Century Radikal G20 HD build thread

[swatson144]

This is my build thread on a Radikal HD that I ordered from Heli-world.com on Sat 21 Aug 2010. The kit is the G10 version with stock 20 CC motor. Please feel free to chime in as I have reserved spaces for later.

Please check back on the 1st 3 posts often (even if you've read the whole thread before) as this is where I'll be listing important notices involving specific must know information, problems and solutions etc.

Things I ordered along with the kit:
-CN3071 (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9846) V2 Torpedo muffler. The engine comes with a can type muffler but I couldn't see running it and retuning for the long muffler later. Besides the stock muffler aims right at the fuel tank and needs a 90 degree diverter loss of which could be exciting and expensive.
-HW6138CKFF (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9811) Felt clunk to trap air bubbles.
-G-20ei Aluminum Carb Spacer - (http://www.eastrc.org/shop.cgi/page=estorecarbspacers.htm/SID=1276641761.8192)$22.99 (http://www.eastrc.org/shop.cgi/page=estorecarbspacers.htm/SID=1276641761.8192) The stock plastic spacers on pretty much all gassers start to deform and leak at the most inconvenient times which could result in damage to the motor.
-620mm G5 pro blades from the LHS. Some 5mm RTs would probably have been better but I'll likely end up with this thing turning 680mm and stretched out to go in a .60 sized fuselage.
CN2298B (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=1369) snake skin for the servo wires...Hey I just like the protection.

Things I should have ordered with the kit:

CN2291A Alum washout hub ~13$ the plastic one stripped at around 18hrs so might as well put this nice little upgrade in during the build.

If your kit does not ship with the sprague auto rotation bearing you'll need to order the Predator style Sprague hub and main gear. The HW6057D (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9667) doesn't even hold up to scale flight I just ordered HW6058 (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9957) and the MG to make it work. I'd check this close as it is a ~130$ additional cost. I'm hoping this will allow me to actually fly the heli in a scale like manor.

A full set of bearings from some place that sells decent bearings! every assembly in the kit had notchy / dodgy bearings. The bearings included with the kit are worthless!!!! Century will gladly replace them if you send them in but the replacements will be of the same abysmally low quality. I'm astounded that bearings that loose and wobbly can still be notchy. In less than 3 hrs my one way bearing let go. Century sent an RMA number but it seems lunacy to me to send it across country to get it replaced with another that is also so chep it has 3 needles in each open section of a cage. That's a first even align has better bearings! One of the tail bearings hurled it's guts out and caused another auto. I wouldn't even attempt to run the grip bearings.

Thick 4mm washers to mount motor without marring the mount I used Raptor spindle washers and 4x14mm SHCS (vice 4x10mm) to get good 100% thread engagement also 3mm washers also for the motor mounts. If you don't use these washers it is very likely you'll make divots in the frames making gear lash adjustment very difficult in the future.

CNLR1003 $2.75 3x5x.5 mm washers to shim out the bearings in the aileron bell crank as the spacer is too short and won't allow tightening of the screws without binding. These will be handy to have around in the future as this problem isn't all that uncommon in other helis.

some 2mm x 6mm screws to install the servo arm adapters onto the futaba small wheels. They only give 2 ea but there is 4 holes

You'll want a 3mm tap to start the balls into the arms. Not required but a couple threads makes it much easier to get them started.

CM3010-50 (http://rtlfasteners.com/RC/cm3010-50.html) $4.80 3MM SHC screws to replace most of the button head screws 3x8mm should do. The button head screws are of great quality it's just that with 8mm of threads loctited in the 2mm hex doesn't have enough bite to easily remove them. Get some washers too! for all the sliding to fit parts 8- tail, 8 for the clutch assy. Those of us who fly at Debbie's can just stop in and save shipping.

HI6031S $6.50 Aluminum post to install between the canopy mounts. Optional but I hate having canopy mounts screwed to the frame as a slight crash can easily break out a chunk of frame with a canopy mount. Other people claim it stiffens the frame and reduces the chance of 1way problems later.

CN266466C (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9726) 640mm Rotor Tech blades. The HD Radikal has 5mm bolts and 18mm grips. The RTs ending with a C come with 5mm bolt holes and the shims you'll need. If you are going the scale routine you can always order the CN266266C (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9568) 620mm blades which can be used on the Titans etc.


