Piccolo Collective Pitch Conversion Kit.

Congratulations...

On purchasing the amazing collective pitch conversion kit for your Piccolo. With this kit your indoor helicopter is transformed into a highly maneuverable and agile helicopter, whose flight characteristics will astonish you. Fast flights, in a hall or outdoors, leading to aerobatics are now a reality! With a simple 4-channel remote control, flying is easy and satisfying for even the new recruit to RIO helicopter flying. Using a helicopter transmitter, with it’s separate collective pitch channel and throttle control, your Piccolo performs like a far larger helicopter and is capable of not only hovering and circuit flight but advanced aerobatics and 3D maneuvers! Use the features of your heli transmitter to fine tune for your style of flying-even set up your Piccolo for autorotations!

We Guarantee:

For the first 6 months after purchase, that this kit is free from any production or material defects.

Damage caused by misuse or assembly mistakes are not covered by this warranty. As soon as the helicopter is put into operation, the user assumes full responsibility.

Other items you will need to finish your Pitch Conversion (not supplied in this kit):

  • 1,servo.
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    1, 8 cell NiOad — Battery 25OmAh.

  • 1, Y — Lead (for use with 4— Channel remote control).
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    Items we recommend:

  • 1, lkarus Piccoboard — plus.

    1, lkarus G310 Tuning motor.

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    1, lkarus Heading — lock — Module.

  • 1, lkarus Auto-rotation unit (optional).
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    The basics of helicopter flight using the collective conversion...

    We’ve already described details in the Piccolo manual, therefore below you will find just some necessary supplements. With the pitch conversion kit you can control the ascent and decent of the helicopter via the angle of attack from the main rotor blades, rather than through the speed of the blades. Thereby you have two possibilities; to which we refer in this instruction manual.

    1. Combined control of the pitch and speed with one function. For this a 4— channel remote control and a Piccoboard with 4— channels, in conjunction with a Y — lead is all that is needed. The drive motor and the pitch servo are connected via the Y — lead. This is marked in this manual as Ver. I (Version 1).
  • 2) Separate control of speed and pitch. For this you need the Piccoboard Plus and a remote control with at least 5 channels and the possibility of mixing both of the functions. Please look up the corresponding sections in your transmitter manual. Note that the tail mixing must be set to 0, since the Piccoboard takes over this function. With this version you receive an aerobatics-suited helicopter, with which you can perform rolls, loops and even inverted flights. In this version the main rotor speed remains to a large extent constant within the entire pitch range, so that e.g. even steep descents and sharp braking will not cause problems for you. In the manual this version is called Ver. 2 (Version 2)
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    Piccolo Collective Pitch Conversion Kit

    Assembly

  • • Place your Piccolo in front of yourself and remove the battery. The Piccoboard and the wires may (not as drawn) be left in the helicopter.

    • Remove the control links from the swash plate and at the servos.

    • Pull the pin off of the center hub rotor head and remove the head.

    • Remove the silicone sleeve above the upper bearing and pull out the main shaft.

    • Pull the pin out of the main gear wheel and separate the gear from the shaft.

    • Take the longer main shaft (68203) and install the gear wheel with the pin.

    • Put the main shaft back through the two ball bearings and fasten them with the new locking ring (68204). Since, during aerobatics, negative forces occur you should secure the locking ring additionally with a drop of CA-glue.

    • Glue on the extension of the swash plate guide (68225) as drawn. Make sure that no adhesive goes into the guide slot!

    • Put the M2 x 10 screws (68217) through the branches of the pitch slider case (68211)

    • Push one silicone spring tube piece (68202) over the screw and then screw on to the control rods (68223). Make sure that the silicone spring lengths are the same on both sides once compressed. The silicone spring should be compressed to 4mm for version I (4-channels), and 5mm for version 2 (5-channels).

    • Move the swash plate (68224) from below onto the pitch case, likewise the new bearing retainer (68207).

    • Then push on the bearing (68205) until it locks into position.

    • Next, put two flanged bearings (68206), as drawn, into the hole of the pitch bell crank (68212). Then bolt them together to the rotor head (68214). Please note the fact that you are tightening metal screws into plastic parts! Thus, please do not over tighten the screws. If you tighten too firmly, you can damage the rotor head, or worse still make it unusable.

    • Put 2 ball bearings 2x6x3, (67566) into the blade holder (68228).

    • Then put a hexagon socket screw M2 x 12 through the stocks and screw them together onto the rotor head. The drive pin of the blade holder must locate in the slotted hole of the pitch bell crank. Please tighten these screws firmly.

