Justin's Synergy N5 FBL Build Log: August 6, 2010

[Justin Pucci]

Hey all,

This, my second build log, follows on the heels of what I considered to be a quite successful maiden build log of my T-Rex 700N FBL. I really enjoyed doing the first one not only because it allowed me to put my thoughts down, but it also allowed others to ask questions or give advice and feedback! There was a lot of participation from other 700N builders, owners, and prospective owners and I hope that in the end, it contributed a little bit to the awesomeness of the Helifreak community. With that said, I look forward to engaging the Synergy Freaks during my N5 build! The link to my previous log is here:

Justin's T-Rex 700N FBL Build Log: June 7 to August 2, 2010

A little background...

I've only ever built and flown Align products (T-Rex 250, 500, 600N, and 700N) and while they're great birds in my honest opinion, I've seen alot of other brands that friends and strangers fly that I've wondered about. So, when I took Todd Bennett's and Matt Botos' FreeStyle3D Flight School at my local club's Fun Fly last week, I found myself eyeing the N5 from the start. Matt was kind enough to talk through the entire bird, its design, why he chose to include or exclude certain features, and gave me a pretty damned nice flight demonstration!

As an aerospace engineer, I really appreciate the thought that Matt put into designing this heli. What really sealed the deal for me is that the N5 is only about two inches shorter tip to tail than my 700N and a full four inches longer than my 600N. All that and it's said to still be lighter than a T-Rex 600N! Wow! So, I picked up an N5 kit and sold my 600N.

There are still a few questions I've got to answer before I can dive into this thing head first though. Here they are:

1. What servos should I use?

I've only ever used Align servos, so I figured I'd follow with the "non-Align" theme and give another brand a try. Right now, I'm thinking JR 8717's on cyclic, an 8900 on the tail, and a DS3500G on throttle. What do you think?

2. What engine should I use?

I've got a spare OS50H with an MP5 pipe that I could transplant into the N5, but that OS 55 HZ looks to be the ticket for everyone else. I'm afraid that the OS50H will still have only so-so power in the N5, despite the bird weighing less than the 600N, in which it was just plain sluggish!

3. What FBL head should I use?

I'm pretty sure that I'd like to give the RJX head a try. I know that Matt has been running his FBL ship with a Mikado 600 head, but I enjoy the "bling" behind the RJX, to be honest. From what I'm able to tell, the RJX head is a direct plug-and-play with the N5 design with the exception that I need to get RJX balls to put on the swash in place of the stock Synergy balls.

So, while I work through those questions, here are some photos to start this thing off!

The first photo is just a shot of the packaging, which is simple, but I still like it!

The second photo shows the interior of the box with the manual and frame set on top of the two parts boxes. I must say that the manual is really quite nice! It's printed on high-quality paper and appears to be actual screenshots of the Solidworks modeling software used to design the heli!

The third photo is my personal favorite...Matt was more that happy to sign my canopy! Now do I fly it or get another one and keep the signed copy as a display item only?

Finally, the fourth and fifth photos show the small box of parts and those same parts spread out in the larger box, respectively. It's quite amazing to see how few parts and assemblies this heli is made up of. As a few of my close heli-friends will attest, I am not the fastest builder in the world since I'm overly anal about everything, but I might actually be able to get this kit together quicker than the 6 weeks it took for my 600N and 700N.

Thoughts are greatly appreciated on any of the above topics or anything N5-related, in general! Make yourselves at home and welcome to my build thread!

Cheers,
-->Justin

PS Be sure to pay attention to Matt's website for updates on the kit and advice on certain parts of the build!

[ualdrivr]

Justin, you dog, you got it. Where did you purchase the kit and how much? (you can PM me that stuff if you like)

Question #1, you know what I'm going to suggest, so I'm not going to go over it again. JR all the way baby...,

Question #2, again I'm not going to say anything, because the picture on the other post (700 forum) said it all, but here it is again, because I like looking at it....



Question #3, if you want to save some $$$ and you have not sold the 600 FBL head yet, use that. I know you had it up for sale.. I don't know anything about the RJX head maybe you can post some pics. On a second thought I found it, it looks good and it's only $100.




One thing I'd like to say though, by looking at your pictures...the packaging looks kinda cheesy

Enjoy the build and I will be following...

[ochants76]

Thanks for the build threads! I really enjoyed the 700 fbl thread(convinced me to order one myself) and I have been hinting to the little lady that I would like an N5 for Christmas...so hopefully that will pan out

[Justin Pucci]

Originally Posted by ualdrivr

Justin, you dog, you got it. Where did you purchase the kit and how much? (you can PM me that stuff if you like)

Question #1, you know what I'm going to suggest, so I'm not going to go over it again. JR all the way baby...,

Question #2, again I'm not going to say anything, because the picture on the other post (700 forum) said it all, but here it is again, because I like looking at it....

Question #3, if you want to save some $$$ and you have not sold the 600 FBL head yet, use that. I know you had it up for sale.. I don't know anything about the RJX head maybe you can post some pics. On a second thought I found it, it looks good and it's only $100.

