The BuildLet me preface the pictures and videos with a few words of caution. While this build is not extremely difficult if you've built before, this is a builders build. There are many places you'll need to sand, clean, Dremel, and thread lock. Thread lock is your best friend while building this heli. Gassers are known for vibrating, and you'll see posts in other forums about people losing booms in mid air due to screws backing out because of vibrations. I've used either metal or plastic thread lock on every screw in this build. Every screw, no exceptions.
As stated above, this isn't the worlds toughest build if you've built before. However, I truly believe that somebody with no experience
should not attempt it. That's an opinion not a fact, but I really think you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you attempt this build with no nitro experience. Can it be done without having owned a nitro... sure, but had I not had any nitro experience this build would have been almost impossible for me. The nomenclature alone can be discouraging.
For every hour on the bench, I spent at least two hours researching on the computer. The manual is a great tool, but to be honest, I only glanced at it a few times. It's not written as a complete build. The manual, as well as most build threads, assumes you have a 600N airframe. I didn't in this case. My electric was even different than most other Align 600 electrics because it was the final iteration for this class. The geometry had almost completely changed from it's original design. Linkage rods were different sizes, the bell cranks were different etc etc.
So I was really having to dig for information. I studied a lot of photos and read a few builds, but there's not one place that has all the information. You should probably download the 600N manual as well. The manual has part numbers that are crucial. I ordered parts from the nitro sections of the two Heliproz sites and got some electric parts. Electric parts will not help you. If you have the numbers, you can be sure that you're getting the correct part.
Rototerrier, from the Heli Freak forums, has a few build threads that are probably a must read. There's also a forum on HF called "Gas Powered Thoughts" that you should read as well. Carey Shurley, who wrote the manual, is about as knowledgeable on this subject as anyone and should be considered the go to guy if you have a question. Rototerrier is also extremely knowledgeable, helpful and considerate. I shot him a question or two and he got right back with me. If you find yourself stuck, pm these guys. You can PM me as well, though, I'm not sure I'll be able to help you as well as these other guys can.
I hope I'm very clear here. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from building this heli. I just know how eager the heli addiction is, and I don't want to encourage someone into quitting this hobby. This is an expensive and time consuming build, but worth every penny and minute if done correctly.
Now on with the build:
I did not go in manual order. Because I was converting an ESP, I was waiting on parts that I needed. So I built what I could while waiting. If at all possible follow the manual and use this build as a reference only.
I started this build by sanding the new Helibug G10 frame:
I suggest using real Q-tips. In this video I didn't and paid the price... they fall apart. The object is to seal the edges. Make sure when you're sanding that you don't over sand. This is just meant to take the sharp edges off.
I opened up the parts package and everything that will eventually get thread lock got an alcohol bath.
May 01, 2011:
While I'm waiting on a canopy, metal engine bearing block, and a clutch nut, I decided to build what I could so that when the parts get here, I can just piece it together. That's the plan, we'll see how it plays out. So I skipped around in the manual a bit.
Main drive hub
The short side (the side that has KDE Direct on it). The one way bearing should be flush
The tall side. Notice the stamp on the bearing (arrow). This is the orientation that the bearing should be pressed in.
The OWB should protrude about 2mm.
Make sure you lube the OWB
Bearing sleeve
Ok, this picture is wrong. Save yourself some heartache and put the screws in from the other side. I didn't ... obviously. Here's what happened ... the screw didn't hold and the hub spun inside the gear. It left a big groove in the hub mount of the gear. Made me think I blew out my one way. It happened on spool up so... I got lucky. That could have been a disaster. I've never done it that way before, and I don't know why I did it then. I was high from gas fumes
I built up the mount halves first
Installing the engine mount
Don't forget to thread lock. The screws are provided in the kit.
Engine mounts... mounted
Next install the clutch hub
The screw comes with the kit, not the engine. You might need to find a larger hex driver. I think a 1/8 will work. Don't forget the thread lock.
This is what I came up with
I used an old rag and some channel locks to tighten the clutch hub down.
At this point it's time to dial indicate the clutch hub.... What is dial indicating? When you dial indicate anything, be it a clutch hub or a main shaft, you are checking for how true (perfect) the object spins. Because we aren't robots, we tend to install things with less precision than is required for optimal use. In the case of something that spins, this lack of precision causes the object to wobble or have "run out."
