w8qz
Veteran
Location: Walker, MI - USA
| My experience with my Blade CP (with the mixers added - pretty much the same as the 'Pro', I think) is:
a) I wouldn't try running the machine with the skids 'held down' "5 lb steel bar across the skids" as you are doing. The 'ground resonance' effect is hard to predict; usually, a heli will not act normally. The only way I know to check tracking is to hover the heli. If you are not able to do that, get an experienced pilot to help you. The stock wood main blades are pretty well matched (in my experience) from the factory. I'd match up all your head linkages for length, so that (with the motors disconnected) you have 0 deg. pitch at mid stick in idle-up mode, and go with that. Make sure your flybar paddles are aligned parallel with the flybar 'frame'. This should get you close enough for a test hover. Note also that because of b), you *cannot* get perfect tracking. Get the main blades to within about 1 blade thickness of track - as the beer commercial says, "It doesn't get any better than this!" 
b) There normally is some 'slop' in the stock CP head / blade grips. When I added shims to take out the slop, my CP did NOT work well, but had some nasty vibrations. This is inherent in the stock head. It apparently takes a much higher head speed to run a 'tight' rotor head (I'm guessing ?).
c) A common problem with the CP is a bent main shaft. They are made out of *butter-soft* steel  , and bend in a very minor crash. I check mine by removing the head, run the main motor very slowly. Look for any wobble of the end of the main shaft (a dial indicator is best here) and straighten the shaft by thumb pressure. It doesn't take all that much to bend the shaft, or to bend it straight. Ideally, get the end of the main shaft to .001" TIR or less for a smooth running machine.
Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. |