One thing I'd like to say though, by looking at your pictures...the packaging looks kinda cheesy

Enjoy the build and I will be following...

Panos,

I got the kit from Tammie's Hobbies at our local Cascade Model Heli Club Fun Fly last weekend. They had it listed for $549, but were offering 10% off for the Fun Fly only...$495 out the door! That's by far the best price I've ever seen for this bird, so I didn't even think twice.

You just keep bringing up that sexy black OS engine and pipe combo, don't you?! It's tough to resist, but man is it ever expensive? If I go with a regular 55 and a Funtech A395 (PowerBoost pipe copy), I can save myself almost $80...is the black paint worth $80? It would be quite nice looking, wouldn't it?

I could go with the 600 3G head, but that would go against my whole "non-Align" thing that I'm trying to stick with on this build. I know that's terrible justification, but... :o I'd love to be able to make use of the stock Synergy flybarred head as a FBL head if I could come up with a way to do it. It's a pretty sharp-looking piece of kit...Matt did say that he's got a design for a Synergy FBL head, but it's not ready yet. I can't wait to see what he comes up with regardless of what I decide on!

The packaging is simple really. A lightweight, single-ply piece of cardboard with the logo and other graphics covers the more heavy-duty corrugated cardboard box in which you find the small parts boxes. It's a lot more robust than my terrible photography skills would suggest... In fact, the way that they suspend the canopy inside of the bigger box is quite ingenious. I'll see if I can take a few pictures of it so that you can see what I'm talking about. If Align did it this way, they'd prevent the canopy from being warped on one side like my 700N canopy originally was...

Originally Posted by ochants76

Thanks for the build threads! I really enjoyed the 700 fbl thread(convinced me to order one myself) and I have been hinting to the little lady that I would like an N5 for Christmas...so hopefully that will pan out

Ochants,

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the 700N FBL build thread and that it got you to buy one. That's what I like to hear and why I've decided to keep doing them! Please feel free to contribute to this one if you're so inclined or, for that matter, when you get your 700 kit, resurrect my 700 build log and post questions or findings there as appropriate!

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

So after the last few days of way too much research (par for the course with me ) and toiling over stuff that's ultimately inconsequential, I think I've finalized my setup and have begun to place my orders. Here goes...

JR 8717's on cycic

JR 8900G on tail

JR DS3500G on throttle

Perfect Regulators Fail-Safe Switch/2-channel 5V regulator - I'll run direct LiFe, but step down tail and throttle

Pushglo w/alligator clip - I'm looking forward to trying this little guy out!

RJX FBL head with additional RJX balls to swap out the Synergy swash balls

OS55 engine - I'll replace the stock bearings with a set of RC-Bearings SS bearings before I maiden the bird

Lynx M.O.A.S. fuel magnet - This thing has got me excited too! I've always run fuel magnets, but the foamy type...this should be an interesting experiment as it's said to be more resistant to deterioration and holds more fuel so it's heavier in the tank. I'll provide updates on it as we go...

Most of the stuff above has already been ordered and will be arriving in the next few days and the stuff that isn't on its way yet, should be in the next day or two. The last three major things on which I need to decide are the pipe (probably a B320 or A395), the main blades, and the tail blades.

More updates and photos when the goodies show up in the mail...

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

Sorry for the radio silence...this week has been crazy and I've had to wait a bit longer than originally expected for all the parts to show up at the house.

No, I haven't ACTUALLY started the build, per se...I told you I'm slow. :o I now have everything from the list in post #5 with only a few changes to the original plan...

I decided to go with JR 8917HV's on cyclic instead of the 8717's for two reasons. They afford me the flexibility of either running direct 2S lipo or LiFe, which allows me to have more tuneabilty on CG location and total weight given the different pack sizes that are available. I'm a bit neurotic about CG, so it made sense to me... Some will say, "but Justin, the 8717's will run direct 2S Lipo voltage without any issues!" I agree, but the OTHER reason I went with these guys is that the gears are made from a material that JR refers to as "SuperSteel," which was supposedly designed to be more wear-resistant than that of the 8717 gear material. I've been doing some research on it and people are saying that they don't develop slop like the 8717's do.

On the pipe, I decided to go with the FunTech B320 pipe after a bit of research and my friend's personal experience with how easily tuneable and powerful it is! Still no word on the blades...

So, onto the engine...what I've done so far is to replace the stock bearings on the OS 55 with a set of RC-Bearings SS bearings (Thanks, Paul! ). The replacement was pretty straightforward and not my first, having had to service my OS 50 in the same way after only 1.5 gallons. This time, I decided to be proactive about it... The only issue I ever have with these bearing replacements other than burning myself on a 300F crankcase is getting the front bearing in. I had to do a bit of tapping with a deep socket, but eventually it seated itself properly.

The first photo shows the assortment of goodies that will be put into the bird in the coming days and weeks.

