|
Sponsored in part by
|
Pages :- 1 2
3 4 5 6 7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14
15
16
17 18
PREVIOUS
PAGE NEXT
PAGE
The
Swash Plate
| This is probably one of the
most crucial parts of any helicopter, as it allows you, the
pilot, to tell the helicopter exactly how to move the rotor
head to make the helicopter move forward, backward, sideways
and even up and up and down.
Therefore it is worth while taking a
little more time to ensure this important item is assembled
as accurately as possible. |
 |
The
basic swash plate comes pre-assembled, but none of the ball
connectors are fitted, so this is the task you will need to do next.
Swash plates are made up of two separate parts, the inner
and outer rings. If you hold the outside and rotate the inside you
will see what I mean. This is how it transmits movements to
the rotor head even while it is spinning. The servos transmit
you control movements to the OUTER swash plate ring, and this is
transmitted in it's turn by the connecting rods to the head from the
INNER swash plate ring.
As you can probably see, all of the balls except for one
are identical. The ball with the shaft extended on the outside
(which is called the
anti-rotation pin) and this can go in any one of the holes in the outer ring
of the swash plate, and then fit a standard connecting balls into ALL other holes
on the swash plate.
YOU DO NOT USE THREAD LOCK AS THE BALLS ARE
BEING SCREWED INTO PLASTIC, NOT METAL.
Again to ensure really good free movement, it is a good
idea to check that each ball can rotate on its respective bolt, and
then pinch each of them down until they are just held, then release
them by one turn to let the balls rotate on the bolts. THIS APPLIES
TO ALMOST EVERY BALL CONNECTOR YOU WILL FIT WHILE BUILDING THE
INTERCEPTOR 400, OR ANY OTHER HELICOPTER FOR THAT MATTER.
This should give you a very smooth connection when you
attach the connecting rods to the balls later on.
| The Washout levers
These are an equally important part of the
entire control system of any helicopter, so again, great
care should be taken to get these right.
 |
On the left are the parts needed
to make one of the TWO required links that go from
the washout assembly to the swash plate.
BE VERY CAREFUL to assemble these
the correct way around. Both need to be identical.
Push the snall pin gently through the
drop arm until it is flush both sides, and ensure
that the drop arm it holds to the wash out lever is as free
to move as possible, but without any
possibility of the pin falling out. In other words,
this pin must be
an interference fit in the drop arm, but must be
able to rotate smoothly in the washout arm itself. |
You need to make two of these assemblies first of
all. You can also fit the connecting ball to
the washout arm, but again, do make sure that it
goes in from the correct side, which is into the
longer end of the washout arm, and it screws into
the protruding stub. As previously, make sure
the ball can rotate on the bolt, and once pinched
down, release the screw about one turn so that the
ball can move by itself.
|
Now we are
ready to fit the washout arm to the washout
hub, which is a simple task, but again, do
take care when doing this. You need to
insert the brass "top hat" ferrule
into the washout arm FROM THE INSIDE, so
that it is between the arm and the hub
when it is screwed in position as
shown above.
On the right
is the washout arm fitted to the washout
hub. PLEASE NOTE that the hub has a top and
bottom. MAKE SURE that you assemble your
washout assembly so that it looks EXACTLY
LIKE THIS ONE.
ONLY PINCH THESE IN PLACE -
DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE BOLTS.
Points to
note are that the hub has a flange sticking
up from it on one side only, which you can
see in this picture. Also the washout arms
are fitted to the hub so that the bent drop
arm goes to the right when viewed from the
top, as shown here. The other washout arm
will of course be reversed, but it will
still have the drop arm facing clockwise as
shown. |
 |
 |
Once you have
both arms fitted, check as always to see
that the arms are able to rotate freely by
loosening or tightening the fitting screws
as required.
|
|
|
|
Pages :- 1
2
3 4 5 6 7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14
15
16
17 18
PREVIOUS
PAGE NEXT
PAGE
|
THIS
SITE IS MOSTLY NON COMMERCIAL AND IS FUNDED BY DONATIONS OF ALL TYPES
FROM OTHERS IN THE RC HELICOPTER FRATERNITY. MY THANKS GO OUT TO
ALL WHO CONTRIBUTE WITH IDEAS, INFORMATION, HELI PARTS OR EVEN CASH DONATIONS TO
HELP WITH THE COSTS OF HOSTING THE SITE
| OUR COMMERCIAL SPONSORS |
 NetCPlus Internet Solutions,
Inc
Helping with the cost
of hosting this web site |
|
