First Crash/Rebuild still problems

[Thedogsbollox]

Well it was inevitable and i got off lightly i think. From the top i replaced:-
(Blade 400 3d)

Feathering shaft
Blades
Bolt through the head(Sheared off)
Flybar
Mainshaft
Servo
Tailboom.

I managed to replace all of these parts with no problems. I set the servo arm to 90deg on midstick and then adjusted the right hand side servo linkage to level the swash plate.
All looks level and even. Flybar paddles levelled up by eye. Ran up without blades in and looked ok. Only thing was a slight vibration at full pelt. Normal? Balanced Flybar by measuring each side. Is there a better way?
Ran up and blades were tracking perfectly.
Took to the park and had a fly, first 30 seconds were perfect then it started playing up. It was unresponsive and i fought to regain control and land it.
When i got it home i discovered the gears on the right hand side servo were now also ruined.(definitely were ok after crash or so i thought)
Possibly the crash weakened the gear or cracked them and it weren't noticeable. The power of proper flight must have been too much for it.
Or was there something i missed? All the parts of the swash, washout block, and flybar cage seem to be free and without binding.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

Tony

[cjcj1949]

Good save. I assume midstick is on idle up and corresponds to zero pitch with flybar level. The gears are a weak spot, but cheap to replace.

Chris

[gowen]

Google for Blade 400 bible. There's loads of information on all aspects of the 400.

The servos are a weak spot on the 400. I've had three strip in two flights. Replacing the gears is cheap and easy, although getting them aligned with minimal subtrim is tricky. If you plan on keeping the 400, it is worth replacing them with some metal geared ones from Hitec or Savox. It's covered in the bible.

[cjcj1949]

The Hitec Karbonite gears are pretty tough as well. That's the HS65HBs. Opinions are divided on Karbonite or metal. There's also the Towerpro for under £5 from Giant Cod. I use the HS65HBs and gave away the original servos.

Chris

[bikerflier]

Highly likely the servo gears were damaged, easilly missed, and they gave way under the next loading. Change the servos for something better, gears nearly always go with slightest knock. Everything is soft on the 400, feathering shaft can be bent in your hands so they take the load on impact and should help better servos survive.
Cheap and chearful heli but good to learn on, don't keep upgrading it though, wasting your money, once you can hover and move around a bit then buy a better 450. TRex 450 Pro or maybe something a bit bigger like a TRex 500.

[Thedogsbollox]

Ok, I replaced the servo and started the setup again.
Disconnected the motor. Set Tx to Stunt(Idleup) and levelled off the servo arms with the sticks centred. Had to use Sub Trim to do this, Aileron (Right) 46 and Pitch (down) 13
I removed the head and washout and lashed an allen key to the shaft. Found the highest linkage and dropped this a turn and increased the others to match, at most 2 turns were needed.
Replaced the head and checked the swash and washout were not hitting top or bottom. At centre stick the washout block was level.
Checked the Top, Mid and Bottom angles and got +8, -1, and -10 respectively on each blade. I adjusted and can manage +10, 0 and -9 now.
I believe i should be getting +10, 0, -10 but only seem to have a 19deg spread.If i make the bottom -10 the top is +9 and vice versa.
How can i achieve the proper settings? Has it something to do with the sub trim that i added?

I also need to fit new gears to two servos, could someone tell me what grease i need to lube the gears?

Thanks
Tony

[bikerflier]

Futaba Servo Grease.
About half way down this page, blue tube and blue box.

Midland Helicopters Ltd VarAccs_GluesLubes

Nothing to worry about with those pitch values. You could increase the range using Swash Mix menu and Pitch settings in DX6i.

You will need to at least check your settings again as new gears may be in different alignment and throw swash out.
Take care when opening gear casing as gears often come out and you don't know which way to replace.
There is also a travel stop on the main gear, this needs to be centralised when the servo is turned on and pitch at mid stick or you might get uneven travel side to side.

[Bee_random]

Don't forget to pick out all the broken teeth.

[cjcj1949]

Try

How to Repair and fix Your Blade 400 Helicopter

The feathering shaft is better than the Twister Storm one as it does bend. The Storm one breaks and throws the bits everywhere.

Chris