Hirobo Shuttle RGM
The Hirobo Shuttle is a well known helicopter in our hobby. It was by far the longest, most sold helicopter kit of our hobby (Since 1985). Whenever there is a helicopter field, there will be someone flying the Shuttle. I heard winds of Hirobo beta testing a "killerˇ¨ Shuttle on about 10/97. Preliminary info said that its got all the G-parts available to a Shuttle, and a redesigned carbon main frame like the GPH346. On 12/97 Hirobo officially released the Shuttle RG (RG means Revolution Gold in Hirobo terms) in a trade show. It featured aluminum stack side frame (What! Not graphite?), push/pull control on cyclic and collective, and equipped with almost all G-parts for a Shuttle. This is a nice looking little helicopter, but the sticker shock holds me back. It cost about US$600 street! I mean, for US$600, I can get a pretty decent 60 class helicopter! Hirobo must be crazy, I thought.
I got mine after a long day of work, sort of rewarding myself. Actually, I did not want to buy the RG, but I do not have much choice, cause my Christmas shopping spree got me five top of the line helicopters available.
Assembly
Upon opening the box, you would appreciate how nice Japanese packaging are. Nice photo of the RG on the box. Inside the box there are three more boxes, one for the FRP canopy, one for the parts, and the last one is like a gift box with a display window, major parts like the rotor head, tail gear box and autorotation unit are housed in it, with very thick sponge separating each part. Ha, here goes my hard earn money into the packaging! Parts are neatly arranged in bags, and each bag has a sticker that identifies what step should use the bag. Japanese always preach the concept of recycling, and this is how they practice itˇK
Section 1 steps 1-3 are for the assembly of various mixing arms and lever. The elevator arms are two pieces of U shaped aluminum, with a plastic ball joint at the top. One point to note when assembling the ball joint to the arms is to match the length of both arms after the ball joints were screwed in place. The manual did not mentioned how much the ball joint should be screwed in, and the total length of the assembled arms. I use a dial caliper to measure mine and the length from the top of the ball joint to the base of the mounting area was 8mm. Both arms should match, or you would end up with a tilted swashplate. For step 3, note the side of the the X-Type Lever. Each of these lever has either L or R molded into it. Don't mix them up.
Section 2 deals with the assembly of the upper main frame. All the 3mm screws that is used to secure the main frame parts are with heads like a mushroom shape, instead of the regular round, cup head. Hirobo uses these kind of screws cause they secure a bigger area than regular cap screws, but I donˇ¦t like these screws cause the slot now needed 2mm hex drivers instead of the regular 2.5mm hex driver and that means it will be easier to get rounded. I use stainless steel countersunk screws with countersunk spacers to achieve a better result. While assembling the upper main frame, DO NOT LOCTITE the mounting screws! Screw them in just hand tight for the moment. Place the whole unit on a piece of glass, align the frames to ensure it was perpendicular to the glass and loctite the screws one by one. The manual did not mention this. I always do this for stacked frames to ensure all sideframes are squared to each other, thus reduce the risk of main frame wrap. Also note the mounting of the elevator arm, don't reverse it or you will end up disassembling the main frame again. I substitute the original two piece plastic tail boom mount with a one-piece machined aluminum mount from K&S. On step 2 the collective pitch shaft was secured by two collars with set screws. I used a Dremel to notch the screw mounting area to ensure a secure mount of the collars. The manual said the collective pitch arm set should have the same clearance left and right side after its mount onto the frame. I use a caliper and measured mine to be Xmm on each side. On step 3, you will realize whether you've mixed up the X Type lever.
Section three deals with mounting the fan to the engine, and the whole assembly to the engine mount. Believing this helicopter will be a bit too heavy for a 30, I bought a modified OS32SX from Japan (They are about US$200 a piece). Note the extension that I mount on the idle needle. It was from Japan and I knew Helicopter World has a clone for that. It makes adjusting the idle needle a breeze. I use a Tobee-Craft air filter on the carburetor, a one piece, machined aluminum fan and flywheel unit from Pioneer, and Hattori SB9 muffler.
Section four deals with the assembly of the fuel tank. This is the regular fuel tank as in other Shuttles.
Section 5 deals with the lower frame assembly. Once again screw the screws hand tight, without Loctite. You might have to trim the fan shroud to clear the mixture needle. My OS fit 100% without trimming.
Section 6 deals with the joining of the upper and lower main frame. Again, screw the screws hand tight, and place the whole assembly on a piece of glass. Use an angled ruler to measure the frame to the glass. Ensure the frames are 90degree to the glass, or you will end up with a wrap frame the causes vibration and wear to parts. When the frame is perpendicular to the glass, unscrew each screw, and loctite them one by one. Yes, this is tedious.
Section 7 deals with the battery tray. Do as the instruction said and stick two pieces of double sided tape between the support plate and the fuel tank. If you didn't, the fuel tank might end up with a hole through rubbing against the metal main frame.
Section 8 deals with the landing gear. In between the lower frame and the gear, I installed a set of TSK suspension. These are useful for hard landings.
Section 9 deals with the installation of the main mast and gear. Ensure there is no vertical freeplay on the main gear before securing the collar.
Section 10 - 14 deals with the rotor head mixing arms and swashplate assembly.
