Blade tracking

[hawkman]

Well...a feathering shaft can get bent by someone just picking a heli up by its blades....or one blade...if a child gets a hold of it!!!

Its crucial to keep on top of the damper situation....I have heard of helis getting literally ripped apart in mid flight....worn dampers can allow a resonance to build up....there can be a 'woofing' sound....if it ever happens you must kill the engine or use throttle hold and auto the heli down....doing that simple damper check will ensure you dont get into that situation in the first place.

Yes this is a great site.....I have had loads of advice here...seems that all the people here are freindly and are genuine in admitting mistakes etc....we all live and learn.....its a totally magic hobby for me

Rob

[Jeff0r3]

So Hawkman, what exactly do you do to check the dampners? I mean is there a way that you know they are bad or need replaced? I mean it is not hard at all to change them out, I was just wondering as until yesterday, I didn't even know what they were.

Jeff

[Daz(DJLFlapper)]

Dampers are usually the rubber O rings or bigger rubber donuts that you find surround your feathering shaft. The most common mistake I find with these is that peaple do not lube them when they put them in. The job of the damper is to prevent the head from translating vibration down the main shaft and also to make the transitions in flight softer or harder/faster. Dampers can be bought in different grades of firmness. The softer dampers are used for the student and novice flyer, These soften the heli's transition to forward motion or what ever you ask it to do. the harder the damper compound the firmer the head response becomes and the heli will react very instantly and more agressive to the inputs you give.

I is important to lube the damper so that it does not heat up the rubber bush get stuck and cause bad vibration leading to flutter etc etc. It can cause may weird problems that you can spend ages looking for. Just remember to lube the damper with grease/oil that is not going to break it down.

I hope this helps guys if I forgot sommat then feel free to chime in.

oh yeah, checking the dampers you dont want to see any splits in them no rubber decay at all if there is any sign of this then get them changed as they wont be helping you and they may well cause a problem that leads to failier.

[Jeff0r3]

Thanks Daz. I just ordered a metal head and it comes with a set of blue and red dampners. I think I have blue in my heli now, so its probably what I'll put in it when it gets here. I'm also getting the metal stabilizer. I'm going to upgrade to a .50 soon, and these parts will work on it as well. I was thinking about going to a Stinger 50 because I heard they are so much more responsive. But with all the parts I've got and all the parts that people in my club have, I'm just gonna stick with the raptor. Thanks for your help


Jeff