Dynam ESC Meltdown on Frakenheli

Today's obstacle was the Dynam ESC. I got the links on and leveled the swash. Following the limited manual, I "programmed" the non-programmable ESC (essentially just turning the Brake off), and decided to test the electric system. I plugged the motor in, turned on the transmitter then throttle hold (TH) and connected the battery. Good so far, ESC responded with the appropriate beeps, gyro intialized. Tested the swash, moved nicely, though the elevator servo lags a little behind the others the swash has full motion and the swash is balanced at full positive and full negative pitch (I think that slow servo is going to be a problem, might switch it out with another one.  That's what you get with $3 servos! I like the metal gear digital EXI servos. May have to order some...  Franky is getting expensive, a few dollars at a time). I made sure the throttle was closed, and turned off TH, and the damn thing spun pretty damn fast for about 3 seconds, stuttered, then stopped. Oh, and it ran backwards...Well., yeah, that wasn't supposed to happen. Is this why people planted their ERazors on the ceiling first time they plugged them in? I reversed two of the motor wires (they were following their designated color-code, which apparently is incorrect).  It worked after that, but intermittently things were a little wacky, like once the swash wouldn't respond, on another start the motor wouldn't run, and every now and then it would stutter start like the first time (nothing is supposed to happen). And I found that the ESC got pretty darn hot, making the soft plastic baseplate even softer; that can happen, but shouldn't be so hot. That was enough for me... I unlashed it from the frame so it can stay cooler and will use it just to set up the CCPM, but its coming off my heli. I ordered a HobbyWing Platinum 40A ESC with 3A/5V BEC, like I have on the ERazor, from HeliDirect. Its inexpensive and I can use my programming card with it.

Setting up the tail and gyro went quite easily. I am thinking about doing Finless Bob White's tail mod, which I did on the EXI, but since everything is set up, I suspect I won't now.

Balancing blades

I posted these pics to answer a question on HeliFreak and thought I would post them here too. These are the new blades for Frankenheli.  Find the blades center of gravity (CG) by rolling it on an rod until it tilts and mark it. Then put them on the balancer, and add electrical tape to the lighter blade on its CG until they balance. Try to use one longer piece rather than a pile of shorter pieces, and make sure it covers the leading edge so it doesn't peel up.

Tonight I talked to God!

And he spoke to me! I had an opportunity to call in to Helifreak.com and talk to one of my heroes, Bob "Finless" White. Bob is the icon of Helifreak, and is a King among men in the heli community. He has a huge series of videos and discussions on HF that are available to everyone for free. So many have benefited from his tutorials on basics to advanced topics. On HF he pipes in with advice and guidance. He had a call in tonight and I got up my nerve to call him. Brief conversation as I didn't want to take up his time and I w nervous, just wanted to thank him for all the work he has done for us and for getting me where I am so quickly in the hobby.

So here's to you, Bob! Hope we get a chance to talk again, and next time I won't be so nervous!

All He Needs is a Brain! Muahahahahaha!

As expected most of the parts for Franky came in today. I just need the receiver so I can set up the servos, CCPM and the tail. Its looking really good! I have a counterfeit Spektrum 6100 coming... when I bought it I was not aware it was a counterfeit.  I have been told that despite the counterfeit it is likely made of real Spektrum parts, just not made by Spektrum... still not sure I will use it. I am also getting a Hobby King Orange 6100e receiver that is a legit clone of the 6100, which I was going to use with my Sim Stick for the simulator, but I may swap these out and use the counterfeit Spektrum for the Sim Stick instead, and the Orange for Franky.

I didn't get any feedback on Helifreak in regards to my question about needing to set up anything between the Tx and the Dynam non-programmable ESC..

PS: And, the Orange Receiver was just handed to me by my Small Mailman Who Smells Like Chocolate (my little guy)!

Frankenheli Shaft Issues

Today's Frankenheli challenge was to address the shaft that wouldn't go in the hole.  It would not pass the bearings without sticking, even after deep cleaning and corrosion removal. So today, I decided to break out the Dremel and grind down the shaft the few molecules it needed to fit. It was much, much easier than I had expected it to be! You can see the different texture between the unground shaft above and below the rotor bearing block in the pic.  I sanded it with 400 grit and oiled it down with lithium grease. Fits perfect now! Placed the shaft and the main gear in, and secured them. I then Locktited and tightened the motor mount screws with a thin piece of paper between the pinion and the main gear for spacing. Looks great. I think there are some slightly imperfect teeth in the salvaged main gear that will round out nicely during the first run ups.

Today I expect the rest of the Frankenheli parts to arrive, certainly by tomorrow. I am expecting the canopy any day now, from China.  this has been a challenging build, and I think I am done building for a while after this one. Right now I want to go fly, conditions are not quite right, and I am just starting to do well on the sim. One of the PITA about this hobby is that it takes time and effort to get the heli out to the field after time, effort and money to build/repair it, and to be done within seconds of starting when I  bend the machine after losing control, it just makes you not want to go out and do what the point of all this is, and just fly... Time to break out the FPs!  Here's a pic of the ERazor just before I broke her last week.  Servos should be here soon.  :-(

Frankeheli Update

Frankenheli has proven to be one challenge after another. Each step has met me with obstacles I had to overcome, making this a slow build. Today two issues arose. One was the the very small Tower Pro SG90 cheapo servos I am using (really, I was trying to be cheap. I will replace them first opportunity with EXI metal gear servos) didn't fit well in the servo holes in the frame. Off by a enough molecules I had to file down the frame a smidge. Then they worked fine. Boy are they small... Should have just gone with the EXI ones.

I decided that when the receiv comes I'll install it in the main fram tray. Yhe ESC went on the front tray. I thought abut putting the receiver heree Align put theirs, under the battery, but didn't want to deal with the gryo wires being too short to reach. BTW, turns out Frankenheli's frame is a 450 SE (V2).

The second issue was that the main rotor shaft, which fit fine before, all of the sudden didn't. I struggled with it for ma while before I popped the bearings out. i found another rotor shaft in my spares box that fit, from the same bstch. But it was tight, worse with lube. It just won't fit smoothly, and sticks when it does. I remeoved the bearings again and am soaking them ipn silicone lube, hoping it will clean any corrosion that may be causing problems, and I lightly sanded the shaft. I also don't know if it needs a washer, or the original collar, as I think the shaft is not percisley the same as the one it replaced. Not a big deal if the bearings weren't sticking...

AAARRRGGGHHH! My first plank!

I have been bit!  My addiciton to RC aircraft has spread to airplanes, called planks a both pejorative term and a term of endearment. I purchased a 40" Exceed J3 Cub from nitroplanes.com, and I can't wait for it to get here! I have been flying the J3 on my Phoenix RC flight simulator, and flying it quite well. Planks are gnerally easier to fly than helis. They are also easier to maintain. Kits can be far more challenging to build due to incredible details in structure. I like the e-planes as I can use my heli batteries (I hope they are the same size).