Steve

[swatson144]

Why the HD with the huge predator head? Simply because I fly scalish and I want to be able to stretch this thing out and stick it in a 60/90 sized fuse. I think it will go well in one and need not much modification. I'm certainly going to get some miles on it in its current configuration though :D.

I'm really looking forward to building and flying this machine. I'm pretty much a Century fan and I like the value of their machines. It has been a little over a year since the release of the Radikal and Century has done a fine job of updating any deficiencies. Several different gear ratios, oversize clutch, and a larger 1 way coming in from the pred/G30 line. One thing I really like about Century is that you can pretty much build them as they come and upgrade the stock parts as needed with reasonably priced upgrades.

Now that I have completed and flown it (also crashed it) I am very pleased with the kit. There are a few minor warts to address but all in all it is nicely done in my opinion. It's a sturdy well thought out system but Century has let a few minor details slip through the cracks I wouldn't let that worry me though and would just add the ~10$ worth of additional stuff (post #1) to the cost of the kit.

Steve

[swatson144]

The new kit came in. I was a little unhappy with the packing. They made a box and placed the motor at the end of the kit and left no room for packing on the ends. Fortunately despite the box ends being pretty beaten the contents arrived in good shape. Pretty lucky there! Little hint is that if you are going to make a box don't make it exact fit but leave room for packing PLEASE.

I built the head yesterday and it all went together smoothly. You definitely need to size the century links...well maybe not "size" them but you do need to run the sizing tool through them to smooth them out. I'm not going to go into much detail on it as it's simply Predator head and nothing new there. I did find 2 of the grip bearings (8X16x5) were notchy. I regreased them all in hopes of flushing them out and 1 came out OK but the other is still notchy. Century has been very good about fixing such problems but I elected to just order a new set from Boca. It takes a week for me to get stuff from century, me being in the right coast. On the plus side all the links were assembled for the head and measured out nicely. I guess we'll wait and see if the lengths were right later in the build. I kinda appreciated that and was able to fly (other helis) today sans sore thumbs:D.

I managed a little work on the frames tonight and it is going together very well. The parts are very nice, The AL frame bits are nicely finished and the fit of all parts has been excellent. The equipment tray is partly mortised in place and the tenons are very tight. This is good as I'd rather fit them than have them sloppy loose.

The instructions are very good but some steps simply can't be completed as pictured / described IE on the tail rotor case you'll want to leave a side off until you have the belt pulley on the shaft as it's difficult to get the pulley on and slid into place...Leave the motor and main bearing housing loose as you'll need to adjust gear lash later.

There is a very neat system for the servo arms. A neat little plate that just screws onto a wheel. I'm using Futaba servos and the small wheels fit perfectly. I simply flipped them around until the alignment was perfect. Very nice heavy plastic.

One problem I found was the aileron belcrank spacers don't seem to be long enough so tightening them causes the bearings to bind. I'll shim them out later since loctited slightly snug they work fine but I'd like to get them tight.

As you are building don't even think about using the supplied button head screws on the top main bearing mount! or else you'll likely find that you'll have trouble getting them out again. I built IAW the instructions and found it nearly impossible to get the main gear, tail drive, lower shim, lock collar and thrust bearing in with the top bearing holder in place... Just dry fit it and take it off... I tried and couldn't do it with the top bearing holder in the frame, then removed it (luckily I have a very nice set of Wiha allen bits and was barely able to get the button heads out. after assemblying everything I found the assembly was 1.5mm too tall to fit and the upper bearing mount wouldn't line up with the holes in the frame. Instead of elongating the holes in the frame I opted to skim 1.5mm + off the shaft lock (lathe) since it didn't need the lip any way.

One other note worthy point I wish I had known about is the slots on the upper motor plate (cooling shroud mnt plate #11 pg 23) are a tad short. The kit was pretty tight up until I tried to put the 2 screws in. Gear mesh and clutch alignment was spot on with the motor (and clutch housing) slid all the way back but sliding the motor back far enough closed the mesh and made it impossible to align the clutch so I dropped the motor and dremeled it out (elongated the slots towards the edge) about 1.5mm.

TBC

Steve

[swatson144]

The kit was completed Fri 9/17/10. After setting up the throttle endpoints, and filling it with a 32:1 mix of Coleman and Stihl oil, it was run at idle for 15mins with the mixture adjustments as recommended in the manual. Then blades off she was fed some throttle changes for several mins. Nothing major just gently open the throttle above idle and spin the head up to various speeds in the 1000 rpm range. Then off to the field we went on Sat.

