Rob Manser Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Last weekend I bought a secondhand Align Trex 450 Sport from E-Bay. I got a secondhand DX6i and two new LiPos and a charger. I tried to fly it for the first time yesterday. The throttle and cyclic seem to work fine, but there was no collective pitch. No matter how far I moved the throttle forwards, the heli wouldn't take off. Presumably, the lack of AoA allowed the blades to spin too fast, because in my brief time at max throttle the blades suddenly flew off. Thankfully they didn't hit me, or my five year old son! So I have two questions: 1) What was I doing wrong? My transmitter has the Swash set to "CCPM 120 deg" and I followed a You Tube guide for setting up my DX6i with the 450. 2) How can I fix the heli? Photos below. As you can see, I'm missing a black plastic servo arm connector, and also one of the tiny rubber/plastic bushes where the blade spindle inserts. These are undoubtedly somewhere in the garden, but I don't think I'll ever find them. a) How do the blades attach to the heli? Is it just a push fit, or are they somehow tightened down? b) How does the servo arm attach to the ball joint on the blade? Is it just a push fit? c) Are these parts still available? I understand it's an old model of heli. Many thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 If you haven't flown or put a helicopter together, do yourself a favour ang take it to a club where someone has before you do yourself an injury. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 First thing you did wrong was not checking all the fixings were tight and threadlocked. Second was you had your 5yr old son around when you spooled it up. Take Pauls advice and find someone that can go through it and advise before you take your sons head off!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 I seem to remember the blade shaft is fixed to the blade holders with a small screw that is fitted into the end of the shaft through the blade holder, both the spindle and a replacement linkage set are available from https://modelhelicopters.co.uk/ As for the lack of collective, you will need to look into the setup. Do the three cyclic servos move together to raise the swash plate as you add throttle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 12 minutes ago, FlyinFlynn said: I seem to remember the blade shaft is fixed to the blade holders with a small screw that is fitted into the end of the shaft through the blade holder, both the spindle and a replacement linkage set are available from https://modelhelicopters.co.uk/ As for the lack of collective, you will need to look into the setup. Do the three cyclic servos move together to raise the swash plate as you add throttle? Theres a bearing and thrust washers thats fitted between bolt and feathering shaft, thats probably missing too. It hasn't got a DFC head so linkages may be wrong size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 I concur with the advice to get an experienced user go over the model, and supervise the repairs. But I would also advise getting hold of a manual -- looks like one of the 450 manuals with the suffix 'FB' (FlyBarred) from this page would show you how it's supposed to go together. In my experience Align's manuals are very good for setting up the model correctly too. I built and setup my first TRex 500 by following its manual to the letter, finally having it checked and test-flown by an experienced flyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Yes - get a manual online. U Tube has masses of assistance. Agree with finding an experienced flyer to assist. It is possible to teach yourself but it will be expensive! I tought myself on Morley’s in the 80s but it was a long process! Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 I suspect from your questions, and the fact that you tried to fly it without checking it over thoroughly, you're not an experienced helicopter flyer. Find an experienced helicopter flyer to help you fix it, check it out, set it up, and help you to fly it. If you don't, you'll definitely spend more time fixing it than flying it, will accumulate repair costs at a high rate, and possibly injure yourself or others. Start with the BMFA club finder ti try and locate someone.... And, of course, you need to comply with the CAA regulations to fly something that size. Plus, insurance is highly recommended... Having recently fixed and set up a couple of TRex 450's for a friend, they're far from ideal learning tools. Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Manser Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 (edited) Thanks for the one or two helpful replies! In answer to questions: I asked a few RC heli flyers before buying the 450 whether it was suitable for a beginner and they said yes. I had been looking at this or a Blade on the secondhand market. In the past I've owned an RC glider, a powered plane, a car, and two very basic non-collective pitch helis, so saw this as the next step. I classify myself as a beginner for collective pitch helis, because I understand well that they're quite hard to fly. I did check the nuts and bolts on the heli before flying and they were all fine, but this problem doesn't appear to be linked to any nuts and bolts - they appear to be push fit items, which surprises me, thus the questions. I have a dongle for my tx and a sim on my PC (AccurRC 2) and have been practising hovering for a few weeks now. With this heli I planned to take things easy and limit the first few flights to very low altitude hovering. I suspect the issue was the speed of the blades without any collective pitch. I hadn't anticipated that this would cause the blades to detach! The idea behind the heli is that I'm largely stuck at home due to illness and we have a fairly large garden in a rural area. If I was going to join a club and travel with it to a larger flying field I would have bought another plane. Edited March 31 by Rob Manser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 The blade holders are almost certainly not pushed on, if you remove the blade from the holder you'll probably see a screw on the inside that threads into the rod that goes across, see page 6 of this manual https://aligntrexhelis.com/images/manuals/Align/450/RH45E09AT.pdf Also do be careful flying the heli, they can very quickly get out of control, so make sure you aren't in a confined space and any spectators are well out of the way, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 (edited) As you have a DX6i I would suggest buying one of the E-flite collective pitch helis and practice with that before even spooling up the 450. With one of the blade series you will have the option of using "safe" mode to begin with and will spend more time flying than fixing. Edited March 31 by Steve Colman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Manser Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 8 minutes ago, Frank Skilbeck said: The blade holders are almost certainly not pushed on, if you remove the blade from the holder you'll probably see a screw on the inside that threads into the rod that goes across, see page 6 of this manual https://aligntrexhelis.com/images/manuals/Align/450/RH45E09AT.pdf Also do be careful flying the heli, they can very quickly get out of control, so make sure you aren't in a confined space and any spectators are well out of the way, Many thanks. As I say, I was very surprised that was the case - I'm clearly missing quite a few pieces! I've found