blade tail boom

[vygec]

I picked up a used blade400 recently, and only noticed today that the tail boom is bent, going to one side. should it be like this? do i need to replace this? or can i get away with for now.
first time i got it out today after doing a few hours on phoenix-hovering basics, well attempted anyhow!
i was too scared with lifting it , so i turned it around on the floor. but i also noticed that it wanted to go to the left constantly i.e. not tilted to the left but turning to the left on its axis. it was quite windy, so in the end i chickened out, and bought it back in again!

[Weebl]

Can you not give it a little tweak and try to straighten it without weakening it?

I have found before if my Heli wants to twirl on the ground, flicking into rate mode and then back to heading hold sorts it out.

[vygec]

sorry, im an idiot. what do you mean by rate mode/heading hold?

[Weebl]

On your DX6i you have a Gyro switch, this selects between rate mode and heading hold mode. If you have it in heading hold mode it should fly without you having to adjust any tail drift out (as long as it is set up correctly)

[vygec]

this is the flipswitch labelled FLAP/GYRO?

[Weebl]

Yes. I presume you know the Gyro is set up correctly?

You should be able to go in the menus and under 'Gyro' you should see 2 percentages.

I don't know the specifics of the blade setup but I think Rate Mode should be a figure under 50% and heading hold should be a figure over 50%. Switch up is generally Heading Hold and switch down is generally Rate mode. You can see which percentage relates to which switch position by flicking the switch while in the gyro menu and a little arrow will point to the one you are in.

[joe.lel]

If i remember correctly, the setting i had in my stock gyro or the blade was about 62.5%

I would also personally change the boom, as its probably rubbing the belt by the looks of that angle.


Joe

[Boggy]

change the tail boom mate! the 400 tail is delicate enough without risking that! judging by your picture its in heading hold already and trying to compensate for the nose turning left.(the yoke is hard over towards the boom,its trying to turn the nose right).

[vygec]

i presume the gyro is set correctly, as the guy i bought it from suggested it was ready to fly and ran with no problems.
in the gryo menu in dx6i it says:
RATE SW:GYRO
0: < 73.0%
1: 64.0%

any tutorials around how to change the tail boom?

[Boggy]

google blade 400 repair there are a few good sites around.

How to Repair and fix Your Blade 400 Helicopter

[dam74]

Vygec, do not attempt to straighten the boom you will break it. I've been done that path before. Once bent any attempt to straighten it will just fatigue at the bend and cause it to snap. The price of new booms is as cheap as chips. For under a £5 you get two of them in a pack.


EFLH1457 Blade 400 Tail Boom (2)

I'd also suggest you pick up a new feathering shaft and main shaft as they bend very easily on a Blade400. They're like made out of butter and you will need them based on my own experiences with the B400.
That is only the beginning by the way, you probably will need more parts and many of us on here can help you out with what you need.

As for the heli spinning constantly. First check what the gyro gain is set to in the DX6i menu settings. Some people run the gain at Mode0 70% and Mode1 74% so that they have two different HH settings for different weather conditions. You might find that the settings on the DX6i are set to something like Mode0 20-25% which will mean that the gyro is running in Rate Mode. One way also to tell if it's in rate mode is that the LED on the gyro will be off, it will be solid red if in Heading Hold (HH) mode which is what you want.

The other possibility is that due the boom strike that the previous owner has had is that the tail drive pulley drive is knackered and the tail rotor isn't acquiring the correct head speed to counter the rotation of the main rotor. I've had this before when I used to own a Blade400.

So you're best bet is either to start reading some manuals/guides, start asking some questions and perhaps get some closeup photos of the tail rotor side on so that we can assess if the tail shaft is bent and perhaps get an experienced friend/club member to help you out rebuild the heli.

Personally I wouldn't fly it until it's repaired, the swash has been verified as being levelled, blade pitch checked, CofG checked, and verified that it can hover with little input in an indoor environment. Otherwise you'll end up stacking it and get even more frustrated with it.

Shame you're in London, if you're near Crawley take a trip down to Sussex Helis in Forest Row. Dennis will get you sorted with parts and if you show him the heli he'll probably figure out what parts you will need.

[dam74]

The horizontal and vertical stabilisers aren't stock he's used carbon hop up ones on there as the stock are plastic. Dunno why as the carbons would of done FA to improve performance at a price increase of about £9 over the stocks.

[dam74]

Going by the photo the gyro looks like the LED is on solid and I assume you've gone past the initialisation process so it looks like it's in HH.

I'd say either the tail drive gear/pulley, tail rotor shaft/pulley or the belt is knackered or it might be just the fact that the belt is rubbing on the bent tail boom. It most likely is as it's not going to follow a straight path from the tail drive gear to the tail rotor shaft. This friction will cause the belt speed to drop so that the tail rotors won't achieve the speed required. You'll also cause the batteries to discharge at a quicker rate and if you over deplete the batteries pass the 80/20% rule then you could destroy a battery.



EFLH1455 Blade 400 Tail Drive Gear/Pulley Assembly
http://www.sussexhelicopters.co.uk/a...ulley__2_.html
http://www.sussexhelicopters.co.uk/a...rive_Belt.html

[Gate88]

I wouldnt try to fly it like that, if this bloke sold you a heli in that condition then there's probably more wrong it than just a bent boom.
Its obviously had a blade strike so I'd be surprised if that didnt bend the main shaft, feathering shaft or flybar and if he couldnt be bothered to change the boom he probably didnt bother about the rest of it.

I'd get someone to give it a once over before you try flying it.

[dam74]

I wouldnt try to fly it like that, if this bloke sold you a heli in that condition then there's probably more wrong it than just a bent boom.
Its obviously had a blade strike so I'd be surprised if that didnt bend the main shaft, feathering shaft or flybar and if he couldnt be bothered to change the boom he probably didnt bother about the rest of it.

I'd get someone to give it a once over before you try flying it.

So true, had a .30 sized heli sent to me RTF. Bent feathering shaft, tail boom, rusty engine (apparently the new owner managed to get it to start must of been that whole can of WD40 I used on it) and much more. He reckoned the feathering shaft which is I believe about 8mm thick steel was bent in transit

That encounter left me with a seriously sour taste in my mouth. After that I've bought new or bought components from people on this forum. I'd probably by a heli from somebody on here as long as they've got a lot of history on these forums.