KSD helicopter quality questions?

[Atomic Skull]

Are the bearing tolerances tight, or are the bearings loose in their holes?

Do things like washout arms and other parts with bearings need to be worked on/fiddled with to eliminate binding or do they just work out of the box?

What's slop (or lack of it) like on the washout arms and other parts with bearings?

[Znybar]

The 550 I've just finished putting together had no issues whatsoever that I could find. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well machined the parts were and how tightly they fit.

[Madryan]

Ok mate..the V1 kits were shocking ... i have three of them as well as several complete new heads etc thinking i would need all the spares...I can tell you out of 7 complete heads all but 1 had no slop in the heads...its not till you put the blades on and grab them by the tips and lift them up and down that you notice.. im yet to see what the DFC style heads are like but you have to remember these are cheap so you get cheap quality..they're not Align so you don't get good/cheap either... but considering the prices and quality you do get they're good..per se...

right the washout is fin i have never had any issues what so ever there.. one thing is be damn sure you lock tight those tiny tiny screws in that hold the washout to the collar :-) in fact use green on those ones they do come out...

the plastic links and washout arms are quite brittle they don't break easy but a good stack into the deck will shatter them.... but they do wear ok in general

[Ghostflyer1]

You mention the V1 kits. There are known problems that the V1 kits had that were addressed with the V2. I hope that you are not still flying that plastic tail pulley gear as they are known to give way in flight. This can be a very dangerous situation as it goes full negative collective when it does give way. The V2 has gone to a metal tail pulley gear along with some other improvements. My 700 is slop free and it out performs all of my other helicopters.. Align included before I sold it.

[Madryan]

Nah mate I have been waiting for v2 parts for ever....I see you posted a link to a hobby store in the us....I better do some shopping... I really hated the tail rotor and yep the belt guides I've already seen wearing out....I have lots of other kits to fly so these are grounded. Seems everywhere but Asia stock the parts...unless you know somewhere a little closer to Aussie who actually has parts in stock.


Cheers

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[Znybar]

I'll make an amendment and say that I've got the V2 FBL version, I was very wary of avoiding the V1 that had some significant issues.

[Adventurer]

I fly a 550 V1 because I don't like DFC. Apart from the tail pulley and tail pitch slider, I'm a happy camper. Both those parts have been replaced with their Logo counterparts, and no further issues have been experienced. As for slop in the head - there ain't any, its as tight as a drum.

Craig

[Familyman67]

same with me - I don't like DFC which is why I fly the V1 rotorhead on my 550. All the rest is V2 and I love it.

[Madryan]

I checked out that website in the states and all the parts are v1 .... Where is a solid supply.of.the v2 upgrades please...

Cheers

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[Familyman67]

hobbyking!

[Madryan]

Yeh...I mean in stock.....lol.....otherwise I would ha e bought them out of house and home already....I've been on back order for months...I know kds only does production runs sporadically.... Anywhere else ? Cheers

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[Familyman67]

Ah, ok, sorry I was unaware that hobbyking is out of stock with KDS parts.
Of course you want to order where it is on stock.
We lucky Europeans have a couple of shops up here who hold most of the parts on stock.

Don't you have a general importer for KDS down under?

[Ghostflyer1]

Originally Posted by Madryan

Yeh...I mean in stock.....lol.....otherwise I would ha e bought them out of house and home already....I've been on back order for months...I know kds only does production runs sporadically.... Anywhere else ? Cheers

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Um sorry about that ... When I found out HobbyKing had stock I literally bought everything they had for the V2. That was before I found out that Charles keep stock in house... so yah I had nothing to do with emptying HobbyKing of all of their 700 parts

[hawk01]

to those of you (attention Adventurer and Familyman) who chose the non DFC V1 head, are there any "issues" with the DFC head design?? i am a relative newbie to FBL systems, the DFC does look more compact and simpler, just wondering why not everyone likes it...

[Adventurer]

I' ve not had issues with the V1 head at all. It's a simple robust design and it works. As I understand it , you have to fly very well to notice the difference between the two heads.

I've never owned a DFC style head, however the mechanics around teatering look unsound to me. Remember that the original designer of DFC used flexible Deldrin arms, which are not used in the copies.

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[Madryan]

Originally Posted by hawk01

to those of you (attention Adventurer and Familyman) who chose the non DFC V1 head, are there any "issues" with the DFC head design?? i am a relative newbie to FBL systems, the DFC does look more compact and simpler, just wondering why not everyone likes it...

Only issue i have been hearing of with tdt to date is that the ball link joiner that joins the cup to the tdt link snaps. The ones i have have a fair bit of axial play on the bolt at the blad grips and.there is still that oversized bearing housing issue in the blade grips.....you sure you arent from hawkrc doing some qc reconnaissance? Also the internal thread of the tdt links starts a little far inside for my liking i will be interested to see how long before a link pills the theads out.

Cheers.

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[automap2002]

Originally Posted by Familyman67

same with me - I don't like DFC which is why I fly the V1 rotorhead on my 550. All the rest is V2 and I love it.

Originally Posted by Adventurer

I fly a 550 V1 because I don't like DFC. Apart from the tail pulley and tail pitch slider, I'm a happy camper. Both those parts have been replaced with their Logo counterparts, and no further issues have been experienced. As for slop in the head - there ain't any, its as tight as a drum.

Craig

Since I have been looking at the DFC 550 Innova V2, should I get the V1 rotorhead when I purchase the V2?

[Madryan]

Just get the v2 kit as it has all the v2 upgrades. You need the shorter mainshaft anyway not just the head.

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[hawk01]

Originally Posted by Madryan

Only issue i have been hearing of with tdt to date is that the ball link joiner that joins the cup to the tdt link snaps. The ones i have have a fair bit of axial play on the bolt at the blad grips and.there is still that oversized bearing housing issue in the blade grips.....you sure you arent from hawkrc doing some qc reconnaissance? Also the internal thread of the tdt links starts a little far inside for my liking i will be interested to see how long before a link pills the theads out.

Cheers.

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rest assured i am not affiliated whatsoever with hawkrc. otherwise i should have used another nickname to conduct QC reconnaisance missions in a more discreet fashion! hehe

so far it has been quite informative regarding the inherent weakness of the DFC design to potentially fail compared to the more conventional head. now i am beginning to get a better appreciation of the matter...

[Adventurer]

Originally Posted by Madryan

Just get the v2 kit as it has all the v2 upgrades. You need the shorter mainshaft anyway not just the head.

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As much as I dislike the DFC head, I must agree with this.

If you're short on experience with this size of bird, build and fly it stock. You can always mod it later once you know what you're doing. There's all sorts of geometrical(?) and practical issues to consider.