Flybarless Lepton?

[prototype3a]

Has anyone else out there thought about modding the lepton to be flybarless. I figure at the least we'd need someone to make a new pair of plates to screw to the blade grips in order to increase the radius of the control arms. Not sure about how to drive the swash or where to mount the new electronics.

[dondrake]

one of the guys at helidirect has one with HC rrigid. I was changing an order and we started talking about leptons since we both had one. can't remeber his name. think he said he fabbed his.He was using a dx7

[uffe40]

Hi
Mine will be finish soon waiting for mikado v-bar
Uffe

[prototype3a]

Really? I've been thinking about this again but much more seriously now. I see Mikaido now makes a swash driver for 8mm main shaft so that's a no brainer but what other mods are needed? At the moment I'm reading up on the vstabi wiki trying to figure out what mods will be needed in the head mechanics.

[prototype3a]

Found this just this morning... I wonder if it'll work. http://www.rchover.com/inc/sdetail/156924

[prototype3a]

I decided to order the RC-TEK head. I hope to have it soon. I'll post pictures when it shows up so you guys can see how it fits. I still haven't decided between the mini and the full size V-bar but after doing a lot of reading I think the V-bar box is definitely the way to go. The only exception being possibly the Skookum SK-720, whenever it is finally released. I'm leaning towards the mini-Vbar for the weight savings and not having to worry about the sensor cable unplugging itself in flight.

I need to locate a scale so I can weigh my lepton with the stock head and the RC-Tek head to see what the weight difference is.

[prototype3a]

The mail man left a package notice today, even though I was home, and from the tracking info I think it was my FBL head but I'll have to wait till tomorrow to go to the post office and find out.

[prototype3a]

Stopped by the post office today and picked up my RC-Tek FBL head.

It's a VERY close fit! Either the swash driver arms need to have a few millimeters trimmed off them or the AR bracket needs to be moved. With the main gear machine screw in the top main shaft hole (most aggressive setting) the geometry is just about perfect right out of the box. I had been considering replacing my frames with the ones from MJP anyway and I tested the range of motion relative to the AR pin and bracket and it looks like it is possible to move it back a bit. I've already inquired with them about the possibility of a set of semi-custom frames and they were more than willing. It didn't lower the head as much as I expected it to but it did lower it about 8-10mm or so. I think it looks very nice. I'm surprised that the finish more or less matches that of the stock swashplate. If only some of it was Hirobo blue.

I should have time on wednesday to fiddle with it and check it out more in depth. I'll report back with what I find.

[prototype3a]

Looks like BobOD fixed my AR pin problem for me...

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...55#post1822455

Now I suppose I need to order a couple replacement parts for some slightly worn ones I've found and maybe give MJPcarbon a call since I still haven't heard back from them.

Almost forgot. To use his head you need a slightly longer AR pin and you need to move the AR bracket aft 4mm. Otherwise it fits great, matches the style of the bird, smooth as silk and tight as a drum.

I'm not sure how it will affect the flight characteristics, if at all, but his blade grips are longer than the stock lepton ones. It effectively increases your rotor disc diameter by about 10mm.

[prototype3a]

I received the AR pin BobOD made for me on thursday last week but I've been very busy with school lately so I didn't have time to post about it. I finally got a response from MJP carbon about the custom frames and they say that they can do them but they are in the middle of moving their shop and it will be a few weeks until they can make them.

I finally figured out how I could show just how much this head lowers things. I took a picture from the side and with the stock Hirobo blade holder, you can see that the blades are almost level. I also took a quick shot of the tripod I use to take my pictures.

[owde]

Which hole in the main mast have you used?

[prototype3a]

I'm using the top hole or the one that lowers the head the most.

[prototype3a]

Since I have a good bit of time until the new frames show up I decided to take my time and disassemble and closely inspect every little bit of my Lepton. The only problem I've found so far is that the upper main shaft bearing needs to be replaced. I still have more to take apart though. I am especially curious to see how the gears in my Airtronics 94761z look. I'm considering replacing the gears on principle since IIRC they are metal and they should have some wear.

[Sigma Golem]

Please excuse my ignorance to this topic, but Im wondering why you would go though all this trouble to make a Flybarless Lepton, when you could very cheaply do this:
http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/t509586p1/

[prototype3a]

Well, the lepton head is nice but the I2 head is much more precise and robust. It also lowers the head a great deal and this should make the heli fly better. The replacement frames are not required but it is a change that I think will be good for my lepton in the end as they are stronger, more precise and they have the tail lift built into them. I think they are lighter as well. It will be very interesting to weigh my heli when it's done to see how much weight it lost. I'm predicting somewhere around 250g. Essentially, I'm going for the ultimate flybarless lepton setup possible.

[Sigma Golem]

Honestly, I believe If I were to build a fbl Lepton, I would do it to your exact set up. Please keep us posted.

Very good

[prototype3a]

Will do Sigma!

I got around to tearing down my Lepton yesterday and I was about to purchase new gears for my Airtronics 94761z servos when I found that the gear sets are much more expensive than I originally thought. The "sets" are ~$18 each but they do not contain the final output gear/spline. This is a separate part which I haven't found in stock anywhere and seems to retail for around $15. So, a true set of gears for these servos is around $35. I don't know that the gears are worth that much money but I do very much like the construction of the servos. They have the final output gear/spline supported by ball bearings at BOTH ends. Based on this I would really like to see inside the Align/Savox DS510. I would also like to know more about how they perform other than the technical specifications.

[prototype3a]

I finally decided to simply clean the gears really well, replace a few screws and casings and reassemble my 94761z servos. I lubed them up with Tri-Flow grease to ensure they last forever. They operate better than new now. I must admit that I was surprised how much dirt and other chunkies I found in the degreaser when they were done. I'm hoping to get the new frames soon but since I'm leaning towards the SK720, I'm not in any huge hurry.

I've been talking with Scorpion motors and even though it isn't really a heli specific motor it looks like if my Kora isn't up to the task then I'm going to try a SII-3020-780 as it is only a few grams heavier than my Kora but it should put out another 200w.

[prototype3a]

I just got word back from MJP carbon! I may have the new frames in a week.

[Sigma Golem]

Do they need to make them?