Thanks Rotor13B, I went one step farther in checking by disconnecting the main motor leads, putting the stick at right around half throttle (just before the tail rotor starts up) and swung the tail. It works and seems to be fairly accurate to direction changes. One thing I did notice was that the 3 cyclic linkages were way out of spec. for length and the swash plate is not level. The reason for checking this was that right at lift off the copter is a real hand full to keep in one place. Come to think of it, it is a real handfull even at 3 feet up. Murphy is alive and well though, [:@] while pushing back on the ball joints one of the swash plate balls broke off. Oh well, another order to Tower (my local hobby shop sells the Axe, but does not carry any parts) A few days of waiting and I should be back in business.