- How Remove Bent Flybar?

[sabregooch]

Well, that's what I get for having lunch with Finless! We talk heli's and then I get all pumped, psyched and amped up (no pun intended), get a bit aggressive and wham! Blade strike and twisted flybar.

No other damage luckily, one shattered blade, two busted blade grips and a funky bent to hell flybar.

Normally, I don't complain - my crashes have generally resulted in 1 hour of repairs. But getting a bent flybar off is a b17ch! This is my second flybar replacement - and probably not my last.

The first time, it took me literally 3-4 hours just to get flybar off without busting anything.

I wound up using a dremel and cutting it off close to the cage/see saw as possible and then wiggling, wrestling, cussing this time for one hour.

Is there an easier way to remove a bent flybar?

Come on Finless! How about a video?!? (just kidding.....)

[EKIM]

I straighten it the best I can and then I cut it close to the cage with a dremel cut off wheel. Then I grind the end I just cut down to make sure the dremel cut is clean. Then I fight with it until it comes out with out breaking anything.

[spork]

I straighten it by hand the best I can. Then I just pull it out (sometimes takes a bit of persuasion), then I straighten it better by hand. Then I put it back in.

I've pretzeled it pretty bad a couple of times, but I bet you wouldn't know it to look at it.

RC

[sabregooch]

Spork,

Are you a client of BALCO? Repairing under steroids is cheating. Either that or the next time I go to the beach guys are going to kick sand in my face, I can't properly bend that thing by hand - I need hydraulics.

[spork]

Originally Posted by sabregooch

I can't properly bend that thing by hand - I need hydraulics.

I'll bet you can. It's all in the technique. The meat on your thumb makes a nearly perfect fulcrum. Getting the bends out smoothly comes down to how far from the bend you grab the flybar. Different distances for different radius bends. It's OK to use a pair of pliers as long as you don't get the pliers to close to the bend you're trying to remove. Always press the curve of the bend on something soft like your thumb. On hang gliding battens we use car tires - works great. I'll bet a nylon eraser would also work good on a T-Rex flybar

By the way. Your inverted hover is SWEEEET!

RC

[AlpineCH.21]

nah just hit throttle hold before you crash and the fly bar shouldnt come out like a taco . But seriously just bend it with your thumb and try to not put an extra angle in there and kink it too much. Ive never had to go to the extent of taking a dremel to it hmmm

[Finless]

Aaaa Gooch..... I cant believe you did that.... You should no better to fly just after having lunch with me.... You need at least 2 days to "come down" after having lunch with me! Heck I am not sure I should have let you operate your car within the first hour

Bob

[rdlohr]

Heck I am not sure I should have let you operate your car within the first hour

LOL

Sorry about the crash. I was able to wiggle mine out after straightening it best I could. In the future, if I really pretzel it, I'll use a dremel cause I won't reuse it anyhow. They are cheap.

Rick

[spork]

Originally Posted by rdlohr

...I won't reuse it anyhow. They are cheap.

I'm sure they're cheap, but if you don't have a new one sitting in front of you, you do what you have to.

[ukgroucho]

Last one I changed (and I do bend 'em straight) had been round the track a feew times so it was pretty messed up. i straightened as best I could, cut / filed close to the head and still it was really awkward.
I ended up getting the other end clamped in my desk vice, supporting the head in my hands and pulling.

Then I got all worried that I'd bent the mainshaft so I changed that out as well. I think it was OK though.

[pdbrown]

I banged my flybar up a few times (amazing how one little prop catch in the ground can twist it like a spiral galaxy.) Straightened it out as best I could (obviously not as good at straightening as some of you guys) but it was still obviously bent. Now that I have a bunch of flights with no crashes under my belt I figured I'd replace almost everything one piece at a time to get rid of a wicked vibration, starting with the flybar (I know, probably not a likely cause of the wiggle, but looks better.) Couldn't get the flybar out, didn't have a dremel tool, so put it in a bench vise and yanked, to no avail. Then thought of going the other way. Loosened the vise just a little, took a hammer and tapped gently on the protruding end. Voila, came out slick as a whistle. You have to make sure you don't hit it so hard you bend it more, but it doesn't take much of a tap to convince it to come out.

[fuzzyllamma]

Easiest way to remove a flybar is to go flybarless

[satgod]

I had 1 flybar that I could not get off and it looked straight so I took out my dremel tool and cut off the flybar at the flybar cage on both sides laid it on its side and then using a fine point screw driver tapped on the end of the flybar till it popped out

go flybarless
way less work and repairs after a crash

[SQRT(-2)]

Bad words, lots and lots of bad words.

[fuzzyllamma]

Originally Posted by SQRT(-2)

Bad words, lots and lots of bad words.

Thus is the truth when repairing anything.

[Viet-Lama]

Snip one side with wire cutters just outside the cage, removes in 1/2 second.

[ragge1]

Originally Posted by fuzzyllamma

Easiest way to remove a flybar is to go flybarless

+1