Hey all, have been a longtime lurker of these boards, and finally felt the need to register as I am having 'problems problems and more problems', and would *really* appreciate a few pointers!


I just made my first RC purchase, an AXN Clouds Fly, as well as a Dynam Hawk Sky (so I can fly with my brother). The hawk sky went together nicely, but the AXN has just been one headache after another, culminating in todays problem.

I don't know the names of the parts, but basically the motor appears to be held in with 2 tiny little hex screws. One of these nuts was loose from the factory, and the other one was just plain missing. I didn't even notice this until I tried to fire up the motor and it started spinning around and tangling itself up on its own power cables. (Interestingly enough, all the hex screws that secured the control rods to the servos were loose from the factory as well. I had to spend hours searching the carpets in my house for 2 of them that fell out completely before I noticed that little problem).


At this point I decided to try and remove the motor from the mount itself so I can get a closer look and attempt to get everything nice and secure, but the 4 phillips screws holding the motor onto its mount are near impossible to get to, and when I can get a screwdriver in there, it only strips the heads (Curse you, phillips). -.-


I hope the pictures help explain what I am trying to say here. At this point I am basically wondering, can I goto a LHS and grab another one of those hex screws to secure the motor? Also, does anybody have any advice on how to get the motor off it's mount without stripping those damn phillips screws? I dont really wanna run the engine with the wires all tangled up like that, and would like to take it off the mount and get it re-mounted with the wires in their proper place.


Sorry for the long post and the n00b questions, but as you can imagine I'm pretty much at a loss for what to do here, and again, I would *truly* be eternally grateful for any assistance.



Thanks in advance!

They're called grub screws.
Loosen the grub screws and the motor should pull out of the mount.

Welcome aboard SMS33,

What you may want to do is use a product called Loctite, use the Blue the other colors are wrong for this hobby, red is great when you start rebuilding Caterpillar equipment. Just a tiny bit does the job.

Enjoy your maiden flights.

Hey thanks for the quick replies bartricky and immelguy I appreciate your input

Bartricky, one of the grub screws (thanks for that clarification on the name) is missing completely, and the other one I removed yet I still cant get the motor out, it wiggles a bit but I am a bit hesitant to yank it.....

Immelguy, loctite is a form of glue am I correct? What is it that I would use it for in my situation? :s

Again, sorry if I sound like a complete idiot.....trying to learn as I go!





On a lighter note, took the Hawk Sky out today and it flew great! ....until one of the wings came loose and I lost all ability to turn left >< Full left aileron and rudder kept it stable, as soon as I let off either of them it would start to bank and roll right....I ended up losing it about 1/2 mile up a hill through thick thick thick brush (I live in Hong Kong).....3 hours later and a million scrapes and bruises and it was retrieved OK! Now I know what they went through in nam......

OK so I decided to grit my teeth, wrap my fingertips behind the motor and pullllllllllllllll *pop* it came off! Thanks batrtricky! Now I can access everything. I will goto my LHS tomorrow and see if I can get a replacement grub screw.....


Thanks a million you guys, I feel a *lot* better now

Immelguy, is there something I will need to glue once I put it all back together? Or will having the second grub screw hold that motor nice and tight

I haven't had that many problems with grub screws working loose. If they do the BLUE Loctite will gum up the threads enough to keep them from vibrating loose but you will still be able to remove them.

Your excellent pics helped a lot.

BTW, I loved Hong Kong the short time I was there. I sure didn't see anyplace open enough to fly in the tourist areas.

Originally Posted by bartricky

I haven't had that many problems with grub screws working loose. If they do the BLUE Loctite will gum up the threads enough to keep them from vibrating loose but you will still be able to remove them.

Your excellent pics helped a lot.

BTW, I loved Hong Kong the short time I was there. I sure didn't see anyplace open enough to fly in the tourist areas.

Ohhhhhh ok then I get it now So the loclite will seal them up, but I don't have to worry about them becoming permanently screwed in, sounds like a good plan. I'll try and find some loclite tomorrow.

Haha yeah HK is good times, it has its ups and downs, but I do enjoy it. I am originally from Canada so it's a bit of a change, but my family has lived here since the early 90s so it does kinda feel like home now. You are right about there not being anywhere to fly RC planes! That's why I had to go bushwacking in the jungle in order to retrieve my hawk sky The whole time I was waiting for a Pit Viper or King Cobra to come leaping out of the bushes below my feet, but it all worked out OK


I'll be sure to post an update tomorrow letting you guys know how I made out. Again, thanks a ton!

Alright well I couldn't find 'loctite' brand, but I did find a similar product as well as some grub screws! Got it all secured up, and after 24 hours waiting for it to dry took it out this morning for some good flying There was a Typhoon on the way here in HK so it was blowing like a whore out and it was definitely a white knuckle experience, but everything held up nicely and I had a blast


Thanks again guys!