The second photo shows the detail of the JR 8917HV servos, for those who are interested in seeing them up close. I'll get more shots when I get to the electronics install...

Finally, the third, fourth, and fifth photos show my new OS 55 in pieces, the replacement bearings, and the finished engine, respectively.

Now I can actually get started on the build of the bird...talk to you soon!

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

Woot! I finally started the build...I've got more in work than this post will discuss, but I'll cover that in another post once I've got the photos chosen. From here on out, what I'd like to do is to refer to the steps on which I'm working by the page numbers in the Synergy manual. Sometimes, I choose to go on at great length about a given step and it's pluses/minuses and other times, I'll be quite short and to the point, though I must warn that the former is more my M.O. than the latter. Here goes...

Fuel Tank Assembly (Page A1)
This step is pretty darn straight-forward for anyone who has ever built a nitro model before. Check to make sure that your pressure relief nipple is not obstructed from the plastic molding process, size your clunk line appropriately, and stick the thing in the tank. Done!

Some notes and thoughts though...

1. I've shied away from using kit-supplied clunk line given others' experiences with the Align tubing, but after a close inspection of the material provided with the kit, I decided to give it ago. I use Sullivan Silicone 3/32" tubing for all my clunks rather than Hayes Neoprene and this tubing, while orange in color, appears to be exactly the same tubing as the white version that I use.

2. I found that despite the manual's suggestion to use a 60mm length of line, 65mm seemed to provide tank coverage more commensurate with my desire without any issues with getting stuck in a corner. Your mileage may vary, especially if you use Hayes, which swells after exposure to fuel. I'll be paying attention to this line for the first few flights to see if it has this characteristic, but if it's silicone it won't.

3. The Lynx M.O.A.S. magnet is really pretty cool! It has a smaller outer diameter than your typical OMI or MA magnet, so it doesn't scrape against the tank opening when you put it in, but it's a bit longer, so you'll need to adjust your clunk length accordingly. The material actually reminds me of a super compact fiberglass insulation of sorts and will no doubt be ultra absorbent given it's density. In fact, I sort of expect it to expand a bit like a cotton ball or the like...we'll see!

The first and second photos show the clunk line with M.O.A.S. and the finished tank, respectively. The tank does appear to be significantly smaller in volume than a T-Rex 600N, but I'm not sure, as I don't have numbers in front of me. If someone knows the volume comparison, please feel free to post it here.

Landing Gear Assembly (Page A2)
This was an interesting bit of assembling, to be honest. I won't likely be using the stock skids given how narrow they are, but I wanted to go through the steps to experience the design a bit more...

Matt has designed the tubes to be open ended rather than capped like the Align birds...additionally, they have a nifty locking feature with a threaded nut somewhat reminiscent of the way older MA birds did it, if memory serves. As can be seen in the third photo, the insert has a radially-threaded hole into which the skid locking screws thread and an axially-threaded hole into which you can thread the kit's flybar. This gives you the ability to use the flybar rod as a tool to position the radial hole in line with each of the two holes on each pipe that correspond the the plastic skid holes.

It's a bit more tricky to do than you'd think, but with a bit of work it went together quite well. Make sure to tighten the screws until the locking nut is all the way against the top of the skid pipe or else your pipes will be loose in the skids.

Engine Clutch Assembly (Page A3)
Like the fuel tank assembly step, this will come easily to anyone who has assembled a nitro machine before, so I won't go through the process, but I'd like to point out some cool stuff...

1. The fan hub is quite a work of art for two reasons. The first reason is that it's a pretty darn sexy piece of machining, what with the curves and nice chamfered flange edges. The second reason is based on my frustration with the Align hub design. As you know if you've built an Align nitro, there are two different screw holes sizes so that they could eliminate a machining step and just tap a through-hole from the clutch screws to the fan attachment point. This means, that you only have one axis of symmetry and thus only two orientations with which to identify the least-unbalanced configuration with the least runout.

The Synergy N5 hub has an azimuthally-symmetric screw pattern, which means that I can rotate it through four different orientations to look for the best balance/runout configuration! Awesome! See the fourth photo for a good view of the hub.

2. The fan and clutch both needed balancing just like other nitros I've built, so no surprise here. Also, I chased my tail a bit towards the end of the balancing...again, just like other nitro builds. In the end, I was happy with the result, but only the V-Bar will tell the truth... The fifth photo shows the final engine clutch assembly.

The next few steps involve assembly of the clutch bell and starter shaft, as well as the servo and radio trays. I'll see if I can get those knocked out in the next day or so and then we'll move on to the frame build...

[ualdrivr]

Justin, what up my brother? I have not seen any progress here lately . You're not getting cold feet with this heli are you?

[Justin Pucci]

Originally Posted by ualdrivr

Justin, what up my brother? I have not seen any progress here lately . You're not getting cold feet with this heli are you?

