Blade balanace?

[shanee86]

I have already got my heli off the ground and flying it pretty good for having it maybe a bit over a week. But I had the guy at the hobby shop setup my heli he said it was ready to fly well lol it wasn't first start up it tried to cut my dad finger off and then we had to do alot more and tune it. But I got it off the ground flown about a gallon of fuel in it now. But I am wondering ohm it flys good and got it pretty trimmed now but I was wondering I am not sure if the hobby guy blanced my blades. So I am wondering how would you know if they weren't? Also I bought my kit with main blades and tail blade and the OS 32 from century it is the hawk pro. If I bought it like that should I have to balance the blades? The guy at hobby shop set my pitch and all and said it was ready to fly but wasn't because he left the nut off the throttle didn't tighten my throttle so had no control of throttle first start up. But we got it flying and all now. But just wondering thanks.

[blue_corsair]

Hiya Shan,
Here is something I ran across, sounds good but dunno, I just got a CCPM heli today so, you are really ahead of me.
http://www.helihobby.com/html/blade_tools.html
Using an extra mainshaft and a bolt you can balance a set of blades within
reason. place the mainshaft on a table and lay the 1st blade on it
perpendicularly. Roll the shaft until the blades is centered and balancing like
a see-saw. Place a small mark on it above the shaft. This is the center of
gravity for this blade. Repeat with blade 2. Determine weight of blades by
bolting them together and placing bolt ends on raised surface such a 2 chair
backs. Note which blade is lighter. Here's where a scale would come in very
handy as you need to add weight to the lighter one so they each weigh the same
and the cgs are also equal, but since we have no scale, using tracking tape or
similar, add pieces of tape to the light blade until they are level. Just place
them on the blade like you would when you need a lot of cut tape pieces, ie
just tacked on, not spread down as you will need to remove them in a sec. OK,
the blades are balancing on the bolt evenly. Unbolt and compare cg marks on the
blades. Place a different kind of mark on the light blade that corresponds to
the mark on the heavier blade, ie lay them side by side and transcribe the
heavy blade cg mark tothe light blade cg mark.
Lay the light blade on the shaft again and place it perpendicularly on top of
the mark you just made from the heavy blades cg. Take the tape off of the blade
and re-apply it to the tip and/or root of the blade so the blade balances on
the shaft at that mark. Wallah !! done. Hope that helps,
AND then THIS one:
Well, go here, it is waaay too long to post it here, scroll down to the bottom post when you get there.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.m...74009f4b296421

Sry, all I could do to help, hope you get it sorted out, then I might have to ask you how...
Blue

[chaos]

http://www.helifever.com/articles/1/1/Blade-Balance

If the fuel looks foamy when it's running it might be on account of vibration from the mains being out of balance. Anyway it's pretty easy to check and not a bad idea to go through the gyration of balancing just for drill. Maybe it's ok as is, and it will feel good to know that's the case. The more vibration you can get rid of the better. Everything that spins is a suspect.

[shanee86]

Well I have bad news I crashed my heli today . The good news is I had flown almost a full gallon before I did. But why I crashed or I guess is why is because I had been flying with the tail facing me then today I landed and turned tail or turned front to me then I got off ground and was doing ok not great and then it started to come towards my family so I pulled it away then it came at me so I pulled it back then I guess on the pull back tail touched or bladed touched the ground and it flipped broke blades bent flybar and broke tail rotor gears and bent the tail boom bad it also broke the feather holder I think is what it is called the bar between the bladed and broke a pushrod and may have shortned the antena wire and broke the plastic tail boom support holder. So know I have to fix it. I can say I can fly towards myself on realflight just fine and can fly my heli with tail facing me fine. But I guess flying that way may be to much to soon before on all turns I was turning with tail facing me all times so like a circle. I wanted to try it another way I was trying this like I usually fly my heli witch is highest probably 20-30 feet usually fly about about my head or so. So that could be why I hurt it so bad at time I was only less then a foot of ground maybe if I would have been hire it would have not happened but I was going to try it lower first scares me still to fly to high. Well so now I will have to go see my hobby shop and spend more money and fix it and if I try that again I will put training things on it I fly very good with tail facing me but not other way around yet. I had a guy tell me he seen guys flying for years that couldn't do what I did and that was hover the was a few days ago but since I been flying it around the field next door almost like a planes but with tail facing me. Anyway yea it sucks but happens I guess I should have tried it hire but was affraid but next time training wheels lol before I tryed that. Anyone else had this happen? Or similair stories or the like?

