Since I was not 100% certain of the proper method of blade balancing, I’ve started up this page. You see, until 9:00AM this morning I was certain how to properly balance blades. However, after reading the ALIGN Trex450SE instructions, which contain this diagram, I’m not at all certain.
Up until now, I had placed the blades trailing edges flat on a table, then tightened the balancing tool, and placed it on the jig. The objective was to have the trailing edges of the blades perfectly level. Here is what it looks like:
I hope you can see the difference in how I placed the blades together, compared to to what the Align manual suggests. Here is a closeup to help illustrate how I used to do this:
Compare this to using the ALIGN documented method:
As you can see here, not only does it appear quite different, so is the result! Using this method, my blades are out of balance. Or, are they?
Now, I’ve gone out and searched and consulted with the great oracles on this subject (the R/C discussion groups) and found the following:
On one of the most helpful sites I’ve found on the web, Mikey demonstrates the blade balancing using the same method, that seemed intuitive to me. Here is a screen shot from the video:
Checking another forum, I found the following this post that discusses first locating the COG (Center of Gravity) on the blades and marking them. Or balancing the COG on the blades so they are the same blade-to-blade, THEN getting them in dynamic balance:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=878885&highlight=blade+balancing
Hm. there seems to be MUCH more to getting a really great balance on your blades than meets the eye! With the vibration issues I’ve been happening, I’m going to do everything I can to provide as stable a main blade balance as possible.
What is most clear at the point, is that I have A LOT more reading to do. PART 2 will follow once I decide on exactly how I will be balancing my blades. The question of the afix orientation of the blades perists, even after I find the COG of the blades.
This link here looks to be the most concise explaination of a balancing method. [LINK]
Hi David,
I had vibration issues on my heli and found that the feathering spindle was just a tiny bit bent. I had to roll it on a flat surface to confirm my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. After replacing the part, my vibrations are gone. At such high RPMs, it doesn’t take much to throw off the balance of a heli drivetrain. Something to keep in mind. Happy flying!
Cheers,
David Fricks
I found that the vibrations in mine were mostly due to that as well, and the plastic swash seemed to be a factor as well, since the replacement of that with a billet part finally solved the problem.