    • Put the Fly-bar (68208) through the rotor head and screw the control levers (68209) on both sides. Please pay attention here, for vibration free operation this must ~it accurately in the centre.

    • When tightening the control levers (as drawn)ensure that it is done in such a way that their top side (on both sides) lies parallel to the upper edge of the rotor head.

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    Note: Since the new Fly-bar is made of steel, due to tensional rigidity, the ends must be roughened up with sandpaper before the assembly of the paddles.

  • • Bolt the paddles (67371) to the Fly-bar (68208). Likewise, here the paddles must be setup in the horizontal position. The upper edges of the control levers should be parallel to the upper edge of the rotor head.

    • Glue the servo mount plate (68218) into the triangular recess on the chassis.

    • Slide the pre-assembled swash plate unit down over the main shaft.

    • Put the pitch drive ring (68210) over the pitch linkage (68220) and press both on the ball bearing of the pitch case.

    • Now put the centre hub of the rotor head onto the main shaft and fasten it with the pin.

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    Piccolo Collective Pitch Conversion Kit

    Mounting and setting up the pitch and pitch servo.

    Ver. 1. Separate the plug of the main rotor function from the receiver. Now connect the Y-lead to the receiver and also the pitch servo and main speed controller plugs.

    Ver. 2. Please pay attention to the channel specification for your transmitter. Put pitch servo and throttle function into their respective channels.

  • • Separate the leads of both motors from the Piccoboard, switch on your transmitter and connect the battery to the Piccoboard.

    • Move the throttle/ pitch stick to the central position.

    • Make sure that you have the right length servo arm on your servo (see drawing).

    • Move the throttle stick to full power position on the transmitter

    • Connect the pitch linkage to the hole in the pitch servo arm.

    • Move the pitch case by vertically moving the servos.

    • Move the servo (carefully, without force) as high as possible, until the pitch case rests against the centre hub of the rotor head. In this position, glue the servo onto the pitch servo mount (68218).

    • When the glue has dried, bring the throttlelpitch stick on the transmitter into the middle position

    • Move the transmitter trims for the fore’n’aft and roll function to the centre position.

    • Disconnect the battery again from the Piccoboard and switch off the transmitter.

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    The higher acceleration forces which occur with the Pitch-Piccolo require additional protection

    for the rotor head.

  • • Place the locking clip (68214) over the central hub

    • Put the two ball bearings 2x6x3 (67566) onto the central hub.

    • Clip the pre-mounted rotor head as usual onto the ball bearings.

    • Shift the locking clip upward, until both locking hooks catch and locate into position in the rotor head. Afterwards, clip both of the pitch control rods from the inside into the pitch bell cranks. Here you will also hear the snap locks click as they lock into position.

    • Mount the ant-rotation link (67366) into position, so that the sharp edge around the ball housing is inside as drawn

    • Press the ball housing onto a ball with the short lever from the inner ring of the swash plate.

    • Mount the (68222) control bars first on the balls on the long levers of the swash plate inner ring, then on the seesaw links. Also here, the sharp edge of the control bars point inwards to the balls.

    • Take off the ball links from your old servo linkages and put them onto the new, longer linkages (68219) and (68221).

    • Put the swash plate into the horizontal position and put the linkages into the middle holes of the servo horns.

    • Alter the linkages, if necessary by bending the "V" in the linkages to the length needed, until the swash plate with linkages installed, is accurately in the horizontal position.

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    Assembling the blades

    The rotor blades of the Pitch-Piccolo are optimized concerning profile and centre of gravity.

    Please take time and care with this process!

    The following steps have to be executed for both of the rotor blades.

  • • Straighten if necessary the lead bars by rolling them on a flat surface. The lead provides the optimal position for the centre of gravity for these Blades.

    • Place a lead bar into the prefabricated slots of each Blade. Position the bar in such a way, that it does not stand out anywhere over the outline of the profile.

    • Now glue carefully from both sides.

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    Caution, the lead must under no circumstances be able to come loose during flight operation!

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    Piccolo Collective Pitch Conversion Kit

     

    Blade covering -

    You will find self-adhesive covering film in this kit for covering the new rotor b4ades. You can

    also use different coloured coverings. We recommend ProTrim adhesive covering, which is

    available in many colours at your local model shop.

  • • Take the adhesive film and peel off the protective plastic backing -

    • Put the covering with the sticky side upward on a smooth, even base.

