HK 450 MT build Thread.

[vinay]

Hi Guys,

Got my HK450 MT Metal heli today. The packet has so many stuff and that its really difficult to understand what goes where, Iam really confused as to where to start building.  Wish Anwar/Rotorzone was here now with me No manual either. But at this price cant complain right?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Its really big for a person who would not have seen a 450 size Heli before, unlike it looks on the site. See the attached pics, in front of my SE K550i

Well for the eager ones: The heli reached my home directly w/o customs hassle. I ordered a 1.5 kilo packet with this heli and spares, like blades paddle set etc etc, in case of crash. I declared 70% Gift and ended up paying 800 Rs customs(20% of the declaration.). Calculate the rest from there. Of course the electronics came in a different parcel. Please don't PM me for any details, just ask it on this thread and I will answer whenever I visit here.

I have the align manual and 4 gb of construction video ready with me. I still don't know what is pitch and throttle curve and how to do it on my RDS8K But I sure know how to fly a CCPM Heli.

I will start building the Heli today itself after coming back from SPRoad(some electronics shopping  ).

Thanks Anwar bhai for pointing me to the align parts and screw driver set that I badly needed. They reached me within 8 days from Heli direct, w/o customs hassle and 0 customs for a 80USD parcel. Of course w/o asking Heli direct declared it as 49 USD.

I even have the tail gear set from Heli direct in case the original fails. But HK claims it has been fixed.

Buils parts:

Turnigy Typhoon 2215H 4000KV (Most efficient on the whole earth.)
HXT 900 cyclic for now (MG14 metal servos on the way)
DS480 tail servo
TowerPro 40H for now (Turnigy Plush 40 amps on the way)
11 T pinion.
Battery? Which else? The most famous Flightmax 2200 3S1P 20C(I have 3 nos, that I had got earlier)
HobbyKing 401B gyro (Got 1 for plane and 1 for heli)
Landing gear practicing kit, 1 from HeliDirect(This is really good. Thick CF rods) and 1 from Deal extreme(75% quality of HeliDirect ones).
Reciever: Airtronics 8 Channel FHSS.

Anything else I need?

Now enjoy the photos.

[vinay]

I again  THANK THE CUSTOMS WHOLE HEARTEDLY for allowing Indians to have all the JOY that Other Leading Countries are having.

[gauravag]

Awesome ! Thanks to Anwar/Rajesh, looks like a lot of people are getting into Helis.
Wish you all the best !

[anwar]

All the best   

Would love to see how the MT version performs. 

Looks like you did not list your charger.  Since you have 3s batteries, you should have one already

[gauravag]

BTW which screw driver set did you go in for ? I might need one, as the ones i have are too big for the heli screws.

[anwar]

http://www.rcindia.org/tools-materials-and-building-techniques/hex-driver-set/

My trusted ones are the Align ones, but there are other good ones too.  Even the handle shape design on these Align ones are very helpful in terms of both the size and the grip/torque inside your hands.

[vinay]

Thanks Gaurav! I got the Align(Individual handle 4 pack) version as suggested by anwar above. I havent opened the packet yet. But anwar says they are cool. So no worries there.

@Anwar.
I got the following charger. The charger is good but the built in SMPS is bad. Review to come soon once I try the PC connectivity. It also comes with an thermometer.
http://www.nitroplanes.com/thac6smbalic.html

I called up Mr. Adarsh today. (Details about him can be found here http://www.adarsh007.com/index.html ) He says, our Jakkur license is acknowledged. So that we can start Flying. Its great news for myself and Ujjwal. Iam going to Jakkur tomorrow to meet the other Heros.

VERY IMPORTANT FOR HELI BUILDERS: As suggested by Adarsh the Loctite 222 is better than Anabond blue. It is Low strenght Thread locker for smaller screws. The MRP for 50 ml is 416, But I got it for a street price of 350 bucks. This will last longer than the 2 years expiry date

[anwar]

I called up Mr. Adarsh today. (Details about him can be found here http://www.adarsh007.com/index.html )

Adarsh is a member here... you can contact him via PM.

http://www.rcindia.org/rc-people/adarsh-from-bangalore/

[vinay]

This is called "THE STATE OF ART CONFUSION  "

[RotorZone]

That's not too bad

Looks like the head and tail comes assembled. Saves some effort, but better check if they have used loctite on the screws.