Panos,

I'm definitely NOT getting cold feet...I've been wanting to get this beauty in the air, but unfortunately work got ridiculously busy after my last post and I've had family in town visiting for the last week and a half! So, I've only spent about 1 hour on the build since starting the thread because of all of this stuff...

Family leaves Sunday night and work is calming back down a bit, so bear with me and I'll do my best to get back to the build ASAP. I need to get her in the air before the Brooks OR Fun Fly, which is September 17-19, so I don't have much time left...

Thanks for continuing to watch the thread and for putting a fire under my butt to get this bird off the ground!

[ualdrivr]

Originally Posted by Justin Pucci

Panos,

I'm definitely NOT getting cold feet...I've been wanting to get this beauty in the air, but unfortunately work got ridiculously busy after my last post and I've had family in town visiting for the last week and a half! So, I've only spent about 1 hour on the build since starting the thread because of all of this stuff...

Family leaves Sunday night and work is calming back down a bit, so bear with me and I'll do my best to get back to the build ASAP. I need to get her in the air before the Brooks OR Fun Fly, which is September 17-19, so I don't have much time left...

Thanks for continuing to watch the thread and for putting a fire under my butt to get this bird off the ground!

Yeap, family visiting has that effect, it's a downer for all RC Heli activities....

I can't wait to hear how she flies....

[nwmtech]

Yeah, you'd better get your butt in gear or I'm going to come down there and start building it myself. LOL. If you come home one day and walk in to meet a brand new completed N5 at least you won't wonder!

[Justin Pucci]

Originally Posted by nwmtech

Yeah, you'd better get your butt in gear or I'm going to come down there and start building it myself. LOL. If you come home one day and walk in to meet a brand new completed N5 at least you won't wonder!

So, this round of family is back where they came from, but my wife just reminded me that her family is coming in this Friday! I've got to get myself moving on this build during the week and try to get some time in over the weekend while they're here or else I'll never get this thing in the air! I may need to take you up on your offer, Nick...

More to come soon, guys. Bear with me...

[ualdrivr]

Oh, man, Justin, forget about it......

Just pack it and send here to NY, I'll put it together for you, brake it in and ship it back to ya....,

How's that sound....

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

I can't hardly believe it myself, but I was able to find a few hours yesterday evening to work on the build while my in-laws hung out with my wife. Thanks, Marnie! She even said to me yesterday "You should find time to work on your N5." Sweet!

Since I have so many photos, I think I'll break this update into three posts:

1. Clutch Bell and Start Shaft Assembly (Page A4)
2. Servo Tray Module Assembly (Page A5) and Radio Tray Assembly (Page A6)
3. Right Frame Support Installation (Page A7) and Bearing Block Assembly and Installation (Page A8)

Also, I talked to Matt recently, who said that he didn't mind if I posted the tips on his webpage as I get to each of the points in the build, so I'll post those in blue as we move forward.

So, let's get started on the first one...

Clutch Bell and Start Shaft Assembly (Page A4)
The clutch assembly comes pre-assembled out of the bag, but not everything is done on it, so don't think that you can pull it out and bolt it to the frames. The manual indicates that you need to assemble the bearing block and bearings, the governor magnets, and the hex adapter. After fiddling with it for a few minutes I was convinced that the pinion, three large bearings, and bearing block was firmly stuck together. I'm not sure if the factory uses a green locktite type of adhesive on the bearings, but that block was not coming apart. See the first photo to see the final set of parts that I had to work with.

The pinion and clutch bell need to be loctited together, but before that you need to install your governor magnets and check your clutch liner. I used Align magnets because as of today, at least, I'll be using a spare Align governor that I have while I wait for Mikado to release their V5.0 governor update. I use 30-minute epoxy and it always seems to work just fine. Just make sure that you get a nice clean layer on top of each magnet as well as in the pocket. Also, make sure the magnets don't pop up out of the pockets or else you'll be in danger of smacking your sensor head.

The clutch liner (see the second photo) was really where I spent most of my time. Right out of the bag, it binded up on the clutch when trying to spin it. It was the typical smooth-bind-smooth-bind situation where there was probably a high spot in there somewhere. Using a pair of digital calipers, I measured the as-installed clutch liner inner diameter to be an average of 41.2mm (averaged over 4 locations 90 degrees apart) and the clutch itself came in at around 41.1mm. Using a sanding barrel on my Dremel tool and some 400 grit sand paper by hand, I ended up increasing the ID of the liner to around 41.4-41.5mm.

Now the clutch bell spun freely on the clutch. I did notice afterwards though, that when I put the clutch bell into the entire clutch assembly and then tried it out on the clutch, it was still not as smooth as I'd like. I think that may be due to a misalignment as a result of just dropping the assembly onto the engine/clutch stack. If it still does that when I install it into the frames, then I'll need to go back and rework it a bit more. The final clutch assembly is shown in the third photo with the governor sensor bracket and epoxied magnets.

A few comments:

1. The start shaft is quite a beefy piece of steel. Much larger in diameter than the typical Align shafts, which seem to bend quite easily.