a couple of RC heli repair people online, one of whom says he's happy for you to watch his repair and he can explain things, so that seems like a good move, if I can manage the journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Rob Manser said: Thanks for the one or two helpful replies! In answer to questions: I asked a few RC heli flyers before buying the 450 whether it was suitable for a beginner and they said yes. I had been looking at this or a Blade on the secondhand market. In the past I've owned an RC glider, a powered plane, a car, and two very basic non-collective pitch helis, so saw this as the next step. I classify myself as a beginner for collective pitch helis, because I understand well that they're quite hard to fly. I did check the nuts and bolts on the heli before flying and they were all fine, but this problem doesn't appear to be linked to any nuts and bolts - they appear to be push fit items, which surprises me, thus the questions. I started flying RC helis with a Twister Bell coaxial indoor heli, but then moved on to a TRex 500. At that time we had a few club members flying TRex 450s, and they recommended them for learning. But I noted that those members were unable to fly when the wind got up a bit, so I chose the larger TRex 500 which I was able to fly in much windier conditions. Nothing on a model heli is a 'push fit'. As Frank has pointed out, there are bolts which positively attache each blade-grip to the feathering shaft that goes through the head. Edited March 31 by Allan Bennett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Manser Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 3 minutes ago, Steve Colman said: As you have a DX6i I would suggest buying one of the E-flite collective pitch helis and practice with that before even spooling up the 450. With one of the blade series you will have the option of using "safe" mode to begin with and will spend more time flying than fixing. Thanks. Yes, one of those Blades was the other heli I was looking at, in fact I missed out on one before buying the 450. I was advised that they were both suitable for me and readily available. The Blades do tend to be expensive seconhand in good condition, but I guess that's because of their better suitability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Manser Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 1 minute ago, Allan Bennett said: I started flying RC helis with a Twister Bell coaxial indoor heli, but then moved on to a TRex 500. At that time we had a few club members flying TRex 450s, and they recommended them for learning. But I noted that those members were unable to fly when the wind got up a bit, so I chose the larger TRex 500 which I was able to fly in much windier conditions. Nothing on a model heli is a 'push fit'. As Frank has pointed out, there are bolts which pisitively attache each blade-grip to the feathering shaft that goes through the head. Thank you. Yes, I'm clearly missing some bits. I think the repair person I found is the best way forward; I'll phone them next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 A nut and bolt holds the blade within the blade holder. A bolt holds the blade holder onto the feathering spindle. The control arms from the servos to the swash plate/blade holders are push fit. A Blade (230 or 150) in full stabilised mode, is an excellent heli, and quite easy to fly. You need a modern radio capable of mixing the tx Bind button to be able to set the stabilisation up properly (I don't think you can do this with a silver DX6i - download the manual for a Blade 150/230 and check). Parts are relatively cheap and available. There really is no comparison between these and an old-school TRex with a flybar in terms of stability or ease of set up. Anyway..... I think you have your answers. Good luck with your TRex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 (edited) Replying to GrumpyGnome's point above. The DX6i is included in the set up list of the manual for the Blade 230s. However, whether that's the older silver version or the later model I have no idea. But, after some reading it seems the Gen1 DX6i can be used providing it has the DSMX protocol. Some DX6i's were DSM2 only and will not work. Also, as the DX6i only has 2 position switches, not all of the flight modes for the heli can be set up easily. There are many posts about this on RC Groups. Edited April 1 by Steve Colman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Just for info I have a Blade 300 with the ASX rx and it works fine on a DSM2 Dx6i. Note also if the Align has a flight controller, maybe not as it has a flybar, then it may do the 120deg mixing and not the tx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 2 hours ago, Steve Colman said: Replying to GrumpyGnome's point above. The DX6i is included in the set up list of the manual for the Blade 230s. However, whether that's the older silver version or the later model I have no idea. But, after some reading it seems the Gen1 DX6i can be used providing it has the DSMX protocol. Some DX6i's were DSM2 only and will not work. Also, as the DX6i only has 2 position switches, not all of the flight modes for the heli can be set up easily. There are many posts about this on RC Groups. Yes, the silver version can be used but you lose some functionality, like panic recovery, and the ability to recalibrate it. A flying chum bought a used version with a silver G1 DX6i (DSM2/DSMX) and we needed to bind it to a friends more modern radio to recalibrate it...... So, yes, it can be used but the full capabilities of the Blade are not available. Having set up 2 x TRex and a Blade 230 for this flying chum in the last couple of months, I stand by my view that the Blade is orders of magnitude better to learn on - less intimidating, less mass for the inevitable crash so less damage, parts (the correct ones) easier to obtain, it's certainly much much more stable and doesn't need a training undercarriage, set up is easier with less manual adjustment.... etc. etc. However, the OP has a TRex so probably doesn't want to shell out again. So..... getting someone to set it up and teach him seems the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 When I set up the TRex's they were both flybar equipped with pretty standard receivers. Swash mixing was done in the tx. IIRC, the swash moved down to increase the blade pitch ...... The tx set up did cause me some head scratching, and trial and error - with blades OFF of course! Please note I am not a heli expert and can just about do figure of 8s and stall turns with my little XK110, and Blade 130. But I do recognise the difference in stability of these modern helis to ones i have had or set up for others (Baron, Dolphin, Eolo, Picollo, Humming Bird, old Blade 120(?), TRex). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 4 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said: When I set up the TRex's they were both flybar equipped with pretty standard receivers. Swash mixing was done in the tx. IIRC, the swash moved down to increase the blade pitch ...... . . . Yes, with a flybar the mixing is normally done in the transmitter, and a 'flight controller' is not needed other than the gyro for the tail. Whether the swash moves up or down to increase pitch might depend on the way the linkages attach to the blade holders, but on my 3 TRexs the swash always moves up to increase pitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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