[vinay]

Agreed . Most of the things comes assembled. In fact if you build one, building the second one would take only an hour for assembling(If you try record time) and another 1/2 hour to fit the electronics/soldering, and another hour to fine tune and trim(no experience here). But lack of manual and the align manual explaining only half(as align comes assembled much more.) causes more pain. Dont know which screw goes where. I am seeing photos and guessing from the internet/other build threads from RCGroups.

I saw red loctite on the tail rotor. But not else where on the whole kit. So it does not come with loctite on other places. Do i have to remove all the screws and put loctite and asseble back? That would be pain. 

Also how tight should I keep the tail belt?

[RotorZone]

All standard kits comes with packages according to each step of the build. If this is not true in your case, it could be a nightmare figuring out which screw goes where. There are tons of sites on trex 450, that should help.

All screws that go into metal should have loctite. The head parts should definitely be secured with loctite.

Hold the heli and swing the tail hard. Tighten the belt until it no longer slaps inside the boom. That should be a good starting point.

[vinay]

You are right. I went through the align manual and all screws metal needs loctite. I now pretty much figured out what scwres go where. Its time to read some theory abt pitch throttle curve and how to program the same on the radio(RDS8K)

Iam also downloading some videos on HK 450 Tutorials. But should be of less use to me now as I have already assembled the frame. Just need to remove each screw and tighten with loctite. Ya its really a pain as there is no manual.

Also time to hold the soldering iron  for the motor and ESC bullets and some XT60 connectors. I have standardised all connections with XT60. And above 65 AMPS with 4mm bullets.

[vinay]

HK 450 Build GUIDE


http://video.google.com/videosearch?rlz=1C1GGLS_enIN291IN305&sourceid=chrome&q=HK+450+Build+guide&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=M2xcS_65MZLg7APKpbymCQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQqwQwAw#

http://rwmaa.org/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=55&task=viewcategory&catid=90/

[anwar]

Hold the heli and swing the tail hard. Tighten the belt until it no longer slaps inside the boom. That should be a good starting point.

What I have been following the rule of thumb below (based on consulting various resources).

Basically, once the belt is in place (and the two sides are parallel to each other), you should be able to push one side of the belt slightly more than half the distance towards the other side. 

[anwar]

I went through the align manual and all screws metal needs loctite.

To clarify, all metal screws which go into metal need loctite. 

[RotorZone]

Basically, once the belt is in place (and the two sides are parallel to each other), you should be able to push one side of the belt slightly more than half the distance towards the other side. 

I have got this advice too when I was a beginner. Problems is knowing how much force should it take to move the belt so far. You develop a feel for it later, but as a beginner it didn't help me.

[anwar]

True 

I guess it is "without trying too much" !

[gauravag]

This is called "THE STATE OF ART CONFUSION  "

Well, Looks like the complicated parts are already built out for you - Rotor head,Tail assy !! Wait till you need to repair something here ) Good to see the build moving. Post us some more pictures.

[vinay]

I bunked the office to build the Heli. Came home now after some bike service. Will soon post as I progress. As of now the soldering part of the electronics is complete. Plan to finish the build by today and maiden it tomorrow. Its REPUBLIC DAY. HURRAY! Well does it mean anything to us now a days other than its holiday?

By the way, I now know how to build. But need to learn to Program the radio.

[vinay]

Progress Update.

Pics:
1)Even though I had some new Servos that I had earlier used for testing some stuff, I still bothered to open up the brand new ones which I had stored in the different stocks box.

2)Servos installed and I tested and centered them using the servo tester. Really a handy piece of equipment.

3)Motor Installed and all the screws tightened with Loctite Purple. Used Anabond blue on motor and pinion screws.

