HeliDirect Super Frame V2 - by Jeff Quayle 19/04/2006

The following is a review the HeliDirect Super Frame V2. I'd like to thank Steve at HeliDirect for providing this unit for review.

So how does a company with no experience designing helicopter parts come out with an incredibly well designed frame at an unheard of price? You find the best frame you can and copy it! Although that is not exactly the case, it's not too far off either. This frame is a knock-off of the Heliup Carbon frame which is widely considered one of the best frame ever for the T-Rex. The side frames and bottom are exact copies, with the exception of a crossbar on the back of the bottom plate which was removed but it is now back in the latest frame versions. However there are differences between this and the Heliup frame. Some are improvements, others are corner cutters. One of the most obvious differences is that the HD frame is made from G10 instead of carbon fiber. G10 is a composite material like that used to make circuit boards. The total weight of this frame is 90 grams vs. 81 grams for the Heliup. G10 is very strong, rigid, light but does not conduct electricity unlike carbon fiber. Although carbon fiber is widely though of as the best choice for frames. G10 is probably a better choice of material. The advantage of a few grams of weight saving on a CF frame over G10 is quickly lost if you have a glitch or lockout from RF interference from the carbon fiber that results in a crash. All of the anodized bits are made from 7075 aluminum which is stronger then the 6061 commonly used in other frames.

The frame comes unassembled and with no documentation. Hopefully this review/build will be detailed enough to use as a set of instructions if needed. Let's take a look at what you get:

 

The Heliup frame was a revolutionary design when it came to market. It offered a perfect 120° servo layout for CCPM. Each servo is equally spaced and are all orientated the same direction. This provides total uniform movement of the swashplate throughout the collective range with no swash deflection that can be caused by uneven linkage rods lengths or linkages at different angles to the swash. The Heliup frame was designed to only be used with Hitec HS-56 servos. Although the HeliDirect frame has holes to allow multiple types of servos to be used, the layout was copied from the Heliup design. Since the offset of the HS56 servos are drastically different them most servos, using anything else will likely result in linkages rods being at a much greater angle, or even servo arms that bind against the frame. The Super Frame does sport a receiver tray which the Heliup lacks. I've found this a very nice addition, although since it only attaches at a single point, you might find that it has a greater chance of tilting town or becoming loose. The receiver tray has an hourglass shape with 2 tabs to hook a rubber band on for use in securing the receiver. Because of the hourglass shape, I found these very difficult to use. I rectangular tray with tabs would have been a better choice in my opinion. The Lipo tray also has tabs, but these are very easy to use and work well.

Build

I found the easiest way to build this frame was to bolt everything to one side and verify that everything was correct before just attaching the remaining side. It also works very well for illustration purposes. There are 2 different size crossbars. The larger 3 are used to attach the bottom plate and the smaller 3 are used to attach the lipo tray and receiver tray.

 

The three smaller cross bars are all used to support the battery tray and receiver tray.

 

The upper and lower bearing blocks are different. The upper block should have the bearing inserted from the top and the lower block should have the bearing inserted from the bottom. Take special note of how the bearing blocks are installed. If you accidentally flip them 180° the main gear will not mesh with the tail drive assembly. A large part of the delay in this review was because of the rear tail drive assembly. On both the V1 and V2 units shipped to me I was unable to get the drive assembly to fit properly in the tail drive bearing blocks and line up with the holes in the frame. It was about 1-1.5mm too tall about would bind horribly if you tried to force it. The first set of HD blue gears also didn't solve the problem. This was baffling to Steve and myself as there were no other reports of problems with the spacing. Steve eventually sent me another tail drive assembly and this one dropped right in and fit like a glove.

 

The boom clamp design is much different then the highly acclaimed design of the Heliup, however I have not had any problems with the holding power. The design is very similar to the Ark X400 with long screws that pull both sides of the clamp together. The boom clamps have threads on one side and are smooth on the other. You will use the 4 long screws to secure feed thru one side of the boom blocks and they will thread into the opposite side. If you mount the boom clamp like I have in this picture, you will adjust the tension of the boom clamp using the screws on the left side of the frame once completed.

 

The frame comes with a longer shaft ring that you will need to use instead of the Align stock ring between the main gear and the lower bearing block. This will allow the gear to sit slightly lower and not rub against the frame. Helidirect supplied me with their 'blue gear' set as well for this build. This should not be confused with the Align 'Blue reduction gear' that runs the tail at a slower speed. The gears have the same number of teeth as the standard align, but I did find the material and quality to be slightly better then the Align white gears. Here is a comparison picture between the HD BLue Gear Set and the stock Align gear.

 

The canopy mounts on all but the current frames are far too long. I'm told HeliDirect now uses canopy mounts of the correct size and you can contact HD for replacement mounts if you have a frame with the longer version. I choose to just cut mine down and use a piece of fuel tubing over the mount to act as a stopper. Then I simply drill out the holes in the canopy slightly. I actually prefer this method and use it on my other Trexs as well.

