Blades Landscaping

Is your lawn unruly with no two blades of grass the same length? Tired of being ripped off by landscaping services that don't get it right? Call on Blade when you want the look and feel of a perfectly manicured lawn. Blade utilizes the latest technology in rotary grass trimming and as the cutting is done by remote control from the air, your lawn is not subjected to the trauma of being rolled over by heavy equipment. With a trim job from Blade's Landscaping, you will be the envy of all your neighbors. Give blades rotary lawn maintenance a try. Call 1-800-CUT-GRAS.

If you think you have what it takes to be one of Blade's team of lawn care professionals, sign up today by getting your uniform at Blade's T-Shirt Shop.

"We Dare To Trim It From The Air"

Before You Ask Helicopter Tee

All RC pilots get asked the same question over and over. This t-shirt provides the answers to your spectators while you continue to fly.

Q: Does that thing really fly?
A: Yes it does fly.

Q: How high can it fly?
A: Higher and farther than you can see.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: About $1,000.

Q: How fast can it go?
A: 70 mph.

Q: Is it easy to fly?
A: No it's not easy.

Q: How can I learn to fly?
A: Get a computer flight simulator.

Q: How much does it cost to fix after a crash?
A: About $100 each time.

Q: What kind of batteries does it use?
A: Lithium Polymer.

Q: Can I try to fly it?
A: No, you cannot try to fly my helicopter.

Get your "Before You Ask" T-Shirt Here.

Hughes 500E Scale Fuselage and Trex 450 Sport

I just recently completed a scale project using Align's 500E fuselage and mechanics from the Trex 450 sport. Below, I've documented the build with video, pictures and notes in hopes of passing on some helpful building tips. I found the Align fuselage at Horizon Hobby and by using a 10% discount coupon they had sent me, I got a great deal. The build was a little more involved than I originally expected but quite fun. If you're thinking your going to just slide the Trex 450 Sport into this fuselage and fly, your going to be disappointed. Check out the video below for an overview of this project.





BUILD NOTES:

The first step was to attach the landing gear struts to the fuselage. I installed the skid pipes to the four struts, then slide the struts into the underside of the fuselage and into the slots in the fuselage's plywood floor. Once I had all the struts lined up I applied weight to the fuselage so that the struts were seated and the skid pipes sat flat on the ground. Then I applied 5 minute epoxy to the area where the struts meet the floor.



Once this had dried, I used painter's tape to mask off the bottom of the fuselage where the struts exit as seen in the next photo. Then I applied epoxy around the struts where they went through the bottom of the fuselage. By making sure the struts are firmly attached to the fuselage, you are reducing a possible cause of vibration.



Once all the epoxy joints have set, I sanded the top of the struts where the come up through the fuselage floor flush. This is where the riser blocks will set and you want full contact between the block and floor, again to reduce vibration.



Next I turned my attention to fitting the mechanics. I attached the supplied riser blocks to the bottom of the Trex Sport frame using the supplied four screws, which attach from the bottom of the blocks up into the frame.



The riser blocks are made up of several pieces of plywood that has been laminated. These have a reputation of separating. I chose to apply a coat of epoxy over the outside of these blocks to reinforce them. I also added a layer of dryer cloth (the sheet kind that you throw in with your clothes when they are drying to make them smell good) and epoxied over it as well.






The next step was to get the tail ready for installation into the fuselage. First I stripped off the two boom supports, tail push rod, push rod guides, horizontal fin and attachment block. These will not be used. Once this was done I set out to move the rudder servo so that it hung vertically below the boom. This required that I fabricate two angle brackets that attach to the existing brackets. I made these starting with a piece of 1-1/4" aluminum angle stock I found at the local hardware store. I cut 2 pieces about a 1/4" wide. I cut one side to fit the width of the servo and the other so as not to interfere with the existing top screw that holds the original bracket tight to the boom. I then had to mark and drill the holes for the servo as well as where the new bracket attaches to the old one. You will need (4) 2mmx5mm screws for attaching the brackets and (4) 2mmx12mm screws for attaching the servo.






