I had advanced warning, so a lot of the main parts were already here for the build, such as the GURU Z bearing blocks and 12mm boom clamp. Even with that, some of the remaining bits taxed even my overractive imagination. Not Tiagos fault, as the previous 2 King iterations used up a considerable amount of loose hardware and such. That's why you will see some TREX blue mixed in with ESKY Gay Purple!
Anyway, off to the build. The process is relatively simple and straightforward and anyone with experience with the GURU Z, ESKY Carbon Fiber or Extreme frame kits should be right at home.
Tiago posted dims for the spacers the other day and I dug through some bins to find some 3/16 X 1/4" aluminum rivets, (5 X 7mm) sitting there screaming at me. A bit of work turned out a dozen spacers this way. From left to right are the stock rivet and shank, head flipped 180 degrees on shank to give access to the large head flange, (the shank has a sharp flare that bites into the head to prevent rotation and is usefull for the next part). The shank was stuck in a cordless drill and spun against a belt sander to remove all remains of the head, leaving me the correct length. Last is the shank removed and my nice new, light alloy spacer sitting free. Total work about 45 minutes.
Here the upper frame starts going together and the first problem solving occured. Tiago aims to install the TREX style swash, which in this frame would require the A/R bracket oriented to the front. This can be done by drilling and bolting the existing bracket from the side, but left me wondering about tilt under load. So, I opted to do like the original GURU frame build and mount it in the original position. This will entail mounting another King CNC swash or install the Belt CP swash kit. Only problem there is I have no idea of the large bearing number since they sell the kit without it. Can't seem to get the bearing separately, either, so if anyone knows the bearing number or where to get it separately, PM me please.
As you can see, Tiago helped immensely by enlarging the box opening for the two rear swash servos, something I had to fight with on the original frame, (to the point even the stickers had to be removed from the case sides to get them to fit). What you can't see directly is that the front servo nose had to be trimmed slightly to prevent binding against the mainshaft.
Now to the lower frame sections. I believe Tiago designed a lower battery hangar, but as I have an earlier version none was included. Not to worry, I simply took the hobby saw to my one remaining stock piece, worth about $6.00. I kept the barricade between the battery and radio compartments, same as FIBER KING.
Sides were bolted on using some of the remaining tiny screws from the GURU frame kit, so if you opt for only a partial GURU Z kit purchase remember to include those, (along with their man shaft bearings and alloy belt guide setup). The screws are lower profile than just about anything else outside a watch. Simple finger drilling where the holes are already in the side frames and Voila'. Personally, I think this is a far stronger and useful setup that the two flimsy X shaped plates supplied with the GURU frame kit and anyone who read the FIBER KING build report will recognize the idea.
Now to some more problem solving. As the bins were not restocked completely after CARBON KING, I had to make some of the more esoteric bits. The C/F rods from a 450 scale training kit just happened to fit the one remaining tubular knighthead tube from the EXI 450, so a touch of work had 4 nice ends to glue on the rods for a homemade knighthead set. Only one end on for now as I will cut the length once the boom is finished.
The second little bit is the spacer to go between the tail drive cog and lower bearing, (note the stock King plastic cog is installed on the shaft for spacing measurements only. A new 43T kit is on order, another where buying just the cog without the useless belt would be nice). A worn tip from a MIG welder just happened to have the right I.D. as the mainshaft diameter, so cut it in my small pipe cutter. The earlier attempt produced the fine spiral on the outside of the piece before I figured to use a spare mainshaft itself to prevent the deformation leading to the walk down the tube. That same mainshaft in my cordless drill allowed me to ensure the cut end was straight and contoured for the bearing, (Poor Man's lathe!
).
Beginning to look familiar now. Started assembling the two sections to see if anything had to be altered. Here is one of the first complaints regarding this frame and I'm sure Tiago will correct if if not already redesigned. The braces added to the lower frame to triangulate the motor mount are entirely too small at the end, not leaving much metal to enlarge the holes or back against the spacers. For some reason these holes are also smaller diameter than the rest in the frame. This took some care to prevent losing what little metal was left or bending/breaking the brace off entirely. I think even two narrow braces meeting at the top where the hole is located, even with a triangular cutout, would look nice and allow for more meat up there. Another installment with the cordless drill and hand file shortened a spare spacer from the ESKY C/F frame to fit up there and tie it together.
Here is a test fit of the drive assembly. As you can see I finally opted to try the TREX 450 main gear. This will require another small spacer between the cog and gear to allow for the height of the one-way inner sleeve. Used the last of those on CARBON KING, as well, so this will require the next round of mail order to show up to finish. This also produced my second little nitpick about the frame. Tiago added material below the motor mount to prevent a repeat of the breakage there on an earlier model, but the meat prevents me from running the main gear up as high as I'd like. Time to get out the file!
This is all subjective for now as the frame build is estimated to be only about half done. It will be necessary to pull some apart to clean up or fit the rest of the spacers before it ties tight together.
To get the 450 main gear to fit I have to modify the motor mount as well, which may require lopping off the front drivers seat as seen here on FIBER KING. Sounds like a job for this evening as we finally look to have good flying weather out there.
As with any new project, there are always bits not included that are needed to finish, such as the motor or rotor system. For now, even what I have seems a considerable improvement over anything else available for the King, worked out by Tiago to address most of the shortcomings he and others recognized in the design. No mean feat when working with a collective machine this small and one that is still evolving. So far, what I like is it encompasses most of the changes I've thought of myself and unitizes some of the bracing I've had to add after the fact to strengthen some weak areas. There are also slots in the lower side frames to allow for mounting the ESC on the side. That would be better for cooling than stuffing it between the skids, something I've had to do on all the previous Kings.
That's it for now. More work and flying to be done! Will have more pics and description soon and a final analysis when it's up and flying.
_________________
Gary
EXI 450: Hacker A20 - 6XL/13T, HS65HB, GY401/S9650, FP149
LAMA
FIBER KING: 3500 12T, Telebee, HXT900/HS65HB, 43T, B400 Gear&Shaft, 450SE Head/Tail/Skids, Shogun 288mm. FP146iP
CARBON KING: Darn near identical.
ALLOY KING: Same
TREX 600
Last edited by Cougar on Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:08 am; edited 2 times in total
