Blade 400 going to the left

[ericlong]

I have flown and crashed my new Blade 400 twice. Having replaced the Feathering Shaft, Main Shaft, Tail Boom, and having glued a rotor grip twice, I am ready to ask for help. Every time I take off with my Blade 400 it takes off to the right fast enough that I cannot regain control. My simulator does the same thing, but I can control it most of the time. I read about people setting up their RC helis to make them hover without touching controls. Is that possible with this heli, and how do you do it?

Thanks,

Eric

[hawkman]

The swashplate needs to be level so the cyclic is 'neutral'

all control rods need to be nice and equal...check the book for measurments...they should be there somewhere.

Hold the heli by its flybar...make sure the flybar is pointing fore and aft ...lift gently and see if the heli hangs level or not...it should do...now rotate the flybar..90 degrees...so it points sideways...lift gently and the heli should hang level.

The heli hangs off the rotor head in flight...so it stands to reason that you must trim the heli to get it level.

Check the subtrims and trims on the radio...they need centering really.

It sounds like a radio issue...whats the radio?

I mention the heli set up as a matter of course really...but do let us know the radio make.

Rob

[mark smith]

Hi Eric,Welcome to Heli Fever!. I believe that the blade 400 comes with a DX6
installed and ready to go.Like Rob mentioned,Make sure your swashplate is level and flybar paddles are level all at neutral cyclic.You might try to secure the bird down and run up to hover pitch.Watch the swash and make sure it
is staying level at that throttle/pitch setting.NOTE= DO this with EXTREME caution and at a SAFE Distance.I have done this using a broom handle run through the skids and then weighted down on both sides.Only do short bursts up to 1/2 throttle.Hope this helps.

Mark Smith

[ericlong]

It comes with the 6xi controller or something close to that (I don't have it with me right now). I will try leveling out the swash plate. Might it need to be a little off level to the right to compensate for the tail rotor?

[Aztek1701]

Hi eric

Welcome ...

How fast does it veer to the right?.. would it be possible to put up some video?

Also, what do you mean by "rotor grip" because if its the thing with bearings in it that holds the main blades on, a word of warning as well.. Be VERY cautious about gluing a Blade grip back together because if that particular component fails, an excellent result will be the need for new helicopter (the imbalance of letting a blade go in flight will cause the heli to literally explode) at the very least and at the very worst, a visit to the hospital.

Take care... Azzy

[ericlong]

No video capability. It moves to the right about 5-10 knots. The main blade grip broke and was not available at my lhs yet, but the part that broke off connected it to the adjustment rods, and would not let the blade fly free if it re-broke. I will replace it before I fly again anyway, because it will be available when I get my new blades.

[hawkman]

I wouldnt try to adjust the swash to counter the tail push...its normal for a heli in a hover to do so with a slight 'lean' the tail rotor is trying to push the heli to one side...so banking the heli slightly is perfectly ok....countering this by adjusting the swash will be ok in a hover but in forward flight you would need to re trim the heli anyway.

[Aztek1701]

Hi eric,

to confirm if the swash is putting in a control, you could try what mark smith suggested.. Secure the machine to a bench (make sure you are very careful when doing this) and spin the bird up, then observe the rotor disk from behind... If the rotor disk is level with the floor or bench then I doubt there is anything wrong and I suggest that you compensate for the drift by adding some left roll as she gets light (this is normal as a helicopter will NEVER just lift off, they must be flown from before the point of lift off). If the rotor disk isnt level with the floor but lower on the right side then you need to make the disk level (put in some left roll and see how much it takes to level the blade disk). When you know what it takes then shut it down and re-add the control ammount. This is what you need to get to mechanically. Unfortunately, Im not familliar with the control system on the 400 3D so I cant tell you how to achieve the mechanical adjustment.

Good Luck ... Azzy