But it’s the risk you have to take if you’re going to fly these things, especially when there are gusty winds. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing real helicopters having trouble with wind, sometimes with tragic results. I
In the grand scheme of things, a little bit of bent aluminum is hardly much to worry about. Being grounded with a busted helicopter is still not the ideal situation.
I noted yesterday that the Blade 400 tail tube turns out to be remarkably similar in dimension to the one used on the 450. I really would have thought that the ‘smaller’ 400 class model would have a shorter tail boom, but it turns out to be about 15mm longer.
Easy enough to rectify. A little cutting, sanding and filing is all it took.
The new tail boom, and new Sport alloy tail case are now installed on the helicopter. One of the advantages of the new Sport tail case, is an alignment pin (the original did not have, it uses the hole seen in the blade 400 tube) that keeps the tail case from rotating. An issue I had a couple of times with the original part.
A closer look at the alloy tail case, new tail rotor blades also installed:
During lunch I’ll be able to finish mounting the tail servo, knight head and support bars.
UPDATE:
I just checked on the status of the replacement parts and some other fun stuff I ordered from China, using the ‘slow-boat 7-45 day shipping’ option. I regretted not spending the extra $20 for faster EMS 3-5 day shipping, until I checked the shipping status this morning!
For a slow boat from China (OK, it’s air post but the website said expect 7-45 days transit), it’s already here in the states. I just needs to clear customs. Not sure who long that will take but, you know I’m going to post here when it does!
