RCU Review: Graupner Starlet - 50

 RCU Review: Graupner Starlet - 50 More On This Product
Show user ratings Check for Retailers Contributed by: Eric Balay | Published: November 2005 | Views: 48533 |
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Review by: Eric Balay
Specifications
Assembly
Flight Report Summary
Manufacturer Info
Graupner Starlet 50
Distributed exclusively by: V-East/Graupner Heim U.S.A.
P.O. Box 35-7684
Gainesville, FL
32635-7684
U.S.A
Phone: (352) 371-3132
Website
Email
Graupner/Heim has been producing helicopters for many years,
and they are very popular in Europe and have led the way with
many technological breakthroughs over the years. The Starlet
50 is no exception to this and benefits from the many models
that have come before it. The Starlet 50 is an open frame design
based on Graupner's UNI EXPERT mechanics. Powered by a .46 to .50-size heli engine, the Starlet is primarily
for the novice heli pilot although it is a capable aerobatic
performer well suited for the more advanced pilot. A unique
feature of the Starlet is that there is an upgrade path to
Graupner's UNI-EXPERT mechanics or the
UNI-MECHANICS 2000 opening up the possibility of using
the mechanics in many of the scale fuselages that Graupner
offers. There certainly aren't many helicopters out there with
this feature in its basic design. Starlet Video CLICK HERE to Watch
Part Quality
Performance
Ease of Assembly
Kit Name: Graupner Starlet 50, part #4445
Price: $425.00 USD Rotorspan: 52.6" (1336mm) Length: 53.6 " (1361mm) Height: 16.8" (427mm)
Flying Weight (as tested): 8.8 pounds Engine: OS 50 SX-HG
Radio Used: Futaba 14MZHP w/ R5014 DPS receiver Gyro Used: Futaba GY401 w/ 9253 tail servo
Servos Used: JR DS811 Digital (4)
Also available for the Graupner Starlet: Aerobatic ability
Durability
Price
Manual
Instruction Manual Compact CCPM Controls
Quality Parts Glow Plug Access Poor Nose Weight Needed 6mm hex start adapter #4448.103 ($49.15) Aluminum swashplate #1234 ($69.78) 3D Flybar paddles
Tuned pipe #1783 ($90.29) Exhaust header #2259 ($59.95) Tube tail drive
Carbon tail pushrod #4447.16 ($14.26) Straight tail boom Kit Contents OS .50 Engine Graupner Ultra Blades Flybar Paddles Tuned Pipe Set Upgraded Swashplate The Starlet kit is available in two versions, the basic kit (part #4445) without engine, or as a
complete kit (part #4446) including an O.S. .50SX-H heli engine with a tuned pipe exhaust system
and a set of Graupner Ultra fiberglass main rotor blades. The copter being reviewed here is the
complete kit. The kit is well packaged. The parts are plastic bagged and numbered to correspond with the assembly
steps in the detailed and illustrated building manual. The main sections of the model are formed from
fiberglass-reinforced nylon. This chassis material offers many advantages over aluminum. In the
event of a crash, aluminum parts bend and crack, sometimes leaving tiny fractures that are hard to
see. The nylon will either survive the crash or break, making crash damage very obvious. Nylon
frames are also good at absorbing vibration, which can prolong the life of expensive radio electronics.
Our review kit includes an O.S. 50SX heli engine, a matching tuned pipe with header, and a set of
beautiful 600mm Graupner Ultra fiberglass rotor blades (pre-balanced). You only need to supply a
heli radio system with 120-degree CCPM mixing and a gyro to complete this bird. Unfortunately the
decals to decorate the canopy are not provided in the kit, although they can be ordered if desired.
