Section 4 - Tracking and Trimming the Rotor


Well guys, its finally ready. The long awaited "HOW TO TRIM" a heli section.

This part of the thread is LONG, and will be posted in two sections. The first section will be setting up the swashplate, and the other section will be trimming out the rotor head.

It is IMPORTANT that you follow every step carefully. Im going to go very slowly and in detail, because there is alot to do here.


The single most important thing at this point of the thread is MAINTAINING the servo's centering. If at anytime during this section, you bump or move one of the servo arms after centering, you MUST recenter the servo's before continuing.


1. Center the rudder, aileron and elevator trims on the transmitter.
2. Center the throttle trim lever.
3. Move the throttle stick all the way down.
4. Turn on the transmitter.
5. Plug in the battery on the helicopter
6. Wait for the gyro to initialize.
7. Unplug the battery on the helicopter
8. Turn off transmitter.
Now first lets go over the throttle trim lever.
The throttle trim lever adjusts the rotor head speed with little to no changes in collective(pitch) on the blades.

This is important because when flying in idle up mode, you want to be able to increase or decrease rotor head speed without changing your collective(pitch).

While in idle up mode, and hovering, you want a lower head speed so that the collective is not so sensitive around neutral.

As you change into doing aerobatics, you want a higher head speed so that the collective is more sensitive around neutral. This way you dont have to put in lots of collective control during pitch changes like during rapid flips or rolls.

That's why we have a throttle trim lever.
Now you may not be at the skill level to where you need this, but its still important to set the heli up correctly so that this works.
The first thing we need to do in trimming is to set-up the swashplate correctly. Its much easier to do this with the head removed from the heli.

To remove the head from the heli.

1. Undo the paddle control frame pushrods from the swashplate.

2. Pull out the shear pin from the rotor head

3. Pull the rotor head off the main shaft.

Next, turn the pushrods from the servos, in or out to get the swashplate so that it is EXACTLY 1/2" from the top of the main shaft as shown in the picture.
Try to keep the swashplate as level as possible.

Next, turn the pushrods from the servos, in or out to get the swashplate EXACTLY level. You can use a small leveling bubble for this. The easiest way I've found to do this is by using a drafting triangle. Place the edge of the triangle on the rotor shaft and align the swashplate with the bottom edge.


It is important for the swashplate to be level not only from the side of the helicopter, but also from the front and rear of the helicopter.

Remember to maintain the 1/2" distance from the top of the shaft while leveling the swashplate.

The better, and more precise you get this step, the better the heli will fly.
Now reinstall the rotor head.

1. Push the rotor head back onto the main shaft.
2. Insert the shear pin back into the rotor head.
3. Reattach the paddle control frame pushrods to the swashplate

Now we move into setting up the rotor head

The first thing to do is to balance a set of blades.
It is important to do this as precisely as possible.

Attach the blades to the balancer
If you dont have a balancer, you can make one.
Take a long screw that will fit through the holes in the blades. Put a nut onto the screw, then insert the screw through both blades, and then put another nut on the end and tighten so that both blades sit as shown. You can then balance them between to books or whatever you like.

If the blades are out of balance, you can add tape to the underside of the light blade to make them balance. It shouldnt take much maybe a strip or two.



Next install the blades.

There is alot of talk about how much to torque down the blade grip screws. Some people say leave them loose. Some people say make them tight.

I recommend tightening them so that the blades will stay in place, and will move about 2" if you sharply tap the blade tip with your finger while holding the rotor head.

Its time to adjust the pitch on the blades.

ARE YOUR SERVOS CENTERED?

Make sure all the servos are centered before proceeding.

1. Level the flybar.
2. Adjust the linkages from the blade grips to the rotor head frame so that the blades are level and have "0" pitch as shown.

Next we adjust the flybar paddles.

1. Slightly loosen the screws that hold the paddles on.
2. Twist the paddles until they are at "0" pitch.
3. Retighten the retaining screws.
4. Re-check pitch.

Tracking the Blades

Tracking is VITAL to keeping vibration down, and making the helicopter maintain stability.

When tracking the blades, NEVER remove pitch to lower the high blade.
Always increase pitch on the low blade.

The reason for this is simple. If you lower pitch on the high blade you will be setting that blade to negative pitch. This will cause unwanted roll during high speed forward flight maneuvers, and the heli will also want to roll out of inverted maneuvers. It will also cause ground vibrations if you land while in idle-up mode.

Increase pitch on the low blade by adjusting the linkage from the rotor head frame to the blade grips.

It is easiest to do this if the blades have a stripe of different colors on each blade. The blades come with a red and black tape stripe on the blades. Simply look for which color is low while the blades are spinning.

The pictures below show properly tracking blades, and improperly tracked blades.



