HL-1D - Rebuilt frame and modified rotor - Weight shift Helicopter
634 views · Published 30 July 2018 · 3:19 · Indexed 29 October 2026
Channel: RCmags · 2018 · Entertainment
This is the last iteration of my HL-1 helicopter. Three major changes have been made: 1) The frame was rebuilt. The old frame had been broken and mended after many crashes. Along with this, the length of the rotor mast had been changed on more than one occasion and was excessively heavy as a result. 2) The rotor head was modified to reverse the direction of the torque arms. This let me remove an over-rotation string from mechanism as the linkages would now naturally apply less twisting moment to the blade grips as more torque was applied to the rotor. 3) The electronics were rearranged to be more orderly and neat. A small pad was added to hold both the receiver and the 3-axis gyro. This made it easy to remove both pieces should it be needed and also allowed for neater wiring. 4) The servos were placed closer to the bottom of the fuselage to lower the center of mass of the helicopter. 5) The entire tail rotor assembly was mounted on a small tube that attached to the tail boom via friction. This was a safely measure to prevent the carbon fiber tail boom from fracturing during a crash. The small tube could slide over the tail boom if twisted hard enough, hence preventing any permanent damage. [ a tail rotor clutch was added ]. After reprogramming the 3-axis gyro, the helicopter was left more stable and controllable than any version before it. The rebuilt frame lowered the center of mass and made the controls feel more crisp and responsive. This increase in stability can be seem at the start of the video by the fairly steady hover that is achieved. The last improvement is the ability of the rotor to enter steady auto-rotation without consequence. Adjustments to the rotor allowed for instant and safe descents without pilot input.
