New Align 700 FBL Head!!

[Jamin_00]

I remember Kasama saying it is more for fff than 3D where you notice a difference. 3D guys you want the higher heads but if doing fff etc then you want the LRH. Thats why the TDR is low as standard.

[swale]

think id agree with the above I head id have thought would make it more easy to throw around lower more smoother

[Chris Boughton]

I was thinking the DFC could stand for Direct Flybarless Control!

[Chris Boughton]

AHAH I just fournd out what DFC stands for and it is DIRECT FLIGHT CONTROL, i wasnt far off!! :-)

[t-rex pedro]

^^^ see post 20!! Lol!!

[coolice]

The only other question is have they moved the ball out further from the main shaft to get better geometry?

Hi Andy.

I was going to say the exact same thing and if anything hope they've extended the balls out further than the stock head, to help.

I didn't even know this was coming, will hopefully see one soon on Dunc's machine :-)
.

[coolice]

I remember Kasama saying it is more for fff than 3D where you notice a difference. 3D guys you want the higher heads but if doing fff etc then you want the LRH. Thats why the TDR is low as standard.

Hi Ben.

I was always under the impression 3D benefits from a lower rotor head and F3C taller to provide more stability through the pendulum effect of the fuselage under the rotor disk.
With 3D we want the centre of gravity closer to the centre line of the model to allow it to roll smooth around the models centre line, hence why Align released their shorter main shafts.
.

[ChrisB]

This is why I prefer Align helis,everybody knows they are not the best on the market but on top of the sensible affordability of them all,and the fact that they do fly half decent,more than good enough for the majority of us,it's these little improvements here and there that constantly keep coming that owners can incorporate into their own models should they wish to gain something from flying it.

I cannot think of any other manufacturer that has such a fast development program to better their products.

Now there is nothing wrong with the original fbl heads nor the more updated ones with 2piece grips and driver arms attached to the headblock to remove the seperate driver,but there is no denying that this new head should you want it has benefits for some.

[bolders]

I really like that new arm design,i like it better than the way Compass did it but for sure i would say thats where the inspiration came from.

The Compass setup is very good indeed so this i think is another improvement in the overall model from Align.

The all aluminium design from Align looks more bling than the compass unit but to me it is an indication that there may not of been as much thought put into the align design as the Compass equivalent.

From what I understand the derlin rods have been used to provide a bit of flex which allows for some movement in the feathering shaft and for the dampers to work effectively

[Tim Procter]

Think it's safe to say that kid can fly...

That kid is 15 years old Kenny Ko who already fly's for Team Align and as you can see is brilliant.

[ChrisB]

The all aluminium design from Align looks more bling than the compass unit but to me it is an indication that there may not of been as much thought put into the align design as the Compass equivalent.

From what I understand the derlin rods have been used to provide a bit of flex which allows for some movement in the feathering shaft and for the dampers to work effectively

I agree with this,the Compass head works really well and the Delrin rods work brilliant,but as you say I am also sure it was deigned that way for a reason,along the lines of loading on the balls etc.

I personally don't like the low stance of the DFC head"Duplicated from Compass" so I wouldn't want to use it,but I like the idea of where they could develop it further for the higher head.But if there is some damping action in the lower part of the arm I would favour that design.

[yuppyflyer]

That kid is 15 years old Kenny Ko who already fly's for Team Align and as you can see is brilliant.

Yeah Kenny Ko is brill, but anyone noticed how high the head speeds are in his vids!, think first time I noticed was his Rex- 450 with 6S.

[Toolman]

I have to say that as an Engineering solution I don't like it, I haven't liked from when Compass started doing.

The blade grips flex, a lot & at the frequency of every revolution. Whether you make it flexible like the compass design, or rigid like the Goblin of this new Align head, flex anything enough and it will fail.
The last thing you want is another part on a helis that you are waiting to fail!!

Yes it may work & yes they may have tested the crap out of it, but its not for me.
I'll be sticking to separate phase drivers, don't see the big advantage myself.

Anyone else agree?

Tim.

[rapidgaz]

Really enjoyed that, that Heli flys awesome. What was it


Sent from my iPhone using Internet.

[bolders]

I have to say that as an Engineering solution I don't like it, I haven't liked from when Compass started doing.

The blade grips flex, a lot & at the frequency of every revolution. Whether you make it flexible like the compass design, or rigid like the Goblin of this new Align head, flex anything enough and it will fail.
The last thing you want is another part on a helis that you are waiting to fail!!

Yes it may work & yes they may have tested the crap out of it, but its not for me.
I'll be sticking to separate phase drivers, don't see the big advantage myself.

Anyone else agree?

Tim.

This is a somewhat off-the-cuff remark and I haven't put too much thought into it tbh but the way I see it is you are going to get cyclical loading conditions regardless of weather or not you have a swash driver or direct link fitted (aka compass system).
It is possible you get higher loading with a direct link approach but I haven't seen anything to support this idea as of yet. The main issue that I see atm is the limited flex in the feathering shaft as I mentioned in a previous post.

From an engineering perspective everything is considered as a spring and flexes when loaded and its just the component stiffness that defines the deflection. So using your argument about "flexing components" something on the heli is going to fail at some point due to fatigue anyway.

The fatigue life of a component is determined by the number of cycles (frequency of oscillation is generally not considered to be a factor), the magnitude of the load and the UTS of the material, however not all materials will fail from fatigue. For example aluminium will always fail from fatigue given enough loading cycles whereas steels will generally not fatigue, regardless of the number of loading cycles, as long as the load magnitude is below a certain level.

So I have waffled on a lot but I guess all im trying to say is that everything is flexing anyway and the Compass system has been in the field long enough to be proven reliable and generally not suffer from fatigue failures.

I personally like the simplicity of the Compass direct link head, think it provides a really clean look and would be happy to run the system. The rigid system employed by Goblin and Align imo have yet to be proven