i had an accidental tip over the other night and it caused some blade damage to the main rotor blades. I replaced those and decided to take it for a spin today and ran into a problem with my tail rotor. When i throttle up to the point where the heli is, or close to weightless (40% throttle), my tail rotor isn't spinning. Normally (i've only had it out 3-4 times) the tail rotor starts spinning at about 30%. If I try moving the tail rotor stick to the right, the tail rotor starts spinning and works great. When i move the rotor stick to the left, the motor stops spinning. When i move it to the center, nothing happens.

I tried a few batteries to make sure i wasn't low on power, and that wasn't the case. I was thinking of turning the tail rotor trim up a bit, but wanted to get peoples feeling on the issue. Any other ideas as to what could be the culprit?

Have you emailed Heli-max? To be honest, I think it is supposed to be that way to counter act the main rotor torque. After my crash I started paying more attention to my tail rotor. It only spins when I move the stick to the right. Please let me know what you find out. I don't think it's the radio though.

i thought that too, but i don't think it would make sense that the RC operator would have to keep the rudder to the right all the time.

just out of curiosity, are you flying yours at the moment like that? I'm still working my way through RADD's step by step guide. Haven't really gotten it off the ground really. Just taking the weight off the skids.

I haven't email Heli-Max yet - i think i'll do so this evening.

Hi guys, the tail rotor should not engage until you are at mid power (or close to it) unless you give right stick. Depending on your trim positions on the radio if the bottom left is pretty well centered and the swashplate is pretty level then what you describe is "normal". If you are just starting and your bird is fairly new with no major crashes then everything sounds ok. A suggestion if I may, swap the foam balls for ping pong balls. You will be able to "slide" more freely on the ground during your RADD lessons. You will notice that the tail will generally want to rotate to the right so that you will need to use right stick some more. Don't worry too much about setting the trims for a smooth hover until you are able to get the bird up off of the ground a couple of feet and can control it for a period of time. while it is on the ground or just off the ground there is too much ground effect to set it. Also, as the batteries drain the trim will change. Just learn to "fly the tail" no matter what the trim setting.

anacondatm,

I emailed Heli-Max earlier this evening. It'll be monday before I hear from them I'm sure. Yes, for now I've been trying to hold the heli about a foot off the ground and a little right stick to keep it from spinning.
I've heard that about using ping pong balls. We just so happen to have some in our break room. I'll see if I can talk our machinist into letting me use one of his drill presses and a drill bit. It makes perfect sense to me. I've noticed that the foam balls encourage the heli to spin. I've just been trying to keep it straight.
K94MAX,

At about 40% throttle, I'm already off the ground. Is this normal??

Ted

hey Strat1960 - yeah i'm in the same boat. I emailed Heli-Max last night after responding, don't expect to hear anything for a bit.
I gave the heli another shot, and yeah i'm lifting off the ground and still no rear rotor. The second i hit the right rotor stick it starts spinning. My memory could be off , but i'm sure it started spinning before that.

K94Max - should the moving the rudder stick to the left totally kill the tail rotor rotation?

Thanks guys!

the tail motor only operates in one direction to counteract (or overcome) the turning tendency which is a byproduct of the lift generated by the main rotor blades. The force caused by the main rotor blades only tries to move the nose of the heli in one direction so the tail rotor only needs to be able to spin one direction to counteract this. By varying speed on tail rotor blades, less or more lift can be created by them to keep the nose straight. If the heli is trying to spin one direction or the other or you continously need your left stick to have an input to keep the nose from spinning use the trim and adjust it out a little. The tail rotor should stop when you move the stick all the way to the left to answer though. By doing so, it allows the gyroscopic force of the main rotor to turn the heli and if you want the nose to go to the right it will speed up.

Yes, Redvtr1000 is correct in his statement. Also, yes on about 40% for off the ground flight. I have been flying mine for a little over a month now and I am still yet to go much over 60 - 70 % throttle. I am up to about waist / head level and if I go much higher I lose orientation. One of the tricks is to go slow and take your time. You will know when you outfly your abilities - generally a crash follows pretty quickly. I know of what I speak. But take yor time and keep it low and gradually work up to 2 - 3 feet off of ground and you will see it smooth out some. Be easy on the sticks because slight movements will create a reaction. I think your birds are both ok and working as should be. I fly about every day on 2 packs (batteries not beer) except for down times waiting on parts. If interested here is a list of parts to order: 4 or 5 packs of main rotor grips, 1 set of flybar paddles, an extra flybar, a pack of flybar weights - put them on the the flybar next to the paddles - this will "calm" the heli down some so it is easier to control - you can move them in closer as your skill improves, 1 or 2 main gears, glue, blue loctite, stabilizer control hub, seasaw, tail vertical fin and bracket, flybar links, lipo batteries and charger and balancer, 2 mm nuts. I have replaced all of the above and even the swashplate assembly and tailbooms. Be sure to do the heatsink modification also to help cool the motor. I have just switched to the plastic training blades also. I hope you don't need the parts as much as I did but it is nice to have them if and when you crash and break something. Generally, for me, I usually break a main grip the most. make sure you balance the blades and level the paddles. The tailboom can be straightened most of the time if bent. make sure the tail motor is level with the frame. I also got some extra washers and fuel tubing for the landing gear and glued the sticks on each side of the clips efter centering each one so that they did not slide around as much.
You may know all of this already and I don't mean to insult your intelligence. I just know that these are some of the issues, parts etc that I have and thought I could pass on some of my experiences to others. This is a great site and be sure to read the Axe thread for other great advice and insights. Happy flying and don't forget to duck or move when necessary - I put two cuts on my leg with the main blades before I figured this part out.