By securing both the engine and the dial indicator to something (by using a bench vice or weights), then resting the point of the dial indicator on the engines clutch hub, we can measure run out to .001 of and inch. Some people have better dial indicators, I have the cheapy Harbor freight kind. Generally, the engine manufacturer will give you tolerances for run out. In the case of the G230rc I haven't found the run out tolerances anywhere. So I'm trying to keep it as close to perfect as I can.
The hub mount on this particular engine is tapered which allows for a better fit. I found that had one high spot that was .001. I didn't bother to try and dial that out because that's pretty damn good.
I posted a video below about dial indicating. I made this video well after the build was complete. I lost the original photos but really wanted to cover the importance of dial indicating in this build.
In this build, I'm using the Trex 700 clutch. Some people use the Lynx clutch.... I'm thinking about it. If you use the Lynx clutch you'll need to re-line the clutch bell with the Lynx liner.
The clutch does not come with mounting bolts. Luckily I had the right size in my spare fasteners. 3mm head.
The pull start is facing the wrong way. We'll need to change it.
It needs to face this way.
You want to have the pull start facing the same side as the priming bulb and choke.
remove the four bolts holding the pull start on and take it off
These bolts have no thread lock so when I pulled them out I dropped them in alcohol to remove any oil.
Doesn't do any good to clean the bolts if you don't clean the threads in the mount.
Adding thread lock
Now it's facing the right way.
Next I'm going to mount the engine to the Helibug frame base. The bolts come with the engine
There are four bolts to remove. The are pretty easy to find and remove.
This end will go toward the nose of the heli.
All for bolts are in. Don't forget to clean with alcohol and apply thread lock
mounting the skids
All done mounting the engine to the frame base
I've done about all I can do, so I decided to airbrush some flames on the frame.
See the paint forum for the details on painting the frame
All done for now. It will probably be Friday before I get started again.
May 02, 2011:
I wanted to build up as much as I could get done with the parts I have. I had a bunch of spare 2.5mm screws and bolts. Not anymore. Also, I decided I was going to dry fit the electronics to try and get an idea of how I want to run the wires.
You'll be using a lot of this size screw
You'll need two 2.5mm screws per frame mount. You have 8 frame mounts. The Helibug kit gives you 8 screws for the frame mounts. The rest are up to you because Align doesn't feel like putting screws in with a $20 dollar part.
Building up the tail control arm on to the mount. I wouldn't try to do this with the mount on the frame. It's easier to do off the frame.
this is the tail arm mounting screw. It comes with two washers that are very important. You want one on each side of the bearing.
Mounted on the frame
Installed the flange bearings
I mounted the left side of the frame. This was a bit of a tricky installation of a frame half. You have to install the frame mount bolts through the skids first. Don't tighten them all the way, and leave them fairly loose. The adjust the frame so the engine frame mount holes line up with the corresponding frame holes. Then install one bolt on each mount first, then go back and install the other two bolts into the mounts. Once those are screwed all the way down, tighten the frame bolts that go through the skids all the way down. This is the stiffest frame I've ever built.
Frame mount
Frame mounted on the engine frame mounts.
From the inside. The bolts were a little long, but that was all I had
Mounted the other side
Having destroyed a pinion and clutch bell, I decided to make a video on how not to let that happen. Up to this point I had been waiting on different parts and once the got here I got the build going again.
Here's a video on how to install the pinion onto the clutch bell
Make sure you add a spacer between the clutch bell and pinion. A spacer the same size as the one found in the package with the main gear One Way bearing sleeve is the right size. If you have a spare one of those I'd use it. If you don't use it, the clutch bell will sit to high, and the bottom gear (for the tail drive) will rub against clutch bell.
with the spacer, not rubbing!
The plastic bearing blocks require hexagonal bolts to provide support and a way to install them into the frame
These are the wrong part. They are for the electric version. I ordered these from the nitro section of the Heliproz (Ron Lund) website. This is why it's good to have the part number you need. You can get the correct part numbers from the manual.
Like I did for the plastic bearing mounts in the tail boom case, I use shoe goo to keep the bearing from spinning inside the plastic.
That's more than you need, but that's where it needs to go
Because the hexagonal bolts were the wrong size, I had to improvise. I used some nylon spacers on each side of the bearing block (4 spacers total) so that the hexagonal bolts would stay close to the middle.