I had to remove the entire tail block in order to install the boom into the fuselage. Putting a piece of tape over the end of the boom insured the belt didn't disappear into the boom.



It was also necessary to remove the two canopy mounting arms from the frame as they interfered with the fuselage. I replaced them with 2mmx5mm socket head screws.

In order to get the mechanics centered into the fuselage without the fuselage side hitting the elevator servo. I had to mount the elevator servo so that the rear flange of the servo was inside the frame with the rear mounting screw going in from the inside through the flange hole then into the servo nut. The front flange was mounted normally with the servo flange on the outside of the frame. This positioned the servo at an angle that allowed the fuselage to be installed with no interference.





With the elevator and rudder servos moved so as to fit in the fuselage, it was time to fashion the tail control rod. For this I used a Sullivan product called Gold-N-Rod No S580 that I found at my local hobby shop. It is a semi flexible carbon fiber rod that slides inside a nylon sleeve. I supported it in the middle to the boom by wrapping the sleeve with a 2" wide piece of aluminum tape. I used the aluminum tape as it won't stretch. The rod kit comes with two 2-56 threaded studs that will screw into the center of the carbon rod but in order for the other end to thread into the Trex ball link, I had to take the point of an xacto knife and bore out the link a little. Once I had both rod ends made up I cut the Gold-N-Rod to length leaving the carbon fiber rod about an inch longer that the outer sleeve. To find the center position of the pitch slider, I measured the distance from the inside of the slider to the tail block with the rudder to it's full right position. Then I calculated half that measurement, which would put the slider in the middle. This got me pretty close and I was able to set it exactly once I had it flying by putting the gyro in rate mode and making small adjustments until the tail would hold center.





Take note, when I relocated the rudder servo under the boom, it required that I flip the control horn to the opposite side which in turn required that I reverse my servo direction in the transmitter as well as setting reverse direction on the gyro.

Once I had everything set up and ready to go I attached the mechanics to the a set of gorilla gear by using tie wraps to secure the gear to the riser blocks. This was done so that I could test fly and adjust the new control rod and tail servo prior to installing the mechanics in the fuselage.



Installing the mechanics into the fuselage is a pretty straight forward process. With the tail components removed, I slide the boom down the center of the fuselage until the anti rotation bracket was up against the top of the fuselage as seen in the photo below. Then I took a 8" long tie wrap and placed around the frame and bottom of the fuselage floor. This held the frame in place while I centered it in the fuselage as well as being sure the boom was centered by installing the foam piece supplied with the kit. Once everything was where I wanted it, I installed the 4 screws that secure the riser blocks to the fuselage floor. I had to use a long bladed screw driver in order to reach the two rear screws. I left the tie wrap in place as an added safety precaution. One other thing I did was to install 6 extra 1/4" rare earth magnets on the flanges where the two fuselage half's join. This was suggested by other builders as some had problems with the front of the fuselage coming off in flight, not something I wanted to experience.







After the mechanics where installed, I fabricated a battery tray extension using a piece of 1/8"x1"x6" aluminum flat stock. I drilled holes and attached this to the existing tray using (4) 4-40 button head screws and nuts. I also used (1) 2mmx 12mm socket head screw with a small aluminum backing plate towards the opening of the frame to lock the plate down. The extended tray was added to provide a little weight to the nose as well as support for the battery as I wanted it located in the most forward position possible. With this set up and a Rhino 2250 30C battery, the heli balances at the center of gravity quite well.






The last step was for me to install the tail mechanics and the vertical and horizontal fins. I used epoxy glue for the fins. The fin pieces are covered with a vinyl type material and assemble with a mortise and tenon type joint. In order to get the best possible joint, I took a xacto knife and removed the vinyl from the tenons of the joint before gluing them. Be sure to keep the two fins 90 degrees to each other as the glue is drying.

Next was to re-install the tail block and attach the fins being sure I put blue locktite on all the screws as I installed them. I had to replace the two stock 2mmx18mm screws that hold the tail block onto the boom as they were to short. I had to purchase 2mmx 25mm screws which I found at RTL Fasteners. With the entire tail re-installed, I was ready to test fly this bird.



