The build has begun

[Kwickkwack]

Hi All
Well I got he new Raptor 30 out of the box today, and made a start on the final assembly, I am going to try to learn as much about the heli as I build it, and may well call for advice, but I wont rush into it, as I have the Baron30 up and running as well.
I have to say though, I am looking forward to getting it all finished and flying.
Happy Flying All

[Ade_Law]

couple of common mistakes:

make sure the pulley on the tail rotor shaft is assembled the right way round.
make sure the tail pitch control rod goes through the 2 holes in the frame not through the wire tidy clips.
epoxy the tail pitch control rod guides onto the boom. position the first one within 1mm of the joiner on full left tail pitch
"inner" blade goes UP through the rotor wash.
Control of tail blades goes to the front of the blades.
replace clunk line with normal fuel line.

ok thats more than a couple but this isnt the spanish inquisition :-)

Ade

[Kwickkwack]

Thanks for the info Ade,
I do have one Q.
I have a Futuba 401 Gyro, which I intend to place on the horizontal pad to the rear of the main shaft, is it better to centre on this or to get the gyro as close to the shaft as possible.
Thanks

[Raptorite]

The gyro will be just fine in the middle of that platform, which is actually designed for the gyro to sit on. One thing you may like to check before committing yourself by sticking the gyro down is the routing and length of the cables to the receiver and tail servo. You may find you need a couple of short extension leads, or else you can place the receiver in such a way on the radio tray that the leads from the gyro reach it as they are.

Just to add one or two more things to Ade's list of things to be careful of during the build, is to make sure you twist the tail belt in the boom the right way when you insert the boom into the frames. If you look at the boom from the front with the tail gearbox away from you, turn the belt anti-clockwise, this is a common mistake and is easy to get wrong so just take your time and you'll get it right.

Another one is to be careful when you attach the links to the balls, the words need to be on the outside on the normal links and on the two A arms which link the elevator seesaw to the swashplate have a number stamped on one side, this I believe needs to go to the outside, if you look at them closely you will see that one side has a larger hole than the other one, the largest hole needs to go facing the ball. Again take your time on this as these A arms arent as strong as they appear and are easily split if you get it the wrong way round.

Similarly the two outer casings of the thrust bearing that goes in the main blade grips also have one with a larger hole than the other one. They look like washers with a little groove right round the inside for the balls of the bearing to run in. Just be careful when you put it together that you get the side with the smallest hole on the inside closest to the rotorhead and the largest hole outside nearest the blade bolt. When you assemble the blade grips also make sure the thrust bearings are well packed with greese.

If you are going to use the hole marked 3d to attach the ball to the collective arm, it is also worth changing the pitch servo round, so the output shaft of the servo is closest to the front of the model, the instructions will have you install it the other way round, which is fine if you are using the beginners location for that ball, but for the 3d position the control rod is at a funny angle, whereas with the servo the other way round the control rod is almost perfectly straight making for a nice linear movement and therefore nice and easy to set the pitch up.

I think thats about it, just take your time and have fun building it.

Cheers,
Pete.

[Kwickkwack]

Thanks for the info. I will double check a couple things again.
Im only a beginner, so will stick to the settings for that for now.
Will be back if I ned any more help.
Cheers.

[Fixxxer]

Check here if you are unsure about things, helped me a lot during my first build http://www.raptortechnique.com/index.html

Above all take your time and double check everything.

Good luck.

[Janek]

The easiest way to tell the diffence on the thrust race "washers" holes, is to place each onto the feathering spindle(the shaft that goes between the main blade grips), and give them a "wiggle", one will wiggle a lot, the other will be pretty tight. Obviously the wiggley one is the one that should go towards the hub, the tight one should go towards the blade. Don't get the washers of the two thrust race "sets" mixed up !, but if you do, you now know how to identify, easily, each size.

On the V2 and Titan, make sure that the shim goes between the thrust race and the outer ball race (the one nearest the blade), it is there to ensure that the load from the trust race is transferred to the inner collar of the ball race. If you get this wrong, the thrust race effectively locks the inner and outer collar of the ball race togther, making it usless.

I disagree with Ade on the glue to use on the tail control rod, I always use thin cyno (superglue), for two reasons, it's instant, and it can be broken with a sharp tap with a screwdriver handle, but before you use either type of glue, make sure that they are positioned and lined up correctly first

An additional tip on the belt, and it's correct orientation. Before you put in the quarter turn twist, you must ensure the the belt is first totally untwisted. If you look down the boom, from the front, towards the gearbox, and angle it correctly, you can get daylight into the gearbox end , and actually see if the belt is twisted or not.

You will need some circlip pliers, to install the circlips on either side of the auto hub. If you haven't got any, they can be obtained from motorist suppliers. . . . . .a special tool, that you'll only ever use a couple of times on your heli's !!!!.

Putting together a Raptor, is pretty much a doddle, but learn how it goes together now, because it'll be useful in the future for maintenance and crash repairs

[Kwickkwack]

Thanks for all your help, I am an engineer by trade, so basic knowledge is there, but it is the "Litlle Gems" that always help
Cheers

[Ade_Law]

when i used CA they would always break loose, Then wouldnt reglue at the field because its got a coating of oil on it etc etc etc

not had an issue. since and they are cheap so not a massive problem replacing them after a crash.

Another tip is use the Knight tail pushrod guides, they clamp on, no glue needed!

Ade

[Thomas]

Those circlips are bastards

[Janek]

Not if you've got the correct tool, and provided you get it put together correct first time round ;-), even with the right tool, they are bastards to get off !

[Thomas]

I had circlip pliers, not sure how you'd ever do it with out them - I'd have a go, then go and build a dirrerent bit, then have another go and carry on till I had to put the little buggers on.