InitialDriveGTR

I am a newbie, beeen gettin better, took it out today after tha sno melted, got it upto 7 ft, tilted forfard, and SMACK! into the ground. (it was wicked sick tho) Need to know how to repair my balsa wood blades, they are fixable, but i wanna know tha best way.

Thanks

InitialDriveGTR

oh, and by the way, how do ya fix a tail rotor that has the pins that connect to the gear broken?

VinceHerman

Typically, by buying new ones. It is not worth the risk of having a damaged blade be thrown off in flight and put an eye out.

InitialDriveGTR

hi, the blades aren't enterily broken, the ends are just beaten and splinterd. I cut off the coating, and the splintered wood, and replaced it with foam, then coaated it with scotch tape.

Obi-Wan

Sounds like you're good to go then [sm=thumbup.gif]

How did they balance after your 'repair'? [sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

But seriously, just buy some new ones like Vince suggested.

emosolo

Morning,

I have never fixed blades but always replaced them... Not worth the risk loosing the blades.

Regards
Solo

ozandy

So long as the damage is only out toward the tips, and the replaced material is minor, and the tape is up to the job, and you balance them (both weight and COG), then small repairs are fine. Major repairs can be very dangerous as the other posts have said. I reckon it is too expensive and slow to order a new set every time the heatshrink cracks, but do be wary of fixing blades, and always look for hidden damage. (and never fly close at eye level, even with new ones)

rc_lurker

Bad idea. These are heli blades. They rotate. FAST! The centrifugal force is EXTREMELY high. It sounds to me like your creating an unpredictable, homemade bomb that is likely to blow apart and injure someone unexpectedly. Buy new blades. Never use damaged blades. Bad idea. Bad, Very bad.

casipak

My Feedback: (3)

I've repaired my blades twice now and they work perfectly. I got some balsa and made a template of my blade. Then I cut a square around the the damaged area and glued a balsa piece there with super glue. Then I sanded it down and I was surprised to find that I didn't have to balance them.

Graybug

Just because you have doesn't mean you should. These blades spin fast enough to do severe damage to property and human body parts if things go a-flyin' off. The risk just isn't worth it...nor the regret you'd feel should the worst happen. Find the $$$ and buy new blades.

Graybug

casipak

My Feedback: (3)

I actually just bought some balsa and made my own blades and they work great!
Only took me a couple of minutes to sand them down to the right angle.


The damage on the blades is not severe though. It's just the tip, but I'll be careful.

elmote

I am not sure about the blades for your bird, but most woodies are not made entirely of balsa. The leading 3rd or so is ash. This strip carries the load at the root where the grip attaches, and takes the brunt of bug smashing etc. The balsa is just long for the ride to shape the airfoil. An all balsa woodie may be to fragile.

Elmo Te

warren52nz

But at least if they're made entirely out of balsa they'd probably do little damage to anything (except an eye) even at high speed.

You wouldn't want to try an autogyro landing with pure balsa though... not enough momentum, I bet.

I make my own blades for my XRB but the headspeed is much slower than a CP (I also have a Century Elite 3D Pro) and they're made out of pure styrene so you don't have to mix different materials.

jaardesign

How do you make the XRB blades? do you have any pics?

thanks

InitialDriveGTR

COOL......

Ya.. i think i will replace them, but it'll be a while....(I'm 15!)

oops

I know (full scale fixed wing) pilots repair damaged wooden blades often, and their blades are under a lot of stress. One of the common field remedies is to fill nicks with superglue and baking soda, then sand it back.

However I've always wondered how much damage is acceptable on model heli blades...

The pure balsa blades are still quite heavy if they are thick enough, but they are also expensive to replace while you are learning, since you can do a fair amount of damage, so I'm not suprised people tend to let the damage build up a bit before replacing them. Especially the plastic ones which seem to be able to take a bit of damage.

Having spoken to more experienced pilots at model shops, I often ask about how well the blades handle damage, and the answers seem to be more along the lines of "pretty well on grass, less well on concrete" but never guidance about how much damage is too much... So I get the feeling that when they start to vibrate, you have a problem. I've replaced mine when the damage affects the handling, or looks severe enough that it would lead to fatigue, even if it was strong enough to fly still.

If anyone can provide some real knowledge on the subject, I'd be interested to know.

Also, has anyone seen or heard of a small electric heli blade come apart under speed? Can you describe the circumstances under which it happened? What sort of model was it? What material were the blades made of?

As for the flying at eye level, I've been hit with things other than bits of heli while flying, usually stuff picked up from the ground, eg, small rocks etc. Never hurt, but then I usually wear glasses, so maybe protective glasses should be a standard item of flying kit when up close... Especially if you land tail-in and the tail rotor bottom rotates towards you !

Regards
David