Graupner was also kind enough to supply an upgraded metal swashplate and lighter flybar paddles,
which were put to use. Checking The Fit Tail Drive Unit Clean Those Bolts Auto Bearing & Gear Roll Pin Sub-Assembly
The Starlet is built as subassemblies, which in turn are assembled to each other. This makes it easy
to check that each unit is properly built before continuing with assembly. It is important to check that
the inner races of the ball bearings are firmly secured to their respected shafts. If not, the shafts will
eventually wear, causing vibration and possibly RF noise. If the shaft supports a gear, its mesh will
also be compromised. Graupner thoughtfully provides a bottle of Loctite 603 bearing retainer fluid,
which guarantees that the inner race of the bearing holds firmly on the shaft. It's also a good idea to
clean all bolts that require Loctite with alcohol or thinner. You'd be surprised how dirty they can be. Assembly starts with the tail rotor drive unit. The substantial shaft is supported by two ball bearings
on each side of the bearing block making for a bulletproof unit. One end of the shaft has the take-off
coupling and the other a bevel gear that engages the main gear. The shaft has two flat spots ground
in it so the setscrews that hold the bevel gear onto the shaft really grip. Thin shim washers are
provided to eliminate any endplay for a smooth turning assembly.
Next is the layshaft assembly. This shaft is also supported by a couple of bearings and the 15-tooth
pinion gear is an integral part of the shaft. After the bearings are positioned (make they are oriented
correctly) the gear that houses the autorotation one-way bearing and sleeve is attached to the top of
the shaft with a roll pin. Before fully inserting the pin, all endplay must be removed using the
provided shim washers. Work carefully tapping the roll pin into place; it's a very tight fit. Gears, Gears, Gears Anti-Rotation Bracket Unshielded Bearings Before building the chassis, the swashplate guide and main shaft need to be prepped. A large E-clip is
installed into a machined groove in the shaft and there are a couple of points of note. First, it's
important not to overstress the E-clip during installation; E-clip pliers are the best tool for this job.
Second, the inner face of the E-clip has a rounded side while the other side is sharp; the sharp side
must face up toward the top of the shaft. The two main shaft bearings are placed in the plastic lower bearing flange and upper bearing flange,
which also serves as the swashplate anti-rotation bracket. These bearings are not shielded, so pay
careful attention to their condition if your flying site is dusty. Now take the subassemblies (tail rotor drive, layshaft, main shaft and swashplate guide) and bolt
them to the chassis. The main drive gear is slid onto lower end of the main shaft and held in place by
a dowel pin that fits in a recess on the underside of the main gear. The shaft and main gear must be
adjusted so that there is no endplay by placing shim washers between the E-clip and the top of the
top main shaft bearing. Don't worry if the gear mesh is a little on the tight side, it'll quickly wear in
so that it's nice and smooth after the first couple of tanks of fuel have been run through the engine. Most heli enthusiasts are upgrade junkies and I'm no exception. The stock Starlet swashplate is an
all-plastic affair with a brass center ball. This is the standard Graupner unit, but we were thrilled with
the upgraded all aluminum swash provided as a bonus for the review model. An unusual feature is
the configuration of the balls. Graupner figures that some modelers will want to eventually try their
hand at scale and use a scale multi-blade head. Looking at the swashplate, you can see that it can
be used for a 2, 3 or 4-blade head. You only need to remove the washout unit and replace it with a
swashplate driver. The optional all-metal swashplate is a beautifully machined unit that is completely
assembled and ready for installation. Like the stock unit, the metal swashplate is configured for a
standard 2-blade or for a multi-blade head.
Lower Chassis Clutch Assembly Bolt on the Engine Hex Start Adapter Got Air Filter? The Frames With the chassis built, attention can be turned to the engine and clutch assembly. The engine must
have a long ground 8mm crankshaft (most European designed helicopters require this feature). The
clutch bell is a nylon fiberglass reinforced unit supported by 2 bearings. A fibrous liner is factory
installed for the clutch to grab. The clutch rides on a split-tapered collet that grips the engine's crank.
The cooling fan sits on top of the clutch and the whole affair is secured to the engine via the
crankshaft nut. A unique feature of Graupner helicopters is that the cooling fan serves double duty as
the contact point for the electric starter. This eliminates the need for a start shaft on the heli. I chose
to use the optional hex start shaft adapter, as is common with my other models. Now is a good time
to attach a ball to the carburetor arm for the throttle pushrod; trying to attach it later would be
difficult as access is limited. Before mounting the engine, make sure to install the 4 washers between the engine lugs and the
engine mounts. These washers properly set the gear mesh between the clutch bell and the
autorotation gear. A Bru-Line air filter was fitted to extend the life of the OS 50, before it was
wrapped up in the cooling shroud. I had to trim the carburetor opening on the shroud slightly so the
carb and air filter wouldn't rub. The lower chassis assembly can now be built and attached to the upper chassis. Just make sure to
follow the drawings and install each part correctly. If you don't, things won't line up properly later.
