Helicopter is almost done...

[kwong2001]

Well, my dad bought me an original Century Hawk about 8 years ago, and since I was too young and inexperienced, it just sat around. A year or two ago, I sat down and built most of the helicopter, but got turned off once it came time to buy electronics since I was so broke.

As some of you know, I recently gave up r/c cars, but like with anything you have a passion for, the fire can never die completely. Two weeks ago I dug out the helicopter, bought the electronics I needed, and have almost finished the helicopter.

The kit was a bit incomplete and I had to order a bunch of parts from Century that should have been in the kit. I am awaiting one last package which should arrive on Tuesday, then I can finally finish the helicopter and start making the adjustments to get it ready to fly this weekend.

All that's left is to move the receiver on top of the battery, install the Gyro where the receiver was, then install the servo arms and hook them up the linkages. And then just adjust the linkages and program the radio.

I hope to get everything ready by Wednesday so i can start breaking in the engine on Thursday and Friday. This helicopter has really got my blood boiling, it's like i've got the feeling of when i first got into r/c cars. Time goes by so slow when you're waiting for the final piece to the puzzle

 

[greenwing7]

that is a really cool piece of machinery, i have never seen a good close up pic of the cock-pit how many servos are on that thing i am thinking atleast 4 throttle, pitch, yaw and then one for the rear stabilizer let us know when it crashes LOL j/k i would never wish that on anyone

 

[kwong2001]

Well, she's all ready to go, except for balancing. I need to find time to get my club's instructor to help me do the balancing.

I tried doing some break-in over the weekend but had absolutely no luck getting the engine to fire at all. The tolerances are very tight and my starter is having a lot of trouble turning the engine over period. So the plan is to buy a break-in stand and stick a prop on it. Just gotta find time to hit up the LHS for that.

I'm gonna shoot for next weekend on getting up in the air.

 

[Izigoth]

Keep us posted please I've been fascinated by helicopters for ages now but never got to buy one, I guess the thing kinda scares me off

 

[kwong2001]

Well, just a small update:

I bought a better starting adapter thingie that goes on the heli. The drill i'm using is for sure tuning over the engine without screwing up anything. The engine will not fire no matter what is done. I can't even get it to show any sign at all of starting. I had my dad helping me and nothing worked. So my dad said he'll buy me a new OS engine to replace the stupid Thunder Tiger.

I'll have the engine ordered tonight and get it by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. I'm having the helicopter instructor at my field help me balance the heli on either wednesday or thursday. If everything goes well, and I get through break-in alright, i'm hoping to see her fly possibly next weekend if weather cooperates.

A little off topic, but our flying field is having a lot of problems with too many people needing to be buddy corded with while they learn to fly. So i'm planning on becoming an official instructor and will most likely try to be down at the field at least once every weekend if I don't have homework. It'll be fun to help people out so i'm looking forward to it

 

[Rolex]

The Thunder Tiger is an excellent and very dependable engine. I have their .46 in my heli, and it's great. What you need is the same 12v starter they use at the field to start airplanes with. There's a heli starter shaft with a one way bearing that slips into the silicone cup on the starter, and gives the engine the extra spinning speed it needs to start.

 

[kwong2001]

I've got a 12v starter, it wouldn't turn over the engine. The compression was too high. When using the drill, the engine showed absolutely no signs of starting. And when I took the engine apart, it didn't show any signs of running at all. It's just a bad engine.

 

[Rolex]

I guess it's never been started before? After sitting for 8 years, there's also the possibility that the bearings are gummy and putting a lot of extra load on the starter.
You might want to try loosening the glow plug, and putting a few drops of fuel directly into the cylinder, and leaving the plug loose till it starts.
I'd also suggest a brand new plug. If there's a remote connection for the glow ignitor, bypass it and go directly to the glow plug.
I don't think it's an engine problem, but just stubborn from sitting a long time.

 

[kwong2001]

I don't have a remote connection to the glow plug, I used to glow igniter directly on the plug. I did take apart the engine, cleaned and inspected everything, and put it back together with after run oil. When I used the 12V starter, I did loosen the plug, and even with a bad starter adapter that slipped, the 12v starter struggled to turn it over and even locked up without turning at all. At best it could do a few turns.

The engine was flooded at one point from having so much fuel through it and I had to remove the plug to clear it out. I played with the stock HSN settings and went much leaner, and much richer than what factory recommends. It just plain won't fire. Even if there's a small amount of fuel in the cylinder, it would not start.

 

[kwong2001]

Also, I installed the extra shim for 30% to try to drop the compression down a little, but it had no effect on getting the engine started.

Edit: I pulled the engine out, took it apart, including the carb and inspected everything absolutely as thoroughly as possible to make sure there was nothing that could be causing it to not start.

Aside from a little gunk on the HSN, there wasn't anything that looked bad. I'll try again tomorrow morning to see if it'll start. If it doesn't, the OS is gonna be ordered.

 

[kwong2001]

Got the OS installed and idled it for half a tank. Didn't have much time to mess with it today.

I'm gonna balance the blades myself since I can't get a hold of the helicopter instructor. This weekend will just be fiddling with the heli, so the weekend after hopefully it'll fly...lol, this's taking forever.

Edit: I balanced the blades and started doing some short head cycling. The LSN was REALLY rich and wasn't letting me idle the engine so the clutch wouldn't engage. Found a flat head screw drive that is small enough to adjust the LSN. I'll do some more break-in tonight.

The gears have loosened up and the whole drivetrain is much smoother now. The helicopter struggle for a bit while it loosened up the gears, but it's all good now.

 

[greenwing7]

kwong how is this going now that you got the new engine?

 

[kwong2001]

Not much of an update but the heli instructor still has the helicopter lol. Not sure if he lost my phone number or hasn't had the time to fiddle with it. Kinda getting impatient, but at the same time, it doesn't really matter since I don't have any time to fly. Plus, i've got a motorcycle now, and that's been taking priority, that and summer school (damn 3 elective credits!!!)

 

[kwong2001]

Just an update, after 6 months, I finally got the helciopter back. The guy didn't do poop with it other than determine that I had a part missing from the helicopter, when in actuality, that was how it was designed.

After looking at a newer manual, Century updated the design, so tomorrow i'll be getting the parts needed to bring it up to snuff.

Now, unfortunately, because i'm at the point where I can't setup the helicopter, I won't be able to fly it, much less have anyone that I trust to set it up for me. So in other words, i've given up on this whole helicopter business.

It'll be ready to setup and flown, but will become a shelf queen. Might finish the body so it can at least look pretty, but I just guess there will be no helicopter flying for me unless I find someone who isn't so flaky.

It's a real shame because i've found r/c cars to be far less intersting, i'm too much of a perfectionist for airplanes, and now, the one thing I want to do, I can't actually do it because of lack of experience.