After mounting up a set of 620mm G5 pros (drilled out) it was hovered for a while (about 1/2 tank) and then set to pretty much my scale flight routine, no hard climbouts etc. Low and slow figure 8s circuits etc still with the stock carb settings and about 1700 rpm HS. As the motor broke in on a few tanks and the HS rose a little on its own it was adjusted up to 1900 rpm. At this point there were a few climbouts thrown in to start gauging when the motor was making as much power as it was going to with the current carb settings. I think we'd pretty much gotten there when there was an inadvertent interfacing with terrain event which shortened the blades to a less than optimal length.

Next weekend it'll be run around for a while again wearing a set of 640mm RTs and mixture will be leaned out slightly. It is making plenty of power for my needs as it is but it is nearly certain it will smooth out with a better mixture.

Steve

[Skytrek]

Ahhhhh Mannnn,

I want a new heli too!!:D

Looking forward to the build though, guess I have to live vicariously through you until I find the right heli.

Take bunches of pics please.

I love the smell of a new copter straight out of the box. lollollol

[swatson144]

Thanks for joining in! I'm not sure how many pics I'll be taking since there is the "Official" build thread by Century Heli LT version (http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/t545284p1/)with nice pictures and a strong perspective for 3D fliers. I'm much more interested in filing in the gaps from a scale perspective.

There also seems to be a penchant for Century to build the LT and discuss the LT leaving the HD version to be guessed at, so there should be plenty of pics involving those specifics. I'll probably take plenty of pictures along the way (I usually do) but I don't know how many will get posted. It sorta depends on the interest.

Mounting pattern and spacing for the fus.
width of mechs
height of mechs
length of mechs
swash height from the bottom of frames
mast height from the bottom of frames
distance from mast to tail rotor shaft
belt pitch/length
mast to frame nose
and anything else I can think of (hints are appreciated!)

Steve

[Skytrek]

I noted the Radikal has a stock open tali box, unlike the swift. Does this indicate (no need) for the typical upgrade for fuse applications? Also, the fuel tank seems to protrude out from the frames a little. Is it just the pic's or will this be an issue when fitting the mechanics in a fuse?

[Skytrek]

Same question on the hinged upper push/pull, bell cranks, they seem to stick out above the frame, will that be a issue when installing a fuse?

[swatson144]

as far as the tail goes the only problem I see is that one side has the tail fin built in. I doubt that will be much of a problem since I have a scroll saw and at that point no need for a tail fin. :D

There is usually not much problem with clearance on the sides of a fuse...well perhaps with a cobra, but not many other scales. Remember I won't be sticking this in a .50 fuse more like a 60/90 size fuse. Should be a little like putting a Swift in a .50 size fuse.

I don't see the PP linkages being a problem since the swash should be inside the fuse with the slider above the doghouse, Besides there seems to be some potential for redoing the frames with direct servos and getting rid of the whole front frame to make room for a cockpit with the electronics under the floor. I haven't even actually seen one of these things yet but there is hope from the way the elevator servo is mounted. In any event it looks like it'll be easy to work on.

Mine should be in on Monday. Les has my muffler in hand so I'll pick it up tomorrow. The carb spacer came in today.


Steve

[Skytrek]

How about an update dude! I happened to see some parts this weekend but know you got a little farther along by now. All going well with the build?? or maybe you should just give it to me.:D

I can make it disappear in a poof! I'm good at that! Where's Waldo?? I mean Don??

[swatson144]

You may want to go back up to the 1st 3 posts since I have been updating them:D

Funny thing happened though. Never befor have I even heard of this. Last Sunday I had trouble threading one link on a rod. I tried Rick tried for a while before I took it away and said I'd fix the buggered end with a jewlers file. Today I tried to fix the rod and found the thing doesn't have threads but just rings!

http://www.jacobwatson.com/images/link.JPG

Look closely at the bottom "threads" they aren't threads but rings! I even put it in the dremel chuck and put a thin card in the threads around and around but the card never moved. Only me I guess!

Steve

[Skytrek]

Man you just complain about everything. Everyone knows about these new links, they're engineered to ensure nothing will separate them in flight and I mean nothing. Obviously, you failed to purchase a Link Starting Tool better known as an (ASSOFME LINK MIRAGE SET)!

