Longer Flybar
 

I have heard people talk about installing a longer flybar on thier heli, can someone explain what effects this has on the heli? Any advantages to this? I put Align 325 Carbons on my Belt CP and that seemed to make it alittle more stable especially in a hover. What will a longer flybar do on a nitro Ergo .46 heli? Also I'm getting ready to put lighter paddles on this heli so what effect will that have on it?

RE: Longer Flybar
 

A longer flybar will increase cyclic response because the paddles are moving faster through the air, so when they deflect, they'll provide greater lift. If the paddles are weighted, a longer flybar will also increase stability by increasing the gyroscopic effect of the flybar.

RE: Longer Flybar
 

I can tell you what a shorter flybar will do. I just broke about 1/2 inch off of mine. I don't have an extra one so I put the paddle back on and centered it and now I have NO cyclic control. It's hard to believe that just 1/2 inch would do that.

RE: Longer Flybar
 

You should consider weight before length-but not much , a little at a time

RE: Longer Flybar
 

Decreasing weight will increase your cyclic response. Increasing length will increase your cyclic response. The same weight farther out will decrease your cyclic response.


However, flybar stiffness has a lot to do with the equation so lengthening it may make it more flexable thereby loosing any advantage.

Bottom line, to incrase the response just run lighter paddles, or if possible, up the flybar ratio, some designs allow this, some dont.

RE: Longer Flybar
 

"Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world."

I believe most of the increased responsiveness of a longer flybar comes not from more airlfow over the paddles but from having a longer lever.

The flybar is a lever. The flybar paddle generates a given torque force (distance * force). Granted, the increased airflow will increase the "force" part of the equation but I believe the increase "distance" has a greater affect on responsiveness.
There is a certain amount of torque force required to move the main blades in cyclic response. There is also a gyroscopic force of the paddles (for stability). The leverage has to overcome both.

In order to move the blades faster in cyclic response ... you can either 1) decrease the force the lever is competing against (lighter paddles) or 2) apply a larger torque force (longer lever).

I believe this is what happens when a longer flybar is used ... for the same amount of up/down paddled force ... with a longer flybar (longer lever) ... a larger cyclic force is applied ... increasing cyclic response.

In the posted example of a shorter flybar ... less torque was available (shorter lever) and had trouble competing with the forces needed to "cycle" the main rotor blades ... ie " ... now I have NO cyclic control ..."

The extra airflow gained over the paddles with a longer flybar may increase the effieciency of the paddle force but the paddle has to travel farther (up/down) to induce the same angular input as a shorter flybar. So some of it's responsive gain (due to more airflow) would be absorbed in angular loss.

I agree that there is gain there ... but not like the gain of leverage/torque.

This is just me thinking out loud. If it's wrong ... feel free to bop me in the back of the head. :D

RE: Longer Flybar
 

i would not change the geomety of the head just add weights to make it more stable or lighter paddles to make it responsive

RE: Longer Flybar
 

Thanks alot for your wealth of information guys! You answered my questions like I knew you could, I really appreciate it. Because I want to put different paddles on my JR Ergo .46 I have no choice but to change the flybar. But I will make sure that I wind up with the same lenght overall because the paddles are definately lighter and I don't want the heli to be to touchy in flight because I'm still learning to fly. Thanks again!!!!!!!!