START HERE |
|
Register | FAQ | PM | Events | Groups | Blogs | Calendar | Mark Forums Read |
Unregistered
|
Mikado Logo Helicopters Mikado Logo Helicopters Discussion |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
01-05-2015, 05:12 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Registered Users
Join Date: Dec 2014
|
Notes on my 480XXtreme build
Got a new 480XXtreme and built it in my living room between Christmas and New Year, while taking the week off and watching bowl games! Tough job, I know, but someone had to do it.
Just heard from Mikado USA, who asked me to write a review on their site, which I did. They got the abbreviated version, however, owing to their 2500-character limit, so my longer review is here: --------------- This is my first Logo and my biggest heli; my previous largest was a 450, so that’s my point of comparison. Also, I haven’t finished the wiring yet and and so haven’t flown it, so I can give only my first impressions of the kit and the build. Mine is the super combo with Savox servos and the YGE ESC. Overall, I’m impressed to the point of delight. My 450 (Beam E4) was really well made, but this is a different level entirely. The carbon fiber frame plates are polished and smooth. Every part fits perfectly. I mean perfectly. This was a revelation. Stuff is the right size, things are the right length, everything lines up; all I had to do was screw it together and it was perfect. Zero slop anywhere. This may be a general benefit of larger helicopters, but my sense is that this one is better than most. The 18-page instruction manual is oversize (about 12” x 16” — A3 for you international guys), big pictures, very clear, and in beautifully readable English (!), although I noticed that a German word or two (“ist”and “stopp”) had slipped in. This is a huge improvement over the funky Chinese and Korean manuals that I’m used to, just really nice. That said, there’s some but not much verbal instruction; mostly it’s exploded diagrams showing where parts go, and, clear as they are, if this is your first helicopter I can imagine it might be frustrating. Also, because everything fits so exactly, I found myself following the steps and pictures exactly, expecting perfection, only to have to undo work later. An example is the tail, which is the only fussy part of the build. The diagram shows the boom stopping exactly at the tail clamp, so that’s where I put it. I then spent time with my calipers getting the sides exactly 22.3mm apart, which meant tightening the clamps down hard. But then at step 7 when I installed the main gear, I discovered that the belt didn’t reach, which meant that I had to loosen the tail — thereby messing up my careful 22.3mm alignment — to slide it forward on the boom a few millimeters. And of course to do this I also had to loosen the boom supports and all that. Given the precision of everything else, I was surprised that the manual didn’t illustrate this detail. No biggie at all, but it would have helped to have a sentence up front that said to not tighten anything fully or make precision adjustments until the whole kit has been fit together. A more-experienced builder may not have needed this instruction. Another note on the tail is that the right side plate looks symmetrical but isn’t; the screws above and below the bearing are SLIGHTLY offset. You normally won’t see this, but if you find that the distance bolt is crooked, as I did, you’ll know that you have it backward. When it’s right it’s perfect, like everything else (the offset exists on purpose!). (Can’t say why Mikado doesn’t simplify the tail into a single piece like so many others have; it would make a simple build even simpler!) One mistake I made was to put too much epoxy (cyanoacrylate doesn’t work) into the tail servo rod ends, and as they were drying they oozed outward, making the rod too long. Note to self: Use glue sparingly. The head is fantastic. On my other kits, the head has been the hardest part of the build; on this kit it was the easiest. The head block is aluminum, and substantial; the grips are plastic and equally substantial. This is not toy-store plastic! More like aerospace grade — dense, solid, beefy, I love it. Grease the bearings, center the feathering shaft, and screw the grips on. Everything just fits. Same with the swash lever arms. Drop in the bearings and screw them on. Perfect fit, perfect action, first time. Couldn’t be more impressed. I’d read on the forum about tricky alignment between pinion and main gear but experienced nothing of the sort. The pinion dropped into place and aligned perfectly without a single adjustment. To get the mesh right, you just move the motor mount forward and back, then cinch everything down. My main gear is perfectly round, apparently an exception, so I left no backlash in the mesh. (Another note on the manual. Every diagram of the main gear and pinion has the herringbone pattern running the opposite direction of reality. This caused me a half-hour’s worth of sleuthing — do I have the gear somehow backward? — before I contacted a friend with a Logo who said the manual’s got it backward. Another small surprise for such a precision kit.) The pulley was really hard to slide onto the main shaft — super-tight tolerances — so I resorted to a bit of soap, being careful to avoid soaping the one-way bearing, which was greased. This did the trick. One curiosity is that with the Savox servos, none of the swash links are vertical; in fact, the elevator ball is a full 5mm left of center. This obviously does not matter. Frame assembly, which is the first step, is simple. Lots of self-locking nuts so very little Loctite is needed. Makes later adjustments a snap. The canopy is beautiful and more substantial (heavy, solid) than any I’ve seen elsewhere. Expecting ordinary plastic, I bought magnets because I’d read that the rear closure could be an issue, but again, I experienced nothing of the sort. Just put it on and it’s perfect. That’s all I can think of for now. Hope to have the electronics wired up and programmed and get it into the air next week, at which time I’ll know more. But it’s every inch a beautiful kit; I expect great things. Last edited by Fireball XL5; 01-06-2015 at 12:01 AM.. |
Sponsored Links | |||
Advertisement |
|
01-05-2015, 07:53 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Registered Users
Join Date: Aug 2011
|
It looks simply perfect!
Have fun with it
__________________
XL Power 520(soon to become a 480), Warp 360 , Tarot 360Sport, Logo480 LowRpm , Logo 500 T500 AP |
01-05-2015, 09:41 PM | #3 (permalink) |
The Airetic
Join Date: Nov 2012
|
Nice write up. Lot's of good info for those of us that will be building in the near future. Thanks for the effort!
__________________
Free Agent....With standalone opinions. |
05-22-2015, 02:07 PM | #5 (permalink) | |
Registered Users
Join Date: Jun 2014
|
Quote:
|
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|