KDS I Quit

[tdf1946]

KDS is on my S list first flight of the day flying KDS 700 with Mikado carbon boom belt my nice Edge 713 blades just doing loops bout 75 ft. Up then I heard a POW dang tail blade shot off and there she goes no tail straight to the dirt, so that's it I'm done not another dime of my MONEY is going into this brand but luckily the damage wasn't bad just fin,tail blades,tail rod and 1 main blade,1 blade grip link..... so now every thing I have that has a KDS brand is going from my fleet 700,550,600 frames only no electronics plus a bucket load of new parts I will trade all for a nice 550 that won't throw parts in mid air like align the only one in tack is kds 600 and I just put a new esc on it dang it NO MORE KDS PRODUCTS FOR ME

[abwomack]

Did the tail blade itself come off or the entire grip come off (please explain). I have so many flights on Innova 550 and 700 I can't even count. I have never heard of anything like this happening or any other parts coming off in flight.

[tdf1946]

No the whole blade grip came off the hub

[abwomack]

This is a threaded hub with a locking nut, do you have any pictures?

[tdf1946]

No it's v1style

[tdf1946]

As you can see bolt broke in holder

[tdf1946]

Another pic

[Znybar]

Seriously? You have (potentially) one part failure and you decide to let go of a brand? That can happen with any machine.

I don't see how the blade grip can let go like that. Locking nuts are about the most secure way to attach anything, did you use threadlock on the nut when you tightened it? To me it looks like it loosened in flight and fatigued until it broke.

Also FYI having a carbon tail boom on a belt system is rather stupid, you're going to build up some crazy static charges that have nowhere to go.

[abwomack]

My Innova is the V2 so I do not have this tail. But even with the screw method it would seem more likely that it was loose and became fatigued or possibly damaged slightly in a previous crash?

[Znybar]

Originally Posted by abwomack

My Innova is the V2 so I do not have this tail. But even with the screw method it would seem more likely that it was loose and became fatigued or possibly damaged slightly in a previous crash?

KDS also recommended that all KDS owners upgrade to the V2 tail, the V1 tail was considered unsafe. I think that was more because of the plastic collar that would fail in-flight than anything to do with blade grips though.

[tdf1946]

Well every since I've had these heli's it's one in flight after another failure I thread lock everything and I disagree with the carbon boom being stupid my Goblins x4 all have carbon booms,at first it was that the original boom was too long and it broke in flight,I got to where I started changing ball links every 30-40 flights just to be safe,now to kds's defense they have come along way since my v1 kits I'm just not gonna put any more money into these kits I have which are upgraded to fbl

[tdf1946]

For a long time I couldn't get kds innova parts here in the USA so IMHO to have a model just sitting waiting on parts is useless to me

[Znybar]

Originally Posted by tdf1946

Well every since I've had these heli's it's one in flight after another failure I thread lock everything and I disagree with the carbon boom being stupid my Goblins x4 all have carbon booms,at first it was that the original boom was too long and it broke in flight,I got to where I started changing ball links every 30-40 flights just to be safe,now to kds's defense they have come along way since my v1 kits I'm just not gonna put any more money into these kits I have which are upgraded to fbl

Boom too long? I'm very confused how this can happen. The tail boom is probably the most oversized and stiffest part of the heli, the boom supports are almost unnecessary. Something must have been very wrong to break it in flight. Needing to change ball links hints as some very bad vibrations.

Goblin helis also recommend putting a ground wire that goes from the motor mount to the rear of the heli. You've got a huge static-generating machine with a carbon boom and belt.

[Znybar]

Originally Posted by tdf1946

For a long time I couldn't get kds innova parts here in the USA so IMHO to have a model just sitting waiting on parts is useless to me

I could understand this argument, but recently there have been more USA distributors.

[abwomack]

Now with the grand opening of the 6,000 sqft US warehouse in Houston TX it sure is close to your home.

my number is in my signature so feel free to call. Allen

[tdf1946]

When the first batch of kds 700 came out they had a tail boom that was 2in longer so the machine could be upgraded to a 800 class machine but the metal boom was too weak for the torque,ok the replacement booms were shorter,now don't get me wrong for the money it's a great deal but some of their design vs. the materials are not up to par these heli's had no vibes in them at all but the links still would pop off in flight and plus I've never seen in any goblin manual that suggest using a ground wire on the kit and the last time I bought parts I had to order from Acme hobbies in Australia it cost me more for shipping than the parts I bought ......

[tdf1946]

Thanks abwomack I may consider the offer