Fusuno 700 AS-350 w/Align 700E DFC Three-Blade Head Assembly

Hello Guys,

Well, I could not stay away long and I had this Align 700E DFC sitting here for awhile with most of the components to get it flying and after seeing the Fusuno lineup and reading through the manual, the Align Trex 700E seemed to be a perfect fit. So, I ordered up an Air Zermatt scheme and it arrived a couple weeks ago.

I am impressed with the quality and I like that I get to install the woodwork. The paintwork and fiberglass work is very nice. The laser cut wood seems nice, their laser cutter could use a little tune, but a little fine sanding will fix that.

The components for the build/assembly are a hodge·podge of components that I would typically not use to be honest. But I had them all sitting here in a box, so I figured I could give them a try in this model. The servos were used in another helicopter and they perform well, so I see no reason not to use them here as well. I typically use ProModeler Servos and Scorpion Power Systems, so this will be good to learn other components.

Servos Cyclic: BK SERVO BK-9001HV STANDARD SIZE CYCLIC SERVOS
Servos Rudder: BK SERVO BK-9005HV STANDARD SIZE TAIL SERVO
Motor: EgoDrift SCALE COLLECTION 4035HS / 460KV (12S)
ESC: Hobbywing Platinum PRO V4 -130A-HV-OPTO (6S-14S)
Blades: Align 690 Three Blade Set
FBL Unit: Spirit GT
Receiver: FrSKY R8 Pro (not pictured, the only thing I needed to order)
Electronics Battery: ProModeler B2S5000, LiIon
Switch: XGuard Intelliswitch

That is the majority of the components and I am sure I will design a few parts along the way for the build for cable routing and maybe a few other items.

The 700E is all stock with stock gearing, 112T Main 12T Pinion, for a gear ratio of 9.33 and I choose the AS-350 since I just happen to have a three bladed head and that will work perfectly and be more scale, plus I really like the AS-350!

I am not planning on going super detailed with the assembly, I just want a nice reliable daily flyer. But I am sure I will take the opportunity to add a few details along the way.

Next up will be the mechanics build and I will not go step by step unless I find something that might be nice to point along the way. Thanks and talk soon guys.

Jason

Hello Guys,

Got a few minutes in the shop this afternoon and started working on the Align 700E Mechanics. Nothing groundbreaking to note and I know you guys know how a pod and boom helicopter goes together! No need to be Captain Obvious! The only thing I will say, is that I am always impressed with the quality, fit and finish of Align helicopters.

The only thing that might be worth mentioning, is that all screws are cleaned and installed loosely and then I install the main shaft and battery tray and then place on my CNC aluminum bed and use 3-2-1 block to make sure everything is square and perpendicular as I slowly tighten all the screws, while making sure the main shaft turns freely. It's all pretty much self aligning, but I like to use the CNC table to make sure. Then all screws get taken out one at a time and thread lock applied.

Again nothing really important, just wanted to add another chapter to show some progress and maybe it help somebody down the line. Couple of pictures. I really need to get a better camera or just use my iPhone for pictures, Talk soon guys!

Been awhile since an update, but with 11U baseball now complete for the year, I have a little time in the Shop. We start 12U in a couple months, so I need to get busy.

Anyway, nothing breathtaking, just got the Motor, Servos and FBL installed and started on some of the cable routing. In the last picture, you can see the servo wire strip that will be used to keep the wire secure when routing inside the frame to the FBL unit.

More pictures coming with final wire routing and the rest of the components and the 3D printer is already running with parts for the ESC mount and RX battery mount and I will be posting some pictures soon with those.

Thanks.

I have got a couple more items checked off the list for the mechanics.

First, I am not a fan of just using zip ties or Velcro to mount the ESC, nothing wrong with it, its just my preference. So, I wanted to design something that looked a little bit more refined and functional, so a little time in Solidworks and about five hours on the 3D printer, I have a mount that I happy with and I was able to incorporate a bottom plate that orients the antennas 90 degrees from each other.

I know the antennas are close to the ESC power leads, but I have done this before with zero issues using FrSKY, but if there is, I will add another satellite antenna in another location or relocate the RX entirely.

