Haha, had a good laugh there! The replacement tail gearbox is in the mail (along with some T connectors for the skids), and should be here any day now. They are planning to change their lubrication procedure at the factory as well. I've been working on a replacement set of blades in the mean time, and thought I'd show how I mod my blades to a more accurate profile.
Started with a brand new set of the 500mm Zeal Blades. These were the closest in length and aspect ratio that I could find to fit with a Huey. The forces on blade blade at my headspeed (1750 rpm) are a fraction there of what they are at 3D headspeeds. I will say that I don't officially recommend this, and the blade manufacturer would probably not be happy with me, but it can be safe if done carefully. I've done it previously to other blades without any issues.I also split apart one of the crashed blades to get a better look at the structure. The top 2 Blades are from the accident.
A closer look at the structure. Each blade has a metal rod leading edge spar, and embedded tip weights. These are bonded to both the spar and the carbon skin. Ideally, you wont need to cut through either of these when removing the rounded tips.
Locations for cuts marked out on the blades. You want to get the cut as far out as possible, more blade diameter = more efficiency. Up to 500mm blades fit with no problem clearing the tail rotor.
Blades trimmed with a Dremel cutoff wheel. Starting to look more Huey-like. Go over the cut VERY carefully looking for any lengthwise cracking or delam of the carbon near the cut. If it looks like even a bit of an issue, don't chance it.
After sanding to clean up the cut, I applied 2 plys of fiberglass over the tip and bonded with some thin CA. It forms a very quick and solid bond to the tip surface.
Blade tips glassed, trimmed, and sanded. I then filled the remaining weave with rustoleum high build primer for a smooth finish. This is also a good time to check and adjust blade balance before final paint.
One of the final steps was creating spacers. The head uses 3mm bolts, while the blades have 4mm holes. I found some tubing on McMaster Carr with a 3mm I.D and 4mm O.D. and cut it to the correct lengths. Fits perfectly inside the blade mounting holes.
A few coats of paint, and you have a set of nice, scale-looking Huey blades! I do recommend inspecting them regularly as part of your preflight. A few restrained ground runs won't hurt either. And if you have any sort of tip strike, even in soft dirt, replace the blade. The disadvantage of this mod is that you loose the durability afforded by those solid rounded tips.
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