Only thing Left to do was to add some decals and a few foam strips around the skids to hold them in place and add more color for my tired eyes and this project is pretty much complete. I have chosen not to install the side window panels that come with the kit, as I'm afraid that the electronics might get to hot if the fuselage is all sealed up. I have seen other builder who installed black wire mesh screen for the windows so that the interior still sets airflow and in the future I might try this.



I've had a blast flying her and as I tweak my head speed, curves, expo and other settings, she keeps getting better and more fun to fly. I hope if you decide to take on a 500E build using your 450, that I have given you some insight into what you can expect and maybe made the process a little easier.

Bling It Up, Spank It Down.

Anyone how has gotten involved in the hobby of flying RC helicopters knows how much fun it is to bling up there helis. Adding colorful canopies, blades, fins, and other hop up components not only makes a heli easier to see, but gives your machine a personality all it's own.

Once a the mechanic has blinged it up, it's time for the pilot to spank it down. How low can you go?

The design above features a colorful 90 sized RC helicopter taking off and flipping to an inverted orientation right on the deck.

For more great t-shirts and hobby designs, check out the Poker and Chaos t-shirt shop.

Down on the Deck Heli Hoodie

We've added some new RC helicopter designs to our store just in time for the fall season. This hoodie is great for flying during the cooler days ahead. It features a inverted 450 flying "down on the deck". The design text uses a dark blue fractured font, which is what this heli will be if the pilot loses his cool.

You can find this design on many more apparel styles at our online shop.

Hitec 5065 Servos on the Trex 450 Sport

After a recent hard crash that took out two of the Align DS410 servos on my Trex 450 Sport, I decided to upgrade. While I could have just replaced the gears, I had seen a poll on a heli forum that showed that up to 30% of pilots using Align's DS 410 have had problems. My stock servos had served me well for 170 flights, but I figured it might be time to try something different.

From what I had read, the Hitec 65MG's have been the tried and true workhorse for many 450 pilots but the 5065's were the digital version of this servo and I chose to give them a try. All I can say after a dozen or so flights is WOW! Great little servos, really quick, smooth and the Sport now hovers better than ever.

As far as installation, they went in with a minimum of alteration. I had to do a slight amount of filing of the frame sides to get them to slide in but once fitted, I was able to use the stock servo nuts for mounting. One word of caution though, the Hitec servo arms are longer so be sure to trim off any excess length on the right side forward servo arm as it will interfere with the rotating main gear if you give full cyclic and full collective at the same time. Only other difference between the Align and Hitec servos was that the wires on the Hitec are a little shorter but I had no problem routing them inside the frame and to my receiver that I have mounted under the gyro tray.

Over all I'm very pleased with this upgrade. I also changed out the tail servo to a Futaba S9257 which I'll cover in a later post, but the changes have made a tremendous improvement in the stability of the Sport. If your considering making a change from Align's stock servos, I highly recommend the 5065's

Learning Nose In Hover

Learning to hover your RC helicopter with the nose pointing at you is commonly referred to as "nose in" and is very important for a beginner to learn. Eventually, you will will want the control inputs necessary for nose in to be instinct, not requiring any conscious thought, but In order to get to this point, you will need to develop muscle memory so that your brain knows automatically which direction to throw the cyclic stick.

I found the trick below to be very helpful in developing this muscle memory. You visualize the rotor disk and look for the low area. Then to bring the heli back to a level state, you put your cyclic stick under the low part. For example, if the heli is leaning forward you pull the stick back to prop up the forward leaning disk. Same thing if the heli is pitched up and leaning back, push your stick under the rearward leaning disk and the heli will start to pitch forward, leveling itself out. This works the same for side to side lean as well as any other position in between. Just put the stick under the low part of the disk.

Click Image for a Larger View
You will find that after many hours of simulator practice, you will no longer need to think about the low side. Your brain will begin to automatically make the correct movements without thinking about it. It's at this point that you are ready to give nose in hovering a shot with your real heli.