The lower chassis assembly is not as rigid as I would prefer. It is likely that the flexibility in the lower
chassis was intended to provide additional vibration absorption when using the Starlet mechanics in a
scale fuselage, but as a pod and boom model, the lower frames will be one of the first parts to break
during a rough landing. I believe that the durability of the helicopter would be greatly improved with
the use of composite lower frame members to increase rigidity (although V-East informs us that the
flexible frame is designed to absorb resonance). A remote glow plug adapter is included in the kit,
which is now assembled and installed. Plumb and fit the large fuel tank and attach the gyro tray. The
fuel tank is simply rubber banded in place so it can be easily removed to gain access to the glow plug.
This completes the chassis assembly. Main Head Parts Main Rotor Head Tail Gear Box Parts Grease The Gear Box Tail Rotor Head Parts Tail Rotor Assembly Building the substantial rotor head is straightforward and easy. A solid feathering shaft, ball bearings
and a thrust bearing support the grips for long service life and two O-rings support the feathering
shaft. The grips are built first by gluing brass bearing sleeves into the mixing levers and then
screwing them to the grips. Insert the bearings into the inner end of the grips and the cup of the
thrust make sure they are fully seated. Now lube the O-rings with a silicone based lubricant and
press them into the rotor hub. Slide feathering shaft through the hub and center it making sure the
O-rings remain seated. Turn the hub so the feathering shaft is vertical and place a shim washer on
the shaft followed by a blade grip making sure the grip is oriented correctly. Assembly of the tail
rotor head is similarly logical. Don't forget to add grease to the tail gear box before inserting the
input shaft.
The stock kit includes a wire tail drive housed in an aluminum tail boom, with a canted forward
section. This slightly angled portion of the boom forces the spinning drive wire to follow the curve,
which keeps the wire from vibrating out of line. For our review model, Graupner generously included
a straight boom, ball bearing supported carbon tube drive and carbon tail rotor control pushrod, all
which provide more solid tail control for the budding aerobatic pilot. Don't forget to add the 3 short sheet metal screws that prevent the tail boom from sliding out of the
plastic housings at the rear of the main frame, the tail gear box and the boom support clamp ring.
The boom housing at the rear of the main frame that clamps the tail boom is only 10mm long, which
is hardly sufficient support. Thus, the boom supports on the Starlet are absolutely essential, as are
those little screws that secure the 3 boom clamp members to the tail boom. I added additional
screws at these points for security. Heavy Duty Servo Arms Servo Layout Gyro Mount Shrink Wrap Connectors Switch Bracket Ready To Go In Living Color CCPM Settings Throttle Curve
Balancing Act
Weigh-In Time
Let's Go Fly! The Starlet uses electronic 120-degree CCPM mixing to control the swashplate, so it's very important
that you use three matching servos and identical servo arms. I used three JR DS811 digital servos
and heavy-duty JR servo arms. The balls need to be spaced at least 18mm from the center of the
servo arm. The elevator servo should be installed first as its installed inside the chassis; if the roll servos are
installed first, you won't have access to the elevator servo. Now mount the two roll servos and plug
all three into the receiver and center the throttle/collective stick. Be sure that your transmitter is set
to three-servo 120-degree mixing. Now install the servo arms making sure that they are exactly
horizontal. It's OK to use very small amounts of sub trim to achieve this. Now make up the pushrods
to the lengths stated in the manual and attach them to the servo arms and swashplate and check the
operation of the swashplate. It should rise and fall with the throttle/collective stick without any
interaction. Also check that left is left, right is right, etc. When all is working correctly, install the
throttle and rudder servos and hookup the throttle pushrod. Adjustment of the tail rotor pushrod
follows the gyro installation.
I mounted the Futaba GY401 gyro to the rear gyro platform mount, using double stick foam tape.