I have one you can borrow!:D

[swatson144]

Updated the 1st 3 posts. I'm pretty much done with them. All that's left to do is fill in the measurements in the appropriate post.

Steve

[swatson144]

I had a crash with the Radikal on Sun and ordered replacements on Monday AM. Knowing how long it takes to get a ups ground all the way across USA I ordered USPS priority and the box arrived this AM:D. I had mentioned that Century/Heli-World has a reputation for replacing parts (bad or missing) in the kits, I had a chance to test them... They sent me the wrong main shaft. So I called and pressed 3 and immediately got a nice young lady and explained the problem. No problem at all she said she'll send one out Priority today. Unfortunately I doubt it will arrive by Sat so I won't be flying it this weekend. Stuff happens but to me it's all about how it gets fixed and I'm well pleased with Heli-Worlds non trifling approach to customer support.

The MS looked questionable and upon putting it in the lathe it was indeed bent. So it's a no go.

Steve

[swatson144]

I had mentioned about the spacer in the aileron bellcranks being too short so here's more detail. one of the pics shows the Al spacer sitting a little low. This means you must tighten the bolts just enough too allow free movement but not tight. I hate that and ordered a pack of CNLR1003 3x5x0.5 micro washers. one in each worked perfect now the screws are tight and the bellcranks move freely.

Steve

[swatson144]

My outlook on this heli has changed from high hopes and expectations to what have I done!

Previously I started having problems with not being able to keep the ball tight on the pitch slider. It'd loosen up and slop would occur. It seemed the plastic nub the ball screwed into would compress and the ball would get loose...CA tighten and repeat. So I ordered another slider ass'y figuring I'd just epoxy a bit of brass tube on the outside so it wouldn't have any place to go. Besides I needed to change to sloppy loose bearings out anyway. Cool I'll have a new improved slider and a sloppy but servicable spare. I ordered the TAIL PITCH PLATE SET - Radikal G20 (http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9665) . It came in while me and my 95yr old buddy (http://books.google.com/books?id=s0uUbg_R-x8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ernest+rhodes+mooseheart&source=bl&ots=H9P5vKKSUo&sig=8M2K_szRvCYY9hikNY0c2JqUTtU&hl=en&ei=6ZSvTMHXIMHflgem4-n0BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) were going out to fly. I managed to make about 3 mins before the one way bearing let go. TH saved the engine and the auto was good. prematurely ended an outing on an excellent day with excellent company. Much to Dr. Rhodes credit I was the only one throwing a tantrum.

Here is a picture of the moded slider to hold the ball more securely. Note the new sealed bearings :D

http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/file.php?n=714&w=o
http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/index.php?n=714 (http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/index.php?n=714)

I was pretty upset when the new slider parts cam in and there was a certain incongruity in them verse old.

http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/file.php?n=715&w=o (http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/file.php?n=715&w=o)
A little aggravated since the nut wouldn't come off without heat and heat could mess up the pitch plate that I needed. You can definitely see how the plastic nub was spreading. No spares from this.


While I was typing this I have been receiving emails from Heli-World. They seem to be making it all right. They are crediting my account with funds that make it much less painful. Please note that I NEVER use forum extortion (it could be argued that I did in the past though). I ordered this kit under one of my other email addresses so they have no idea i'm reviewing it here. For a fact my login at all vendors has nothing to do with swatson144. We'll just see how it plays out from here and I'll ; out remarks in the building thread.

Steve








(http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9665)

[Skytrek]

Dude you have got to be kidding. Why would so many great attributes built into this heli be mixed in with cheap parts?? I mean how much we talking here $30.00 worth of quality parts to make an awesome bird vs a heli that dies in the air.

Sorry your having such issues but hey,,,,,,,,nice save on the landing!:D

[swatson144]

Since the last post I pulled the main gear and had a look at the one way, There is a thin (3 or 4mm) bearing on each side of it which would make it hard to size, so I was thinking about what Raja said at Heli-Invasion about his going out and working after a cleaning and relube for a couple times so I gave it a go and it seemed to work fine. (Heli-World CS says they'll have new improved one ways on Tues) So what the heck I took it out today and flew a couple 8 mins flights always ready to TH and auto. After a little while Sid and Skytrek came out to stand with me and watch. So I'm chatting and flying and the fellers were making nice comments about how nice it was flying (I'm pretty close to getting the engine tuned) and while coming around a right turn on the right side about the time she wen NI at about 3' the tail let go. It was pretty simple to just land at that attitude. We found the following on the walk up
http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/photoplog/file.php?n=716&w=o

One of the bearings (L side) seized and melted the bearing holder. I new those bearings were notchy when I installed them but I didn't have any on hand. Hmmm that's kinda like saying "5 to 1 on the tail so 8000 rpm on notchy bearings...WHAT could possibly go wrong?". 16$ for the parts (sans bearings, I'm slow and stupid but not that stupid!) 10$ shipping :confused: and some bearings from Boca with free shipping and that little bit of excitement should be behind me.

