nlhall

I’ve had my Jabo2 for a few months but due to bad weather (small house, no room to fly inside so I use the back garden) and endless minor damage and waiting for parts I haven’t flown it much. Although I am now starting to get hang of it.

My latest crash damaged the swash plate so as I was disassembling it (in anticipation of the parts arriving) I noticed that my flybar was broke exactly in the middle, sine it is held in place by 2 grub screws it was still doing its job, but I primitively had a spare… but this one is longer!

So my question is, is it better to have a longer or shorter flybar and for what reason?

Many thanks
Nick

Ozydego

Longer flybars give more stability, but lower cyclic rate, and thus a slower response. A shorter flybar has a faster cyclic, but is less stable. You can always cut the flybar down to size, or if it has knurled ends and/or u don't to cut it, u can get piano wire or carbon rod of the same diameter from ur hobby store and use that. just make sure the paddles are very secure, because without a knurled end, the paddles have less friction to hold them in place. I use a drop of CA or lately I have used loctite to help hold them in place. CA isn't the best to use I found out, because if you need to get the paddles back off, its nearly impossible, oh and make sure the paddles are straight before using CA, with Loctite, u have a little more time to position them.

nlhall

Thanks very much, that’s exactly what I wanted to know.

Oh and I totally agree with your signature, its costing me a fortune, but I love it!

hellaheli

I've ran both extremes. about a 4" and a 9" flybar. The 9" was way more responsive, while the 4" was nearly impossible to fly (No leverage?). I'm now settled at 6.5" as a compromise for flight times, but I liked 9" the best!

nlhall

Thanks for the help on the flybar length, very useful. But now I have a new problem….

Fitted the new flybar, but now I’m having problems getting off the ground, and when I do it’s very juddery. I’m almost certain that its due to the paddles.

I understand that they have to be exactly level with each other, what is the best way to do this? Are there any tricks to setting them up and making sure they everything is centred and balanced?

Many thanks
Nick.

p.s. I was having real difficulty learning to fly my Heli and I concluded it was due to the fact I was trying to fly in my garden (which is very narrow) and I was too nervous about it hitting the trees/garage etc so I was over compensation and making too violent movements…
So I started flying it in the small park area at the front of my house, its tree lined so very little wind and WOW I can fly!!! Realistically I’m not using any more space its just the physiological aspect to having the walls near me. But what a buzz, it’s a great feeling

Ozydego

When I level my paddles, I just eyeball them, but afterwards, I check their tracking just like I would the main blades. I leave the mains off and spin up the rotor. First, once its spinning, I put my hands above and below the disc and make sure I don't feel any air, as this means they have a pitch to them if I can feel air. Next I look in line with the disc and check the tracking to make sure both paddles are in line with each other.. Last, if i have vibration, I start by adding trim tape to one paddle, if the vibration gets worse, I know I am balancing the wrong paddle. If the vibration gets somewhat better I know I'm on the right track and just vary the amount of trim tape to balance the paddles and cancel the vibration. One other thing I do is measure the length of the flybars themselves, to make sure they are equal, then I measure the lengths with the paddles included, and that tells me if one paddle is further out on the flybar or not... all these things can and do cause vibration and lower head rpms and thus problems getting off the ground.

nlhall

Brilliant, I’ll give this a go. It sounds time consuming but well worth it. Thank you very much.

One question though, is “trim tape” particular in its properties or can you use something like electrical tape?

Ozydego

any tape will work, I used to use scotch tape because it was clear. trim tape is just something I have a lot of, its skinny, so it will work in more places, and after its in place, I can heat it and make it permanent, but yes pretty much any tape will work, since electrical tape is usually heavier, you probably won't need as much.