After making the necessary endpoint adjustments with the gyro potentiometer, I added a few wraps
of electrical tape to the unit to further secure it to the helicopter should the foam tape fail. If the
foam tape comes apart (from exposure to exhaust residue) and sends your gyro bungee-jumping,
you'll quickly find your precious helicopter pinwheeling towards the ground like a home-sick ditch
witch. The electrical tape is cheap insurance against this catastrophe. Install the receiver, battery and switch. As you route the servo leads through the chassis and around
the main shaft, make sure that they do not rub against any moving parts. Graupner includes spiral
wrap in the kit to protect the servo leads. The aperture for the receiver switch was too large for my
Futaba switch harness. I found an old servo tray in my junk pile that I modified to make my switch fit
the opening. As I do with any on-board connector, I added heat shrink tubing to prevent the battery
from accidentally being disconnected from the switch. The Futaba 14MZ radio has many options for adjusting the servo response of CCPM helicopters. I
made a few adjustments to these settings as needed to resolve any control interaction. The 14MZ
transmits servo signals in groups (as opposed to the standard sequential channel signal
transmission), commanding each servo in that group simultaneously to a desired position. I grouped
the three swashplate servos together to eliminate any possibility of control delay during a swashplate
command. Even with the additional weight of a 4-cell 2000 mah Sub-C receiver pack, I found the
center-of-gravity to be tail heavy. Affixing a portly 1" diameter, 2" long piece of solid steel to the
front of the main frame assembly was necessary to balance the Starlet. A final check of the
ready-to-fly weight (minus the fuel) was 8.8 pounds, which puts this 50 sized machine on the heavy
side of the line-up.
Air Time
Our OS 50 ran smoothly, despite being set on the
rich side, as it was new. The tuned pipe sounded
great, and the exhaust streaming from the far
rear of the model kept oil away from the
mechanics. The add-on hex start adapter
requires the use of a starter wand with a
one-way bearing. The Starlet is primarily intended for the recent
graduate of the training gear, and thus the pilot
can expect basic aerobatic capability when
twiddling the sticks. As with any CCPM helicopter,
you might need to tweak the radio settings to
eliminate any control interaction between the
cyclic and collective inputs.
The long tail moment of the Starlet results in
slower yaw rates, but I found the cyclic response
to be quite peppy when using the grey flybar
paddles. I added some exponential and a set of
flybar weights to tame the rotor head. Our collective pitch range is set to give -5 to +10
degrees of pitch in normal mode, and -10 to +10
degrees in idle-up 2. This range is at the limit of
the mechanical capability of the Starlet. At full
collective pitch extremes, cyclic pitch input is
compromised, but full 3D control setup is beyond
the intention of the design. Autorotation performance is good, although the
symmetrical Graupner Ultra blades would auto
better with a tad more mass. The included driven
tail mechanism affords tail control during the
auto. See the Graupner Starlet in action!
Small Video ------- Large Video The Graupner Starlet is aimed at the beginner market, but can serve double duty as a basic aerobatic
trainer. The compact CCPM design with narrow two-stage gear reduction lends itself well for use in
cramped scale fuselages. In pod and boom livery, the Starlet needs some nose weight to balance. The
tuned pipe adds power, yet is quiet and the aft exhaust keeps the model clean. 3D style aerobatics
are not within the Starlet's repertoire, but loops, rolls, stall turns, autos and inverted flight capability
allow new pilots to showcase their skills. Removal of the fuel tank to service the glow plug is
inconvenient, but not hard to do. Assembly of the kit is straightforward, and the detailed instruction
manual is quite helpful. Graupner Starlet 50 Helicopter
Distributed exclusively by:
V-East / Graupner Heim U.S.A.
P.O. Box 35-7684
Gainesville, FL
32635-7684
U.S.A
Phone: (352) 371-3132
Website: www.v-eastonline.com
email: info@v-eastonline.com
Comments on RCU Review: Graupner Starlet - 50
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The comments, observations and conclusions made in this review are solely with respect to the particular item the editor reviewed and may not apply
generally to similar products by the manufacturer. We cannot be responsible for any manufacturer defects in workmanship or other deficiencies in
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