Hopefully, the pictures explain it well, but if there are any question, please do not hesitate to ask. The extra set of holes below the upper mounting holes in the stock Align tray is to allow access to the countersink screws to attach the ESC mounting screws.

Second, I typically design mounts to hold my batteries think this works out well. I have been using the Promodeler LiIon batteries for awhile now and they are awesome. I don't use the extra dupont connectors, and use some heat shrink on the plugs and also use some heat shrink to clean up the wires. The XT60 connector will go into XGuard Intelliswitch, which is another item I do not go without. Its a great product and I use it in all my helicopters, since I never use a BEC and prefer to keep the power systems separate. If there is an issue with access to the battery once in the fuselage, I will redesign the mount or relocate the current one to another spot in the fuselage.

Finally, if anybody is curious, this is my old 3D printer that is still going strong. It is a Craftbot 3 with the cantilever bed. With the cantilever bed, I can not print as fast as I would like, but I get good results if I keep the speed lower and not induce any shaking in the bed. I only use one material and that is always PETG, but I have really started to like the 3DXTech PETG+CF filament. While its not as strong as regular PETG, its still plenty strong for what we are doing and the Carbon Fiber help to keep dimensional accuracy within a couple .001" and I really like the textured and matt finish. I also run all my filament from a StatPro drying cabinet direct into the 3D to ensure it has the lowest moisture content.

Anyways, that was a dissertation for just a few items. But I hope there is some interest. Thanks.

Also, I am not sure why Michael, but my posts never make it back into the discussion, I would hope that more people would see the new posts to spark some interest and engagement with the community, but unless you filter or specially search for Fusuno, this information is not being seen? Maybe as the author I can't see the new posts in the discussion area? That's unfortunate.

Hello Guys,

Quick update, since I had a few minutes to get the telemetry module wired and installed. I am using the ESC Telemetry Convertor (ETC) from RC Light Systems in the UK and they are great units. I am also running a HW Opto Isolator that goes in-between the ESC and ETC.

I know this is fairly straight forward, given the pedigree of the members here, but thought I would take the opportunity to show how I make up extensions and leads. It will be the same process for all the servo extension and a couple of male to male jumpers, so no need to show after this post and will not bore you guys with it again!

First, I am a tool fanatic and like to have the right tools for the job, I enjoy making all my own servo leads and extensions and love electronics in general. I have tried all the crimpers over the years and was honestly never happy with the quality of the crimp. In my search for the correct crimping tool, especially for the strain relief/insulation crimp, I found the Harwin Z20-320 crimpers you see pictured. They are one of the preferred crimpers for our Dupont connectors. Berg Crimpers, HT-95 are the best, however they are like $1,500-$2k new, but if you search on Ebay you can usually find them for a couple hundred dollars. I found a nice set, but the anvils were broken, but I still bought them and I am still searching for a used set of anvils. However, the Harwin crimpers are the best I have ever used and crimp the strain relief/insulation perfectly every time. I found, the off the shelf crimpers would not wrap the insulation crimp and just crimp them and they were difficult to insert into the housing. With the Harwin, you crimp and insert into the housing, no having to massage the strain relief/insulation crimp to get it to fit! They are super easy to use and one end of the lead can be made in less than a minute!

When it comes to wire strippers, the Knipex 12 12 02 are excellent and you set them to the desired crimp length, which is 3.5mm in my case, and they work great.

I will let the pictures tell the story and try to keep my narrative shorter. If there are any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

When it comes to the heat shrink label(s), I have used a couple units over the years, but I really like the hand held Dymo Rhino 6000+. They work great.

Talk soon guys.

Hello Guys,

Quick update. The wiring is now complete. I had to shorten two of the servo leads and made up all the extensions and jumpers as shown in the ESC Telemetry Chapter.

Everything powers up as it should and I am ready to start some initial programming before assembling the rotor head, which will be next.

There will be a little bit of a delay as we head out of town tomorrow for a family vacation back in Indiana.

One thing I see that may be an issue is the anti-rotation bracket, these fuselage(s) were designed for the older 700E without the anti-rotation bracket. But I may be stuck with it and have to cut more out from the top doghouse of the helicopter. But I have a week or two to think about a way to eliminate that bracket...

