zaremba
Posts: 104
Score: 100
Joined: 3/2/2003
Last Login: 12/21/2004
From: Elmhurst, IL, USA
Status: offline
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Hi folks,
Sorry if this has already been covered before, but I thought that I would share my concerns/questions all in one post:
We're working through building one of these Raptor 30 V2 kits, and it's been a lot of fun, but there has been a lot of confusion and frustration as well. Without Michael's great advice at http://www.raptortechnique.com , we would have destroyed parts and made serious mistakes already.
OK! (Deep breath....) Here we go:
1. The entire engine assembly was already completed by the factory in my kit. Engine mount, fan, clutch shoes were all assembled at the factory. All that we had to do was install the carburetor. We didn't loosen anything or add Blue Loctite. The engine fit quite well right into the fuselage/clutch bell, and my eyes detect no wobble or shimmy when I rotate the starter shaft or main drive gear. Should I leave it as is, or loosen the bolts and Loctite everything?
2. Do the plastic tail rotor blades require balancing?
3. I didn't bother epoxying the Tail Support Rod Ends (Step 14, part 19) into the Tail Support Rods. We just used the self-tapping screws and attached everything. Do you forsee a problem with this?
4. How tight should the linkages be (aileron control arms, elevator control arm links, collective pitch controls, flybar control arms, flybar control rods, tail rotor pitch arm, etc)? They seem stiff, but move smoothly. Also, how does one go about making sure that the ball/link junction is smooth and loose? How about for things like the elevator control arm links? They really aren't links like you find on a rod. They're thicker, and therefore not able to be "squeezed with pliers to make them looser on the ball".
5. How critical is it that the parts on the flybar are in alignment? We did a pretty good job eyeballing everything, and they all seem in alignment (paddles and control arms). What things should I look for to diagnose an out-of-alignment flybar assembly?
6. When I pulled the thrust bearings (step 11, part 11) out of the shrink wrap, at first it was panic because I thought that the bearings were destroyed. We quickly figured out that they are each in three parts. As far as I could tell, the two outer halves of the bearing are identical. Both are bearing races, with one side smooth. The smooth sides obviously face outwards. The inner bearing ring was asymmetrical. I have them as follows: the side with just the top of the bearings showing go towards the blades, and the other half that shows the entire bearing is pointed towards the hub. In other words, are the bearing races direction-sensitive?
7. I plan on adjusting the linkages once the servos are installed. By this, I mean making sure everything moves smoothly and easily. Is this adviseable? This is really a part 2 to question 4.
8. Should I go out and buy a blade balancer, or is this something I can make at home?
9. Can I paint the main rotor blades instead of shrink-wrapping them?
10. I had a part discrepancy in step 13. There are two set screws (part 5, HME-3-18B). These are supposed to go into the Tail Rotor Hub (part 18). The set screws in my kit were of slightly different length. One seemed to be "correct", in that there was the slightest amount protruding once we attached the nyloc nut (part 6). The other one was about 2 millimeters shorter, which means that the nyloc nut didn't quite fully grab the set screw. There is still good contact, but not as good as the "proper" set screw. Is this a problem? Should I replace the "incorrect" shorter set screw with one of proper length, or should I not worry for now?
11. A note: we had trouble fitting the Tail Pitch Control Slide Bushing (step 13, part 22) into the bearings. The threads would fit, but then the rest would not. We ended up having to chuck the part in a drill and very carefully, with very fine sandpaper, sand the shaft down until it fit perfectly into the bearings. Maybe we were being too careful, but I wouldn't want to damage the bearings in this sensitive part.
12. In your experience, what should I watch for when I pre/post-flight the bird? What parts tend to work themselves loose most easily?
Sorry for the long post; we made a lot of progress this weekend, and given the poor quality of the manual, I have a lot of questions. The manual is good for an exploded parts diagram, and that's about it.
Thunder Tiger would do well to search the Internet and grab the best "homebrew" instructions and include it in their next edition :-)
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Raptor 30 V2 kit questions - 
