To set up your helicopter correctly the swashplate requires adjusting so that it is perfectly square to the main shaft.
To do this we will have to remove the entire head of the helicopter so go get an axe and we'll get started (c:
Axe ready ? off we go....
Careful with that axe Eugene.......(Darn I haven't heard that for ages...........)
Right pop pickers lets get on. Ummagumma ( a few will understand (c: )
OK Step one remove the blades.
When you take the blades off remember to mark the blade holder and then put the securing nut and bolt back into the blade holder for safekeeping.
The pitch of the helicopter should be more or less set when the head was built, so lets get the swashplate level without too drastic a change.
To remove the head you will have to remove the links from the ball joints on the swashplate.
A little tip here just to be on the safe side mark the swash and the links BEFORE you take them off.
A good pair of ball link pliers or strong fingers will help.
Next step is to remove the Jesus nut. So called because in real helicopters that's all that stops you from meeting your maker (c:
I suppose in RC helicopters it should be called the "run away quickly avoiding bits of helicopter while hoping it's not going to be too expensive nut"
erm maybe not...
anyhoo (Astronomy Domine oh man this takes me back).
As you work around your helicopter keep an eye out for any loose parts, if you're not sure if it should be loose or tight have a quick peek around and see if there is two of them. If they are both slack then maybe they should be, If one is tight then the possibility is that they are both supposed to be, as nuts tend to slacken rather than tighten, but that's old age for you
If in doubt stick a post on the forum, asking is cheaper than buying spares.
I spotted this loose fixing on the washout arm.
Once you have the Jesus nut out and the links off the ball joints you can lift off the entire head and put it somewhere safe. Don't lose your head....(Jefferson Airplane white rabbit! )
Stick the nut and bolt back in so you don't lose it. (Frankenstien's monster's girlfriend once said that)
On a side note the head from a Honey Bee King 2 is identical to the Belt CP but with all plastic ball joints handy for spares if you have both birds.
OK next we will need to disconnect the motor, make a mental note the three wires should be red to red, blue to blue and black to black (back to black sheesh gimme two secs to change tracks another long time no hear song)
With the main blades off and the motor disconnected the heli is totally safe to work on. (He says moving the heli and getting the tail in his eye!)
Ok (wince) remember to switch on the transmitter first BEFORE connecting the battery to the helicopter.
Extend the aerial fully and put it somewhere it won't be altered by accident (or by your five year old son who thinks it's the USB one for his "drive the car and crash the helicopter game" ) while you are working on the helicopter, connect up the battery and let the helicopter settle and the gyro initiate (solid red light).
I said extend the aerial fully! if you don't you may get interference or servo twitching which won't help you any.
Also it's good practice. Never operate an RC helicopter with a partially extended aerial, apart from reducing the operating range you severely limit the signal strength and well, no one likes to see a grown man crying as he picks up his helicopter and takes it home in a plastic bag, or in more severe cases, his pockets.
I use an old 1350mAh battery for setting up, but you're going to have to use your freshly charged one and then re charge it afterwards.
Don't worry you can recharge it later.
Actually it is better to partially use a battery before storing it for extended periods than to store a fully charged battery.
NEVER run a LI-POLY battery completely dead or that is what it will be....DEAD. If you notice a drop in power while flying (normally after 10 mins depending on mAh rating) Land and disconnect the battery as that signals the end of your flight, don't try to squeeze "just a few more minutes" out of it.
More on batteries later.
ok chaps we're going in!
Take off the elastic band holding the devils.. I mean the idle up switch and switch it to the 3D position ie. towards you.
Doing this still makes me nervous
even with the motor disconnected. (you only move this switch by mistake once, trust me)
This puts your helicopter in 3D mode, as I mentioned before this locks the motor at about 80% throttle while giving the full range of pitch.
This pitch range is normally -9, 0 and +9 degrees.
with -9 degrees at minimum pitch position (left stick right down)
0 at middle position (left stick middle)
and +9 degrees at full pitch (left stick full up)
This is the starting point to get your swashplate level because the pitch range in normal mode will vary from helicopter to helicopter and how pilots like to set them up.