I will let the pictures do the talking and if there are any questions or comments, please feel free to post a comment.

Thanks and talk soon.

Hello Guys,

Finally time for an update. it's been a little, but I have been slowly finishing the mechanics and getting it ready to test fly, hopefully this weekend.

Not a lot of pictures to show. However, I did take a picture of the disassembled rotor head. to show the components. Nothing had Loctite, but that was to be expected. I always clean and re-lube the thrust bearing, but take a look at how much grease was installed!

Other then that, everything went together very nice and the quality was great. For reference I always take a piece of paper and write down the inner and outer race IDs to make sure I get them correct. I also use Super Lube for the thrust bearings and it works great and has been reliable.

Another item to note, is I prefer turnbuckles for finer adjustment. The older DFC kit used thread rods, so ordered up a set of 760X turnbuckles for the servo to swash pushrods and that allowed for a perfectly level swash at neutral.

I have to complete the setup of the head in the FBL and get the tail final setup, but I will get that done over the next few days.

I did get the HW ESC throttle calibrated and Governor calibrated in the StorGov configuration. One concern I had with the 4035 was heat dissipation, and on the bench I am seeing 160F with no blades installed. Warmer then I would like, but not too bad. I have the timing set to 9 degrees as EgoDrift recommends. I have ordered a 4525HS/470kV, which should have much better efficiency and heat dissipation, if needed. But I am not ready to give up on the 4035 just yet...What are your guys thoughts on the motor temps? My Scorpion 4035 runs about the same temp, actually all my Scorpion motors run about the same temp! LOL

On the telemetry side, the RC Lighting Systems was causing sensor conflict warnings and I removed it and upon further research, I can run a cable from the HW ESC directly to the Spirit GT FBL and get all the data that I need and that is what I am going to do. I had to order another Spirit GT for my Quest 787, so I added some of the telemetry cables for the ESC to FBL, since I don't have the sat connectors (Actually I need to order up some of those, so I can make my own). Should have that beginning of next week with the quick shipping from Spirit.

Anyways, I have never setup a three blade head before and while there is nothing mechanical to set up on the phasing, since its all fixed, where do you check and verify phasing, over the tail or nose? Two and four blade heads are easy! I know a noob question, but figure I would ask. Any tips on three blade head will be welcome too.

Should hopefully have a flight report by the end of this weekend and I am really hoping to get some flight video. Although it will probably be fairly boring, hovering around! LOL Talk soon.

Hello Guys,

I had the helicopter setup to test fly and I happen to notice a potential servo issue. This is the servo set I had in my 760X and had a few issues with glitching and random movements with the motor running. I thought I eliminated the servos as a potential cause, but maybe I had a bad servo all along? I posted a YouTube Short (it's an unlisted video and just for this forum). for review and input. Let me know what you guys think.

I have two sets of servos that I could replace them with or purchase an individual BK servo to replace the suspected one. I have been wanting to try these Xpert KD1 servos I have here anyway.

I was able to run the helicopter up today with the blades on in the garage, too windy for test flight. The helicopter was super smooth at zero pitch!

Hello Guys,

With baseball almost over for the fall season. I am finding a little more time to get the 700E mechanics test flown and I have four flights. It flies OK, but not a smooth as I was hoping and I will keep fine tuning before I consider putting these mechanics in the scale fuselage. So far, having some minor tracking and a touch of vibration. Not sure if the out of track disk is causing the vibration?

This is the first time setting up a three blade head and I am using my 3D printed digital angle meter holders, that have worked well over the years. I set everything up for zero pitch at half stick and -12, +12 degrees of pitch like a pod and boom and then I adjust the pitch curves in the radio to get -2 low, +5 hover (half stick), +12 high for flying. This method has work well for me, but if anybody has any inputs or recommendations, please let me know what I may be doing wrong.

So far, I am happy with the way it flies, but it's just not where I would like it. I have adjusted the tracking a few time and to note, when making turnbuckle adjustments, I pull up on the pitch change arms to pull and slack out of the system and then make the adjustments to zero.

The one item I am noticing, is that the dampers felt very hard when I installed them, so I was expecting the head to be fairly rigid, but there is a some up and down and fore and aft movement with the blades installed. Not sure if this is normal with the head?