NO, its not ready to fly yet. There's still more to trimming and tracking the head. Anyway here is the missed step. Insert it right after the "balancing the blades" section.

Centering the flybar.
1. First loosen the the two allen screew shown


HeliNate, you would lengthen the linkage to increase pitch.

Shortening it would remove pitch.

If your really interested in truely tweaking the tracking DEAD on perfect, heres a little tip.
This is kinda advanced as you have to be very careful to check to make sure you dont end up with negative pitch in one of the blades.

Instead of adding pitch to the low blade....

Add one half turn pitch to the low blade, and remove one half turn pitch on the high blade. Keep going until they match up. Once youve got them tracking perfectly, make sure to check both blades carefully to make sure that there is NO negative pitch in either blade.

This isnt recommended for most folks because its easy to get negative pitch. But if you want perfect tracking, this is the way to do it.

Oh yeah, and the 1/2" thing is with the throttle stick at 0 throttle, and the heli in normal mode. This is so that the blades are at 0 Pitch at 0 throttle. If the swashplate is not 1/2" down from the top of the main shaft, you will end up with un-equal travel in idle up mode, limiting either positive pitch or negative pitch depending on whether its high or low, and it can damage the servos, as it will bind when it hits top or bottom.

A more in-depth look at balancing blades, and making sure that the rotor head is balanced and trimmed PERFECTLY.
Getting the heli ready for inverted flight.
How to fix those skids so that they wont break. The skids are WAY to fragile, there is an easy modification you can do that will keep you from snapping them.

Im hoping also to get some video up of the blade taking it to the max including some inverted stuff.

Here are the final 3 sections of this thread.

5. Adjusting the gyro.
6. Performance modifications
7. Extreme Modifications.

There is still a lot more info in the next three sections. Whoooooooo...sighing.



Adjusting the gyro is one of the simplest tasks, but also requires a bit of trial and error. Most new heli pilots have a hard time with this, mainly because they dont know what they are looking for. Well.....thats where this thread comes in. We are going to go step-by-step on how to adjust your gyro, and get it nailed dead on.

First take a look at your gyro. There are two "pots" or adjustments on the side of the 4-in-1 box.
If you look closely, one is labled "Gain" and the other is "Proportional"

Gain is just a fancy word for sensitivity. This pot adjusts how sensitive the gyro is to the movement of the tail. You can set the gyro from NO sensitivity to EXTREMELY HIGH sensitivity.

At its lowest setting, the gyro will turn off, and offer NO corrective inputs to the tail motor. This is not recommended because you will have to manually fly the tail of the helicopter during flight.

At its highest setting the gyro will "overcorrect" because its super sensitive. This results in the tail rapidly wagging back and forth as it searches for center, but cant seem to lock on because its overcontrolling the tail.

Ideally we want the gyro set so that it "locks" onto center and does not allow the tail to move.

The second pot is the "proportional" pot. This pot adjusts the tail so that it is not overcorrecting in one direction or the other. And makes the tail rotor "proportional" to the torque of the main rotor.

For this section, it is required that the heli is powered up, so please be aware that the heli will be live, and you should be aware of safety precautions. Always stay out of the way of spinning rotor blades, as they can cause bodily injury or death.

Start off by plugging everything in as if you were preparing to fly the helicopter.

Center all trims on the transmitter, except the throttle trim which should be all the way up.
Increase throttle until the helicopter becomes light on the skids.

Now let go of the sticks.(you should NOT be airborne at this point)
Memorize which way the tail went. Now power it down.

Lets assume that the helicopter started yawing to the right. (nose right, tail left). This means that the helicopter requires left "proportional" pot adjustment.

Open your manual to page 14 - Tail Rotor Proportional Mix Trimmer Pot Description and Adjustment.

According to the manual you will need to turn the pot counterclockwise (towards the - minus symbol) to correct this.

Im going to give you a very simple thing I want you to memorize.
Turn towards minus = tail slower
Turn towards plus = tail RPM faster.

So your asking what's this for?

Well, anytime the tail rotor spins faster, it turns the heli to the right. If it spins slower, it turns to the left. Now you know which way to adjust the pot in a instant....without referring to the manual.

Here's the tricky part.

You remembered which way the tail moved right? Did you remember how fast it moved.
If it moved very fast, it will require more adjustment than if it just moved slowly.

The pots on the gyro are very sensitive. A little tiny adjustment will do alot. So dont overdo it.

Now turn the gyro proportional pot a little in the direction you need.

Now power it back up and get it light on the skids.

Release all the sticks...

Did it stay centered, or did it still move right....or did it change directions.

If it stayed centered....CONGRADULATIONS. Your done with proportional adjustments.
If it still moved right....turn the proportional counterclockwise a tad more until it stays centered.
If it moved left, you turned the pot too much. Back it off a little.

