Gotta break out the old man glasses for this build.
Ricco has brass balls!
14T pinion installed for initial flight testing and 'low speed front yard flying'. It has been said it will not hold up to the power of the AXI /20 and harder aerobatics.
This photo clearly shows the bright 'rub mark' on the spacer. It will eventually wear itself in, but it does rub. It also shows two bearings on the right. This is INCORRECT (my mistake). It should be a bearing on the outside, and a bushing/spacer on the inside.
This has the correct stackup of bearings, bushing, and spacer. I added a bit of silicone grease in there before closing it up.
TTT! Tiny Tail Slider.
More tiny parts, more use of the old man glasses. Tail grip bearing had a burr on the inner race, bolt did NOT want to go through.
Awww, what a cute little spindle and o-rings. :)
What the heck is this thing? It will make sense later. Note the position of the "hump" on Y0311 (the Y-shaped thing). This is oriented upside-down compared to the manual. I read in a build thread that if you install it per the manual, it will hit the anti-rotation bracket during aggressive cyclic moves. This seems to be a point of disagreement, as Pete at ElektroRC.com says it won't actually hit in flight. It fits fine in either orientation, so choose your position and move on.
Another photo showing the non-standard orientation of Y0311.
Now it starts to make sense! You can also see here how the hump on Y0311 might hit the AR bracket if left hanging down. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)
Here it is, all parts snugged down and roughly in the "zero pitch" position. It's easy to see if things are lined up with this head design!
It's starting to look like a helicopter! I couldn't resist bolting on the blades and paddles for a quick spin test. The SE actually came with light paddles and CF blades, but these are the plastic blades and weighted paddles from the standard Ricco kit for "calm flying".
Wires are a tight fit going through the frame. Slight relief cut in the frame helps.
Here's the cut on the other side.
Hyperion DS09 servos are almost too deep. Shimming or other creativity will be required to avoid interference with the arms on the forward servos. Darn. HS-55, Hyperion DS11 or other same-size servos are a perfect fit.
You can see the pushrod is not vertical. Clevis is in a slight bind, but appears to move freely. I don't like it, but without changing servos or installing a ball link I can't fix it.
Success! A 2mm bolt with head cut off, and a drilled out Blade 400 link and ball did the trick.
Here's the canopy after some airbrush time. Paint is Apple Barrel acrylic, thinned with Windex and applied to the inside of the canopy.
It's not perfect, but looks pretty good if I do say so myself. :)
Color scheme is a departure from my usual orange/yellow. I've read that the human eye can see greens better in low light conditions, but I have no proof of that yet.
Here's Ricco, posing in the driveway. Plastic blades and heavy paddles are fitted.
Ricco. Suave. Check out the bling from that gold AXI motor. :)
Here's lookin' at you.
Photo by Liz. Excellent shot!
379g with the carbon blades and Hyperion 850mah pack.
