powrplay

Hi Everyone,

This weekend was the first time my Hawk hovered. The only thing unusual was a vibration which made my heart thump faster than it already was. My daughter video taped seven minutes of the session (battery ran out), and happen to catch the vibration on tape. I reviewed it that night and looking at it in slow motion, it looked like an animal wagging itself after getting out of the water.

I did my checks prior, during that first day and everything appeared to be fine. The next day, it did the same thing. Noticing it occurred between ¼ to ¾ stick. During a hover and even in forward flight as I prepared it to go into a hover prior to landing.

Has anyone ever experienced this with their Heli? What was the cause and did it solve the problem?

TIA

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I am sure you have done it, but did you ballance the main and tail blades?

Also, how tight are your screws holding the blades? If they are too tight, they don't allow the blades to move into position where they should be. Too loose and the blades can move as the blade speed changes. I have seen both of these cause that vibration.

powrplay

So many things going on this weekend, I have checked the Main Blade screws and they we're checked and re-checked by my local (45 minute drive) hobby shop. But as for balancing the blades, I haven't done myself. Is there a quick and reliable method of doing just that without having to spend extra $$?

FHHuber

Also check the flybar tracking and its balance... maybe the flybar has shifted off to one side 1/64 inch or so..... or one paddle is screwes on 1 turn more than the other. The flybar can also be off tracking just as the man rotor can.(tiny tweak of the AOA of one paddle to cure it if the flybar isn't tracking)

Little dabs of bright red and white paint on my flybar paddles... and the red and blue on my main blade tips... and the red and blue on my tail rotor tips... may look odd when the heli is sitting... but I know my blades and paddles track each other.

powrplay

You know, that's something really to consider. I already had a problem with first flybar by getting the weight stuck in one position. After setting the set-screw on the first flybar weight to help support screwing in the paddle on the opposite side, the weight was pretty much wedge in with all the metal and paint inside. Anyhoo, I eventually got it off and got it replaced with a new one. This time I screwed the paddles on simultaneously. Screwed them on until the threads disappeared in both paddles. I should have taken into consideration how many turns each took. It's easy enough to remove the paddles and do just that.
As for tracking, I will review the video a little closer and verify the flybar tracking.

syclic

Or it sounds like it could be a "high frquency wag" then a low frequency vibration. This is caused by running too low a rotor speed.

Have you ever flown an R/C airplane?

powrplay

No, I'm actually starting my RC Ventures with a Heli (Hawk Sport I [](the first ). As of now, I'm strictly still in RFG2 Training with 2 hours of actual hover, with training gear on, under my belt I will make adjustments to my Throttle the next time I get a chance to practice in the field.

FHHuber

May be a good idea to get an experienced guy to go over your heli's setup and test fly it... he can tell you by sound if the rotor speed is wrong.

Amazing how much better they work after an experienced guy tweaks the throttle to pitch curve.

Temps

Have you got training gear on? and does it vibrate all the time or after a while and get worse like its gonna self destruct???
if so i think i have the answer

powrplay

Yes, I have training gear on. As a matter of fact, the full length training gear. It vibrates like a wet dog asI approched 1/2 stick and reducing into a landing. It didn't matter if I was 1 foot from the ground or 10 feet from the ground. It still wagged!

blueprints

Could u post ure videos here.

Temps

I had the same problem with my caliber with training gear on thats what the problem is not your heli but your training gear if it gets a slight vibration it starts a resionation and gets worse thus shaking your heli to bits scary aint [X(]it well it scared the hell out of me but there is a solution wich i found on here also first thing is if your using rubber bands to connect skids to training gear dont have them to tight next thing was i stuck four car wheel balance weights (sticky type ) to each ball on the end of the training leg about ten grammes on each then the wobbles went away magic
even better when you get off training gear completly
once i did the above i was so happy to find it wasnt the heli

powrplay

I took my Heli for a hover today for only an hour. This time without any training gear ("Dad look, Dad look at me!") and everything went just fine . No unusual vibrations as I pushed the stick forward to a (not so steady) hover. There was a little breeze today so I pointed it toward the wind and hoped for the best. I was surprised how well it did. I was expecting it to bob up and down with the wind, instead it held steady. It did want to climb to Mt. Shasta at first, but, I kept her just below 10ft.

A SALUTE for everyone who replied! No more training gear for me.

Temps

Great no going back for you now the bird is free