Once you think youve got it all adjusted...Pop the heli up into a hover.
If the heli still exhibits a STRONG turn...adjust the proportional pot a little more.
If the heli just very slowly turns....this can be corrected by the trims on the transmitter.

The more time you spend and the more precise you get this, the better the heli will fly.
The GAIN pot


Well, the gain can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
For new pilots or beginners that are working on hovering. I STRONGLY recommend you set the gain as high as possible without making the tail wag back and forth.

Here's the low down on how to adjust it.
You should already have the proportional pot adjusted.

Turn the gain all the way up.....thats right...all the way up. Towards the + plus sign.
Be VERY careful not to overturn the pot. You will feel it stop. Dont force it past that or you will damage the gyro.

Our friends over at E-flite thought ahead and realized that you should not have to turn the heli off to adjust the gain. OHHHHHH GOODY GOODY!!!!

So pop it up into a hover. If the tail wags back and forth, bring your beloved heli back to earth, stop the blades, and turn it down a little. Pop it back up into a hover.....does it still wag back and forth, or does it feel "loose" and unstable.

If its still wagging back and forth, turn it down a little more.

If it feels "loose", you turned it down too much...turn it up a tad.

Keep doing this until the tail stays stable, and requires very little correction on the stick.



By now Im sure youve noticed a BIG increase in how well the helicopter flys. GO ahead.....burn a battery pack. Dont get too excited though....Ive got more for ya.


This section is going to be very in-depth as there is alot to go over. This section is designed for those of you wanting to know how to tweak the existing helicopter to get the best performance out of it.

The Extreme Modification section that comes after will contain info on how to max out the Blade. It will involve modifications that may void the warrenty, and involve actually cutting, trimming or redesigning the Blade helicopter.

Stay tuned, as we are going to start this section tonight starting with information on how to trim, track, and balance the head to absolute perfection. Then it will go into adding options such as other parts available from E-flight

Since E-flite does not yet have the Bell/Hiller system out, we will have to wait until later to post on it. But Ill add it to the thread as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Since some of the upgrade parts aren't out yet, Ill just start with what is available.
By now most of you have already upgraded to the "aerobatic enhancement kit" and a few of you have upgraded to the Carbon Fiber blades. Well...E-flite has released carbon fiber tail blades too.

The Carbon fiber tail blades are SUPER lightweight. This is a good thing. The lighter the tailfeathers weigh, the easier it is for the tail motor to spin. This results in faster more precise tail movements. The gyro works better, and rudder inputs are faster now. The carbon fiber tail rotor does have a few issues though. The hole drilled through the center that fits over the shaft is too small. This requires that you carefully re-drill the hole so that it will fit properly. The other thing (although superficial) is that only one side of the tail rotor is finished in a nice glossy carbon fiber finish, and the other side looks like they sandpapered the surface. All in all its a good addition.

The other upgrade recently released is the Aluminum Swashplate. Now this little jewel is pretty cool. Just go back to the section on building the head, and simply swap the swashplate out. Its a easy swap. Plug and Play of the helicopter world. The aluminum swashplate is very smooth, and has no slop in its bearings, which makes the heli even more responsive and the head spins smoothly. Aside from its asthetic looks, it does have its benefits. The ball links wont break off, and once the bell/hiller head comes out, its going to provide a good solid base for the new head.

Here are pics of both the carbon fiber tail blade and the swashplate. Notice the large ball bearing visable from the underside of the swashplate.

Here is a pic of the swashplate installed, and of the carbon fiber tail rotor installed



Well, Bill Altman has replaced the stock Blade head on his heli with the E-sky Bell/Hiller head. I have flown it. Its a whole other helicopter.

I would say it flys more like a T-rex now. Its really stable, but when you move the sticks...it goes. The 3D type manuevers are going to be much easier with the new head. If you shove cyclic in it, its going inverted and RIGHT then....no more waiting on it to move. Hovering is easier with the new head. The stock blade head is sluggish. Its ok for relatively new pilots, but once you get good at hovering and forward flight, the stock head is sloooooow. The bell/hiller head makes hovering easier because when you input commands, it does it immediatly, no hesitation.

You know how when you are in forward flight, and you turn a corner, you dont want to over bank the heli with the stock head, because it takes a while for it to roll out of the bank on exit, and its easy to overcontrol it and get out of control....well the new head...go ahead and bank it. Yank that sucker up on knife-edge, and pull as hard as you can. When you go to level it out, its got plenty of agility left to do it.

For those of you learning on the Blade CP I cant tell if it would be better for you or not. My gut says "Yes". Unfortunatly I cant go back to being a beginner to see. It would seem to me like the faster response would make it easier, because it would help to eliminate overcontrolling the heli.
B. DAVISON