aaronredbaron
Senior Heliman
Location: West Linn, OR, USA
| UPGRADE TO THE METAL GRIPS FOR YOUR SAFETYYou guys are nuts! Have you ever seen a plastic grip let go? I have, and let me tell you, I would not go anywhere near those machines until you have metal grips on them. It is violent and immediate, the heli will do one of two things, it will ball up and hit the ground, or explode and shed parts over a wide area. I have been 50 feet away from a heli that let go, and I was nearly stabbed by a piece of blade that pierced itself into the fence right next to me. I have seen them do both. Once you have seen it with your own eyes you have a whole other level of appreciation for how dangerous these machines can be.
On my 600N, with a Hyper 50, +/-14 degrees and 2200 head speed, it didn't take but two dozen flights before the grips were so loose they would let the blades flap up and down so much the blades would go out of track with cyclic inputs. I replaced mine with metal when they got that bad. But, if I had it to do over again I would do it from the start, because I later saw a friend's fail that wasn't as far gone as mine were. It will let go when you build up some speed and throw in a snappy cyclic maneuver, like a hard recovery out of a tail slide or something. If the bearings, gears, belt, clutch, etc etc fail its never good, but its not as bad as a grip failing. For your safety as well as everyone around you, please put the metal grips on.
flippin and dippin, flying tail to the ground, I fly my heli's like a rabid greyhound!!! |
