ysacin
Heliman
Location: Ridgefield, NJ
| X400's newbie's first heli comments and questionsI just got my x400 assembled from rc-experts in Hong Kong. I am enjoying learning and working on it considering the complications that are to be expected. I have many questions? I'll move to another area if this is not appropriate. But hopefully others interested in the X400 might find my beginner observations interesting.
- The timing belt came loose in the front after 10 mins of attempting to hover because the nylon nut that holds the Drive Pulley came out. I only learned of that nylon nut's existence after the fact. I also lost the washer and Drive Pulley washer. (Page 10,Step 1, Parts 1,2 and 3) Anyway, I ordered those 3 parts and pre ordered the ARK CCPM X-400 Conversion kit from microhelico.com in UK. (more on that latter) I just wanted to know why this happened and how I can prevent it. I don't think I had the belt too tight or loose. Probably bad assembly?
Another problem: I was getting too much vibration because the stabilizer bar came installed 1 inch off center. After I centered it I think it got better. I hope they didn't do it in purpose for some technical reason beyond me. I wonder if there's anything else to watch out for before I fly again.
- What else can I tweak? After reading the limited info about post installation in the manual, all I should do is inspect the linkage by eyesight (which looks leveled everywhere) and balance the main rotors (done). I guess that I shouldn't have to adjust the length of linkage rods for tweaking. I don't find anything else tweakable. However, I constantly have to do a lot of trimming in the radio control. Sometimes 3 or 4 clicks. The rotor feels very loose compared to the real flight G3. It doesn't come back to exactly the same place by itself. One of the control linkages that hooks up to a servo (forgot which one) slides in the servo arm instead of staying in the middle. Should I try to bend the rod wire to fix this?
I think that I should have more power/lift. With the lithium battery it takes off the ground at close to full throttle. With the extra lipo battery, at about 3/4. I didn't change the settings in the radio yet. Is this normal for a new heli before tweaking the radio control? The servo arms move in range proportional to the sticks in the control.
The canopy touches and prevents the "Elevator level Swash rods" from moving freely. Should I cut the plastic in the canopy? That's going to be a big ugly hole.
Lubrication or dry? Does the heli need lubrication (grease or oil) in any of the external parts? I would rather leave it clean and not attract dirt with exposed lubrication. What should I do?
I got a free upgrade from a Futaba 6 channel radio to a Sanwa RD8000 8 channel radio. Was this a good thing? It feels like a toy. The battery compartment feels loose, but I hope that the electronics and range is as good as the Futaba. Is Sanwa a good brand?
Should I extend the antenna in the heli or can I leave it tied up?
In the RealFlight G3 simulator, which also has poor documentation but is also a great product, I flip a flight mode switch and the rotor speed remains constant so that I can go upside down. I guess that due to the collective pitch feature the air is pushed up when the throttle stick goes down. Anyway, can my heli do this in the current stock condition?
The new CCPM swatch plate I ordered has 3 arms instead of 4 arms. I guess that I'll be changing the SWH setting in the radio control. Do I have to change the throttle curve points in one of the modes to a constant setting at all points too? I want to flight upside down and do all the cool stuff I have been doing in the simulator for dozens of hours instead of working.
Wow, how did I come up with all of this. Ooops.
Anyway, thanks for your help.
-Yamil |