4)Skid Fitted. Yup, You noticed in right. I have fixed the skid in opposite directions to get more balance.

The motor and the tail belt are all fitted perfectly. test ran the motor at 5% throttle and everthing is free and smooth and Proper, tested even by hand.

Pending work:
1)Learn Programming RDS and understand pitch and throttle curve.

2)Put some balls on the servo arms.

3)Level swash plate.

4)Install flybar and pads

5)Install Main blades.

6)Install the CF rods on the Boom.(Dont know what they are called or why its required.)

Some questions:

1)Should I allow the some play to be present in the tail blades and Main blades. As of now the tail blades are tightly held and cant move them freely by hand.
OR should I keep them loose and they will align properly when when the rotor rotates?

2)Should I use the fly bar weights to balance the fly bar or they should be at the end?

3)The screws on the Main rotor assemble are pretty pretty tight! Do I need to remove them and apply Loctite again?

Thanks,
Vinay.

[anwar]

6)Install the CF rods on the Boom.(Dont know what they are called or why its required.)

They are boom supports, which help reduce tail vibrations.

1)Should I allow the some play to be present in the tail blades and Main blades. As of now the tail blades are tightly held and cant move them freely by hand.
OR should I keep them loose and they will align properly when when the rotor rotates?

2)Should I use the fly bar weights to balance the fly bar or they should be at the end?

3)The screws on the Main rotor assemble are pretty pretty tight! Do I need to remove them and apply Loctite again?

1. Main blades should be fairly tight, yet movable by hand with some force.  Tail blades should be pretty loose, almost free falling.  They will line up when they start rotating.  Keeping the main blades tight helps with autorotations (not a real factor on this size of helis), and loose tail blades help save the belt if the tail hits grass or the ground (as the impact is absorbed by the blades bending).

2. It helps with better stability while hovering, and is a good thing for beginners.  As you progress into aggressive flying, people tend to take them off.  Yes, they should be balanced (usually, keeping them equidistant would put them pretty much in balance).

3. Main blades are a risky proposition. I usually took them out, applied from grease to the rudder dampners, used loctite on the feathering shaft and put it together, just for the peace of mind.  If you are proceeding with this, note that there are many small parts there, and you have to put them back in the right order.  Finally, remember that grease and loctite are NOT very good friends, so do not let the grease get into places where loctite needs to do its job

[vinay]

Anwar, My question was wrong. I was speaking about the ball link assembly, and not inside the rotor head. The screws on the ball links assemble are tight. So should I apply loctite there again? If i remove the Ball link asssemble, It will be a pain. even If I do it 1 at a time.

[anwar]

For the ball links that go into plastic (if any, should be none or minimal in the case of MT version), leave them alone if they are tight enough. 

For the ones that go into metal, it would make sense to remove them, and add them back with the removable loctite (blue).  As long as the loctite is the removable type, there should be no issue removing them.  Some people even put permanent/red loctite on the ones that go into the swash-plate as you should never need to remove them, but the removable/blue one will do the job just fine.

[vinay]

Update:

Slept at 4.30 and got up at 8.  Need to finish this guy today and if possible maiden it. I have decided to remove the assy and put the Swash plate leveller there and level it.

I learnt how to program RDS in pitch and throttle curve, went through the Heli part of the manual thrice. very easy but misses the very basic feature of EPA on the Cyclics . So I am doing horrible things to level the swash plate. Its Important that I do not crash. I also need to make sure I get some place left on the Trims.

Finished loading balls on the servo arms and mounted them. Not screwed the servo arms yet. Fixed the tail fan loose with blue loctite.

Pending work:

1)Level swash plate.

2)Install flybar and pads

3)Install Main blades.

4)Install the CF rods on the Boom.(Dont know what they are called or why its required.)

5)Install the training kit (Heli Direct ones).

Anwar,

The whole Ball Link assembly is 100% metal. If the screws are tite ill leave it as it is or loctite it with blue loctite. Will post pics soon, Once the swash plate leveling is complete.

Drawbacks of RDS here:
http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/t414575p2/