Has anyone come across this; the tail assembly rotates about 10°on the end of the boom. I suppose I could glue it in place but I wondered if there was a better fix.

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

This seems to be the problem thats plagued my eolo most. If its not the gearbox rotating then its the whole boom at the other end . I have heard someone mentioning drilling and put a screw in but i think thats for the other end of the boom (closest the chasis).
The two screws holding the vertical fin should stop it from turning too much. Try loosening them up, aligning the gearbox and then tightening them up again and make sure they are really tight. I can rotate my gearbox a little if i put some pressure on it but it still holds in flight.
Might also be worth checking that the gears move without too much resistance inside the gear box (add a bit of grease and check the gears aren't meshing too tightly?)

Hope that helps

I tried tightening the screws and the gearbox is lubed. I think I might have to epoxy it in place. It's a pain.

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

I used to roughen-up the chassis end of the tube with some coarse sandpaper. On the gearbox end, I put a very small self tapping screw, between the two screws on the vertical fin, going through the fin and boom and into the end of the gearbox. Make sure the screw is short enough so as not to hit anything inside the boom! No more rotation.

If you look through some of the old threads you might find some other solutions as this was a common problem. Using epoxy is a bit final and makes ongoing maintenance (or in my case repairs!) more difficult.

Dave

I put a very small self tapping screw,

Sounds like a plan to me; I was hoping there might be a quick fix. glue is so easy! Thanks.

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

On the gearbox end, I put a very small self tapping screw, between the two screws on the vertical fin, going through the fin and boom and into the end of the gearbox. Make sure the screw is short enough so as not to hit anything inside the boom! No more rotation.

It has gotten worse so I will have to take some real action. I just need to read up on how the tail gear is assembled first.

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

Oh dear! If screwing the parts together doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. When you find a good solution let us know.

You've reminded me that I must get mine off the shelf and blow the dust away.

Good luck.
Dave

Job's done. I drilled and tapped the boom and tail casing at a point between the two bearings and used a grub screw so it just grips the boom. As if that weren't enough I had to strip the boom right out to get the housing out cos it would not release from the drive rod (the rod that goes down the boom) so I ended up with all the tail and boom assembly completely in pieces. Time on the job was 4 hours.

Have to give a try soon!

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

Sounds like you have a neat solution there - I'll try that should my screws fail.
Dave

Well I tried it and it works a treat - this is one lovely helicopter. The tail still snatches on spooling up and that snatching must have led to the free play problem. I can't find the cause of the snatching though; everything is smooth when it is on the bench.

Why simplify when it's simpler to complicate.

Has your speed controller got a nice slow start? That might be causing the tail to snatch if its not slow enough