I have written this many times in different threads but it always gets buried in the posts and is very hard to find. It's also one of the most asked questions here on RCH. So I thought I would do a dedicated STICKY to explain exactly how to setup correct blade pitch on a CCPM helicopter.
YOU WILL NEED A PITCH GAUGE! If you don't have a pitch gauge, GET ONE! It's a MUST HAVE tool for any CCPM Helicopter owner
First and foremost you must set your Tx up correctly. Go into your pitch settings and set them to the following.
Normal Mode (45, 47.5, 50, 75, 100)
Idle up (0, 25, 50, 75, 100)
Make sure you have the same "Idle Up" pitch curve on your Throttle Hold as well. This way, if you have to hit T-Hold you will still have a FULL range of pitch to help save the heli in an emergency. Your Throttle Curve for Throttle Hold should be ALL 0's across the board. This will keep the throttle OFF when T-Hold is on.
Now that you have the pitch curve setup, you have your throttle hold on so the motor will not spin, you need to do one more thing. Unplug two of the three wires going to the motor. This will guarantee the motor will not spin up on you. After all we are going to be doing all of this in idle up.
Flip your Idle Up Switch into Idle up. Put your throttle stick on your Tx to Mid stick, or 50% throttle. Now look at the servo arms on the cyclic/collective. They should be at exactly 90º to the SWASH LINKS. NOT The servo body. If your arms are not at 90º to the links, use sub trim to get them there. Your trim tabs should be centered.
Once you are positive that your servo arms are at 90º to the links, we are ready to check the blade pitch.
Put your pitch gauge on the blade and level your flybar (if you have one. If not, use your alignment rod that was included with your kit). At mid stick, where you should be, you should have 0º of pitch. If you don't, adjust your blade grip links until you do. Once you are at 0º of pitch, you can move on.
After setting 0º pitch at mid stick, raise your throttle all the way up. Note the amount of pitch on your blades. You should have AT LEAST 10º of positive pitch (trailing edge down). Now lower your throttle stick all the way down and check your pitch again, but this time in the negative (trailing edge up).
If you have the exact same pitch in both full positive and full negative and 0º at mid stick, then you are done. If not, then continue on.
If you have more positive pitch than negative, then your swash plate is too high. You will need to remove your links from the swash going to your servos and lower the swash 1 turn. Once you get your links adjusted, recheck your pitch settings starting with Mid stick above, then positive then negative.
If you have more negative pitch than positive, then your swash is too low. You will need to remove your links from your swash going to your servos and extend them 1 turn. Once your links are adjusted, recheck your pitch settings starting with Mid stick above, then positive then negative.
Make sure after every adjustment you are putting your Tx back to mid stick (50% throttle) and adjusting the blade grip links to achieve 0º pitch.
Once you have the exact same pitch both positive and negative, check the other blade. You should have exactly the same readings from it that you got on the previous blade.
If you are not getting from 10º to 14º of pitch in both the positive and negative positions, you will need to go into your swash mix and raise or lower the Pitch settings. If you are at 60, then go to 70, if you are at -60, then go to -70 and so on until you get to AT LEAST 10º of pitch in each direction. Adjusting the swash mix will adjust the FULL RANGE of pitch, so check it after you make your adjustment.
I suggest that new pilots and sport fliers only go with 10º-11º of pitch. I myself run 12º of pitch and it works out pretty well for me. You need to adjust this to your flying style.
If you have any questions, just post them below. We are always here to help.
YOU WILL NEED A PITCH GAUGE! If you don't have a pitch gauge, GET ONE! It's a MUST HAVE tool for any CCPM Helicopter owner
First and foremost you must set your Tx up correctly. Go into your pitch settings and set them to the following.
Normal Mode (45, 47.5, 50, 75, 100)
Idle up (0, 25, 50, 75, 100)
Make sure you have the same "Idle Up" pitch curve on your Throttle Hold as well. This way, if you have to hit T-Hold you will still have a FULL range of pitch to help save the heli in an emergency. Your Throttle Curve for Throttle Hold should be ALL 0's across the board. This will keep the throttle OFF when T-Hold is on.
Now that you have the pitch curve setup, you have your throttle hold on so the motor will not spin, you need to do one more thing. Unplug two of the three wires going to the motor. This will guarantee the motor will not spin up on you. After all we are going to be doing all of this in idle up.
Flip your Idle Up Switch into Idle up. Put your throttle stick on your Tx to Mid stick, or 50% throttle. Now look at the servo arms on the cyclic/collective. They should be at exactly 90º to the SWASH LINKS. NOT The servo body. If your arms are not at 90º to the links, use sub trim to get them there. Your trim tabs should be centered.
Once you are positive that your servo arms are at 90º to the links, we are ready to check the blade pitch.
Put your pitch gauge on the blade and level your flybar (if you have one. If not, use your alignment rod that was included with your kit). At mid stick, where you should be, you should have 0º of pitch. If you don't, adjust your blade grip links until you do. Once you are at 0º of pitch, you can move on.
After setting 0º pitch at mid stick, raise your throttle all the way up. Note the amount of pitch on your blades. You should have AT LEAST 10º of positive pitch (trailing edge down). Now lower your throttle stick all the way down and check your pitch again, but this time in the negative (trailing edge up).
If you have the exact same pitch in both full positive and full negative and 0º at mid stick, then you are done. If not, then continue on.
If you have more positive pitch than negative, then your swash plate is too high. You will need to remove your links from the swash going to your servos and lower the swash 1 turn. Once you get your links adjusted, recheck your pitch settings starting with Mid stick above, then positive then negative.
If you have more negative pitch than positive, then your swash is too low. You will need to remove your links from your swash going to your servos and extend them 1 turn. Once your links are adjusted, recheck your pitch settings starting with Mid stick above, then positive then negative.
Make sure after every adjustment you are putting your Tx back to mid stick (50% throttle) and adjusting the blade grip links to achieve 0º pitch.
Once you have the exact same pitch both positive and negative, check the other blade. You should have exactly the same readings from it that you got on the previous blade.
If you are not getting from 10º to 14º of pitch in both the positive and negative positions, you will need to go into your swash mix and raise or lower the Pitch settings. If you are at 60, then go to 70, if you are at -60, then go to -70 and so on until you get to AT LEAST 10º of pitch in each direction. Adjusting the swash mix will adjust the FULL RANGE of pitch, so check it after you make your adjustment.
I suggest that new pilots and sport fliers only go with 10º-11º of pitch. I myself run 12º of pitch and it works out pretty well for me. You need to adjust this to your flying style.
If you have any questions, just post them below. We are always here to help.
