1/4 Scale Lama - REBUILD

Welcome to Chapter 1 of the Lama Rebuild. To read about what happened, check out this article: https://scalehelipilot.com/articles/b4cfc49e-1491-4f3f-9fe8-7ee5883...

FUSELAGE CRACKS
For the rebuild, I started with the fuselage cracks. After the hard landing, there were cracks in the left and right mounting sections of the fuse. A bit of fiberglass cloth (Home Depot) and 5-minute epoxy did the trick.

SCALE PARTS
I simply re-attached the left vent with epoxy. Nothing burger.

HEAD
The cables that run from grip to grip had all sheared on one side. I bought small electrical terminals (Home Depot) and crimped them onto the cables. Again, a nothing burger.

PREPPING
The remainder of what I am able to do before the parts arrive encompasses disassembling the "cage" around the mechanics as well as the tail drive system. I inspected the tail rotor and it appears nominal. Now, all I can do is wait for my shipment of parts. I expect to have the tail lattice, main cage and skids all powder coated in gloss black. I have a local outfit doing this.

Stay tuned!

I got busy this weekend and carefully disassembled the mechanics. I also fixed an issue I had observed during flight.

VIBRATION ISSUE SOLVED
The console in the cockpit would vibrate! I discovered that the platform it was sitting on was vulnerable to vibration so I bought window stripping and adhered it to the mounting rim around the front of the canopy. I added two screws in the front and tightened the entire front deck so it's rock solid and relatively immune to transmitted vibrations from the canopy.

MAIN SHAFT BENT!
I will have to replace the main shaft. It's visibly bent. DAMMIT!

THE CAGE
I removed the mechanics from the cage and bagged (and labeled) the parts so re-assembly would be more efficient. The cage houses everything so this process took an hour. EVERYTHING I could label (wires, shafts, bolt sets, etc.) I did label. I have the instructions, but this step will eliminate second guessing.

NEW HINGES COMING
I ordered some really cool CNC aluminum hinges from HeliWorkshop.com. I can't wait to get those puppies!

Today I received my super slick CNC’d hinges from Heli Workshop and got to work immediately after loading the dishwasher. 😬

Hinges on both sides needed replacing so I took the opportunity to switch out the starboard door with the bubble window door.

This is not a huge project but one that requires lots of light and sharp eyes. The screws are tiny! In adding the handle lock to the new door, it quickly became apparent that the plastic stem on the handle wasn’t going to cut it. I cut it off! Then I drilled a 2mm hole where the stem was and used a bolt to attach the handle to the securing arm inside the canopy. That thing will never loosen!

Two boxes of parts should arrive next week and then I can really get to work.

Thanks to Mark Smith at HeliWorkshop.com, I got all of my replacement parts in! The main shaft fix went first and I got everything back in place. The side frame gets reattached in a minute.

BUT CHECK OUT THE LATTICE AND SKIDS! I took those parts along with the main cage to Troy and the gang at Colorwerks in Centennial Colorado. They powder coated the parts with gloss black and the finish is flawless!! I made sure to show them where to plug and tape off the metal so I could glue and join properly.

Now I can get cracking!

The Lama cage comes from the factory with diagonal struts on either side. See first picture. That’s nice for strength but makes it impossible to remove the tank covers and access servos. Fortunately, Vario sells an ingenious solution (that believe Gonzalo Martínez developed) which allows you to remove the strut!

The scary part of the installation is cutting the strut. I used the largest metal cut wheel I could find and moved very slowly through the aluminum walls of the strut. Once removed, I cut 30mm from each end of the strut to account for the length of the bolted joiners.

I sanded the ends of the joiners and the insides of each tube. I used epoxy to secure the joiners. I did this in two steps; first gluing the joiners to the strut stubs on the frame. When dried, I was able to glue the joiners into the removable piece and bolt the assembly in place to ensure that the joiners would dry in the proper orientation.

It’s a wonderful option for this helicopter!

I’m closing in!! To get the head right, I start with my Vario Pushrod Calipers (which you can order from HeliWorkshop.com or by following this link:

I’m using Secraft turnbuckles to maximize tracking precision. I set the follower to get the turnbuckles as vertical as possible before I dig into the gyro for fine tuning. For a full discussion about phasing, check out my article:
https://scalehelipilot.com/articles/520d5252-f62c-4a48-a3be-484fe39...

I am finally ready to get this bird in the air again! First, I'll phase the head. The next chapter will feature tracking the blades. Closing in!

LEAD OR FOLLOW?

During this step, I went back and forth on the swash follower/driver. People will say that the VARIO logo should be on the OUTSIDE when attaching the follower. Based on a stock configuration of the follower from Vario, this would make the "hockey stick" point down. What I experienced was a poor ball link fit when I pressed the link on with the Vario logo facing outward. The link pushed too far onto the ball stud and that made me concerned.

Before Joe Howard passed away, he would say "hockey stick up!" I never asked him why, but it's quite possible he experienced the same thing I (and others) have. I reversed the follower and the link snapped on normally -- logo IN. I'm going to run it this way. I'm happy to hear from others and I just wonder whether the logo out mantra we have heard for decades on pushrod links is not applicable to this particular part?

VIDEO