2. The hex starter shaft on my starter is a tight fit with the hex adapter on the clutch assembly. Matt has asked that we make measurements and let him know when this happens. Mine came in at 6.06mm on my calipers. I'll be submitting that to him on his website and I suggest you do the same when you get to that part of your build so that he and the Synergy crew can figure things out.

3. This is a general comment...each page of the manual gives the title of the step that you'll be working on and the bag number from which the parts come. My kit doesn't have any bag numbers in it. If you've ever built a heli before, then you should have absolutely no issue with finding where the parts are that you need though. Especially, with the N5, given its VERY low parts count. There just aren't that many places it could be...

Here's an excerpt from Matt's website (www.mattbotos.com) on the clutch liner...

Clutch Liner Installation -
The factory did not install the clutch liner per instructions in the manual, this will be corrected in future kits. For those that have kits now, follow these installation steps -

1. Trim an 1/8 inch of clutch liner off the end of the material
2. Insert the clutch liner into the clutch bell to test the fit
3. Wrap the clutch with one layer of electrical tape
4. Use Medium CA or JBWeld to secure the liner
5. Insert clutch into the clutch bell
6. Let glue dry
7. Remove clutch from clutch bell
8.Sizing may be needed in order to allow the clutch bell to spin freely on the clutch. Use a Dremel tool with a large fine grit sanding drum to remove material. A lathe would be ideal but I know most people do not own a lathe.

As you can tell from my description above, my liner came factory installed in what I believe to be an appropriate manner, so this note may be obsolete at this point, but I figured that I'd post it anyway, just in case someone else here finds themselves with an older kit.

Cheers,
-->J

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

Servo Tray Module Assembly (Page A5) and Radio Tray Assembly (Page A6)
This portion of the build is pretty standard if not more simple than a typical heli, so I won't bore you all with descriptions of how to mount a servo, etc. Instead, I'll bore you with a no doubt, way-too-wordy description of how I modified the servo tray to my liking.

When I took Matt's and Todd's flight school in July, one of the things that stuck out in my mind that Matt said was that he doesn't use wire braiding. He prefers to stick with the uncovered wires and be careful about how their routed so as to not cut into the insulation. I've always used wire braid because I like the look, but I DO NOT like the inconvenience caused by the stiff braid when trying to get the wires organized. So, I decided to build this bird per Matt's advice.

You'll notice that the servo tray is made of high-quality plastic, but has some sharp edges on the openings through which you're expected to run your servo wires. There's a large hole in the front of the tray through which all of your wires will be routed to get to the radio tray and there is also a smaller hole between the first and second servos to route the second servo wire. Using a hobby knife, I chamfered all of the edges so that they will not readily cut into an wires that pass through the slots (see the first and second photos).

All of the N5 wire installations that I've seen from others then take the third servo wire and wrap it around the outside of the tray...sorry, that one doesn't work for me. I'm too anal... So, what I decided to do was cut a new hole through the wall that divides the second and third servo bays. Now, I'll warn you that this is not my best work in terms of cutting stuff, but it's about all that I could manage given how tight it is in there. I could barely get the hobby knife far enough in to cut through the side wall, but after about 30 minutes of shaving and hacking while watching Star Wars, I broke through to the other side. The third photo shows the result...I know, I know...ugly, but guess what? You can't see it with the servo installed! This hole now allowed me to pass the third servo wire through to the second compartment and then through to the main compartment. Note that you will need to take the servo connector off, but that's a simple matter.

The fourth photo shows the final servo tray assembly with all three wires routed out the front hole and the fifth and sixth photos show the details of the third servo wire passing through the hole that I cut. I added a piece of sliced fuel tubing to protect the wire, as it's a pretty small opening. I haven't decided yet if I want to hot-glue or shoe-goo the wire and tubing in there though... I wonder if Matt can design that feature into future kits, as I think that it would definitely make for a cleaner setup with a minimal increase in effort during the build.

The radio tray was a rather simple step for two reasons:

1. It is designed to have smooth, rounded corners on all surfaces over which servos wires will run as can be seen in the seventh and eighth photos. The wires from both the throttle and tail servos will run up towards the opening at the top of both photos and then out and around to the receiver. Nice and smooth!

2. Only my tail servo fit into the tray...I bought the DS3500G mini tail servo to serve as my throttle servo, but it's about 3mm too short. The center-to-center distance on the mounting holes in the tray is 43mm and matches perfectly with the Futaba 9257 or 9650 servos, as verified by a good buddy of mine who runs them on other birds. See the ninth and tenth photos for the details. As a result, I didn't get much further on this step...

I'm not going to give up yet, as I believe that I can come up with an adapter plate out of some spare aluminum or carbon fiber, but I haven't had an opportunity to work that out yet, so I'll post back at a later date once I figure it out.

A few final thoughts...

1. I really like how clean and simple the electronics setup is...in fact, one of the things that sold me on this bird was the fact that Matt designed the servo tray as a module that can be removed from the frame without unmounting the servos themselves.

