Align 500 PRO DFC or the new T-rex 500L Dominator?

[heli_shmeli]

Originally Posted by leokat001

That sucks it crashed ! What screw came loose ?

The servo horn screw for channel 1 (rear servo). At least that's what I think hAppened because during flight all of a sudden the tail dropped down.

If interested, here's the video. It happens during the very end, and my girl freaked out and didn't capture the whole crash.

I could have seriously messed up the house because I flew in such a small area, so that was a wake-up call.

TREX 500L Dominator crash LOCTITE THE SERVO HORNS (1 min 8 sec)

[leokat001]

WoW , , , That looked scarry as heck man ! I have put some in the dirt hard but not quite that close to me . I will be tripple checking my serv horns that is for sure .

[Gladius]

Originally Posted by Gladius

holy crap dude! Especially on a maiden, when you don't know how the heli is going to respond, or if something is going to break, you need to have some room! Please go to the Safety Forum and look at some of the pictures that guys have posted from when their heli's hit them. Or Google Roman Pirozek Jr. and then you'll understand why.

Umm, does it make a little more sense now? You're lucky the heli dropped into the ground instead of coming back toward you or your girlfriend.

[heli_shmeli]

Originally Posted by Gladius

Umm, does it make a little more sense now? You're lucky the heli dropped into the ground instead of coming back toward you or your girlfriend.

I knew someone would bring it up haha

Yes, I totally get it, I should not have flown in such a tight spot. Nevermind the heli, the property (and I guess my gf) are what matter. But unfortunately I saw all those posts after it crashed, I didn't check helifreak that night.

I rebuilt the heli and am waiting for a warm day to try it out again. In the meantime I'm thread locking


.... I also ordered a 180 cfx today to fly in small yards like this.

[heli_shmeli]

Oh one more thing gladius, should I thread lock the screw and bolt that holds the main blades in the grips? I can't find the answer online.

Thanks for answering all my questions recently by the way, very quickly too. If this was reddit I would give you gold.

[Gladius]

No, those screws are held my a lock nut. Putting loctite on them would probably destroy the plastic insert in the lock nut and cause a failure!

I'm glad I can help. I received a ton of help when I was starting out a couple of years ago (still do) and I'm glad to pay that forward. If I can help you enjoy, progress, and be safe in this hobby, then that makes it all worthwhile. Plus, my wife and I used to eat at a really good Korean restaurant in Cranston, so I'm happy to help!

[heli_shmeli]

Thanks! And oh really, a Korean place. Do you remember the name? Did you live in the area?

So, what about lock nuts without plastic, would those get loctite? I'm asking because I locked the main rotor head screw that goes through the main shaft and the bell head. This screw has a nut, and the reason I locked it is because I figured it was a critical component that I wouldn't want getting loose at 3000 RPM.

[Gladius]

Lock nuts have a little plastic insert in them that grips the bolt. If you used a regular nut without that insert, then use loctite. You want to use a lock nut on your blades so that you can adjust blade tightness to where it needs to be.

I don't remember the name - it's been almost 6 years. I lived in Newport for 6 mos due to the Navy.

[heli_shmeli]

Ah I see, yes I hear that Newport has a big base but otherwise I don't know anything about that. I hope those 6 months were during the summer haha

As far as the nut goes, do you know off the top of your head if your 500esp rotor head bell nut has plastic inside? I can't tell if mine does or not from just looking at it.

[Gladius]

You should be able to see the threads, and it should be pretty obvious. I've used a couple of different heads on my 500 but I'm pretty sure that the bolt and nut that you are describing were regular bolts and nuts. It's called the Jesus bolt by the way.

Here's a picture of what a locknut looks like.

[heli_shmeli]

Ohhhhhhh got it, I think the locknuts on my heli have a clearish plastic that made it harder to spot.