This is the original size of the spacer. You can get them at Ace Hardware. Having various sizes handy is a good idea for this build.
This is the starter coupling. You have to turn it upside down. This keeps the start shaft from moving up and down. Also, I've added a bearing as suggested to raise the coupler so the set screws can reach the dimples on the start shaft.
Like I said in the intro to the build, it's a good idea to thread lock EVERY screw. This is the plastic thread lock.
ok... this is where it got very tricky. With the two frame halves together, I couldn't get the gear in without forcing it (not good) and the main shaft through the bearing blocks. So I pulled one half off and it was cake after that. I suggest seating the main shaft with one half off as well.
another view
meshing
Here's a video explanation
Because the cyclic bell cranks are different I had to use nylon spacers again. This time I had to drill them out to 7/32 of an inch inside diameter so that they could fit over the control shaft. This makes them extremely thin so be careful.
Other side. I tried to split the difference. I cut them longer than needed, the ground them down with a Dremel sanding disk.
Fuel Plumbing
This is how to set up the gas tank. The kit (from helibug) comes with a 10 oz. Dubro gas tank. The tank will come with a stopper that is only good with nitro fuel. Helibug sends you the correct gas stopper in the kit. Inside the gas tank you'll find the two metal tubes. Score one and break it in half, then punch them through the gas stopper. You need a fuel line, fuel return line, and a vent line.
This is a view of the top of the gas tank. I used hook and loop tape to secure it to the rx tray.
This is my clunk fuel line. It comes with the engine and is super flexible. The felt fuel filter/clunk comes with the engine as well.
You must use gas fuel tubing here. Nitro tubing will degrade over time. You can get gas fuel tubing, and clunks anywhere lawn mower parts are sold. You'll pay more at the hobby shop, but you can get it there as well. I'm using Tygon fuel tubing that I paid too much for at my LHS.
Electronics InstallAt this point I'll install the electronics. The manual doesn't cover this, but it does cover linkage lengths which are spot on if you're converting a nitro, an close to perfect if you're converting an ESP
The manuals geometry is pretty close to perfect.
I used Frenzy links here. I actually like them better than the Align links. This is where this servo should be placed. You'll see other builds where people have put the throttle servo in another servo mount. That causes a severe angle and I think its asking for trouble. Ali (Helibug) set up this kit perfectly and seems like such a waste to put that servo where it doesn't belong.
Anyway... in the above picture the ball is mounted 13mm from center spline. Your end points should be at 100% right here. If they aren't you need to check your linkage rod length and adjust it accordingly. Remember, gas powered engines use a butterfly carb so they are non linear. That means a little throttle input goes a long way. At 30% your head is moving. At 60% you better duck if you're hovering because your head is going to blow apart. This is why getting your throttle curves down is so important. If your governor, or rev limiter fails, having the proper throttle curves at the flip of switch could save your engine. I'm in the process of tweaking my throttle curves.
When I first cranked the heli up with the blades on, I've never seen this head spin so fast. It was a bit scary actually, and I was worried about the wooden blades. I was flying the ESP @ 6S. So I was used to a lowish head speed. My throttle curve at first spin up with blades was 0, inh, 20, 22.5, 25, 30, 100 (7 point curve). Normal pitch curve is -4 to +11, and my aileron pitch is at +7. With that normal throttle and pitch curve I should hover at 3/4 stick. I haven't dialed in my idle up curves yet because I don't plan on getting inverted during break in or with the woodies on. My Normal throttle curve at this point is 0, inh, 15, 17.5, 20, 25, 100. I could see/hear the difference in the head speed when I changed to this. It was a little low so I'll be changing them back.
I've run the fuel lines underneath the servo.
Setting up my rx tray.
I tried the CC 10A BEC and both the battery and the bec got very hot. I had the BEC set to 6v. I switched to the CC BEC Pro. Doesn't even get warm.
I made this gyro tray out of the electronics tray that came with the ESP kit. It doesn't go all the way across. I'm probably going to throw some spacers in the gaps. But this is a simple way to make one instead of spending the money for one.
I had to drill a hole in the frame
Here's how it sits with the canopy on.
This is where I put the satellite rx... on the landing strut.
Carb Set Up
Here are the high and low needles on the bottom of the carb.