With the throttle at 50% and in idle up mode put the transmitter out of the way
You could use older batteries for this to save your new ones for flying..
We need to check the position of the servo arms on the servos.
We need them to be as close as possible to 90 degrees, so that the travel range is equal in both directions. With the stock transmitter this is quite hard as there is no means of minor adjustment, with a programmable transmitter use the sub trims to get the servo arms exactly 90 degrees to the servo.
Once all the servo arms are at 90 degrees we can have a look at the swashplate, in a perfect world it should be absolutely level, but in a perfect world I wouldn't have just banged my head on a beam while trying to get a beer out of the fridge!
Once the servo arms are set we need to check the linkages to see if they are parallel with each other. Work from the servo arms up to the swashplate. what we are trying to do here, is make sure that when a servo or pair of servos move, that they move equally. This means that the swashplate moves evenly and gives an even range of pitch.
Where there are pairs of linkages make sure they are equal in length, a set of vernier callipers really pay for themselves here.
There is a great post on this part of the setup in the sticky collection here
http://www.heliguy.com/Forum/viewtopic,p,146389.html#146389
ok lets have a look at it will we (as the Doctor said to the actor)
<puts on garage fitter voice after MOT>
<sucks air in through closed teeth>
"It's going to take a while mate have a seat in the waiting room"
Not bad at all, but to check it out more accurately than with my old MKI eyeballs, there is a cheap and reliable method of achieving this (cheers Richard!)
By using a bulldog clip and a bit of heavy solder or thin strip of metal.... (this works a treat).
After hunting high and low through the entire house for a bulldog clip small enough to fit the main shaft I couldn't find one.
Well that's that.... erm I'm sure if you look on the net you will find something to help you.........Right erm ooh! I have a cunning plan!
Richard you're going to love this (c:
OK so no bulldog clip )c: BUT I do have some heavy plumbers solder. (thats thick solder not thick plumbers, erm nevermind the picture tells you what I mean)
Simply wind the solder around the shaft, do it nice and tight, (oooh er missus ) then bend over the last bit at the top so that it won't slide down the shaft.
Hey presto a swashplate leveller!
OK to use it bend the long end so that it just about touches the top of the ball link connector on the swashplate.
Don't have it touching it as it may be resting on it and then drop when you move it.
So get it just near the front ball connection. Then swivel it around to the right hand side one. Then on to the left.
As you can see from the three shots above that the gap is bigger on the left, this means the swashplate is leaning to the left.
Unclip the connector rod and turn the end anti clockwise a full turn, this will lengthen the rod thus lifting that side of the swashplate, re clip it and check with your expensive new gauge.
TIP: only alter one rod out of the rear two until they are the same or you may shorten or lengthen them to a point where the range of pitch is severely altered.
Ooops! gone a bit too far the wrong way here, as you can see the gap is now nowhere near on the right.
Looking good now the gap is equal on all three. (ok so they look slightly out but hey you try squeezing an Olympus C-765 into there (c; )
Once you have the swashplate levelled you can check the lengths of the control linkages before you pop the head back on, they should both be the same length (for now
).
Line up the hole in the shaft with the hole in the head and drop it back into place. you won't need to replace the Jesus nut................NOT!!!...
DO NOT FORGET TO PUT THE JESUS NUT AND BOLT BACK!
If you have some thread lock (blue loctite) etc pop a bit on the thread where the nut is before tightening it up.
So there you are, you're now an RC mechanic city & guides level 0.1 (c:
oh and you better have PUT THE JESUS NUT AND BOLT BACK!
A little tip here for your radio, is to put a split ring through the plastic loop on the front then tie a neck strap to that, stops unwanted droppage.
Next time I'll show you what one of these is for and how to use it.
In the mean time order yourself a pitch gauge and you can put your battery back on charge, but keep an eye on it.
oh btw this is where the magic smoke used to live )c:
Next time on Belt CP for beginners setting you blade tracking and stuff.
See you soon.
Gary.
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