Thursday, August 5, 2010

COLCO/MAPLIN LAMA 5 HELICOPTER ....HOW TO GUIDE

READ THIS ONCE YOU HAVE READ THE MANUAL SUPPLIED WITH THE HELICOPTER.


This guide is intended to introduce you to the COLCO LAMA 5 (sold in the UK by MAPLINasLAMA 5)


IT IS ALSO SOLD BY CENTURY IN THE UK, REELY AND CARSON IN GERMANY and probably a load of others ,., however it is not a german or english helicopter .. it is pure chinese and it really is excellent .. some say better than LAMA V4 from ESKY.. which is pretty good.


It will help you run your helicopter efficiently, explain what the parts do and solve most of the problems that are encountered when flying a model


Mostradio control helicopters are not a toys, they require maintenance and care to keep them flying .. just like the real thing. When we talk of maintenance for this helicopter we mean a little bit of oil or grease here and there and replacing parts as they do wear out. This will be covered later.


The Colco LAMA 5 is a simple helicopter easy to fly and simple to maintain, it has a sliding swashplate (low number of parts), twin motor, twin servo, co-axial blade system (4 blade), it is a real 4 channelhelicopter. it comes with a 4 in 1 receiver unit which controls the speed of the motors (ESC), servos and a gyro for stability.


WHEN YOU GET YOUR HELICOPTER ....


The body of the helicopter is tied in to the box with a tie wrap ..... cut or remove this tie wrap before removing the helicopter ... else you will break the tail. It may seem simple .. but yes it has happened once.


A FEW TIPS.

BATTERY .... do not pull the battery or hold the battery by its wires .. when handling always pick the battery up by the body part.. when plugging and unplugging always use the connectors not the wire. The wires on the battery are fragile and will break if not handled properly. If you putevo stick or some other non conductive filler that hardens to cover the battery end of the wires it will help the longevity of the connections.When you slip the battery in to the helicoper always have the wires facing backwards, when you connect it up to the red connector on the helicopter try and wrap it round the landing gear somehow so there is no slack in the wire .. this will stop it from moving around and in fact shifting the centre opf gravity... if you dont the battery has a tendency to move backwards and the heli will tend to move backwards in the air too due to the shifting weight.


BATTERY STATUS LIGHT

... this section refers to the light on the receiver on the helicopter.


WARNING .. if you discharge the battery too much ... it will not recharge ... at about 3 volts per cell the battery cuts out and will not recharge again.


GREEN - OK


RED -battery partially discharged


RED FLASHING - more discharge...


When the helicopter stops lifting ... recharge the battery


NO LIGHT .. either its disconnected or the battery is dead .. has discharged so much that it may be dead! please read warning message at the beginning of this section.


DO NOT LEAVE THE BATTERY ATTACHED TO THE HELICOPTER WHEN NOT IN USE.. it will discharge as it powers the receiver.


If the blades are going round but the helicopter wont lift anymore then you really need to charge the battery.. if you use it for much longer then you may put it in to a state where the light will go off..at which point it may have discharged too much..... see above (NO LIGHT)


Do not leave the battery plugged in to the charger overnight , do not leave the charger plugged intothe mains, always switch off the power when its not charging. The chargers do get hot and they do have a tendency to overheat and fail if they are left powered for excessive periods of time.


BLADES ....

when ever you hit something the blade will get damage... you can still fly with some damage , however if you do lose chunks of blade i do suggest that you change them.CHANGE THEM IN PAIRS. The A blade goes on top , the B blade on the bottom. If you do fly with chunks outyour heli will tend to fly one way or the other .. sometimes unpredictably.


Blades can be broken in mid air .,.... if you execute a rapid turn or change of direction then the blades with crash into eachother .. normally one of the blades comes off worst and it needs to be replaced. This happens because the top blade is on a flexible mount .. and with sudden movement it doesnt adjust its position quickly enough .. the lower blade comes upwards and cuts it or gets cut. One of the secrets to succesful helciopter control is smooth and small action .. make it all very slow and deliberate.. small and constant movements ofthe joystick and all will be well.



HOW TO

NOTE BEFORE PERFORMING ANY REPLACEMENT OF PARTS ALWAYS UNPLUG AND REMOVE THE BATTERY.


REPLACE BLADES - remove the screws and remove the blades. replace the B blades (ON THE BOTTOM) first , make sure you line up the holes properly from blade to rotor head. Screw the blade down lightly until you cannot screw it any more , do not force it, unscrew by one turn, so that your blades are slightly lose on the rotor head. Repeat what youve just done on the A blades(ON THE TOP). The blades need to be slightly loseor else they will cause unpredictable movement whentaking off because they will not extend fullyimmediately.


REPLACE THE CABIN - Remove the 4 screws (2 left/2 right) and remove, to replace reverse procedure


REPLACE THE TAIL - Remove the 2 lower screws under the tail , remove the 2 upper screws abovethe tail. If you have to move the exhaust pipe while doing this dont worry, they tend to be glued on so it can put back in to place if you move it too much. To replace just put the screws back in.