[chaos]

It takes time, lots of it. I used to fly full scale helis, and in fact I was a rotorcraft instructor. So when I bought my first RC heli back in 85 I was quite sure I could fly it. I wrecked it so fast I'm not sure what really took place.

I've been through a few helis since then. It's now quite clear to me that flying a heli you're not in is very different from flying one that you are in. I tried to remember various rules of thumb about backwards operation of the controls, but whenever the poo was in the fan that all went out the window.

Eventually I went back to the very basic basics while trying to think of what's going on as if I was in the heli... trying to mentally transport myself to being in that little thing "over there"... where "left" is on the left side of that thing over there, and not my left over here. This is very easy with nose-out because it's all the same. Then I spent a lot of time with the heli facing left and right, trying to think myself into the heli and orienting to that. I eased it around to 3/4 of the way towards me and eventually directly towards me... all while staying very close to the ground and trying to stay over one spot. I spent a lot of time doing that.

Then I spent a lot of time picking it up and setting it down, with the thing headed in various directions... all while holding one spot over the ground, and staying low. I did that until it finally got to be second nature. Whenever I made a correction in the wrong direction I knew I wasn't there yet. It takes a lot of time, for me anyway, to get to where I could keep myself oriented as if I was in that heli.

It's very tempting to go do some wierd stuff, but the least expensive way to progress is to stick with just hovering, low, until you can do it in any direction very comfortably without ever getting confused - making a wrong control input.

When you think you have that mastered, start a slow spin - small left/right rudder and hold a position over the ground. Keep the heli spinning at a slow rate and hold position. Of course the heli will drift, but keep the slow spin going and bring it back over your target point. You'll have to stay very oriented (in the machine) to do this.

[shanee86]

Wel an update my heli is almost put back together I will hopefuly be flying it again soon. This time if I try at myself I will do it higher or with training gear. Really I did have it facing me maybe 2 times for short periods hover close to ground before I crashed. It was christmas and my brother and friend was watching and they came up to me and heli came at them then I made it come at me then I pulled it back from me then wind or me pulled it and then tryed to correct but wrong way I think with stick and flip over and crash. But I am learning almost made a full gallon before crashing had maybe one or two tanks left. But im doing good people say and I will smash it again someday just happens sometimes learned that already with planes and my electric helis.

[hawkman]

A very important thing is to add some tracking tape....on the blade ends....or about and inch or so back...I do this and it serves as balance tape too....I use red tape on one blade and yellow on the other....heres my method.

Get a spirit level.....and a nice flat base.....level that base with the spirit level....the blades need to balance parallel with the level surface....add or remove tape to get this balance....make sure the blades are underslung on the balancer...otherwise you will be there for years

once balanced fit to heli....and hover....at eye level....look at the blades tips....if you see two tips then the colour will show you which one it is...land and adjust the rod end to that blade....if the red is higher than the yellow...then reduce the red pushrod length....if there is a big difference then reduce the red pushrod and increase the yellow pushrod length...so the two will 'meet' adjust a half a turn at a time....go hover..if the tips seem to be 'one' and there is a nice blur of colour then you are ok.

By keeping the tape in place you can check the tracking anytime.....once set its rare that will need to readjust....if it goes 'out' again after a small blade strike on the ground then that will mean a bent feathering shaft.

I own a Hawk Sport....I like them....very tough little helis at a sensible price.

Rob

[shanee86]

I got my heli setup up now think all good to go. Just wondering guy at hobby shop said they stopped making the fin set. So we bought some parts for the tail gear box cut them and made a holder for my boom supports. But I have a back fin on my tail rotor but the one that went horizonatal is broke and I wonder do I need that to fly it? Because that is only thing I don't have right now all rest is good to go. Also the hobby shop said they don't have them anymore so do I need it I hope not?