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Well I've built the N5 and put about 4-5 tanks through it so far. It's not flying just as I like it yet, but that will hopefully come with some adjustments to the programable head, but i'll keep you updated on how that goes.
Kit over-view....
The kit it-self looks like a very simple and well designed helicopter. Small parts count means it didnt take long to build, and hopefully less to break in a crash. This thing really is a .90 size with a .50 engine. The tail fin is bigger than the 700's, the overall height is only just lower than the 700, and the overall length is only a couple of inches shorter too.
It got me a little worried that running this thing on a .50 just wouldnt cut it!
I love the way the tail box and boom clamps are done.... Very simple, yet its properly engineered using long bolts and nylock nuts so no stripping out threads from over tightening.
The head itself is SOOOO beefy, it's by far the heaviest part of the heli (maybe to help raise the CoG?). And the servo layout I really do like. It made wiring up a little easier than the Align's i've previously built as theres no routing wires all the way through the frames, everythijng is in 1 place at the front.
The main frames do look nice, although I am a little worried with these. Not really at the thin point that people point out, but where the front skid mounts. Reports so far are that most crashes seem to break both frames
.
The surface finish on the machined parts, although looks nice is far from perfect. As an engineer, I dont particularly like it. It all looks rough cut with no finishing. All the head components are the same, and I hope in later batches they sort it out. Not a major issue, just something that should be done.
The Build.....
Building the N5 was actually quite straight forward. VERY different to building an Align heli as you will find out. Nice features like the 1 peice fuel tank gromets on Align heli's dont feature on these - Its a rubber strip that you feed round and cut to length. Not a problem, but it's small things like this that makes this heli very different to build.
An align is bolt it togther and fly, the N5 has more adjustments that you need to be carefull with such as the engine and clutch stack alignment. It took me a while of playing around untill I got to the point I was happy with, including gear mesh.
The manual is pretty diabolical in my view. Once you build your N5, go and read the Avant manual! Thats how it should be done!
It is very vague, with no text or explanation through-out the entire build. What was most annoying is that the manual doesnt even tell you what effects changing the head ratio's have in flight!
The pictures are very dark, and can make you have to check twice to see some things.
The head, frames and tail all went together perfectly first time apart from the metal tail grips.
Not everyone has an issue with these, but a few people have. The M3 washers supplied in the kit holding the tail grips on wants to be removed. Mine locked the bearings in the grips up. Once removed they are silky smooth. Nice features in the grips using dual radial bearings and thrust bearings. Absolubtly no play in the tail at all!
The actual tail grips themselves i'm not impressed with either. They seem a little last minute in design.
The machined hex in the back to locate the nut is too shallow and doesnt grip the nut. It just chews up the grip a little if you dont use a spanner on the back. The bolt supplied also has a radius on the inside edge so doesnt butt up nicely to the front face of the grip either. I will put some better quality bolts in mine to get round this. Again, its not the end of the world, but I would rather they fitted together well.
The gap in the grips where the tail blade goes is also a fraction too wide I think. Both the plastic blades supplied and Align carbons are a very loose fit in, and when you tighten them up the grips have to bend in more than I would like as an engineer.
Tail Blades....
BURN THE STOCK PLASTIC BLADES!!!! They are utter useless. I had better tail blades on my very first Esky belt cp! They are as usefull as a rounded off alen key. A set of carbons transformed the tail completly.
The belt tension...
The manual (well, Matt Botos) says you can run the belt fairly loose and it wont slip - but it does!
Just do it up as you would any Align tail belt and you will be fine. It took quite alot of tension before mine stopped slipping in flight. There is extra drag, but jamiem has told me that the belt will wear in and loosens up after more flights
.
Once set up, i noticed the swash hits quite badly on the headblock pins. Theres plenty of room to move the swash down, so I will try that and see if its alright. At full positive and full cyclic I can also get the shwash to hit the mixing arms. Hopefully this wont happen once the swash has been lowered more aswell.
Flight....
I was very worried the TT53 i was putting in the Synergy just wouldnt have the power to move it well considering it's size, but miraculasly (I dont know how!) it feels doesnt feel very underpowered considering my engine was very rich. Pitch response seems nice and quick, although my cyclic with 600SB's and white Align paddles was very very slow. I am going to re-check all my settings, alther the swash and try again before altering the programmable head, as most reports seem to imply the cyclic is very quick on Matt Botos's recommended settings. I will report back at the weekend when I've tested it.
The tail seemed very predictable when the belt was properly tensioned, and it flew like it was on rails. Very precise, and very easy to fly. I look forward to tuning the engine, speeding up the cyclic and giving it another proper flight.
The head dampening is very stiff. It flies great, but without enough headspeed it gets the shakes big time! So when running in your engines, try and up the headspeed as much as you can. I can't see any boom strikes happening with this model.
I really didnt like the colour scheme of the canopy when I got it, but it's starting to grow on me now - especially since i've flown with it on. Its VERY easy to see in the air, the orange really stands out. I was going to paint over this canopy, but I think I'll wait untill the blank canopies are available.
