shizack
Key Veteran
Location: Augusta, GA USA
| The first step is setting pitch range. I'll assume you have a pitch
gauge and know how to use it. The swashplate should also be level at
this point.
Something to check: Lay a ruler or straightedge against the top of each blade to check for "bowing" - very common in stock wood blades. Bowing can lead to decreased lift and increased difficulty tracking the blades. For best results, use the straightest blades possible.
-Disconnect motor from ESC
-TX on; connect heli battery
-Set both pitch knobs to center; switch to idle up
-Move the throttle to center, measure pitch of each blade; should be
0º
--Shorten the long pitch links to reduce pitch; lengthen to increase
until both blades are right at 0º
-Throttle to low, measure pitch; throttle to high, measure pitch
--Should be even throw - around -8½ - -9º to +8½ - +9º
--If the range is too high (e.g. -7º - +11º) the swashplate needs to
be lowered; too low (e.g. -12º - +6º) the swash needs to be raised
--Shorten or lengthen the servo-to-swash links EVENLY (same number of turns on each link) and repeat the
whole process starting from 0º at center stick (yes, this can get REAL
tedious, but a good setup from the start pays huge dividends in the
way the heli flies)
Now's a good time to set your flybar paddles. Put throttle to center, idle up, blades at 0º, and loosening grub screws as necessary, get the flybar control arms aligned so that if they were one piece, they'd make a level square around the hub. Twist the paddles so that they are level with the flybar, flybar control arms, and blades at 0º.
(Another thing - after setting range and pitch, with motor still unplugged, swash level - move the throttle stick slooowwwlly all the way up and down several times. Check that the swash stays perfectly level all through the range. Variations in swash levelness could indicate binding or bad servos. This is how I tracked down a mysterious drifting problem I had with the King. One servo wasn't moving at exactly the same rate as the others, and the swash was tilting at certain points in the range.)
You may end up going through 2 or more packs getting it all zeroed in.
You should end up with about -9º - +9º with 0º at center stick in idle
up. Now we can get to tracking.
-Designate one blade as "master". I use the one with the tracking
marks - easy to remember. Mark the blade grip too in case you need to
remove and reinstall the blades later
-Get the master as close to absolute 0º as you can in center-stick,
idle up using the long pitch links. You should be done with swash
raising/lowering.
-Unplug heli; switch idle up back to normal; turn off tx
-Reconnect motor
-Make sure the tx is in normal mode, throttle low, knobs centered
-Turn on tx; plug in heli
-Secure the heli or hold it in your hand if you like to live
dangerously (not recommended, but whattya gonna do?)
-Spin it up to about 60% - about where it wants to lift off
-Adjust the other blade to the master until they rotate on the same
plane
-You're finally done
Using the "master blade" approach ensures you don't screw up the
pitch range after a few tracking adjustments. When tracking starts to
go out, the procedure is:
-Adjust master blade to 0º at center stick, idle up, motor
disconnected
-Track the other blade to the master at 60% throttle in normal mode
It's a "royal" pain, but worth it when you see the heli just hanging
there, majestically awaiting your command to crash.
Then you can do it all over again.
The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. |