If you are using the Hitec HS-56 servos, they should be mounted with the wire coming out the bottom. Install the ball link 13mm from the center of the servo spline to the center of the ball on the bottom of the servo arm. Make sure all the servos are centered and then install the arms prior to mounting the servos into the frame. You will not be able to remove the servo arms while the servo is attached to the frame. If you have a frame without the 3 servo holes drilled in the bearing blocks you can still use the HS56 servos by making a small center hole in the servo tabs. I used an exacto knife to do this when testing this in a V1 frame.

 

Some of the newer lipo packs are longer then the packs we have seen in the past. Both the PolyQuest Pro-Lite V2 and Apex packs I use are longer then the TP2100s and extend too far to mount the canopy with this frame (or the Heliup for that matter). I found an easy fix for this was to remove the front two screws from the lipo tray and angle the lipo tray down slightly. Test fit your lipos to ensure that you have the correct angle. I then used a small amount of "goop" or "shoe-goo" and ran it along the underside of the lipo tray where it meets the side frames. This gives me a very secure, but non-permanent hold. I've spoken to HeliDirect about the problem and they are going to modify the frame in the front and add a second set of holes so the tray can be mounted either horizontally or at a downward angle

 

This frame got off to a rocky start do to lack of proper testing before it went to market. Helidirect has however been very quick to respond and attempt to correct problems with this product. While I do not advocate companies taking this approach, consumer response and sales have proven that this model works. (Align has a similar history and many people would claim Microsoft built it's company on this model) It has since been revised 4-5 times and is now offered in 3 different flavours. (V2, STK and SE) I've now had a chance to fly this frame several times. Not surprisingly it flies exactly like the Heliup. Overall the quality of the kit and attention to detail is not at the same level as the Heliup, but functionally they are almost identical. HeliDirect is also constantly trying to improve the frame by implementing suggestions from customers. I hope HeliDirect continues to move in this direction.

Final Thoughts

Pros: Proven frame design, non-conductive frame material, great price, low part count, open design allows easy access to all components, includes complete gear assembly.

Cons: May require purchasing new servos for best performance, uses non-standard spacer for main gear (should not be an issue unless you lose it), no gyro mount on this model, missing longer screws to attach boom struts, requires swashplate with a separate pin.

I would recommend this frame to anyone looking at upgrading from a plastic frame or even looking to switch from their current CF frame. I feel it represents one of the best values available for anyone in the market for a new frame.

It is my understanding that the Helidirect SuperFrame V2 currently being sold needs no modification or additional parts, with the exception of 2 longer M2 screws used to bolt the boom braces to the frame.

Revision History

Since there have been several variations of this frame in a very short period of time I'd like to give a quick overview of the different versions that were offered. I've also tried to list problems, improvements or changes between frames.

Super Frame V1
Frame came pre-assembled, however loctite was not used on any bolts.
Bearing for the lower bearing block installed from the top, instead of the bottom, which could result in the bearing becoming displaced. The main gear would rub against the frame because the distance between the lower bearing block and main gear was greater then the size of the stock spacer. The review was placed on hold until these issues were resolved.

Other less critical issues were:
• Bearing blocks were drilled with for servos with 2 holes, although Hitec HS56 should be used.
• Longer M2 bolts are needed to secure the boom braces but are not included.
• Canopy mounts are approx. 5mm too long.
• On my frame, I was unable to fit a stock align tail drive gear
assembly as it was approx. 1-1.5mm too tall - this issue was not widely reported however.
• No gyro mount or crossbar on the bottom plate of the frame

Super Frame V2
Frame now comes unassembled and with no instructions.
New lower bearing blocks now required bearing to be installed from the bottom 3 Holes drilled in upper and lower bearing blocks. Allowing installation of HS56 servos without the need to drilling a hole in the servo tab (or other 4 hole servos) Longer spacer supplied to allow proper distance between the lower bearing block and the main gear. This is not quite as good of a solution as fixing the lower bearing block, but it does accomplish the same goal.

Replacement parts for V1 customers
Any customer that requested it received a new V2 lower bearing block and a new longer spacer. This fixed the 2 major issues with the V1 frame, but still required drilling a hole in the upper servo tab if you wanted to use a servo with 4 holes.

After the introduction of the HD Blue Gear set The V2 frame was sold with a complete HD blue gear set listed as being available "for a limited time" for the same price.

I'm informed that the V2 frames were also sold with the shorter canopy mounts as soon as they became available and are also available to customers with an earlier version of the frame.

The information in this review is only for the V2 Frame. There have been several other changes on the 'STK' model from the V2 but that frame has not been submitted for testing. The 'SE' model should be the same as the 'V2' except the frame itself it made from carbon fiber instead of G10.

 

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