Programmable Flybar Paddles

The main reason I added these Proto programmable flybar paddles was for their florescent yellow color which helped improve my Trex 450 Sport's visability.

I found two manufacturers for these paddles. One was Gorilla Gear priced at $17.98. The other being the Protos brand made by MSH which I purchased for $4.99. From what I could tell and by what I've read by other users, the 2 brand are basically identical, so it's not hard to see why I chose the Protos. Both come with brass weights that you slide into the paddles. After sliding them in I took a pin and pushed them all the way in as they wedge themselves into the end of the bored hole so as to not fall out. If you need to remove the weights there is a small hole on the outboard side of the paddle that you can slide a pin into and push them out.

First off, I weighed the paddles and found them to be only slightly lighter than the stock 450 Sport paddles. They have a different outline but the end airfoil shape seems to be the same. I did find that the Protos paddles screw on farther than the stock paddles by 3mm. This shortens the overall length of the flybar by 6mm.

I tested the paddles without the weights added first and found them to be a little to quick for my taste. If your are doing serious 3d you would probably like them. I found them to suit me best with the full weight. Finless bob says they are perfect for his flying style using only half the supplied weights, so to each his own.

The bottom line is that I really like them over the stock paddles. Not only are they easy to see, but they truely are programmable to your flying style, depending on the amount of weight you add to them.

How to Loop Your RC Heli

Click for Larger Image

Trex 450 Sport Wiring

Click for Larger View
The above diagram shows the typical wiring for a Trex 450 Sport RC helicopter. Take note of the following items:

• The gyro pictured is the GP780 but would be the same for the older GP750.
• The Aile and Pitch servos are interchangeable in that either can be placed on the left or right forward servo position and can be connected to either "Aile" or "Aux1" on the receiver.
• Be sure all servo plugs are connected to the receiver with the black wire connected to the negative bus as indicated by the minus sign on the side of the receiver.
• The yellow signal wire should connect to the receiver so that the plug aligns the yellow wire to the signal post. This is the post labeled with the symbol.
  

Trex 450 Sport Visibility

As an older RC pilot without the best eyesight, I've found that 450 size helicopters can become small and difficult to see at a distance. As my piloting skills improve, I also found myself flying the heli farther and farther away. At times, I was beginning to question it's orientation. This was becoming a sure fired recipe for disaster.

In an effort to increase the visibility of my Trex Sport, I made a couple of modifications to the stock kit that really helped with my ability to see it's orientation at a distance.

First was the addition of High Profile Gorilla Gear made by MSH. These floresent yellow gear struts not only stand out visually, but are practically indestructible. They tend to flex and not break even under really heavy impact.

The next mod I made was to to add light weight foam adhesive backed sheeting to the Align skid pipes. I found this material at the local craft store. I cut strips to fit and wrapped the pipes to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. The pack of foam came in an assortment of colors but I chose the bright orange and it really helps me see this bird.

The video below might give you an idea how well the skids stand out with these changes.



I'm still looking for ways to improve visibility, such as colored flybar paddles and tail blades, but for now, I'm really pleased with my birds improved visibility.

RC Heli Tee

The latest design added to our store features a T-Rex flipping back and cutting the air with it's blue main rotor wash. On either side are the outlined letters R and C. This design has already proved to be popular with electric heli pilots.

Available in many styles and sizes for both men and women, you can order your from our online store.

Coast Guard HH52A Helicopter T-Shirt

Here is my latest t-shirt offering. I spent many a day near, in, or under this great flying machine during my tour of duty in the US Coast Guard.

Designed and built by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, the HH52A SeaGuard was involved in the rescue of more than 15,000 lives! Quite an accomplishment when you consider only 151 of this type aircraft were ever built. If you're as big a fan of this aircraft as I am, you can purchase your HH52A t-shirt in the aviation section of the Poker and Chaos Store.

Building a Trex 450 Sport (Part Two)

In part one of this series, I covered what you will need to get started building the Trex 450 Sport RC helicopter. Now that we have all the items necessary, it's time to discuss the actual build process.