Crimeny the stinking bearings are circled in red (by me) in my manual because I knew they were in urgent need of attention. Somehow I was distracted by other stuff.

Heli-World says they gave me about 40$ store credit but I have no idea how to access it, Hopefully when I order the new one way on weds, by phone to make sure I get the new one, I'll be able to figure it out. PLease let me get healed of that problem! Have you ever tried flying around with a dodgy one way? NOT relaxing.

*Warning subliminal message below*
B_U_Y V_A_R_I_O or A_I_R_S_T_A_R

Steve

[Skytrek]

I think I fugued out the code......M-I-N-I-A-T-U-R-E-A-I-R-C-R-A-F-T

[swatson144]

It was a slow week so while I was waiting on the repair parts for the failed tail bearing. I ordered a Multigov Pro. R&R the one way hub (AKA auto rotate bearing) which got a good cleaning and a different variety of "light oil" (IAW the instructions). And started the simple design for the multigov pickup.

When the tail parts arrived and were replaced. I found the one way bearing had locked up while sitting on the workbench. I had mentioned to Heli-World/Century about using the cheapest bearings and got the reply of

Dear, Sir,

One-way bearing what we used in the auto hub was made by NSK Japan, if you call it cheapest and I have nothing to say.
HI3087B “S” arm was 1st version of G20 parts, and somehow we didn’t update fast enough to include new “curve S” arm.
Sorry about the confusing and I’ll run a credit back of this parts to your account.


Never saw a refund or a suitable part AFA the pitch plate goes... but back to the one way bearing. I'd give the benefit of the doubt to Century and conclude that the one way was a good bearing it must be for a closed system with a constant supply of a perhaps specific lube. Perhaps as an overrun clutch in a transmission etc. After it had locked up and I worked it apart finally. It was lubed with dexron II and started acting up quickly on sat morning. Sat night R&R cleaned and packed with Pachmyer gun grease and on Sun it seemed to perform for a 7 min flight and then started to act up on the 2nd flight. Oh well enough of the whining about the one way since the sprague type (ala Predator Gasser) arrived last Tues at Heli-world but they don't seem to be able to sell them until they get on the web site. I'm looking forward to replacing the one way hub and main gear for about 125$ plus shipping. Well if that's what it takes to get this dodo off the ground I've had worse irritations.

No idea whatsoever about their future intentions are as far as the one way but I'm not liking the kit at ~850$ list then needing ~50$ worth of bearings and a 125$ sprague setup, 135$ muffler, and then add in your electronics.

Dealing with Century/Heli-World is nuts. You can send an email with specific questions in paragraph format and get a completely irrelevant non nonsensical answer in a brief sentence, after waiting a day. Maddening!


Steve

[swatson144]

Previously I had mentioned installing a multigov pro on my Radikal here's what I did.

1 print the attached .pdf and make sure the scaling is set to <none> you should see that the scale bar is 15mm. some explanation the tab sticking out the top is drawn for 2 different widths. Probably the simplest way is to cut the outer lines off your 1.5mm substrate (I used G10) then you can just ignore the block shaped item and just cut a piece off the .30 sized mount that comes with the multigov. Either way the 2nd piece is simply a shim to set the pickup over the magnet in the fan and needs to be roughly 3mm thick.

2 affix the template to your material. I used 1.5mm G10. I wouldn't trust glue alone to hold the 3mm piece of mount to aluminum so drill the 2mm holes for screws if you use AL.

3. cut the piece out and drill and finish the slots. Apply the ~3mm shim to the backside of the piece (it will be toward the engine and located between the mounting bolt holes. See attached picture.

4 follow the instructions for mounting the Hall sensor that came with the multigov. The wires will run up the thin plate (you cut out with the tab) and the sensor will fold over the tab and across the spacer piece. I used a wire tie to hold it in place and test fit. It also came in handy for gluing. In the picture you can see the EI pickup in the top left corner to help with orientation, so the pickup is mounted on the aft of the engine as installed on the heli.

