Helicopters:

I am currently building a Hirobo Shuttle ZXX helicopter. I have a few pictures of my progress. So far, it hasn't been too difficult. Some of the parts fit very tightly, but with a little patience and the right tools. I got them to fit.

I chose the ZXX because of the special Hirobo has (it comes with a free engine). I also heard that the Hirobo helicopters are relatively easy to put together, and they fly well. I don't know about the flight part yet, but it has a straight forward assembly process so far.

Assembly consists of 34 steps. The parts needed for each step are contained in a sealed plastic back. This is great since many of the parts are very small. Most of the steps are very simple, but a few of them are more involved and require some extra effort.

The manual is in English and Japanese. At first glance it is intimidating to see so many instructions on one page. Once you get going however, things move rather quickly.

One disadvantage of the ZXX is that some things needed to fly aren't included in the package. These include a fuel filter (recommended), a remote headlock, and a starter shaft.

I bought a mechanical gyro for the helicopter, but I'm wondering if I should have bought a peizo gyro. The November/December 1997 Rotary Modeler magazine makes a compelling argument for getting one (especially one with heading hold).

I think that I might fly with the mechanical gyro initially, and then move up. In this way, I'll be able to see the difference between the two.

Most of the steps have gone smoothly, but there have been some snafus which I explain in the following paragraphs.

Miscellaneous Steps
The screws for many of the ball bearings don't readily go into the plastic. The manual recommends using a allen wrench screw to enlarge the holes a bit, and it seems to work well.

Step 9
Needle pin doesn't go in radius arm at all. I don't know how anyone could get it to fit. I used a drill to enlarge the hole a bit. Now the pin fits a little looser than I'd like. Before I fly the helicopter, I'll have to address this problem.

Step 10
The radius block is supposed to remain in a fixed position on the center hub, but mine slides up and down. Before I start flying, I'll have to find a way tighten it without ruining the screw.

Step 15
This step mentions a silicon pipe that goes on the tail rotor pulley shaft. My question is "is it really needed?". It may be just a temporary way to make sure no parts slide off the tail pulley shaft.

Step 18
With lots of effort, I get the drive pully attached to the timing belt only to find that the belt is the wrong way. I spent an additional hour undoing what I did and doing it the right way. The belt seems a little tight, but the more I spin the rotor head, the smoother the unit sounds.

Step 21
The fuel connection on the engine gets cracked when I try to remove the "screw" it's on. I'll have to disassemble all the parts that I've attached to it and send it back to Enya. Hopefully, I'll get the replacement or fix with minimal delay.

First "Flight" 01/25/98

I started the engine for the first time today. It took me about half an hour to do so, due to my lack of experience using model engines and a non-cooperative shaft start hex coupling. But once I got it started, it ran well. The coupling did vibrate loose, but I was fortunate enough to find the screw that secures it.

I didn't attempt to get the heli' airborne as I was mostly concerned with learning how to start it. The throttle and pitch did respond to my radio inputs as I expected.

The only problem I encountered was that the tail rotor does not turn. the timing belt creeps up on the tail rotor drive and eats into the bearing above it. I'll have to get another bearing holder before I can start the heli' again. I'll also make a trip to Southeast Hobby to have them look over the heli' and get some advice.

I got a little scare as the heli was running out of fuel. The engine began to idle at a higher rate. For a second, I thought it might fly off. I suppose I shouldn't have worried too much as the negative pitch held it securely on the ground.

South East Hobby has an excellent selection of heli' parts and supplies. They are the best hobby shop that I've seen thus far in North East Ohio.

PICTURES AND MORE:

Helicopter Tips

Assembly Pictures

Flying Pictures

Vario Silence

My favorite helicopter sites

Hirobo Shuttle ZXX Page

Helibuf

RC Heli's and Stuff

Tower Hobbies Link Site

R/C Exchange

RC Online

Deja News