The first thing I did was to get a copy of the instruction manual for review. It's available online here. The manual is not a step by step set of instructions like you might expect. It does however provide exploded diagrams of the helicopters sub assemblies as well as important notes. There are also explanations of electrical component programing along with basic set up and safety information. You will want to review all this info prior to starting your build.

The next thing I suggest you do prior to starting any part of the build, would be to watch Finless Bob's instructional videos at HeliFreak. Start with Bob's Heli Skills and Set-Up Basics. Watch the following video titles as there will be information that you need to know in order to build and set up your model.


Ball Links 101 (20 MB)
BEC 101
Blade Balancing 101 (30 MB)
Blade Tracking 101 (35 MB)
Brushless motor and ESC 101
CCPM Setup Part 1 (58 MB)
CCPM Setup Part 2 (58 MB)
Dual Rates 101 (71 MB)
Exponential 101 (45 MB)
Gyro 101
Gyro Gain 101
Pitch and Throttle Curves 101 (58 MB)
Servo Wires 101 (41MB)
Soldering Deans Connectors 101 (30 MB)
Thread Lock 101 (15 MB)

The next set of videos that you should watch are from Ashley Davis at helituning.com. These videos cover the actual build of the Trex 450 Sport. I would watch them each all the way through then refer back to each as you are building your model.

T-Rex 450 Sport Build Videos
Rotorhead Build
Frames Build
Tail Boom Install
Main Gear, Head and Tail Install
Electronics Install & Finishing Off

The build will basically be done in sub assemblies. The head, frame, tail and electronics. Then you will need to set-up the head, program the speed control and gyro. I began by dry fitting the entire helicopter short of installing the electronics. This gave me a feel for the order in which I needed to install components before I did final assembly. Only then did I apply thread lock to all components. As far as using thread lock, watch Bob's thread lock 101 to see how it should be applied. Bob covers the different types of thread lock but I've found that the Sport only requires that you use blue threadlock on all metal to metal screws. (also checkout my threadlock post) The kit comes with a small bottle of thread lock, but I've heard many Sport builders say that it's not the best quality, so I suggest you do as I did and buy a tube of Blue Locktite #242. This worked very well for me and you can still remove a screw if you need to. If you run across a stubborn one that doesn't want to come undone, just apply heat to it for about 60 seconds with a hot soldering iron and it will come right out. When using the self tapping screw that go into plastic you will not want to use locktite. These should hold ok as long as you don't over torque them and strip the plastic. If you make a mistake and strip one, you can apply a very small amount of CA or super glue to the threads to secure them.

Once I was familiar with all of the components. I went back to the head assembly and checked each screw for thread lock. This is very important as I found several screws that had absolutely no thread lock which would surely have lead to a crash. Another thing I did with each screw was to clean it with denatured alcohol to remove any residual oil that might have been left over from the machining process. The oil can have an adverse effect on the thread lock. I would take a paper towel saturated with alcohol and grab the threads of the screw, then using my hex driver, I would spin the screw in the paper towel while pinching the threads with the soaked paper towel. I repeated this process until no more residue showed up on the towel. Then I made sure the alcohol had dried before I applied Locktite and torqued the screw down. Be careful not to over tighten the screws as you can break them. You want to apply just enough pressure to secure them and leave the locktite to do it's job keeping it from vibrating loose.

Also at this point you will want to watch Finless Bob's video on the Trex 450 Pro head build.

Pro Head Build Part One
Pro Head Build Part Two

While these videos show the head build for a Trex Pro, the head is very similar to the one on the Sport and Bob gives some great info in these videos. Pay particular attention to the part where he shows you how to grease the thrust bearings as mine were totally dry and required I repack them. Another note of caution, when you assemble your control arms for the head, notice that there is a small letter "A" die cast into the ball link. Be sure this "A" is facing out when you attach the link to the ball. The reason being that the side opposite of the "A" has a slightly larger diameter. If you accidently get the "A" facing in, the link can break or pop off during flight. This would cause a crash.