The sensor that comes with the multigov works fine off the EI magnet with the letter (beveled) side up. The later Radikals come with another reversed magnet in the fan but mine was set about 2mm too deep which caused me some concern about getting the sensor close enough. Not to worry as it ignores that magnet.

I used JB weld since it is much thicker than epoxy and easier to use a more putty like glue in this instance.

Steve

[swatson144]

Good news I hope! Century has just released the new Sprague type one way bearing assembly for just 99$ and according to the young (but harried) lady on the phone you only need a new main gear that is just a little bit more than 20$. I ordered it today after specifically asking if that was all I needed to convert a G-20 HD to be able to actually leave the ground. Priority mail hopefully this is about to become as reliable as rest of my hanger.

It kinda sucks that you have to buy upgrades just to make a heli fly around like a little old lady in an American Rambler, but one does what one must when stuck with a foolish decision.

Steve

[Skytrek]

LOLOL!!!

I mean Lolololol!!

But really ......LOLOLOLOL

Seriously though............................................ .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ................................LOLOLOL

Sorry I just could not get my comment out..... with out cracking upppp...hmhmhmh...heheheh....LOLOL!!

[swatson144]

No sign of the auto rotation bearing yet. Ever the optimist I feel/think/hope this heli will actually one sweet day be able to get in the air and act well heliish.

A point that always bugged me, from the original build was the vent/overflow. Century leaves you with a stub sticking out of the tank pointing at 3 o'clock expecting you to do something with it on your own. So I did.

Simple Radikal answer to the vent line problem. No more leaks in flight and some warning when you get near the "full as your vent will allow mark".

Steve

[swatson144]

Whoot! I got the Sprague type one way in today. I'm betting it'll put paid to those problems.

Some notes on the install of it though:

The instructions (http://www.centuryhelimedia.com/Manuals/G20_Sprag_Instructions.pdf) say that the 422 number goes down. Unfortunately the way the diagram is laid out this would seem to be the same as with the bearing in the cup facing out, which is wrong! If you flip the holder over and lay it on the workbench so you can drop the bearing in then in that case it goes number down. Another way you can look at it is since the thing is partly assembled put the bearing in so you can't see the number. Believe me you do not want to have to take the liner out and reverse it. It is a chore fiddling the liner into place.

Before you even attempt to assemble the thing in the heli. Test fit it to make sure you can get the pin into the tail drive hub. My sleeve had a tiny step just above the ring on the sleeve (the arrow from the part #4 points to the ring I mention). This step would not allow the tail drive hub to go down far enough for the holes to line up. I solved this problem by dremeling out a chamfer on the edge of the tail drive hub's hole. Not much was needed I ground about a 1 mm 45 degree angle and then test fitted and all went well. Be careful when you remove the hub that you don't pull the liner out of the sprague bearing. It'd be a real pity after spending all that time getting it in there. :-)

Not so fast there you aren't quite through with the dremel yet. You'll need to use a sanding wheel and remove a wee bit of material from the frame so you can get the assembly in place. Just try to stick the gear through the frame slot you'll see what I mean.

It's a nice enough piece of kit, though it has a couple warts. Seems the autorotation bearing blues are behind me now. It took me 4 hours but I'm pretty sure I could do it again in less than one armed with the above info.

Steve

[swatson144]

I had a few problems with my Gov pickup mount. Mainly ( I hope because I omitted washers) anyhow it worked fine for a couple flights and then fell off the governor on spool up and started to follow the linear curves. I'd been flying it around with the gov bypassed (which I'd have done anyway due to the 1way problem). Now the 1way seems to be holding pretty well after putting 3 8min flights and 3 20 min flights on it so it's time to sort out the gov again. I'll add a few more pictures that should have been included a few posts before.

1 picture is the large view and the other is a close up from a slightly different viewpoint.

I'm getting pretty happy with the Radikal now. It flies well and handles nicely for scale flight with the FAI setup on the Predator head and the R90 paddles. Yesterday I ordered a Jetranger fuse to setup as a TM-57 and use as a daily flier. I'm thinking this combo should work very well in the wind, have a certain amount of crowd appeal, and look really neat beside the TM-1 when I get it finished.

Steve

[scoobiemario]

Hey Steve. It's Mario. We talked at Debbie's last Sunday. Interesting thread!

