Eric Hartley Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Hi I've had the Blade 120 SR for about 1 month and whilst it flies a treat it has had 3 tail motor replacements! flight time is around 6mins. after which the tail motor is very hot so I tend to leave it for say an hour before having another flight. On around the 6 to 8 flight the bird starts to spin around 1 min. into flight which is solved by replacing the motor but at around £9. per motor it is becoming expensive. Is there a better tail motor on the market? Or would it be better to look for another model altogether say the new Align 150 which although a lot more expensive has brushed motors and CP.(incidentally I'm looking at Align because I can bind it to my Futaba 14SG Tx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I've got the Blade 130x, which has a conventional tail drive shaft. Was going to buy the 120SR, but sometimes I have trouble with the motor on my MSX not keeping up and sending the model out of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Holland 2 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I had the same problem twice. First time Al's Hobbies in MK fitted a new motor (I was convinced it was the electronics because the fault was intermittent) but the second time I investigated myself and found one of the wires to the tail rotor motor fractured. They are very thin single strand copper (like coil winding wire) and not well supported at the motor terminal. I resoldered it and put a blob of hot glue glue (!) on both and have had no problem since. Great little heli. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster prop Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I bought my 120 second hand and after a few flights the tail motor stopped. This also turned out to be a broken wire but I replaced the motor with one from Midland Helicopters and its been fine ever since. Tail motors shouldn't fail as often as they do in Eric's heli. I flew my 120 in the garden quite a lot during calm evenings last summer, when I couldn't get out to fly planes. A really good helicopter, even I can fly it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFlyer Smyth Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Sorry to Hijack this thread but I can't seem to be able to create a new one ! I have a problem with my friends Blade 120SR.He's given it to because he's been unable to fly it.He brought it off fleabay as allegedly new and after the purchase he left it in the cupboard for a few months therefore yielding his right of a refund.It is totally uncontrollable on take off and it always ends up in a pile near the take off area.Firstly I set the Tx back to default and carefully measured and adjusted the push rod arms.On this machine the servo's are comprised of 2 small motors (at the bottom of the reciever pcb) that drive linear "sliders" which in turn connect to the swash plate using small plastic connect buckles.I've since removed all the head components and removed the main CF shaft to check for binding/cracks/damage but all looks good.After reassembly and a further test the situation remains unchanged. I've heard that the 120SR can be a beast to tame but I do have some 4ch electric heli experience but I'm at a total loss with this. Any of you heli guys fancy chucking your 2 pence worth in ? Thanks guys Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 FastFlyerSmyth, It's been a long while since I flew a blade 120sr; 99% of my flying is now planks. But, if you've set up the head correctly as per the manual it is actually a pussy cat to fly and not the beast you allude to. Other basic things to check would be, flybar balance, main blade balance and tightness. The other really important bit is to have the heli absolutely still on a flat surface when the battery is plugged in to ensure that the gyro is properly calibrated before each flight As I'm sure you're aware, heli take off requires a smooth burst of power balanced by cyclic input (normally right) also aided and abetted by a healthy dose of rudder. If all of the above is observed and the heli still refuses to behave, then perhaps the gyro is at fault. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFlyer Smyth Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Hi Steve and thanks for the response. Whats the best way to check blade balance ? Flybar balance looks good and everything is set up as per the manual with the obligatory 37mm length of push rod to swash. The swash is set with the buckles connected to the shorter arms as I thought this may be the best place to start. As regarding the tightness of the blades in the blade grips whats your recommendation ? I always set the heli on a flat surface before connecting the flight battery as you have suggested and I am inputting control as you also suggest. I did wonder if it was a dodgy Gyro. Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Hi Alan, Simplest way to check blade balance is firstly to weigh them. This assumes that you have suitable scales available. If so, then weigh each blade and if they differ by more than 0.1g then add a small piece/s of sellotape on the lighter blade. Add the tape at roughly 1/3 of the blade length from the root. A better way, which also avoids the need for scales, is to remove the blades and grips from the head as a complete assembly and balance between two upturned glasses or something similar. Blade tightness in the grips should be enough to prevent the blades from slipping/moving when the heli is held on it's side. However, a light tap of the heli should result in the blades moving/slipping a tad in the grips. Of course, this isn't an exact science and many people prefer things slightly differently. Apologies if you know all this stuff - don't wish to sound patronising in any way. One other thing that springs to mind given the uncontrollable behaviour you describe. It is a long shot but, perhaps worth checking the flybar to main blade configuration. The 45* relationship/set-up between the two requires that the flybar is leading the blade by 45*. I don't have my 120 in front of me to look at but, perhaps it's possible to assemble the two out of sync by 90* with the result that the blades are leading the flybar. This would also result in an impossible to control heli . Failing any of the above.......then the main suspect has to be the gyro. Hope to be of some help, let me know how it works out. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFlyer Smyth Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Hi Steve, Not patronising at all,.In fact very useful stuff mate. Thank you. I'll get dinner out of the way and then set about checking flybar and blade balance using your method. The flybar is leading the main rotor but it did get me thinking when I read that as I thought i may have reassembled it incorrectly. My scales weigh both ounces and grams but not points of gram unfortunately lol so the "2 glasses trick" will be my only option. I did weigh the blades and they both came in at 4 grams but i guess on my scales if anything weighs less than 4.5 grams my scales show it as 4 grams. Very useful stuff. Cheers Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFlyer Smyth Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hi again Steve, Good news, blades and flybar balanced. All parts checked and lubed with graphite grease. Successful flight ! Russel will be a happy man ! Thanks for the help mate. Alan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hi Alan, Great news, pleased you got it sorted. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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