Building the frame would be next. Again, watch the helituning video for this as he does a good job on building the frame. Ashely mentions it, but I want to stress the importance of sanding smooth all the edges of the carbon fiber frame. The stamped edges are very sharp and can easily cut wires if not smoothed over. Use caution when sanding the CF as the fibers can irritate the skin and respiratory system. I suggest you use a dust mask during the sanding process and be sure to clean the frame parts after you are done. I would also do any sanding and clean up prior to installing the motor as you don't want fiber to get inside it.

One thing I want to point out is that the 450M motor that comes with the Sport is called an "outrunner". This was not the typical small electric motor I was used to seeing. The outside of the housing spins around the armature on the inside. Strange I know, but it works great. You just have to be careful and keep all wires and your hands away from it. You also want to take a dremel tool and grind a flat spot onto the motor shaft where the pinion grub screw will land. This is not shown on the plans, but greatly increases the holding potential of the screw. To keep metal particles out of your motor, poke the shaft through a plastic bag so that the bag covers the motor during the grinding process.

Take note of any screws that the manual refers to as "self tapping", these will be screwing into plastic and you don't want to apply thread lock on them. You will also need to take care to not strip the plastic by over tightening them. If you do happen to strip the internal threads, yo can apply a small amount of CA glue to the screw threads to secure it.

One modification I made to the frame was to replace the stock gyro tray with a lexan tray made by Rick Lohr at Clearly Superior Products. This provided me with a flat surface that I could use to mount my receiver under the gyro which was farther away from the motor wires and ESC. I found out the hard way that about radio interference when I crashed because of a glitch caused by the motor wires being to close to the receiver. Since using Rick's tray, I've had no more interference problems.

After the frame has been assembled you will want to attach the landing gear. Be sure to apply a small amount of CA glue to the skid pipe end caps before you pop them on. Another tip is to soak the rubber landing skid nuts in soapy water so that they slide on nice and easy. As they dry they will secure themselves in place.
Unlike the plans, I put the nuts on the inside of the skids so they would not over time work their way off the ends of the skid pipes. You can see this in Ashely's video.

Assembly of the tail and boom is pretty straight forward and is well covered in the helituning videos. One item that is easy to over look on the tail is the slide shaft bushing. This must be cleaned and thread locked or your going to learn how to do rapid piros way before you are ready to handle them. Not a good thing! Check out this post for a full discussion on this subject.

Here are a couple more items you need to look at on the tail. I've found the boom has a tendency to slip back into the blocks causing the belt to loosen. Some have taken the boom blocks and sanded the inside flats so that they grip the boom better, but I just wrapped a single layer of 2" wide clear tape to the end of the boom where it enters the block. This easy fix seems to have corrected the problem. Another note of caution, the tail belt can be installed backwards. The tail rotors should turn with the leading edge (fat edge) going up into the main rotor wash. If you notice this is backwards when you spin the main rotor clockwise, you have the belt turned in the wrong direction. The belt and rotors should spin freely, if not, something is wrong and you need to find out what before you fly. To see just how freely it should spin, check out Finless Bob's maintenance video.

Once you have the tail assembled, It's time to mount your servo's and electronics. I must say this would have been extremely difficult without watching Finless Bob's CCPM set-up videos. Watch them over and over if necessary as you heli will not fly right without getting this part right.

I will cover more on my experience with setting up the head, ESC and Gyro in a future post. Until then I will leave you in Bob's hands.


Part One of this Series

Trex 450 Sport Checklist

All it takes is a failure of just one of the many parts of a RC helicopter to force your smoothly flying machine to become dancing chicken. One loose screw in the air can cost you a hundred bucks or more to fix.

It is for this reason that it is so important to check every critical element of your bird prior to each flight. There are so many parts and mechanical processes that remembering exactly what to check is no easy task. Pilots of full scale aircraft put their lives in the hands of their equipment and have come to rely on written checklists to reduce mechanical problems to a minimum.

Using the same method with your RC helicopter will greatly reduce the number of crashes you experience. Below is a maintenance checklist as well as a pre-flight checklist that I use prior to putting my Trex 450 Sport into the air. It is based on the Sport and my Spectrum DX6i transmitter but you can use it for a basic checklist for any electric Heli.

