ifoguy
Jan 23, 2009, 07:45 PM
The RealFlight 3.5 controller is prone to failure. I bought a new copy of Real Flight 3.5 about a year ago. In the year I've owned it, three controllers have failed. I use the simulator heavily. For 10-20 minutes every day I practice helicopter 3D.
All three failures were identical. The centering mechanism on the elevator axis breaks.
RealFlight has been great about repairs. The first two times I mailed back my controller (I paid $7 postage) and they mailed me a brand new one free of charge. The third time I elected to save myself the return postage by not mailing back the old one. Instead, I called them and asked them to mail me a new gimbal. I could install the gimbal myself.
However, I doubt if RealFlight is willing to supply me with new controllers or parts indefinitely. Even if they are, it's a pain to keep fixing the controller every few months. I sought a more permanent solution. I'll describe my repair to the gimbal below.
I removed 4 screws on the back of the controller. This allowed me to remove the back. Photo 1 shows the problem. The gimbal has a plastic pin that serves as a pivot for a plastic lever (shown in Photo 2). The problem is that the plastic pin shears off. Then the plastic lever and it's spring fall off. I found them rattling around inside the controller.
I removed 3 screws on the front of the controller. This allowed me to remove the faulty gimbal (Photo 3). The gimbal's wires were long enough for me to perform the repair. I didn't need to unsolder any wires.
I decided to replace the plastic pin with a metal screw. An M2x6 screw, 2 mm diameter and 6mm long, looked to be a good fit.
However it's not easy to tell where to drill the hole. In Photo 3, the remains of the sheared off plastic pin are on the left side of the gimbal wall whereas I need to start drilling from the right side of the gimbal wall. Therefore, I bent a paper clip into the shape of a "C" (Photo 4). I then positioned the C over the gimbal wall. When the left end of the C was over the sheared off pin, I used the right end of the C to scratch a mark into the right side of the gimbal wall.
I used the mark for drilling a hole. I used a 1/16" drill bit.
I screwed in the M2x6 screw into the gimbal.
I applied some white grease to the screw and to the plastic lever and then reinstalled the lever and spring. (Photo 5)
I found a very similar procedure described in a thread on the RealFlight forums. However since I couldn't find any description here on RC Groups I thought it might be helpful if I documented it here.
All three failures were identical. The centering mechanism on the elevator axis breaks.
RealFlight has been great about repairs. The first two times I mailed back my controller (I paid $7 postage) and they mailed me a brand new one free of charge. The third time I elected to save myself the return postage by not mailing back the old one. Instead, I called them and asked them to mail me a new gimbal. I could install the gimbal myself.
However, I doubt if RealFlight is willing to supply me with new controllers or parts indefinitely. Even if they are, it's a pain to keep fixing the controller every few months. I sought a more permanent solution. I'll describe my repair to the gimbal below.
I removed 4 screws on the back of the controller. This allowed me to remove the back. Photo 1 shows the problem. The gimbal has a plastic pin that serves as a pivot for a plastic lever (shown in Photo 2). The problem is that the plastic pin shears off. Then the plastic lever and it's spring fall off. I found them rattling around inside the controller.
I removed 3 screws on the front of the controller. This allowed me to remove the faulty gimbal (Photo 3). The gimbal's wires were long enough for me to perform the repair. I didn't need to unsolder any wires.
I decided to replace the plastic pin with a metal screw. An M2x6 screw, 2 mm diameter and 6mm long, looked to be a good fit.
However it's not easy to tell where to drill the hole. In Photo 3, the remains of the sheared off plastic pin are on the left side of the gimbal wall whereas I need to start drilling from the right side of the gimbal wall. Therefore, I bent a paper clip into the shape of a "C" (Photo 4). I then positioned the C over the gimbal wall. When the left end of the C was over the sheared off pin, I used the right end of the C to scratch a mark into the right side of the gimbal wall.
I used the mark for drilling a hole. I used a 1/16" drill bit.
I screwed in the M2x6 screw into the gimbal.
I applied some white grease to the screw and to the plastic lever and then reinstalled the lever and spring. (Photo 5)
I found a very similar procedure described in a thread on the RealFlight forums. However since I couldn't find any description here on RC Groups I thought it might be helpful if I documented it here.