    • Hold the rotor blade in the same position as drawn, approx. 2cm over the covering, and lower it carefully, rear edge first,

    • If it’s in the right position, then press it lightly and carefully onto the film from the rear edge forward, until the covering on this side of the blade (the profile top side) is stuck on.

    • Wrap the short 4mm edge of film ail the way over to the other side of the blade and press and stick the film down.

    • Bring the long end of the film neatly, all the way over from the front of the blade to the back end of the blade.

    • When you’re happy with the result press and stick the film down. The sticking strength of the foil can be increased by heating (with a heat iron on low level) in the same way small creases can be removed.

    • Place the blade with the profile top facing up.

    • Glue the bade-Ferrule into the bade from the top using a small amount of CA-glue.

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    Balancing the Main Rotor Blades

    Now the main rotor blades must be balanced.

  • • Hold the blades together as drawn

    • Put the M2-studding through the blade roots.

    • Use two M2 nuts, one each side of the blades and tighten to one side of the studding as shown.

    • Dismantle the tail rotor unit by pulling off the main output shaft and tail rotor drive gear. Bearings remain in the tail rotor housing.

    • Place the M2 studding with the blades attached through the bearings on the tail rotor unit. Use this device now as a blade balancer.

    • Work out which of the blades is lighter

    • Using the black tracking tape supplied, place a strip around this blade at the tip. It will probably be necessary to use a small amount of film on the opposite blade tip to achieve the correct balance point.

    • Once you have achieved this you can re-assemble your tail unit and remove the studding from your blades.

    • Mount your main rotor blades to your Piccolo helicopter using the M2x12 (68216) bolts and stop nuts (67583). Tighten these carefully so that they are firm but not too tight.

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    Also the black tracking tape you have used on one blade will assist you when fine tuning and tracking your Piccolo.

    Before the next steps, please make sure you have fully charged batteries, all plug connections are checked and you have connected the motors.

    Trimming setup for first flight

    Your new rotor head is much more agile than before. Therefore it is advisable to place the fore’n’aft (68219) and roll (68221) linkages into the middle hole of the servo arms or check the throw of the servo arms with your transmitter (70% movement). There are two possible versions, as described at the beginning:

    ie,. I Combined control of pitch and speed.

    Special notice must he taken of these two points -

  • • Distance X needs to be setup at the pitch link (68220) as illustrated
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  • The pitch servo has to fit so that the pitch slider (68211) goes up to the centre hub at maximum power, as illustrated. The collective main adjustment is done this wzy.
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    • Though you can set up and use your system optimally, we recommend V. 2.

    Ver. 2 Separate control of speed and pitch.

    Therefore a 5 channel transmitter with corresponding program possibilities is necessary.

  • • Program the throttle and pitch so that they are linear

    • Set up your hovering revolutions to 1700 RPM.

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    • Therefore the following components and adjustments are necessary

  • • Tuning motor G310

    • 8 cell Nicad—25O Mah

    • Piccoboard Plus

    • Heading-lock module

    • Autorotatión Main drive gear (available soon)

    • Distance X at pitch link 4.5mm

    • Hovering revolution 1650 RPM /Acrobaticflight 1750 RPM

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    • Now check the correct function of the throttle and pitch servo

    Motor Off — Pitch slider down

    Max power — Pitch slider up

    Before first flight, the tracking of the main rotor blades must be checked and if necessary, adjusted.

  • • Feed the throttle slowly, and increase the head speed until just before take off.

    • Look at the tips of the rotor blades, and take note of which blade is flying high.

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    • In the example shown, the dark blade is at the highest level. Stop your motor and remove the batteries for safety.

    Now adjust the pitch angle of the high running blade. The pitch angle is controlled by the mixer arm (68212) and the mixer aml links (68223) connected to the main rotor b4ade holder (66228). lighten the screw on the high running blade, into the mixer arm link.

    B, careful, I complete turn of the screw = 1 cm of tracidng adjustment.

    If the tracking difference is more than 1 cnI, w~ recommend that you not only set up the higher running blade, but also raise the lower running blade (screw out the mixer arm link screw).

  • • Check the tracking again, and repeat as required until the blades are aligned.

    • Hover your Piccolo, and check the tracking. This is best done with an assistant who can concentrate on the tracking while you are controlling your Piccolo.

    • When you are happy that the tracking is OK. you are ready for your first full flight.

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    • P/ease note that with Version 1, negative pitch cannot be reduced, therefore you may find your first flights are sensitive. Please familiar/se yourself with this characteristic before attempting fast manoeuvres.