What Type of Thread Lock to use on a Trex 450 Heli

One of the most important tasks in building a RC helicopter is applying thread lock to all metal to metal screws. These machines, with their many moving parts, create ultra sonic vibrations that do their best to loosen screws which will quickly lead to a crash of your new bird.

For this reason, it critical that you inspect each and every screw that has come installed in your kit. Don't rely on the factory installer. Every builder that has put together an Align helicopter kit will tell you that they have found screws that did not have thread lock applied.

I use the Locktite brand of thread locker which comes in several different types. Each has it's own characteristics as far as color, holding strength and applications. The primary types of Loctite are as below:

Locktite Purple #222: This is a low strength thread locker that is used on screws that require easy disassembly.
(See Technical Data Sheet)

Locktite Green #648: Is a wicking type designed for bonding cylindrical fitting parts like bearings and motor shafts.
(See Technical Data Sheet)

Locktite Blue #242: Designed for medium strength thread locking where disassemble might be required.
(See Technical Data Sheet)

Locktite Red #271: Designed for high strength permanent locking of threads.
(See Technical Data Sheet)

From my experience, you'll want to use Blue Locktite#242 for all metal to metal screws on your Trex 450. Watch Finless Bob's thread lock 101 video and see how he applies a small amount to the end of the screw then wipes the excess off with his finger. A little goes a long way. Apply it in this manner and you will have no problems getting a screw out for maintenance. If you do find a stubborn screw, don't try to force it out, you will scrip the head. Instead, take your soldering iron and put heat to the head for about a minute and it will break the locktite down so that the screw will come loose.

A word of caution, there is no need to use red locktite anywhere on a Trex 450. The red creates a permament bond that will create havoc as you need to remove parts during future repairs. Bob mentions that you might want to use purple thread lock in high service areas as it is easier to remove, but I've never had any problems getting blue lockite to release after a little heat.

The green can be used to secure bearings so that the outer race doesn't spin in it's housing. Be careful as you don't want thread lock inside the bearing. Green can also be used to help lock the pinion gear to the motor shaft. I grind a flat spot on the motor shaft where the pinion's grub screw lands which seems to eliminate the need for thread lock on the shaft.

One last note, you need to clean all screws before you apply thread lock. During the manufacturing process oil is applied to the screw threads as they are being cut. This oil can retard the thread locks holding ability. I use denatured alcohol for this process. Acetone will work also. I soak the screw in a small glass bowl of alcohol and then take the screw, put it on the end of my hex driver and turn the threads into a paper towel removing any oil residue. Once all the oil has been removed, I make sure the alcohol has dried before applying thread lock.

Working on RC helis is a craft that comes with experience. Leaning just how much and how to apply thread lock is part of this craft. I hope this post help you on your way to becoming an expert RC helicopter mechanic.

Trex 450 Sport Training Gear

If you've built a Trex 450 or any 450 class RC helicopter and have never flown a collective pitch heli before, it will be a wise idea to get build yourself a set of training gear. The set I built consist of a couple of 1/4" wooden dowels about 2" longer than the diameter of the rotors. For the Trex Sport I made mine 30" long. Attached to the ends of these rods are standard size ping pong balls.

To start with, I cut the dowels to a 30" length. Then I marked each dowel at the 15" center line. This gave me a center on each dowel to align when I attaching them to the heli so that they would balance.

To attach the balls to the dowels I started by heating up my Radio Shack soldering iron which the main tip happens to be 1/4" in diameter. I simply took the point of my hot iron and pressed it into the ball to make a perfect sized hole. I started on the visible seam of the ball so I could keep the opposite hole symmetrical. Once the first hole was burned, I pushed the end of the rod through to the opposite side of the ball again aligning it with the seam. Then viewing from the outside, I marked the spot where the rod had landed with the tip of the soldering iron. I then removed the rod and proceeded to burn a hole at the marked location. Now I was able to slide the dowel all the way through the center of the ball. I repeated this procedure three more times so that I would have a ball on the end of each dowel.