2. The aluminum hex nut rods are a very nice touch all around. No need to worry about stripping out plastic like in some of the lower quality kits.

3. The plastic is really shiny and will no doubt add to the look of the bird...

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

This portion of the build has been my most satisfying thus far. The reason for said satisfaction is that Matt has designed this bird to be so simple and clean that everything just goes together. Again, very low parts count and frames whose holes don't need to be messed with or opened up to get things to fit and align correctly...

If you know me well enough in real life or online, you know that I take a really long time to do anything, especially heli builds. The amount of time that I've put into this build so far up to and including this post is...

...approximately...

Four hours!

Ok, well that's probably terrible for anyone else, but I'll tell you what...I'm haulin' ass right now! Here goes...

Right Frame Support Installation (Page A7) and Bearing Block Assembly and Installation (Page A8)
First thing's first...sanding the frames. The G10 frames that come with the kit appear to be cut very precisely with no obviously botched edges or bad surface finishes. Actually, they're so shiny it's impressive. If you've ever worked with G10 or it's fire-resistant brother FR4, you'll know that it's quite a bit easier to cut and sand than real carbon fiber. I usually go at CF with a relatively rough 200-300 grit sand paper, but the N5 frames seem to respond quite well to a mild scrub with 400 grit. As you can see in the first photo, I sanded the major exterior and interior lines as indicated in red. As you'll find out soon enough, one of the components to be installed in the frames are the bellcrank arm bearings...as shown in the first photo, I used a hobby knife to open that hole up (shown in yellow) just enough to be able to press the bearing in.

The stock edges are rather sharp, so be sure not to skip this step even if you're not worried about cutting wires...your hands could fall victim just as easily. Only a quick rub with the 400 grit and the edges are broken easily and are noticeably more smooth. I tend not to go too crazy on them, but apply your preferred edge break amount.

The second photo shows the cast of characters that will work together to get this portion of the build done. You've got four arc braces (polished aluminum), a black plastic anti-rotation guide, a black-anodized aluminum tail bellcrank block, a grey-anodized aluminum motor center block, an aluminum canopy spacer (grey) and stand-off (polished), polished aluminum motor mounts, flange bearing, polished aluminum frame connector block and the black-anodized aluminum front canopy mount. Wow! That's a lot of stuff...Note that your tail bellcrank block will be in the small bag with the tail belt pulleys.

Make sure to clean all of the threaded holes and screws thoroughly with alcohol or your cleaner of choice. I found that the hardware in this kit seems to be rather greasy, which isn't a bad thing, but it's just a reminder to not throw the thing together without cleaning or else your locktite won't work. I actually prefer to use an air canister (keyboard cleaner) to blow out grease and alcohol from the interior threaded holes on frame pieces. You'd be amazed how much nastiness is in there!

As I mentioned before, I combined pages A7 and A8 into this post since the latter only adds the two main bearing blocks (shown in the third photo). Make sure that the deep recessed portion of the bearing blocks face away from each other. In other words, the 10mm bearing recess should face up towards the head and the 8mm bearing recess should face down towards the skids. Also, my manual indicates that the bearing blocks need to be assembled, but they came pre-assembled for me...just an FYI.

Once you've got everything cleaned and have identified where it all goes, just bolt it all together and you're all set! The build-up of the frame takes only a few minutes, so I spent most of my time cleaning. See the fourth photo for a look at the fully-assembled right frame!

Some thoughts on this portion of the build...

1. The arc braces look really awesome and I like the way that Matt changes things up with different colors between the polished, black-anodized, and grey-anodized aluminum. Very sharp!

2. Unlike other kits that I've built, the screws will only thread so far and then they almost seem to lock in place after 1/8 to 1/4 turns past finger tight. Whether by design or luck, this is a very nice feature, as it acts as a detent that will prevent you from stripping the screw or turning the head off unless you "incredible hulk" it.

3. The anti-rotation bracket is seemingly symmetric, but has a weird key-like feature on one side about halfway up the angled exterior surface. I couldn't find anything that it interfaces with and the manual doesn't show it at all, so I just oriented it to the left, which corresponds to the mold release marks facing towards the main shaft. This puts the clean side facing back where everyone can see it...

4. The plastic on the bearing blocks is a type with which I'm unfamiliar as it relates to heli kits. It's a similar look and feel to the plastic of the servo and radio trays, but it seems to be much harder. Incidentally, the anti-rotation bracket appears to be of an entirely different plastic than the other pieces, though it may just be the exterior look due to the molding process.

[Justin Pucci]

Update:

I got a lot done today in the four hours (~8 hours total so far) that I had to spend on the build, so enjoy!

Servo Tray and Radio Tray Installation (Page A9)
This step is really simple...there's not really anything to say. The only advice I have is that you should make sure that you route your wires the way you want now because in another step or two you'll have a full heli frame built and no way to get the wires where you want them easily...I ran the cyclic servo wires through the opening at the top of the radio tray and out the front. Since I haven't installed my throttle servo yet, I'm expecting to have a bit of a struggle to get the wire where I want it, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal. See the first photo for a view of the trays installed on the right side frame.

