Align 250 Belt dance!!!

Hi Ya'll,
I am one of the new boys here and think this is the best place on the net for info and answers. Not to mention Tonys Videos....

My question is,
I just got my 250 in the air (4feet or so) but its in the air..... I noticed the belt doing a dance from left to right on the rear cog.... Is this normal or have I got a twist in it some where..??
 

Tony

Staff member
When you spin the tail blades, if you don't feel a ratchet feeling, then your belt should be fine. Just the fact that you were able to get a 250 in the air and see that is great news lol. Could be one of the strands of string in it is too tight causing it to tighten then loosen up. Nothing you can do other than replace the belt. I would not worry about it myself.
 
Why is everyone knocking the 250? I know it's early days yet but I could not have gotten it to where I am with out your videos Tony. It so easy when I follow them.
I'm also building a 450se and just got an electric truck off eBay, so the bug has taken hold of me.

The wife is still sucking Air through her teeth, girls just don't understand :)
 

Tony

Staff member
Me personally, now that I know what has to be done to the 250, have no problem with them. But the fact that you are a new pilot, and you were able to get a 250 into a stable hover at 4', and could look at the belt on the tail, it a great sign of things to come in this hobby for you. This means you have a great setup, and you are comfortable at hovering it. It's now time to move on and do some other stuff with it lol. I'm glad you got it going well.

Oh, I just thought of this, the wag could be the lettering on the belt making it look like it's going back and forth. Just a thought though.
 
Dont get too excited Tony. I had the trainging wheels on her and we have high cealings herein these old houses in Vienna :encouragement:
Just have to find the time to take her out to the park and chop a few trees with it.......

I also bought what I thought was an ALIGN 450 when I was back in the states but i now know It is only an Align Frame and the rest is rubbish, the bloke knew what he was doing. Anyway, you live and learn.
If I had seen your videos back in Jan i would have bought a kit and built it myself, then I would know it was all good.
 

Morelight

Fearless Freep
When you do get your outings , how about some vids and show us how a nitro guy with experience flies and likes? the newer electric ones?
 
OK.... for some more news on the 250.......... This afternoon I was getting on great with the training wheels on and working on my hover skills when I put her down maybe a little hard and the Hub where the carbon sticks come together snapped. Somehow the blades hit the tail boom and bent it, not only that I managed to snap a landing skid right where the small screw goes through into the frame.
I have to say it again, Align are cutting corners on the quality of plastic. WHY would landing skits be so brittle??
So i am off the to Hobby shop tomorrow to get some parts. This being Austria they will be about 50% more than in the States.

Oh one other thing... is there any real difference between a tail servo and a lets say any other servo you will find...? ? ?
 

Tony

Staff member
That sucks about the plastic, hope your next ones are better. As for the servos, you usually don't need as much torque, but you want more speed. On the cyclic, you can get away with a .1 second 60* time, but on the tail, you want .07 or better. Digital coreless tail servos are the best for this. So yes, there is actually a difference. Look at the Align DS410 and the DS420 for a comparison of what comes on the 250 super combo.
 
Things have gone form bad to worse...
After the fender bender I had with the training gear I have changed the tail boom and Feathering shaft so there is no vibration again but the NEW DS420 cooked (I MEAN HOT) the Gyro (F401) is acting like a scalded cat and it is just a mess... I think i will have to start again with the setup...

Tony.. you said you knew what to do with the 250 to make it good... Any help here mate would be great.
Tried all the settings in the DX7 checked the tail blade Bearings in case they were lump played with the Gain and its getting a bit too frustrating.

Should I start from the beginning and reset the TX or is there something I might have missed...


Thanks
 

Tony

Staff member
that doesn't make any sense. It's a digital servo, and shouldn't get hot like that. I'm not quite sure what is going on there. Check and make sure the servo is moving free. Maybe the arm is touching the case causing a bind? I'm not sure. Do you have another gyro? If so, give it a shot and see what happens. If you get the servo too hot, it will burn up as you know. The Futaba 401 is a good gyro, I just wonder if there isn't an issue with it.

As for the rest of it, sounds like it's flying great and no other parts are needed other than the servo heating up. Maybe get an Align gyro? I'm just throwing things out there. I'm sure you don't want to buy another one lmao.
 
Thanks Tony but it is not moving (SERVO) now, solid..... tried it on different gyros and still the same. There is a hum from it like it is biding so maybe its the gears.. I bought it here so it was not cheap at 28 EURO that's about $37 in your money.... ;-(

Bringing it back to the Hobby shop this morning but I think they will laugh at me and tell me to buy another.

I was thinking last night...... (YEA DANGEROUS :wink: )
If i use a slower SERVO on the tail will it help pull some of the WAG out ? Just a thought though as It looks like the Servo Gyro is just way too sensitive and is over correcting its self. .
I have played with the TX settings again and moved the servo Ball as close to the Horn Mount as I can and its a little better but still shakes its head in total frustration......... like its owner..

Cheers
 

Tony

Staff member
You want a fast servo on the tail, the faster the better. As for the cost, that is about on par with what we pay. And I doubt they will laugh at you, just explain to them what gyro you were using, and if it was the Futaba, they should warranty it for you I would think. Man this sucks bro. See if they have an Align gyro lol.
 
OK.. We are all Golden this side of the Atlantic now.....
After all the BULLs@$T with the Gyro burning out the servo and the training gear snapping causing the blade strike, I got it in the air again.
Guess ho has a smile on his Irish chops :wink:

I stuck a cheep old HK gyro on with the New Align DS tail servo switched everything off for a minute then back on and she flew....

I also have a 780 in the mail so should get that in a few days to tidy up the rear end, this HK is a bit bulky and I hate messy wiring.

Now to build this old 450se and get it flying...
Think I got the bug..

Thanks to all for the help..
 

Tony

Staff member
That 780 with teh 420 will be the ticket. Put it on, and forget about tail drifting. Takes a bit to set them up, but once done, it's done. Well, until you crash again hahaha. Glad you have her back in the air! :thumbsup:
 
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