Blade 400 advice (rebuild)

[Scautura]

I had a bout of overconfidence a couple of weeks ago, and managed to ditch my favourite "toy" into a metal wheelbarrow (wind, overconfidence, newbieness and no training gear - bad combination apparently). Now I'm in the process of rebuilding, but could do with a little advice.

I placed an order with Elite Models for the parts I needed... A week and a half later (an entirely different story), the parts arrived, only they're JP Twister 3D Storm parts, not the Blade 400 parts I ordered. I can see they're mostly the same (and the parts I've already changed, the flybar seesaw and flybar, work fine), but now I've come to change the main shaft and the size is all wrong - it's too big and won't slide through the bearing on the top of the frame. I was wondering if anybody else had experience with using these parts with a Blade 400? As a beginner, now that one part is very wrong, I'm worried the other parts are going to cause more issues than I'm ready to deal with at the moment.

This is the list of parts I ordered: Blades (identical), feathering shaft/spindle (errrr, nuts on the end?), flybar (identical), flybar seesaw (near as identical - I can't tell the difference), main shaft (see above), DS75 servo (they shipped a JP S7.5 Super Micro Server - specs on the back are different, but they say it's the same bar the non-transparent case), gears for DS75 (I wanted spares - again, I can't tell), hardware package (I can't tell the difference, but I haven't taken it apart).

Part of me regrets picking up the Blade 400 instead of building a T-Rex 450, but Slough RC talked me out of it. Are there any suggestions people would make for a (relatively) local place with better service, or an online retailer with better service and comparable prices?

Ta muchly...

Edit: After giving Elite Models a call, I've tested the other shaft that came, and that fits fine. They're going to replace the oversized shaft.

[Grant85]

Alright,

I have owned a Blade 400 before and I have used the Twister storm main shafts as all the parts are identical and fit exactly,I think your worrying about nothing here really,don't panic they all fit fine.

I bet it's the top bearing thats knackered as this is what happened to me,If the shaft doesn't slide down then I bet the Blade one that you will receive won't either.In a crash if you bend the main shaft chances are the bearings will be bent so they will no longer be circular in shaped but infact egged! I have a lot of Blade 400 spare parts for sale all brand new in packs unopened and half the price of the parts in the shops! P.m me if your interested.

Cheers Grant.

[Scautura]

Since the original post, I gave Elite Models a call - the guy on the other end suggested I try the other shaft (why didn't I think of that?) and it fitted the bearing fine. I guess the oversized one is just an anomaly, and they're going to replace it.

I did pop out the top bearing and try passing the shaft through the one further down (above the main gears) and still had no luck, which is when alarm bells rang. Now that the other one fits fine, I've managed to rebuild everything so far just fine. Just a feathering shaft, blades, and servo (going to try swapping gears first, before replacing the whole servo).

Now I'm just wondering how to get the nuts on the end of the feathering shaft - I think I have a hex driver that will fit, but I may have to go hunting!

Thanks for the offer Grant.

[spunkmyer]

Since the original post, I gave Elite Models a call - the guy on the other end suggested I try the other shaft (why didn't I think of that?) and it fitted the bearing fine. I guess the oversized one is just an anomaly, and they're going to replace it.

I did pop out the top bearing and try passing the shaft through the one further down (above the main gears) and still had no luck, which is when alarm bells rang. Now that the other one fits fine, I've managed to rebuild everything so far just fine. Just a feathering shaft, blades, and servo (going to try swapping gears first, before replacing the whole servo).

Now I'm just wondering how to get the nuts on the end of the feathering shaft - I think I have a hex driver that will fit, but I may have to go hunting!

Thanks for the offer Grant.

The feathering shaft bolts are very tight and you will need two hex drivers/allen keys to undo one of the bolts. Once you have the bent shaft out use a pair of pliers to grip the shaft when removing the other bolt but only on the bent shaft.

Refit both bolts with locking compound once the shaft has been refitted but be careful not to get compound on the bearings. Then use both hex drivers/allen keys to tighten the bolts.

Check out this site for details on how to do this and also keeping the bearings, washers, dampers etc in the correct order:

http://www.repairblade400.com/

[Scautura]

I think I meant "nuts" rather than "bolts" - the Eflite original uses bolts, but the Twister version I have uses nuts, hence my issue. A spanner won't turn more than a couple of degrees between the edges of the blade grips. Granted, I can use a spanner in one end to hold it and use a screwdriver with a hex driver end (is that the right term?) to tighten the other end, but I'm not sure I have one that will fit down the blade grip. Guess there's only one way to find out!

I found that site very useful for taking everything apart in the first place, it's good to know there are people out there willing to show us newbies how to do things.

One thing I found strange when I originally took the spindle apart was that it had a two shims on one side, and five on the other, and one side was missing the step washer. I put it back together and it seemed OK (prior to this most recent crash) and flew fine for a long time. Now I have the extra hardware, I'm going to make sure it goes together properly.

[Grant85]

Here is a picture of the Blade 400 main rotor head and the order the washers,bearings etc go in,Right click on the picture and you can save it to your computer and it will come in very handy for you


Cheers Grant.

[Mart61]

That's a handy little pic. Grant!

[DanTheDane]

The easiest way to not mess up alle the small parts of the feathering shaft is to use a loose flybare without paddles. Carefully remove one of the screws in the feathering shaft. Insert the flybar and tighten it lightly (it fits in the hole). Then it's easy to take out the parts and not mess up with the order. Check out this video for how it's done: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWKTWMea1Y8]YouTube - HeliMix Feathering Shaft Repair 1 of 3.mpg[/ame]

Really helped me a lot.