Clutch and Belt Idler Installation (Page A10)
As with the previous step, this one is similarly simple. See the second photo for the parts that you'll be using. Bolt up the clutch to the right side frame loosely so that you can adjust it when you get to the engine installation step. The manual mentions that you should install your governor sensor at this point, but since the sensor mounts to an external bracket and is readily accessible, I chose to wait until later so that I don't have to fight with one more wire in my way.

There are two main thoughts that I have about the way that the clutch block assembly is designed:

1. I LOVE that the governor sensor bracket on the outside of the right frame so that I can easily access it! Very cool stuff, in my opinion...

2. I also LOVE that the clutch block is mounted through two elongated holes per frame side so that you have the flexibility to slide it back and forth to get it aligned with the engine and gear properly. Well played, Matt...well played!

The idler assembly is quite simple to set up as well. This pulley block can be bolted down solidly as it won't be adjusted in a later step, but make sure to not bolt down the actual idler pulley itself, as you'll need to get the cross brace aligned so that it can properly interface with it's other half when the left side frame comes into the picture. The third photo shows the two bits described above installed on the right side frame.

A quick note on the idler pulley...the block and brace have bosses on them so that they engage the inner race of the two bearings, which in theory should prevent over-tightening of the through-bolt having an effect on the smoothness of its rotation. That having been said, I still had a bit of trouble getting this one to spin smoothly. The other side was easy, but for whatever reason, this guy was a bit more rough than I'd like. Hopefully it will be fine though...


Left Frame Side Assembly - Steps 1 and 2 (Pages A11, A12, and A13)
Wow! Again, we've got ourselves another REALLY simple step...appropriately size the flange bearing hole and press it in. Move on to the idler mount block and install it just as you did on the right side frame. Then install the two landing gear mount blocks. It's that simple... The fourth photo shows the finished product!

Now that you've got the left side frame built up, you only need to add it to your right side frame assembly. Remember to install the two matching landing gear mount blocks on the right side frame. Once that's done, I went through and hand-tightened down all the screws that hold the side frames together. Make sure that you don't get the screws mixed up when you're doing this. The 6mm screws are used for the arc braces, front brace, and engine brace and the 8mm screws are used for the bearing blocks and the servo and radio trays. Make sure to install your other canopy stand-off, idler pulley, and anti-rotation bracket screws and don't forget the washers on the clutch block!

Now you've got a fully-assembled frame set that's in dire need of an alignment check prior to tightening down all of the screws. A quick check on a flat surface indicated to me that the frames were appropriately square and required no tweaking! You have no idea how ecstatic I was when I realized this to be the case! I've had bad luck with other helis and frame alignment...Like I said, everything about this heli just seems to work. I spent the next several minutes tightening all of the left side frame screws in two or three steps to make sure that I didn't drive the frames out of square. A final check showed this not to be the case (see the fifth photo).

Landing Gear and Fuel Tank Installation (Page A14)
After a bit of research, I've decided that I'll be putting the N9 skids on this bird instead of the rather narrow stock skids, but more on that later when I finally get the parts...for the time being, I wanted to put the stock ones on to make it look as much like a heli as possible! Boy, it looks really sweet... Mounting is a snap. Just tighten the four screws in to the mount blocks and your set as can be seen in the sixth photo.

I really enjoy the way the tank edge grommets are designed on this helicopter. Instead of using the really loose, small, and delicate closed-loop rubber grommets like other birds, Matt has employed an open length of heavy-duty rubber grommet that you size and apply yourself. This stuff is really stiff and takes a bit of muscle to get smoothed out and around the frames. I started with the uncut length of grommet provided in the kit and once I wrapped it all the way around, I cut it to size.

I decided to put the cuts on the bottom of the tank hole so that it's not readily visible unless you lift the bird up and look for it. I left a space of 1-2mm, but I'm sure if you wanted you could cut it so that it meets exactly. The seventh and eight photos show the application technique and a close-up of the grommet's cross-section showing it's heavy-duty design. Finally, applying what Finless Bob likes to refer to as "a little human lube" to the grommets (spit, guys...spit!) the tank slides right into the frames. See the ninth photo for the finished assembly.


Engine Installation (Page A15)
Once again, another really awesome part of the build! The frames are so wide open that installing the engine is really easy! I've always hated the fact that on my T-Rexes, I need to take the bottom frame and skids off to get at the engine. Matt's ingenuity in this part of the heli really shines!

In the tenth photo, I've attempted to capture the four-step process for installing the engine. First, turn the frame on it's backside where the tail would be so that it balances on the frames and backs of the skid pipes. Hold your engine by the head and twist it so that the mount flange on the engine furthest from you is tilted up. Second, slide the crankcase into the frames and onto the two engine mounts so that the bolt hole closest to the fan on the engine mount flange is lined up with the hole closest to the skids on the frame mount. This ensures that your clutch won't interfere with the clutch bell. Third, lay the engine down flat on the two frame mounts and fourth and finally, slide the engine up into position and begin the alignment process. Make sure that you get the two engine spacers in there between the engine and the frame mounts before you start screwing things together.