Idle screw
The factory settings are not recommended for break in. Here I'm changing each to 1 3/8 turns open from fully closed. You want to close each down all the way, but don't over-tighten the screw. Then open it back up. There are no tick marks or guides to help you so I just went 1 1/2 turns then backed them up a hair.
choke fully open
choke closed
Primer. When the engine is cold, you want to push this several times with the choke completely closed. Pull until you get a "growl." Then open the choke and pull. The engine should start.
All done
Throttle Set UpLike I stated above, this is not a linear throttle. It's not recommended to break this engine in with a governor on. Some people say it's ok to at least have it installed but turned off. If you are going to fly 3D, it's probably a good idea to have one, but if you sport fly... nah. You might want to have a rev limiter installed to keep your rpms in a safe range and within the recommended engine tolerances. No matter whether you sport fly or fly 3D you can overspeed your engine. Over-speeding will shorten the life of your engine.
You can avoid over-speeding with the correct throttle curves and good collective management, or a rev limiter/governor. Governors fail all the time for many different reasons, so it's a good idea to have your throttle set up correctly so at a flip of the switch, you can govern your own head speed. To get the correct throttle curves you'll need a tach and a friend, and you set your throttle curves to coincide with your pitch curves. However, you need to have a good starting point.
Since I've never owned a gasser before, I had to hit the forums for information. After a few hours of forum surfing, I came up with a starting throttle curve of 0, inh, 20, 22.5, 25, 30, 100. So I dialed that up. Then I had to get the throttle linkage rod size correct. Even though I liked the Frenzy ball links better, I had to switch over to Align links because that's what the manual suggests.
Align Ball links, 80mm from bottom to bottom
13mm from center spline. This is a departure from 90 a bit, but after reading the manual a little more, I decided this was ok because it's not far off. However, I still think it's a lot better than having the throttle servo in the higher mount. That's a very extreme angle and a bit sketchy in my opinion.
In order to see how the butterfly moves in relation to pitch you'll need to take the intake cover off.
The first thing you want to do after removing the intake cover is loosen the idle screw to close the carbs' butterfly valve completely. You'll need to open the choke so you can see the butterfly. You want the butterfly to be completely closed at this point so you have a way to kill the engine via the radio should something go wrong during flight.
Choke lever fully open and the choke valve fully open but the carb butterfly closed.
If you see the lever in this position and valve like this you'll need to open the choke. This shows a fully closed choke.
Butterfly @ stick position 1
Mid stick
High stick
Radio set up
Curve graph
This is where I have my idle trim set. With the collective all the way at zero the engine will idle in this position. At this point I'm going to set up my throttle hold.
This is my throttle hold value. I have it set so it holds at an rpm that is just a hair greater than idle. This reduces the chance that I'll hit a flat spot in the rpms should I have to abort an auto. In order to find this value, I set the initial value of throttle hold to zero, then flipped the switch while the heli was idling. I listened to the rpms then backed the throttle down to get it where I wanted it. It's a good idea to do this with the blades off, just in case you engage the clutch.
Pitch CurvesMany people have covered how to get your pitch values so I wont be doing that. I'll just be showing how I have it set up.
+11 degrees @...
... a pitch swash mix of 45%
My normal pitch curve
Normal pitch curve with graph
Pitch at low stick in normal mode
This is my aileron pitch at a 45% Aileron swash mix. I've since bumped that up from 6 degrees to 7 and the percentage is now 47%. My swash mix is E 47% A 47% P 45%
Checking the PlugSince I've already had an issue fouling a plug, I thought I'd throw up some pics of how to check it.
In order to get at the spark plug with the tool provide with the engine... yes they give you a spark plug removal tool, you need to lay the heli on its side.
The clearance to spin the plug is small but it's enough to do the job
Once you break the initial seal, it's finger tight from there. It's quicker to use your fingers at that point.
That's what a wet plug looks like. Actually I cleaned this a bit trying to make it work but it was dead. The cause: not real sure. I'm thinking I primed it too much. Turns out you don't really need to prime at all. Pull with the choke closed halfway until you here it "growl," then open it all the way and it should be one pull after that.
I purchased a new plug from O'Reilly Auto parts for $2.75 and it started right up when I installed it. You don't have to have the radio on to start these engines. I had the head off and the boom off, and it one pull started from the open position on the choke.
