Doc,
Is there a difference between the blades - symmetrical Vs flat bottom? I'm still fighting old habits learned with the Fixed Pitch. When I'm in a confined area and I need to bring the heli down, I just dump the throttle. On the fp that just kills the power. On the CP that pitches the blades down - pushing the heli down. I'm talking like you don't realize that - and I'm sure you do. Never-the-less, I'll continue.
Example; If you have the heli on the ground in idle-up and pull the stick back the blades will come dangerously close to the boom even at high rpm. If the grips are a little loose and the blades go negative (as when you chop the throttle), and that situation forces a somewhat hard landing, and throw in some extra inertia because of the added weight - well there ya go.
I asked about the blade type because symmetrical blades have more lift when flying inverted - thus they have more negative lift when you cut the throttle. Is there anything in that thought?
About the tightness of blade grips, I've heard what DY said from several others. I've also found that it is important that both grips have the same tightness or the tail will bounce. If the grips aren't the same tightness it must be really hard to get good tracking. I run mine pretty snug - probably more snug than DY said. I'll adjust mine just a bit looser.
Oh, and what the lhs tech showed you about turning the blade back in the grip and how that allows the blades to get close to the boom, you can't just turn one blade. You have to turn them both toward their trailing edge. Two blades on one shaft - equal and opposite. What one blades does, the other must do. Turning one blade is never going to happen on a spinning rotor.
Anyhow, this was just a bunch of thoughts early in the morning. Hope you get the bird fixed, and enjoy those new blades. I'm going to get a set of Align 325 Fiber blades for my Beltrex 400 CP
. They are fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) with a CF spar down the center and an internal weight at the outer end for better stability. If they are not so good for 3D, they will be more good (more gooder?
) for me.