HK 450 V2 pro flybarless torque tube heli build

[Paul Williams]

HK 450 V2 flybarless torque tube helicopter

Searched for a build blog but could not find one with same components so if your thinking off a cheap FBL heli read on.

Purchase list;

HK 450 V2 flybarless torque tube helicopter kit Hobbyking

Tarot ZYX-S2 3 axis gyro FBL controller Ebay

3 MG90 S metal gear servos plus HK-S9257 digital servo (tail) Hobbyking

ESC 40amp blue series Hobbyking

motor NTM rotor drive 450 3400kv 500w Hobbyking

DMS2 6 channel RX (suits my DX7 TX) Hobbyking

Roundabout £120.00 with some spare 325 carbon blades, cheap as chips.

All arrived within 2 days first impressions looks great well machined alloy parts all moved smoothly and carbon frame looks robust but needs some deburring off the sharp edges. Never owning a FBL heli I was intrigued as to how it worked the blunt of it is the electronics take care of the paddle shafts job stabilising the heli by using 3 gyros to level the swash plate when the sticks are centred. I thought might be a good idea to check out the electrical side of things before commencing build.

[Paul Williams]

Well for 28 quid you have to try it. Dont fall into the same trap I did it states you can use just a sat Rx but you have to purchase a special lead not supplied. You need to download the software and manual it will not come with it. Tarot have a website if it is not offered from your sales source. You can buy blue tooth adapters and get software for your mobile or tablet I went the pc route thinking there is enough settings in your TX (gyro gain dual rate ect to fine tune at the field. Time will tell on that decision. Right install the drivers first before plugging in I have read it don’t like win8 but previous versions are ok. It states in the manual 3 minutes set up time Ha took me 3 hours to get my head round it not helped by the fact it would not connect. Follow the instructions and setup TX and RX first making sure you select 1 servo mode for swash plate and flat line curves pitch and throttle. Power up tx then bind rx and power up system .disconnect ESC for safety do not connect any servos till the servo type is set.

Start ZYX assist program and plug in data lead, it should select comm port press connect icon

[Paul Williams]

It should read connected in bottom right corner. This is where I wasted ages trying to connect when the data lead was not pushed in far enough on tarot. Grrrrrrrr then I discovered it would not connect unless you started program before plugging in usb lead. Strange little quirks sent to annoy you but once mastered all seemed straight forward to set up. I am still trying to work out what some of it does but hey if you mastered all straight away it would be boring eh?

I made a mock up of where the servos would sit by blue tacking them on a board and simulating heli movements it seems to work great (if all fails we will fly the wood board)

[YakMad]

I put one of these together a few week ago, I am using the Turnigy 3D-Hv2 fbl controller. I have had about 10 flights on it now and it flys very well, its stable and smooth although I found that the undercarrige is made of a brittle type plastic as mine cracked after the first landing, I have repalced it with an Align one. I also swapped the tail control from leading edge control to trailing edge control as there is a thread on Helifreak which recommended this change to the Align 450 Pro (basically the same heli) to ensure that the tail has more authority. I test hovered mine first before I swapped the links connecting the tail slider to the blade grips around and the tail was all over the place but now its solid with only 45% gain. Sorry I can't post the link to the Helifreak thread but its blocked in work.

[Paul Williams]

Cheers but you will have to explain the tail control bit leading edge??