Spaceman,if you are interested there is a over 500 page thread in the
Foamies(kits) section on this site for the AXN Floater Jet,lots of information and tips,keep a eye out on the motor magnets,a common problem is them working loose.I have just finished building a floater as a rtf,had to buy all the electronics seperate,unfortunatly looks like they are expecting mainly rain here for the next 2 weeks.

James

Originally Posted by Jimmy B

Spaceman,if you are interested there is a over 500 page thread in the
Foamies(kits) section on this site for the AXN Floater Jet,lots of information and tips,keep a eye out on the motor magnets,a common problem is them working loose.I have just finished building a floater as a rtf,had to buy all the electronics seperate,unfortunatly looks like they are expecting mainly rain here for the next 2 weeks.

James

Hey James,

I have read that entire thread and love all the information I gathered from it Unfortunately I wasn't quite able to work out my problem with the information in that thread alone, and that's why I made this one. Thankfully it wasn't a big deal as you can read, and I was able to get it all worked out OK

You are from Richmond? Vancouver is my Canadian home Glad to see the rain still hasn't stopped yet in the 604 XD

Originally Posted by spacemanspiff33

Hey James,

I have read that entire thread and love all the information I gathered from it

WOW, lucky you to have read it all! I have been working on it and man-o-man does it take a lot of reading to get thru all the off-topic banter. That's the problem with threads that long; they are too long

I have my AXN in possession, but I have too much going on to assemble it for now; so I'm doing my late night reading

BTW; I LOVED visiting Hong Kong (several times for business). What a awesome experience to view the waterfronts at night!

Originally Posted by Air Cooled

WOW, lucky you to have read it all! I have been working on it and man-o-man does it take a lot of reading to get thru all the off-topic banter. That's the problem with threads that long; they are too long

I have my AXN in possession, but I have too much going on to assemble it for now; so I'm doing my late night reading

BTW; I LOVED visiting Hong Kong (several times for business). What a awesome experience to view the waterfronts at night!

Haha I didn't have much else to do while waiting for my AXN to arrive I'm sure we all know the feeling of purchasing something and then going stir crazy while waiting for it to arrive. To quote Homer Simpson "Five days?! But I'm mad now!"


I do love the views in Hong Kong, my apartment is overlooking the ocean and I can see the fireworks from HK disney every night just a mile or so away. It's a great place to live!


Feel free to check out my other thread going over my initial observations of my AXN as well as the Dynam Hawk Sky I purchased at the same time. You probably won't learn anything from it, but meh, senseless promotion by myself here Keep an eye on those damned grub screws though!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1513952

You don't NEED or WANT 2 grub screws in the motor mount. That's a faulty design. Using 2 makes the bearing shaft kind of suspended on the points of the screw. Should one get loose, by definition the other one is now loose also.

A single screw forces the bearing shaft against the radius of the mount. This provides a larger surface area of contact and is more secure.

BEWARE-a motor that has spun like than can have damaged the wires coming out of the motor (common problem). If the motor will not run PROPERLY AND IMMEDIATELY upon trying, STOP!. If you don't you will burn out your ESC to add to the problem.

Originally Posted by flydiver

You don't NEED or WANT 2 grub screws in the motor mount. That's a faulty design. Using 2 makes the bearing shaft kind of suspended on the points of the screw. Should one get loose, by definition the other one is now loose also.

A single screw forces the bearing shaft against the radius of the mount. This provides a larger surface area of contact and is more secure.

BEWARE-a motor that has spun like than can have damaged the wires coming out of the motor (common problem). If the motor will not run PROPERLY AND IMMEDIATELY upon trying, STOP!. If you don't you will burn out your ESC to add to the problem.

Hmmmmm... now I'm more confused . When I noticed the single grub screw, I secured it nice and tight, and while running the motor on the bench it started to spin slowly and that's when I noticed the wires tightening as it rotated. I stopped the motor before they were too tight to cause any damage (noticeable damage at least). Afterwards I checked my hawk sky and it had 2 grub screws in the motor. Since installing the second grub screw the motor hasnt moved a bit, after 3 flights now. What you are saying makes sense to me, but I am confused as all my problems have disappeared thanks to the addition of the second grub screw......can anybody else with the AXN verifiy how many grub screws their motor mount has??

What flydiver says is correct, strange as it may seem, there is a thread somewhere on here where this is explained in detail. Flydivers post jogs my memory and I believe the posters name was jackerbes.

You may want to research this and actually flatten the shaft where the screw contacts with a file or dremel to further assist the holding power. 2 screws actually work against each other but if you leave it as is, I like he idea that the 2 screws are close together as in your design. Opposing screws just cause a problem. Read up and make your own decisions on your design. Protect the motor from filings with a plastic bag if you do this.