REPLACE THE BATTERY TRAY - remove the 4screws, the battery tray will fall off , to replace reverse the procedure


REPLACE THE SKIDS - Remove the CABIN,Remove theTAIL, cut the tie wrap, that holds the receiver in place, and remove it. Remove the pipe that holds the aerial wire. Push the aerial wire through the holes in the front of the main chassis and unwind it from the chassis, taking care no to damage or cut the wire.Unscrew all 4 screws holding the skids in place. Remove the Receiver from the main chassis. the receiver is held in place with double sided tape, you will need to use new double sided tapeto get the receiver to be held in place properly. Replace the SKIDS withthe 4 screws and replace the receiver. You need to put the battery wire through the oblong hole in the chassis before putting the double sided tape down, The receiver box needs to be as close to thefront bulkhead of the helicopter main body section as possible, there are some wires that will go in between the receiver and body so leave a space. Makesure the receiver is placed vertically. It has a gyro in it that ensures stability so this isimportant. Place a new tie wrap around the receiver and through thefrontchassis and make it tight. Once again ensure that your receiver is straight and vertical. Wind the aerial around the front chassis membermaking sure you put it through 2 of the 3 holes at the front just so it doesnt come loose. Replacethe aerial wire in the pipe. Now replace theTAIL and the CABIN.


REPLACE THE FLY BAR- Unclip the double hole tie bars from the rotor head, do this by putting a small screwdriver behind them and pushing outwards. Now put a small screwdriver (OO size) under the central pivot and push dwon on the handle of the screwdriver gently. The fly bar will pop out. To replace simply push the central pivot back onto its mount on the headand then push the lower end of the double end tie bar back into place. Make sureyour fly bar is straight and that the weights on the end are screwed tightly in to place every time you fly your helicopter.


REPLACE THE 4 in 1 RECEIVER UNIT. remove the cabin. Unplug the 4 connectors, note how they are connected and which way up they are facing before unplugging. remove the pipe around the aerial. Unwrap the aerial from the chassis. Cut the tie wrap. Place the new 4 in 1 in postion making sure it isvertical and facing straight ahead, replace the tie wrap, make sure it is tight. Wrap the aerial round the small plate at the front of the chassis and push it through 2 of the 3 holes at the front. This is important , so the aerial will not unravel. Before replacing the canopy test that you have put all the plugs back in the right connections. Once you have done that and all the right things happen when you move the sticks put the canopy back on usingthe 4 screws.


REPLACE THE UPPER HEAD- remove the fly bar, unscrew one of the screws you can see on the top of the head, pull it out fully and seperate the 2 halves of the head. This will come away by making it pivot on the second screw. To replace reverse the procedure.


REPLACE THE UPPER SHAFT AND GEAR - It is easier to do this with the skids removed .. however removing the skids is a long process .. so this is the quick way. Unscrew the 2 screws holding the lower gear in place, do not pull them all the way out. hold the lower gear between your fingers and twist the upper head whilst pulling it away from the gear. Once released from thegear the shaft will slide upwards. The shaft may catch the upperbearing, if it does simply pull the bearing away from the shaft and place it back in the little black bearing holder. Push the new upper shaft back through the top bearing and down through the outer shaft. when you get to the bottom it will jam on the lower bearing. Do not force it in, the shaft will drop through the bearing with light pressure whilstturning it.The tricky part is ... getting the 2 screws in the gear to match upon the flatfaces of the shaft. You have to do this visually ... push the gear in to the gap between the skids, bring the shaft down to meet the hole and grab slightly .. you will see the flats on the shaft (do this in bright light it will help)..make sure the 2 screws on the gear are lined up and push the shaft in to the gear. You do need to hold the lower gear to do this (small fingers helps). There should bevery little slop in this assembly. screw up the 2 screws.


REPLACE LOWER HEAD.. remove UPPER SHAFT, remove the top black bearing, unscrew the 2 screws holding the head in place (do not remove them). Pull the lower head up the shaft.. to replace .. reverse. MAKE SURE YOU LINE UP THE HOLES IN THE LOWER HEAD WITH THE HOLES IN THE LOWER SHAFT before screwing them up. Do not over tighten ,, you will strip the thread.


REPLACELOWER SHAFT AND GEAR...remove CABIN, remove TAIL, remove SKIDS, remove UPPER SHAFT, remove LOWER HEAD. Inbetween the swash plate and the top of the black body section you will find a collet with a grub screw. Release the grub screw using a 1.5 allen key, just give it one twist (ie dont take it out).Once removed push thethick shaft through the body section from the top and pull it out of the bottom. Some bearings .. like ther lower body one may be dragged out with it .. be careful not to lose them. To rebuild .. reverse !


MORE SOON !

No comments:

Post a Comment