Section15 & 16 deals with the assembly of the tail gear box and mounting it to the tail boom. I did not use the factory gear box, and substitute it with a unit from Capital. The mounting of the Hirobo G-parts gearbox to the tail boom is to slot a section of it inside the tail boom. I had the unit on my old Shuttle, and after prolonged use, the mounting area in the boom will wear out and give free play. The Capital unit clamps onto the tail boom and solve the problem. I also substitute the tail pitch arm and the slider with machined aluminum unit from Capital and ARK to minimize wear outs.
Section 17 18 and 19 deals with mounting of the tail boom to the frame. I mounted the K&S rear servo mount onto the tail boom before its mounted into the frame.
Section 20 deals with the mounting of the servos and radio electrics.
Section 21 deals with the linkages. I substitute the original ones with a set from Pioneer. These linkage are like turn buckles type, with regular threads on one side, and reverse threads on the other side. These linkages are machined aluminum, and are thicker than the original 2mm ones. They comes with oil-filled ball joints. Ensure all linkages are 90 degree to the servo arms. I substitute the tail linkage with a carbon one from K&S to ensure a smooth precise movement.
Section 22 and 23 deals with the canopy. The canopy is white gel-coated fiberglass and is smooth as silk.
 |
 |
|
SZ-III rotor head |
Boom mount rudder servo |
 |
 |
|
Metal tail pitch change mechanism |
Capital tail gearbox |
I have the RG for about 8 months now, and I can tell you that flying the RG is another experience. In hovering, my RG feels more like my Eagle WC, it was rock solid, and in a fashion that even compares to the solidness of some top 46 machines! I tried some F3C hovering maneuvers, and it sticks at whatever point that I put it. I guess it was due to the different mechanics of the RG from the Shuttle, and weight of it does matters too. However, aerobatics capability is just average compared with other 46 class machine. The RG is kind of lazy in aerobatics. I can loop and roll it, and it performed nicely with the precision that is needed for F3C maneuvers. Fast forward flight tracks very straight. With my modified engine, 3D is just ok, however, when I try some 3D maneuvers with my friend's RG that have a stock OS32SXH it became very lazy. For example, when I wanted to flip it and the RG answered with a small loop. The RG is just constantly yelling for more power, and there just isnˇ¦t enough power for some high aerobatics that requires lots of power. With the regular 32 engine on the RG, it was like driving a full size car with an engine of a sub-compact. If Hirobo produce a 46 class RG, aerobatic capability might be better, but this kind of interfere with the sales of the GPH346. As a result, for those who would like to practice F3C maneuver for contests, a RG will suit their needs.
 |
 |
|
Close up of the tail of Hashimoto's RG |
Close up of the front of Hashimoto's RG |
On one occasion, the current World Champion Manubu Hashimoto was in Hong Kong. He brought along his Eagle WC and a Shuttle RG. He demonstrated how good the RG is by first doing F3C maneuvers with his Eagle WC, then the RG. The RG did exactly as its big brother Eagle WC under Mr. WC's hands. However, after close inspection of Mr. WC's RG, I found out there is one unusual upgrade (downgrade?). The tail of his RG is obviously longer than mine. I asked Mr. WC and he said he used the tail boom and belt from the GPH 346, and use the regular plastic gear box of the Shuttle. The longer tail will make the RG track straighter in fast forward flight, and in order for the CG not to shift to far back, he use the plastic gear box instead cause its lighter.
If you ask me, I still think 600 bucks for a 30 class helicopter is still too much. Yes, its more fun than my little Baron, and my heavily modified Shuttle, but I think I can get better value from a Mystar 30 with carbon frames. For the cost of my RG, I can get a pretty decent 60 to practice with. I think Hirobo ought to tone down its packaging, substitute some of the G parts with plastic ones, lower the price by US200, and they will have a winner.
After about half a year's introduction of the Shuttle RG, Hirobo introduced the RGM, which is the ultimate version of the RG. Difference between the RG and the RGM are as follows:
With the RGM, Hirobo further upped the ante on the "best 32 class machine title", also upped is the price tag, which shot from the around US$600- for the Shuttle RG to the around US$800- for the RGM. Basically aside from the longer tail boom, the RGM is just a carbon version of the RG, with everything stays the same.
I did not bought a complete RG kit, but instead opt to get the carbon frames and other necessary parts to upgrade my RG instead. I also installed the following upgrade parts on my RGM:
 |
|
Correct main gear |
 |
|
Metal elevator A-arms |
 |
|
Special made landing gear brackets |
 |
|
Special made aileron lever |
 |
 |
| ˇ@ | ˇ@ |
 |
 |
| ˇ@ | ˇ@ |
To preserve my modified OS 32 engine, and to try others, I put on a Webra Speed 35H on the RG. It did posed some problems because at first I need to machined the heatsink of the Webra to fit into the stock fan shroud. With the first 20 tanks of fuel the Webra did gave power that tops a stock OS 32 SXH. However, about 40 flights the Webra suddenly lost power all of a sudden, and became very temperamental in mixture setting. I decided the Webra was a waste of time, and would not dare to use it again in my other helicopters. OS engine sure is a much safer bet.
 |
 |
|
Machined Webra 35 heatsink |
Machined Webra 35 heatsink |
In flight, the RGM did fly better than the RG. With the longer tail boom and blades, the RGM exhibit better control and tracking in aerobatics. The RGM further refined the RG into a very high precision helicopter that is hard to beat.
 |
 |
| ˇ@ | ˇ@ |