I will keep this thread updated untill I have the Synergy N5 flying just as I like it and post my results on the effects of changing the programmable head.
Kit over-view....
The kit it-self looks like a very simple and well designed helicopter. Small parts count means it didnt take long to build, and hopefully less to break in a crash. This thing really is a .90 size with a .50 engine. The tail fin is bigger than the 700's, the overall height is only just lower than the 700, and the overall length is only a couple of inches shorter too.
It got me a little worried that running this thing on a .50 just wouldnt cut it!
I love the way the tail box and boom clamps are done.... Very simple, yet its properly engineered using long bolts and nylock nuts so no stripping out threads from over tightening.
The head itself is SOOOO beefy, it's by far the heaviest part of the heli (maybe to help raise the CoG?). And the servo layout I really do like. It made wiring up a little easier than the Align's i've previously built as theres no routing wires all the way through the frames, everythijng is in 1 place at the front.
The main frames do look nice, although I am a little worried with these. Not really at the thin point that people point out, but where the front skid mounts. Reports so far are that most crashes seem to break both frames
. The surface finish on the machined parts, although looks nice is far from perfect. As an engineer, I dont particularly like it. It all looks rough cut with no finishing. All the head components are the same, and I hope in later batches they sort it out. Not a major issue, just something that should be done.
The Build.....
Building the N5 was actually quite straight forward. VERY different to building an Align heli as you will find out. Nice features like the 1 peice fuel tank gromets on Align heli's dont feature on these - Its a rubber strip that you feed round and cut to length. Not a problem, but it's small things like this that makes this heli very different to build.
An align is bolt it togther and fly, the N5 has more adjustments that you need to be carefull with such as the engine and clutch stack alignment. It took me a while of playing around untill I got to the point I was happy with, including gear mesh.
The manual is pretty diabolical in my view. Once you build your N5, go and read the Avant manual! Thats how it should be done!
It is very vague, with no text or explanation through-out the entire build. What was most annoying is that the manual doesnt even tell you what effects changing the head ratio's have in flight!
The pictures are very dark, and can make you have to check twice to see some things.
The head, frames and tail all went together perfectly first time apart from the metal tail grips.
Not everyone has an issue with these, but a few people have. The M3 washers supplied in the kit holding the tail grips on wants to be removed. Mine locked the bearings in the grips up. Once removed they are silky smooth. Nice features in the grips using dual radial bearings and thrust bearings. Absolubtly no play in the tail at all!
The actual tail grips themselves i'm not impressed with either. They seem a little last minute in design.
The machined hex in the back to locate the nut is too shallow and doesnt grip the nut. It just chews up the grip a little if you dont use a spanner on the back. The bolt supplied also has a radius on the inside edge so doesnt butt up nicely to the front face of the grip either. I will put some better quality bolts in mine to get round this. Again, its not the end of the world, but I would rather they fitted together well.
The gap in the grips where the tail blade goes is also a fraction too wide I think. Both the plastic blades supplied and Align carbons are a very loose fit in, and when you tighten them up the grips have to bend in more than I would like as an engineer.
Tail Blades....
BURN THE STOCK PLASTIC BLADES!!!! They are utter useless. I had better tail blades on my very first Esky belt cp! They are as usefull as a rounded off alen key. A set of carbons transformed the tail completly.
The belt tension...
The manual (well, Matt Botos) says you can run the belt fairly loose and it wont slip - but it does!
Just do it up as you would any Align tail belt and you will be fine. It took quite alot of tension before mine stopped slipping in flight. There is extra drag, but jamiem has told me that the belt will wear in and loosens up after more flights
.Once set up, i noticed the swash hits quite badly on the headblock pins. Theres plenty of room to move the swash down, so I will try that and see if its alright. At full positive and full cyclic I can also get the shwash to hit the mixing arms. Hopefully this wont happen once the swash has been lowered more aswell.
Flight....
I was very worried the TT53 i was putting in the Synergy just wouldnt have the power to move it well considering it's size, but miraculasly (I dont know how!) it feels doesnt feel very underpowered considering my engine was very rich. Pitch response seems nice and quick, although my cyclic with 600SB's and white Align paddles was very very slow. I am going to re-check all my settings, alther the swash and try again before altering the programmable head, as most reports seem to imply the cyclic is very quick on Matt Botos's recommended settings. I will report back at the weekend when I've tested it.
The tail seemed very predictable when the belt was properly tensioned, and it flew like it was on rails. Very precise, and very easy to fly. I look forward to tuning the engine, speeding up the cyclic and giving it another proper flight.
The head dampening is very stiff. It flies great, but without enough headspeed it gets the shakes big time! So when running in your engines, try and up the headspeed as much as you can. I can't see any boom strikes happening with this model.
I really didnt like the colour scheme of the canopy when I got it, but it's starting to grow on me now - especially since i've flown with it on. Its VERY easy to see in the air, the orange really stands out. I was going to paint over this canopy, but I think I'll wait untill the blank canopies are available.
I will keep this thread updated untill I have the Synergy N5 flying just as I like it and post my results on the effects of changing the programmable head.
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