time...but not always. as mentioned earlier, work your way up. So if you're not at 90 on the washout arms you'll go back and adjust the swash arms until they are...you may have to adjust endpoints again.

once you have the washout base done and your swash moving the same distance top/bottom you've got the hardest part done. Now you just put the head on and get the mixing arms at 90 then set the blade pitch to zero.

This is just to get the major setup done. Once I'm at 90/0 all the way up, I'll pull the head and verify the swash is still level. Most of the time it is but occasionally I missed something along the way and the swash isn't perfect, so it's tweak sub as necessary and readjust links as necessary.

Getting a FB head setup correctly can be a huge pain but it's well worth the time and effort.

Hopefully some other will chime in here...it's been a while since I've had to do a complete setup and may have missed a step or got something out of order.

[bahamamon2008]

@ SeanH. Thank you for the information....I will adjust tomorrow after work and see what happens then. I will strip it back down and start from scratch again.

Will keep all posted.

Thanks again...

[FurryTrex]

Ditch the flybarred head. Go flybarless. Get a DFC. Way less hassle.

[MGPTWEGB]

If you have the CF .... 3 main block frame setup.... its a great bird..
I use the Tarot FBL main block with the Align DFC main grips... Makes a great FBL-head setup...

The Flybar head is a PITA.. .....getting all the links just right... turn buckles make the job MUCH easier..... but the cost of all those turn buckles in a FB head is high...

First get the servo arms at 90deg.. then adjust the two links to the bell cranks from the servo arms to get the arms drivers of the bell cranks 90 to the swash.... Remember these links can change the throw speed of the model..... by changing the ball location from center of the servo arm VS the ball location on the bell crank centers...
then adjust the links from the arm drivers to the swash to get the swash 90deg to the main shaft.
( make sure these links are adjusted so the mixing arm are 90degs to the main shaft and that the flybar is 90degs from the main shaft. ( flybar must be locked in so it doesn't move and 90deg off the main shaft. To equal the travel from -/+ pitch the links from the arm drives to the swash need to be adjusted to find center.... DONT USE THE LINKS IN THE HEAD FOR THIS.....
Adjust the links from the Bell crank arm drivers to the swash to rise or lower the swash.... You will have to readjust the link from the swash to the first mixing arm driver in the head.... the other link should still be ok....
this can be done after you have gone though the hole setup of the head... Then once again go back though your steps of setting the swash 90deg from the main shaft and then going to flybar cage and the main grip links..... Check again....

Its been a long time for me .... I hope this helps