[Heli-Bren]

use the eflight feathering shaft with the allen bolts, its obviously easier to tighten up than the jp nutted version, why it was made this way is beyond me because thats whats holding your blade grips on !

i ran about 6 shim washers between each blade grip and head block (12 total)

ditch the stock servos and invest in some quality ones makes all the difference to this heli

[Scautura]

use the eflight feathering shaft with the allen bolts, its obviously easier to tighten up than the jp nutted version, why it was made this way is beyond me because thats whats holding your blade grips on !

That's currently not an option, but if (when!) I need to replace it again, I'm going to insist on the official spindle. I currently need to find a socket wrench (what's the English term? I'm not American, but I'm so Americanized in ways!) to get it mounted, and I don't want to wait X days (where X is a value above 0) to replace it.

ditch the stock servos and invest in some quality ones makes all the difference to this heli

Once I can fly it a bit better, that's what I'll be doing. I don't see the point in wasting money on something I'm not going to notice, but I have got long term plans as far as this hobby is concerned.

[Heli-Bren]

It'll be very hard to find a tool small enough to fit the feathering shaft bolts and clear the inside of the blade grip any damage internally will result in a weak point, and you dont want the grip tearing off in flight ! i've seen this happen to a 600N not nice !

most decent heli shops will have the spares to you (next day)

the stock servo gears strip easier than a cheap thai hooker so beware !

ive owned 3 of these helis and when you get a better pilot you WILL end up changing the servos/gyro/tail servo

hope this helps

[spunkmyer]

Once I can fly it a bit better, that's what I'll be doing. I don't see the point in wasting money on something I'm not going to notice, but I have got long term plans as far as this hobby is concerned.

I thought that way when I brought my blade last year. After my third crash and tired of replacing plastic servo gears I invested in a good set of metal gear Hitecs and wished I done this when I brought the Blade.

The heli flew a lot more stable due to the better servo responce being that they where digital like the stock ones but are faster and more accurate at small movements

[bolders]

I disagree with the comments about replacing stock servos so thought I would post my take on it.

For a beginner the blade 400 can be a great heli but you need to recognise what it is. Dont get caught in the upgrade path too much as you miss the whole point of what it is - A (comparatively) cheap heli that is adequate for learning to fly and cheap to repair.

Im running stock servos on cyclic, and yes they have stripped in a crash, but they do work fine and have never stripped in flight. The gearsets are cheap and fairly easy to replace and all in all they suit this heli quite well - cheap and adequate (but not brilliant)).

If you are going to replace the cyclics with hs65 for instance (a common choice) that is going to add another £50 to the price.

If you are going to spend any money on it get a different gyro and tail servo. The benefits they will provide is far greater than new cyclic servos. As a learner you really dont want to have to worry about what the tail is doing. I put a second hand GY401 (£45) and a hitec 5084 (£25) servo on mine and it was much better for me as a learner.

However not long ago I brought a trex 450 V1-V2 hybrid from this forum for £140, which included hs65s, GY401 and a DS520 tail servo and maniac CF blades. It is a lot easier to work on due to the open frames, it flies more accurately and is more stable in a hover. Can you see where im going with this

Dont get me wrong I love my blade and I think those who just dismissively say its rubbish are not being fair. It got me through my first crash and is now flying better than ever.
It flies slightly softer than my trex and has slower cylic which I think is a good thing when learning.
I can do all the same things on my blade as I can on my trex and tend to attempt new things on it before risking the trex - basic sport flying like flips, rolls, loops, stall turns, etc.

Enjoy the balde, learn to fly on it and how to repair helis from it, but save your cash for a new heli rather than trying to get the blade to fly like a more expensive heli.

Would I buy the blade again knowing what I know now. YES but I would never buy one new - I would rather get a second hand DX6i (approx £60) and a trex 450 V1 or V2 (approx £180) if I were paying that sort of money.
I got mine second hand with a nice aluminium flight case and DX6i for £130. so it got me flying cheaply and its done (and is still doing its job well)

Back to the original point

I would personally not be happy with the JP parts and I would look at another supplier (Fastlads, Midlands etc) for my next order. I dont like the JP feathering shaft, the push rods have a coarser pitch on them, the autorotation gear does not have a retaining hole for the nut making fitting the lower jesus bolt more difficult etc.
These are very small things and both parts do fine but why should I except them when I dont have too and the costs are the same for either manufacturer.

Wow bit of a rant there today!!! sorry lol

[Scautura]

Long term plans are a T-Rex (or clone) 250 and 500/600, probably a 450 at some point to complement the Blade. For me (so far) it's been a great first heli, and managed to get me a DX6i, so I can't really complain about it. Once I'm "past" the Blade (or have it mastered, however you want to put it), if the servos need replacing, they're getting replaced with something a bit more sturdy.

As far as the parts are concerned, I'm planning on making sure any more I buy are Eflite - these JP part may be "identical because they all come from the same factory", but I'm not happy with getting substitutes for parts I ordered without being told before they were shipped. There are various other issues, that I won't go into, but suffice to say I'm going to be trying a different supplier next time. For now, I'm putting up with what I've got.

[spunkmyer]

Well I have a Trex 700LE (still boxed since xmas) a Raptor 50 (had two but sold one) and my Blade 400...

I enjoy flying the blade the most as it was the one I learnt on and still use before my raptor to try anything new.

Will I sell it no, would I get another one yes.