Living with the CS
John Knox

Construction

1. Very simple construction. The instructions were clear and concise. Although not a glossy quality type print the instructions were well laid out and full of helpful hints and tips, etc.
2. The parts bags followed the instructions exactly. There was not 1 single missing part! Construction time was about 10 hours all up (except canopy painting - ugh!).

Design

1. The model was clearly designed from a highly practical perspective. This is certainly the easiest, and most simple, model I have assembled. Key highlights for me were - CCPM - very simple set up, all radio forward of the mast - tidy and no need for extension leads, tube drive with constant auto - robust and simple, great big fuel tank, excellent clutch and drive mechanism - most robust I've have seen, and the simple, practical, main frame layout.
2. The single slab frames were simple to build and alignment was no problem
3. The head, although plastic (I've gotten over that now) is practical and as slop free as any TSK or Hirobo head I am used too.
4. The links are odd. They require individual fitting using a reaming toll. I had to construct a reaming tool out of an old TSK ball link with a suitable roughed up surface. This tool should have been provided in the kit. Don't even think you can get away without working on the links! Once I did the fitting the result was very pleasing. Time will tell how they wear.
5. Tail gearbox has a plastic housing. The tail rotor mechanism is well designed and supports the pitch slider on both sides. There is a little slop because of the flex in the mechanism and although it does not seam to affect the models performance, would be a natural candidate for an all-metal upgrade in the future.
6. The CS features carbon side frames, tank supports and fins. Although probably an extra expense a carbon boom would have been nice to complete the package.
7. All CNC machined fittings were of excellent quality. Of particular note is the swash plate, boom mounts, bearing blocks, control levers and engine mount. A lot of thought has gone into these essential items.

Equipment.

1. I have used the trusty old OS - WC 61 SX and Hatori type muffler running 15% nitro. With the huge tank I get plenty of airtime without the need for an additional tank on the side. The only problem I have is maintaining a slow head speed in the hover. I think the gear ratios this model uses will not allow the slow hover head speed I'm accustomed too.
2. Blades. I'm using 680mm Zigzaw GP 4's. I've always been a fan of Zigzaw blades and these ones are beautifully made carbon fibre type. They have plenty of capacity in the autos, nice and stable in the hover and good forward speed. I'm using NHP type tail rotors, although I did not notice any improvement in performance over the stock plastic blades, as supplied in the kit, they sure look nice.
3. Radio is PCM 10x, JR DS 8411's for the swash plate, Futaba 601 gyro and matching servo control the back end. I'm sure the JR unit is just as good, but it doesn't say "hello, how would you like your coffee?" When you fire it up! This combination of gear works well. The modern gyros really take the pain out of setting up your radio. I think that by installing a speed controller on the throttle I could get way with using a basic 6-channel transmitter without being disadvantaged at all.

Set Up

1. With the CCPM set to the 140-degree option, I simply set all swash plate servos to centre with all linkages and rods at right angles. Then adjusted the high and low pitch points to suit my flying on the transmitter. I would not recommend using the high rate options for the swash control (affects the position of the 'T' levers to maximise throw to the swash plate). Unfortunately, too late for me and I'm not prepared to pull things apart again to change. All this seams to do is make your servo's work harder by reducing the stroke they need to actuate the swash plate. If you maximise throws with this set up, you simply end up stalling the servos anyway and are forced to reduce the servo travel in the transmitter. Similarly, I reduced the fly bar throw by using the inner holes on the mixing levers. There's plenty of movement this way and no risk of hitting the underside of the head. I'm not sure what angle of attack would stall the paddles, but I think 45 degrees would be close too it!
2. I have used the stock paddles. They work so well that I have cancelled my order for the recommended Hirobo ones. I have left the fly bar weights on and located them about mid way along the fly bar.

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