[swatson144]

Hello Mario and welcome to HeliTown! Thanks for the kind words, and any Q's just ask. I received the Jet Ranger fuselage for it yesterday and I'm looking forward to that build.

Steve

[Blade77]

I am hoping to do a scale Radikal too. I have not seen or heard of anyone doing a successful Radikal scale yet.Good luck - I'm tuned in:razz:

[swatson144]

Thanks, I'm hoping to get started in the near future. the fuse is unpacked and I'm getting ready to install pins and magnets to hold the front on. I'll probably start another thread but link it here.

Steve

[swatson144]

http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3796 is the thread for the scale fuselage.

Steve

[swatson144]

Time for a little catch up...

After ordering the fuse, The Radikal started to get a little testy. Hard to start, but running great after starting. It was getting progressively worse. There were no spark plugs to be found so I had Les order me one weekend before last. Last weekend they came in and I changed it out. It seemed better but I had the misconception that it was all the carb tuning I'd changed but strangely enough resetting to the recommended settings didn't make it any better. No big deal though bump the starter 3 or 4 times (grinding was no help) and she'd light off and fly fine. 2 flights later the fan came lose and she wouldn't start at all. I noticed the fan wasn't turning and put it aside for another day.

On dis-assembly I found 3 screw missing and one broken. I'd cleaned and used blue loctite with as much torque as I felt was proper. Flat head counter sunk screws in plastic can leave the guy at the end of the driver wondering if a little more will strip the head or split the plastic. My bad on that one folks! I needed the longer Radikal 30 tail boom for the scale project (to avoid cutting so close to the slots) so ordering the fan was no big deal.

The only big deal about ordering the fan was that the plastic / AL hub was only a few bucks less than the CNC 1 piece AL fan. Hmmmm So after some research it seems the CNC 1 piece fan is older than the 2 sided 2 piece fan. Looking on the Century and Heli-world site there really isn't much to go on as far as differences.

The facts:
The plastic fan has blades on top and bottom. The AL fan has blades only on top. Both are of similar thickness. I'll score it a tie.

The newer Plastic fans has 2 magnets of different polarity (apparently some older plastic fans had 1). The 1 piece fan has one mag of the polarity to work the EI unit. Thus the plastic will work with any governor while the CNC will only work with pickups that work with that polarity. Multi-Gov pro is one. I'll give the plastic fan this point. Or if you can flip the hall sensor in your PU it's a tie.

The CNC fan is pretty. The plastic fan not so much. I'll give this point to the CNC Or since you can't really see it a tie.

My opinion:
The CNC fan's magnets sat higher. I had to elongate the slots on the sensor to raise it to what I considered appropriate. Moved up fully I could pass a Popsicle stick between them. It might have worked but not for me.

I feel the taper was closer to matching the motor's crank shaft taper. Pop it into place and it stuck. The 2 pc unit was just fine and no runout to be concerned with but dropping it in place showed it didn't mate well.

Are you still reading this drivel? I 'd suspect you just bought a new kit. What I have to say about the whole fan thing is to buy a new 2mm hex of good quality and torque the stock fan into the third shade of purple. If the plastic splits...It's easier to go from there.

Steve

[swatson144]

Last Sat I had the Radikal out again doing some more check flight before it goes in the scale fuse. It's been getting quite a bit of flying in as I test bits that are going on on the tail to make it fit the fuse. Any how the 1st flight I thought "man all this lack of practice sure makes me suck". Then I got to thinking it just might not be me so I ended the flight early, just a few seconds shy of 15mins and checked it over. It seems the washout arms were a bit loose and the hub was already stripped when I went to tighten them. I had paid careful attention to not striping them when I assembled it so I decided to splurge 13$ on the CN2291A Alum washout hub. It came in today and installed nicely so that little problem won't show up again. I'll add it to my recommended upgrades to have on hand prior to the build.

Hopefully that's the last of the spring loaded hobby horses. It sure seems to be a nice heli now and I think I'll be very happy with it. The timer says a little over 18hrs now.

Steve

[Skytrek]

Ok. you done tinkering? The heil is ready to go into a fuse? You're sure? Nothing else you want to mill, turn, form, redesign, create or invent? Well dang, I like the bird now!

How's about you send Heli World the needed adjustments and I'll buy one!!lollollollol

[swatson144]

I think it's done. :-) I'll take it out this weekend for some more testing.

Steve