vertical slop in arm

blenderbender · Feb 1, 2018

I had a recent crash and while replacing an arm I noticed something else that I don't believe had anything to do with crashing. One of the other arms I had noticed prior to crashing exhibited a tendency to not want to latch like all the others. It was more difficult to press the button down on the arm to get it to engage. It didn't feel like it clicked into lock position like all the others though I couldn't force it back down with a reasonable amount of pressure. Now that I've twiddled with all the arms while replacing the broken one I've realized that the troublesome arm has a fair amount of play vertically once in locked position. Once locked it has a good 1/4" of up & down slop on the outboard end. I can imagine this might negatively affect flight stability especially during ascending/descending. I'll attach a couple pics but I don't think they clearly show the difference that I can see. Forgive me, I don't know the official names of these parts but will do my best to describe. On the problem arm the 'tab' that sticks out from the inboard end of the arm sticks out a bit further as compared to all the others. It seems otherwise solidly mounted on the arm. The 'steel wedge' on the body side of things which engages this 'tab' appears normal compared to the others. Guess my questions are (1) is the vertical play less important than I think? (2) if it is important I'm fairly clueless what the fix might be.

WaterMainMan · Feb 1, 2018

What's going to matter is the upper limit of travel on that arm. If it's fully up and locked position is 'higher up' than it's counterparts, that's going to produce thrust at a slightly different angle to the vertical than the other motors. This could affect flight, but probably not to the point that the electronics can't compensate. After all, these bad boys can land with a motor totally out. I have one arm on my Typhoon H that has a similar amount of play, but it locks in the same position as the other arms. The lock on that arm can let go if downward pressure is applied. All of the thrust on these arms is either upward or counter to the motor torque though, so there isn't any tendency for the arm to droop in flight. I find it a little annoying, but really not deserving of overhaul as it does not seem to affect flight at all.

Jim

Steve Carr · Feb 2, 2018

WaterMainMan said:
it does not seem to affect flight at all.

As you point out the arm is being lifted when the motor is running.

Hook: Yuneec Typhoon H Arm Hook
Latch: Yuneec Typhoon H Arm Latch

blenderbender · Feb 2, 2018

Steve Carr said:
As you point out the arm is being lifted when the motor is running.

Hook: Yuneec Typhoon H Arm Hook
Latch: Yuneec Typhoon H Arm Latch

Thanks for the links Steve.... why does the latch show 2 screws? I haven't tried to remove a latch yet but I just see one screw on the upper part of the arm which I assume is securing the latch.

blenderbender · Feb 2, 2018

WaterMainMan said:
What's going to matter is the upper limit of travel on that arm. If it's fully up and locked position is 'higher up' than it's counterparts, that's going to produce thrust at a slightly different angle to the vertical than the other motors. This could affect flight, but probably not to the point that the electronics can't compensate. After all, these bad boys can land with a motor totally out. I have one arm on my Typhoon H that has a similar amount of play, but it locks in the same position as the other arms. The lock on that arm can let go if downward pressure is applied. All of the thrust on these arms is either upward or counter to the motor torque though, so there isn't any tendency for the arm to droop in flight. I find it a little annoying, but really not deserving of overhaul as it does not seem to affect flight at all.

Jim

Thanks Jim.... I'll try and decipher if all arms are at the same position vertically.

blenderbender · Feb 2, 2018

Got the H put back together without a hitch (I think)..... tried running the GUI and it launches but crashes with this error:

After several attempts with H plugged in, unplugged, turned on, turned off, powered on before launching GUI, etc., etc., I decided to uninstall / re-download / reboot / reinstall. Everything went smoothly with install / driver install, etc. But upon launching GUI same results.... it launches and after a few seconds the error pops back up and Windows (Win 10) closes program. Searched a bit but didn't find a similar thread.

Gary

blenderbender · Feb 2, 2018

Did some more digging through GUI posts and tried, as another suggested, using the supplied Yuneec cable and that made all the difference. Everything checked out so I think I'm good to go again.

This forum is a wonderful thing

..... lots of folks with lots of experience and willing to help and share!

Steve Carr · Feb 3, 2018

Another member discovered this: Right click the GUI icon and select "Run as Administrator". That seemed to fix the problem.

blenderbender · Feb 3, 2018

Steve Carr said:
Another member discovered this: Right click the GUI icon and select "Run as Administrator". That seemed to fix the problem.

I'll have to try that idea with the longer non-Yuneec cable and see what happens.

CraigCam · Feb 4, 2018

I opted to buy a full arm with motor when I broke the internal push clip on one in a crash. It tore the screw hole for the back screw on the clip so it was not repairable. The arm and motor complete is reasonably priced from Vertigo or Carolina Dronz and makes easy replacement. You’ve got a newer 480 obviously as you have the taped over wires they now do.