I aligned each ball so that the dowel protruded about 1/16 of a inch out of the side. Then I secured the balls to the dowels by mixing up a batch of 5 minute epoxy and coating the area where the dowels pass through the balls.

To attach the gear to the heli, I pass each dowel through the middle of the landing gear skids and align them in a cris cross fashion with the center marks over each other. I then use nylon tie wraps to secure the middle of the dowels as well as to the skids at the four intersecting locations. To finish up, I cut the excess off the tie wraps and was ready to fly.

The training gear will serve you well during your first few batteries. Get used to taking off and slowly setting your bird back down. Once you have gotten comfortable taking off,landing and using throttle hold you should remove the gear as your bird will be more stable without them.

Good luck!

Trex 450 Sport Build Caution

If the slide shaft on the Sport is not securely fastened to the t-arm, this assembly is sure to separate in flight causing a crash. Most, including myself are not even aware that this part exists until a problem arises. Below you will see the slide shaft labeled part "A". While not indicated in the instructions, the shaft has very fine male threads that screw into the internal threads of the T-arm, part "B". Even if you apply thread lock to the shaft before assembly, you still take the risk of these parts coming apart as the T-arm has an anodized finish that tends to impair the adhesive abilities of the thread lock.

In order to correct this problem, you must first throughly clean the shaft and t-arm with acetone or denatured alcohol prior to applying the thread lock. Also, be sure whatever cleaning agent you use had dried before you apply the thread lock. Once you have applied the thread lock, care must be taken when tightening the two parts. The head of the slide shaft has flats on the end that can be used to hold it from turning as you tighten. It would be best to use a small wrench for this job or if using pliers, be careful not to crimp the shaft as it is fragile.




I hope this information helps you build a more reliable T-rex 450 Sport followed by many successful flights.

Battery Charge Identification Tags

If you own more than one battery for your RC aircraft or vehicle, then you need to keep track of which batteries are charged. These handy little clip on tags are just the right item for the job. Once you have your lipo up to max capacity on the charger, just unplug it and snap on a tag. Then when your at the field and ready to install the battery in your machine, just take the tag off and stick it in your pocket. This way you will always know which batteries are charged and which are not.

Orders yours now. Only $4.99 for a pack of 5 with $1.99 shipping to anywhere in the world.

Best Batteries for the Trex 450 Sport

While there are many batteries on the market that will work for the Trex 450 sport, I really like these Rhino 2250mAh 3S1P 30C Lipoly Packs from Hobby King . They are not the least expensive of the batteries you can get from this Hong Kong supplier, but at $19.99 they are considerably cheaper than what you can get from American suppliers. They also ship with XT60 connectors which are heaveier than Dean's and what I've set up my ESC for, so they don't require me to do any soldering. I just attach some hook and loop velcro, strap them in and fly.

I have them set up so that they mount narrow side down on the battery tray which keeps the center of gravity closer to the main shaft. I also like the fact that when I do this the rounded end of the batteries fits right into the rounded front frame support. They seem very secure when I add a velcro strap to pull them tight to the battery tray. Don't want a battery existing the aircraft during flight, this would not be a pretty sight.

With my set up and these batteries, I'm getting a full 6 minutes of flight time and only depleting about 75% of capacity. I'm only doing sport type flying so I don't put much of a strain on them. With the 199g weight they are a little heavier than some batteries and a tight fit for the sport, but the weight provides a perfect balance for my stock bird.

Now, as far as buying from Hobby King, they can be slow in arriving in the USA. if you use standard shipping, they literally come on a slow boat from China and your looking at a possible 45 day shipping time. Personally, I use the EMS shipping which runs me an additional $25 and I have my batteries in 7-10 days here on the east coast of North Carolina. Still much cheaper than buying from a state side supplier. Another tip, be sure there are plenty of batteries in stock at the time you place your order. If their site shows a negative quantity, you could be waiting a long time before they even ship your items.

One possible drawback would be if you received a bad pack. Hobby King will refund your purchase price, but not the shipping costs and it will cost as much to send it back as what you paid for it. The good news is that I have placed several orders and have always received healthy batteries. I will continue to buy from them and hope for the best.