Does anyone know where I can find a set of head loaders for a .60 size or larger heli in the United States?

Thanks,
Don

I was going to offer you mine, but I cannot find them. I must have lent them to someone and never got them back.

AFAIK, the only commercial loaders ever available were from Revolution and Vario. These have the big whiffle balls on the end. A fellow in England invented them; Dave Something, I can't remember now. Don't recall ever seeing Rick's or Heli-Proz offering them; so you'll probably have to order from one of the UK shops; if they are even still available.

But call around; some shop may have a set gathering dust on the wall somewhere. For some reason, these gadgets never caught on over here. That is surprising, since they are VERY useful. Could be the US-prevalent 3F attitude... "Doan need no engine break-in; doan need no steenkin' head loaders to check the ship out before pulling pitch!"

Does it have to be the US cos a few places here ship to over the pond?

The March 2005 copy of Fly RC magazine has 30 and 60 size head loaders advertised on page 150 from RC Models Distribution LTD. I'll try to look tonight and find out the company for ya.

[link]http://www.rcmodels.org[/link]

Phone number listed in the ad is: (44) 161-929-5955

Cost is $33.62 for 30 size and $44.35 for 60 size.

This has caused me to think (please stand clear). Is there something wrong with this idea? please let me know. Here it is ...

Could you just build a normal pitch curve that was pretty much upside down (all negative pitch). For example, the settings could look something like this: low-stick=0°; mid-stick=-3°; hi-stick=-6°. This would provide the load for the engine during break in and the heli won't fly away?

I wonder if this is "do able" alternative to tracking down the source of head loaders? I imagine it would be as long as the TX supported it.

** Obviously requires your regular rotor blades to be installed.

Thanks,
d.tipton

Not a bad idea, tippy. In fact, when using a Roto-Pod to learn nose-in, we did a similar deal; make a separate set-up so the main blades never go to positive pitch. This keeps the ship firmly on the ground while still allowing free movement of the Roto-Pod mechanism.

The only problem I see with your idea is ground resonance. That can sneak up on you in a hurry, and will destroy a machine in the blink of an eye.

I have some rough plans, somewhere, drawn for a set of all-aluminum head loaders with an adjustable drag hole set-up to accomodate different blade grip spacing and a removable weight system to adjust for different needs. A good friend is a retired machinist who said he would be glad to make them for me. I just never followed up on the idea, and am not likely to now.

If you guys do find a set of head loaders, be aware that the whiffle balls are the weak link. I had one fail and turn inside/out on me on an X-Cell 60, and the machine was a heartbeat away from destroying itself due to dynamic imbalance when I chopped the throttle. And, as with most nasty things that go wrong with helis, it happened FAST.

Isnt this a hard way around to fix a simple problem?

ok,heres an idea I had back in 1990 when I was breaking in the engine on my first 60 heli-its similar to Steve's.
Cant you just get some aluminum stock that is as wide as a blade,cut it to the length it needs to be so the weight is the same as a blade,then drill it and put it on?