Hopefully this will be the new thread for the sjm 215

calling it that because that is the size blades that came with it

will start posting pix, questions and tips as I go along

mk

Ok - I just got this heli at noon- and had the frame built in about 4 hours

this heli has some awesome design features!

such as--

no seperate frame- all components are mounted on a robust boom

bearing holders on various parts of head have adjustable clamp tensioning

many of the links can be tensioned with screw too- no sizing needed!

I would reccomend mounting the motor to the plate before full assembly- I am going to have to tear part of it apart to to adjust mesh properly

easily done- but will have to recenter some pieces on the boom

here are some quick pix and first impressions of the build-

all in all- very nice and easy design to build- very differant from other helis I have built

would reccomend getting some nylock bolts to hold blades on

will need to drill out canopy holes for grommets(drill provided!)

alot of the small pieces I thought were plastic- arent! seems to be all strong alu and thick cf throughout whole heli

my only b*tches are-

alot of the screws are alu- so hard to screw in if you are used to magnetic screws- wont stick to drivers!

spent at least an hour of my build time trying to get the paddles screwed onto the flybar- destroyed one paddle and 1 flybar doing it- finally had to end up ca'ing the paddle onto flybar

another sweet thing about this heli- most of the bearings can be accessed and pulled without pulling everything off the heli!

mk

well, I am using the futaba 3114's and they are a touch too small for the frame

will have to drill out new mounting holes for pitch and aileron servos

elavator servo has adapter for smaller servos- others dont

no big deal- but would reccomend a bit larger servos for easier mounting

mk

Where the links that came pre-assembled in the kit already sized to the correct length or did you have to adjust them? I am asking this because I am at that point in the head assembly and I didn't get my calipers yet

Also looking from the front of the heli the bottom of my tail fin is leaning a little right I tried to loosen screws an straighten but seems like it won't move anymore. Not sure if my main blocks are off, but I was sure those went on straight. It's also hard to remove screws that have threadlock on them with the supplied wrenches, going to source a nicer set.

Jared

Originally Posted by ForceFedDSM

Where the links that came pre-assembled in the kit already sized to the correct length or did you have to adjust them? I am asking this because I am at that point in the head assembly and I didn't get my calipers yet

Also looking from the front of the heli the bottom of my tail fin is leaning a little right I tried to loosen screws an straighten but seems like it won't move anymore. Not sure if my main blocks are off, but I was sure those went on straight. It's also hard to remove screws that have threadlock on them with the supplied wrenches, going to source a nicer set.

Jared

would go really light on the blue loctite on this heli- took a little fiddling to get everything all aligned- but hadnt mounted my motor yet- so have to readjust some things

head links were to size- calipered them and were correct lengths

everything on this heli seems adjustable almost- but dont loctite her up until you get everything situated

belt tension adjust ment seems pretty straightfoward- move tailcase out and tighten screws- but I seem to be almost maxed out on the room there- lets hope belt doesnt stretch much- not much more room to tighten it

also looks like it will rub on top and bottom of boom by tailcase- there is no guide pully--

but everything spins free- only thing that is a little tight is my swash ball- and that will loosen over time I think

mk

notice there is a slight cant to the tailcase- looking from the back- tailcase is canted a few degrees clockwise- seems designed in- would be very hard to misalign this boommore than a degree or so

mk

Originally Posted by microkites

would go really light on the blue loctite on this heli- took a little fiddling to get everything all aligned- but hadnt mounted my motor yet- so have to readjust some things

head links were to size- calipered them and were correct lengths

everything on this heli seems adjustable almost- but dont loctite her up until you get everything situated

belt tension adjust ment seems pretty straightfoward- move tailcase out and tighten screws- but I seem to be almost maxed out on the room there- lets hope belt doesnt stretch much- not much more room to tighten it

also looks like it will rub on top and bottom of boom by tailcase- there is no guide pully--

but everything spins free- only thing that is a little tight is my swash ball- and that will loosen over time I think

notice there is a slight cant to the tailcase- looking from the back- tailcase is canted a few degrees clockwise- seems designed in- would be very hard to misalign this boommore than a degree or so

mk

Here is a picture of mine. Is this normal or do I have to re-align my main blocks? The tail doesn't seem to twist much so I would prob need to twist main blocks a little but they seemed centered. I did put loctite on the whole heli as advised, is there any way special to take it apart now that I did or just use brute strength(which I don't have )?

I also noticed the tail belt rubbing at rest, but it seems when rotating it is OK.
Thanks,
Jared

Originally Posted by ForceFedDSM

Here is a picture of mine. Is this normal or do I have to re-align my main blocks? The tail doesn't seem to twist much so I would prob need to twist main blocks a little but they seemed centered. I did put loctite on the whole heli as advised, is there any way special to take it apart now that I did or just use brute strength(which I don't have )?

I also noticed the tail belt rubbing at rest, but it seems when rotating it is OK.
Thanks,
Jared

that seems about angle of mine- think it is designned in to compensate for usual slide when lifting off

shouldnt affect flight negatively - mine is locked in that position too

if your loctite is only few hours cured- should be able to remove screws easy

did you have a problem putting your paddles on flybar? or was that just me?

mk

Originally Posted by microkites

that seems about angle of mine- think it is designned in to compensate for usual slide when lifting off

shouldnt affect flight negatively - mine is locked in that position too

if your loctite is only few hours cured- should be able to remove screws easy

did you have a problem putting your paddles on flybar? or was that just me?

mk

haven't gotten there yet I'll be doing it tomorrow. I don't have calipers yet so I have to use a ruler on the fly bar for now I'll let you know how I make out with the paddles.

Jared

Mine should be here soon as well - though just to spice things up a bit I ordered mine from Flying-kit so it should be a SJM 180(180)

could someone weigh the bare airframe and post the weight, i need to know what i have to work with

phil

Very nice, i can't wait for it to arrive.
What sort of servos are you guys mounting?

This heli is actually available in China slightly earlier than other countries. On top of the slant tail as mentioned, there are two more issues including the uneven blade width and flimsy main gear. Especially for the main gear, it is easy to break during crash or high speed. Some pilots suggested to warp it with a collar.

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