The main reason for the spring mod is because there is a little bearing slop in my cheap little plastic swash plate. A higher quality alloy swash plate from an after-market manufacturer such as Lynx might otherwise solve the problem. The other advantage is reducing slop all the way down to the servos with downward pressure on the swash plate. finding the balance between {having enough tension to reduce slop} and {having too much tension that causes excess servo loading and/or reduced positive collective response} is the trick. I was lucky and found a light spring in an automotive carburetor kit and only had to cut the length down to fit the spring (fully compressed) between swash plate and rotor hub during full positive collective.

 

Sure I use alu swash. Penalty is weight. I noticed even different heavier canopy matters.

Anyway brilliant mod. Thx for clarification.

 

I was able to capture a few seconds of hover with hand on throttle only. Still have a slight drift, but not bad for a Nano and a DX4e.

 

Holy heligods! that thing was very solid for a NANO. So the mods seem to really improve the helis stability!

 

I think the most important part was getting the friction out of the F-spindle..... Well balanced blades..... The spring might be helping a little also.

 

Nope...... I couldn't leave it as is. I went by the LHS today and a set of mCPx bullet blades caught my eye. So I shaved the grip ends of the blades down to half thickness to fit the Nano grips, then trimmed length to 6mm short of stock blade length at leading edge tapering out to 2mm short at trailing edge. This little mod has further reduced some of the inherent"twitchiness" aside from all else I've done recently. The thing still has plenty of cyclic authority when I switch the Tx to "high rate" mode.... It's even beginning to sound like a larger heli when those fat blades go to making that whopping noise under hard cyclic! I took on a 35 to 40 kph wind with it earlier.... Fun!

 

In my experience any modification increasing Nano weight deteriorates flight chracteristics.

I use alu swash anyway due to much higher crash resistance.

 

I may go for the AL swash eventually. I haven't really added much weight to my Nano, and it still has plenty of punch for it having stock br motor. Solid 4+ minutes fly time.

 

Have you tried the BL mod kit @utrinque ? If so, what is your opinion of it?

 

I did conversion of many mCP Xes to BL. I got finally mCP X BL.

I did not go BL on Nano... yet. I was busy flying 800

 

I was considering the BL kit, but I'll most likely skip that. It's money that can be better invested on a DX6i or better radio so I can get out from under this DX4e that is limiting me from getting a bigger heli among other factors such as programmability.

 

Skip DX6. Get Taranis and Orange Tx module for micros.

 

Actually, now that you mentioned it, I was looking at a Turnigy 9x, which if I read correctly is made by same company, and will accept the Orange Dsmx module.

 

I have both. Trust me. 9X can be your "first" radio, Taranis can be your "last" radio.

I mean you probably will never need better radio than Taranis.

Buy once or twice it is your choice.

Taranis has it all: Open TX, telemetry, voice, Lua, unlimited models, micro SD slot, gimbals with bearings, backlight, supports up to 32 channels using two Tx modules (one of them can be chosen and put in empty slot at the back) OUT OF THE BOX.

9X can be modified to use Open TX it is cheaper but does not have SD slot, has much slower processor, does not use FrSky Tx module you have to buy it separately.

 

After a solid week of severe weather (storms, tornadoes, flooding, etc) tonight turned out a nice calm evening for some night-flying, so I took the birds out for a run. As luck would have it, "You Know Who" must have decided it was time to pay me a visit just when I was practicing some inversions with the Nano. One thing lead to another, and I end up with 3 broken canopy pins.
.... so now maybe I have an excuse to go for one of those fancy CF frames. I put the Nano away and powered up the 120SR as I needed to cycle all my packs a good one. All went well for awhile, I managed to get a few good night pics before I commenced with some yank-and-bank maneuvers.
.... there is definitely no mistaking the orientation on this one. I brought it back low for a bit and ended up almost getting caught in one of @Crash Heligod 's infamous gravity-tree manifestations, narrowly escaping, only to have my my 120SR mysteriously go into a mad piro-fit. A quick after-crash inspection revealed a cracked tail rotor hub. ......... hmmmm.
..... having spare parts is a wonderful thing! I popped on a new tail rotor and went back at it, successfully finishing all 9 packs. Not a bad night of it, but it came off sounding like a bad recital of The Who's Magic Bus. @Crash Heligod : "I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it". Me: "You caaaaaaaaant have it!". So it is what it is. The Evil one had his way with my Nano, I need to order a main frame in the near future, but no joy for Him- the bird still flies!

 

Nice!.... The 120 SR looks cool flying inside! and the lights look great outside as well! Crash heligod would be attracted to that like a moth to a lighthouse!

 

If I remember correctly CF frame for Nano is heavier than plastic.

Low weight is crucial for Nano.

Please try another solution. It is cheaper and will help you save lower weight.

Simply get thin 1mm CF rod, cut it, glue it in place of canopy pins with small drop of CA glue. Your frame will become virtually and practicelly indestructible.

Let me know if you want photos of this mod.

One more tip... With hot wire or tip of sharp Weller soldering you can make "channels" for CF pins increasing surface for CF glue and final strenght of pin mounting.

5 min job, easy peasy, fun, rewarding...

 

That's the Nano in the indoor pic..... after the canopy pins broke off. The "night shot" above is the 120sr outdoors at about 60m up, making it look smaller.

 

I was thinking along those lines, I haven't actually turned my full attention to it yet. I'll definitely consider your advice.... especially if the CF frame is heavier like you say.