On to alignment...this is where I spent most of my four hours today, but only because of the clutch. As mentioned in post #14 above, I had a bit of an issue with the clutch binding in the clutch bell. After a bit of sanding of the liner, I thought that I had it under control, but once I installed the engine and tried to get things aligned, I noticed that it still wasn't exactly the way I'd like it to be. I ended up pulling the entire engine and clutch block assembly out and got to sanding again. I finally got it to the point where I was happy and once I got everything re-assembled back into the frames, I used my starter to spin things a bit. Yep! Everything is working the way it should now...As my good friend Nick reminded me, the liner is definitely a part of the bird that needs breaking in and after the first few flights, it should be just fine. The eleventh photo shows the engine assembled into the frames.

Matt's comments on this portion of the build are shown below:

Engine & Clutch Stack Alignment-

Mount your engine and clutch stack into the frames as shown in the instructions. Leave all bolts lose at first. First tighten down the four engine mount tab screws. Next you will want to check your main gear mesh. You can rock the engine slightly toward or away from the main gear to achieve a slightly better mesh. Once you are happy with the main gear to pinion mesh, tighten down the eight motor mount bolts to the frame. Once the engine is secured you can now check the start shaft for free rotation. Move the clutch stack slightly fore or aft until you feel the start shaft is free within the one-way clutch bearing. Tighten down the four clutch stack bearing block screws are you are done.

I haven't installed my gear yet, but when I do I'll check the mesh and re-adjust as necessary. More to come on that when I get to it...


Fan Shroud Installation (Page A16)
Another really satisfying bit of the build...man, I need to stop beginning these sections with that same description or else it's going to get old.

Upon initial inspection, I think you'll find this part of the build to be a bit tricky, but after thinking about it for a few minutes it's quite simple and really pretty damn cool! First thing's first...get your mounting hardware ready as shown in the twelfth photo. Those little grey-anodized spacers are the key to the whole setup. The forward spacer needs to be installed with the frames upside down and the aft spacer needs to be installed with the frames right side up as I show in the thirteenth photo. I found that the trick to their installation is as follows:

1. With neither shroud in the way, get the spacer positioned such that you can screw the left side screw into it. This keeps it where you want it for the next step.

2. Now, screw the right side shroud into the two spacers. Don't worry about tightening them down too much. As long as there are a few threads engaged.

3. Next, make sure that you slide the right shroud back and fourth until you get it positioned the way you want it with respect to the fan, clutch bell, and carb intake. I chose to slide it fully aft in the elongated holes. Note again in the thirteenth photo how it hugs the carb intake!

4. Now you can install the left shroud. Tighten down the two M3x12 screws as much as you can until the spacer begins to spin and then go at it with two hex wrenches. Counter-torquing the screws simultaneously ensures that you'll get a good hold on the shrouds without the need for backing up the spacer.

5. The final step is then to install the three M2x10 screws to tighten the entire assembly together. Make sure that the two halves fit together all along the seam. A quick little spin of the engine with my starter to verify that the fan isn't hitting the shroud and she's all set! The fourteenth photo shows the shrouds in their final configuration.

A few comments on the shrouds...

1. Awesome plastic quality! They look really nice and finished with nice and clean edges and a good surface finish.

2. The ability to slide the shroud back and fourth like the clutch block to get the alignment right is awesome!

3. I like how the shroud actually hugs the carb intake, which minimizes the chance of getting any nastiness up in there when you're sitting on the ground. It also should act to force air into the carb during flight.

Ok, that's all I've got right now...next up is the bell crank assembly and the tail bits! Woohoo!

[ualdrivr]

Nice...

[rctintin]

Great work Justin, don't stop now the ball is rolling, I'm catching you up, and want to complete the build!!

Quick question, could you have used a 'burr' cutter in the Dremmel to cut the hole in the servo tray for the lead to pass through? I don't fancy nibbling away with the scalpel in there!!

[Justin Pucci]

Originally Posted by rctintin

Great work Justin, don't stop now the ball is rolling, I'm catching you up, and want to complete the build!!

Quick question, could you have used a 'bur' cutter in the Dremmel to cut the hole in the servo tray for the lead to pass through? I don't fancy nibbling away with the scalpel in there!!

Oooh...good question. The burr cutter might actually have worked! I didn't like the idea of cutting at the plastic with a hobby knife either, but my Dremel tool wouldn't fit in there with any of the tools that I had that could do the job.

I'm moving as fast as I can! I'm almost ready to mount the tail boom assembly onto the main frames. Then it's just the main gear, head, links, and FBL setup and she's ready! I'll try to get all of the tail steps posted in the next day or so, but for now it's back to work...