My next steps will be to go old school and put some different color tape on each blade tip to determine the which blade(s) are out of track. The blades are all within a .01-.03 grams of each other, but that does not mean the CG is correct.

I am hoping to get some flight video as soon as I can get somebody to film for me. I am typically at the field by myself, since I need to go at off times when nobody is there, since both fields, do not allow helicopter hovering over the runway when other members are there. Both fields do have hover pads though to be fair, but its not a big area to maneuver. One field has more space, but it's on astroturf and its got a fairly decent slop to it.

I did take a quick video to show the movement in the blade grips. Sorry for the low audio, I was trying to talk over the wind. Also sorry for the vertical view on the video, I should have taken it with the phone sideways!

Hello Guys,

Thanks for all the inputs on the last chapter. I decided to take a critical look at the blade set from Align and spent some time getting them all the same weight and the CG equal. I typically do this from the start, but made the assumption that they were good.

When I went back and weighed them, they were within .1 grams of each other. But the CG was off all three blades. So I had a little work to do. I still use a gram scale (.01g), Koll Rotor Pro, lead golf tape and medium and thin CA.

In the case of these blades the CG was off enough that I needed to bring up the weight of the light blade to get the CG equal with the heavy blade and then added weight back to the CG for the other two to get all three blades within .01g of each other.

I sand down the area for the led tape and clean with Isopropyl Alcohol and attach the golf tape in the marked spot and then wick in thin CA along the edges and then when that dries I take a little medium CA and Q-tip over the same area.

I know you guys already know how to do all that, but if any of that sounds incorrect, then please let me know. It has worked for the few sets of Roban blades I have balanced and I have not had any issues to date. And the Roban blades required A LOT more weight to balance.

Anyways, I feel better that I took the time to re-look at the blades and check the CG. I will re-track the blades with the blades on this time using a standard blade pitch gauge today or tomorrow and hopefully get back out on Wednesday to test again, when it warms up to at least 59F!

The blades are not pretty anymore, but at least its on the bottom and hopefully this will help!

Hello Guys,

I got a few minutes to get out today after fine tuning the span-wise CG, weights, and tracking.
Definitely making some progress. I can't say its 100% but its at least 80%. Not really happy with the shaking on spool-up, but the tracking looks almost perfect and the vibrations are much lower.

Thanks to everybody that has provided comments and inputs so far. Thanks Taylor for the PM. This time, for tracking, I put the blades on and let them droop naturally and placed the pitch gauge near the tip. Using this method, there was clear indication that one of the blades was off by almost a full degree! Minor adjustment left and please take a look at the videos and see if you guys can see anything! Always looking to get the helicopter running smoother!

When it comes to the blades, thank you Remy for pointing me towards Baumann Helicopters! I ordered up a set of HeliTec 700 3-blade scale mains and I also ordered up some tail blades too, still 105mm. The are the light grey version, but I plan on painting them and then doing another balance when the time comes.

The videos taken are OK, but I wish the focus on the helicopter was a little better, but at least there is proof that it flies. The first two video are from the same flight, take-off and landing and the third is just another quick up and down. It's really boring flying so, I wanted to keep the videos short! There is not a lot of space to maneuver in the helicopter area and the traffic pattern was full of airplane and guys trying to get flights in before the cold sets it, which I totally understand! So it may seem like things are really confined, because they are! Talk soon guys and getting excited to make some positive progress.

Flight One Takeoff

Flight One Landing

https://youtu.be/tydqMtbUXA8

Flight two

https://youtu.be/eb6YA4CcUgw

Hello Guys,

Sorry for the lack up progress, been busy with other items and projects. However, I have been waiting on shipping of the Helitec rotor blades and decided to inquire with Baumann helicopters, only to get this...

"Hello Jason

I apologize that it has taken so long. Unfortunately I have to cancel the order because we are no longer allowed to deliver the Helitec rotor blades to the USA...

I have just returned the money

Best regards Thomas"

Does anybody know why Helitec blades will not sell to the US?

So, I am on the hunt again for a set of scale blades I can use😞. Although the Align blades are doing OK, now that they are balanced properly.