Most beginner RC helicopter enthusiasts are perplexed by blade tracking, but hopefully, this article will make the process a bit easier to understand, and by the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be an expert at blade tracking for your RC helicopter.
In essence, ‘blade tracking’ is the act of one rotor blade immediately following another blade while both are in rotation. In this case, one rotor blade is positioned on the same path at the blade that it’s tracking, as opposed to being positioned lower or higher. An alternate way to state this is that the pair of blades spin through the exact same airspace. On helicopters where the rear blade is following a blade on a different plane, you may experience unnecessary vibrations throughout the helicopter.
If this is your first time flying your new RC helicopter, consult with a more experienced RC pilot so that you can be sure that your blades are tracking properly. Set the helicopter into a hover at your eye level and observe the blades as they spin to check the blade tracking for yourself. If you witness noticeable vibrations and shaking, it’s probable that your RC helicopter is not tracking properly, so take the following steps to fix your problem.
Set the helicopter down and stick a small piece of red tape onto one helicopter blade, and stick a small piece of blue tape on the other blade. The use of two distinct colors on each blade makes it much easier to observe the paths of the blades and identify which one is on the wrong track.
One the tape has been applied to both helicopter blades, hover the helicopter at eye level again; again, it might be very helpful to bring in a more experienced RC pilot for this. While observing the spinning blades, you should see only a single circle, or see both of the helicopter’s blades rotating in a single line. Seeing two circles, or two different colored lines, means that you have a blade that isn’t tracked properly and will need to be adjusted.
Set the RC helicopter down before you attempt to make any adjustments to the rotor blades. Once the blades have completely stopped turning, you can re-align the blade that isn’t tracking correctly. Make sure that you have the RC helicopter’s manual on hand so that you can refer to the correct tracking information that it provides. Follow the manual, and not advice that you find elsewhere, when adjusting the linkages, as the manual will have the most specific, accurate information for your particular model of RC helicopter.
After you’ve made your adjustments and fixed the linkages, bring the helicopter back into a hover again so that you can observe the rotation of the blades once again. Do this over and over until you’re positive that your blades are tracking correctly and rotating on the same level. When your RC helicopter is adjusted to have the correct blade tracking, it will fly much smoother than before, and be easier to handle.
