Swash Plate: JR Vibe 90 3D Helicopter - 2008/03

Vibe from MA and Horizon Hobby for review.
Being a longtime Vigor pilot, I was excited to
see what changes had been made to the new
product.
The big difference with this review is that I
have been flying the Vibe for a year and have a
good feel for it; that is rare for reviewers.
Thank you to AMA’s Michael Ramsey for
giving me the time to put a few gallons on the
machine before writing the article.
This model is the result of JR team members’
feedback on the Vigor’s proven design. Curtis
Youngblood is widely regarded as one of the
best helicopter pilots in the world. His search
for the perfect helicopter, attention to detail,
engineering skills, and amazing control over
model helicopters have led him, and team
members Len Sabato and Marty Kuhns, to
refine the successful Vigor CS to become the
new JR Vibe. Significant improvements have
been made to the clutch, head, and tail rotor
assemblies to enhance performance.
This helicopter came to me packaged in a
sturdy, colorful box, with all parts neatly
bagged and labeled to correspond to the
assembly steps in the detailed building
instructions. I have read many instruction
manuals through the years, and the Vibe’s is
absolutely one of the best. The illustrations are
clear, the descriptions are complete, and the
assembly flow is logical. Each step has “Team
Tips” where applicable to assist in the building
process.
The manual also includes exploded
drawings with part numbers detailing everycomponent. I appreciate the suggested radio-programming guidelines
and settings for JR equipment, along with control-linkage drawings
printed in actual lengths. Very nice!
The Vibe comes as a complete airframe minus engine, electronics,
and main blades. This is a wise decision since most modelers like to
pick their favorite equipment to outfit their helicopters.
For the initial build I chose the O.S. 91SZ-H without the pump and
regulator because they were not yet available. I have since switched to
the pump-and-regulator version. Both engines run perfectly and
produce a tremendous amount of power.The Youngblood MP5 is my muffler of
choice. The MP2 worked wonderfully, but
the MP5 is even better and is more suited for
the higher head speeds.
Horizon Hobby provided the preferred JR
DS8317 servos for cyclic control and the JR
G7000T/8700G heading-hold gyro package
for the tail. This complete servo setup is a
proven combination of speed, torque, and
reliability. The initial power supply was a JR
four-cell, 4500 mAh battery. There was no
shortage of flying time with that pack!
My preferred radio was the JR XP9303
transmitter with the R649-S PCM receiver. I
have since switched to the new Spektrum
DX7 system from Horizon Hobby. This
spread spectrum radio rocks! Not only do I
enjoy the solid connection and fast response
time, but I no longer worry about the
possibility of radio interference from the
increasingly popular park flyers that are
popping up in back yards everywhere.
In addition, I started with NHP 710 main
blades and NHP tail-rotor blades.
Construction: This kit’s quality is nothing
short of a benchmark. No trimming,
grinding, or sanding is needed to get parts to
fit properly. The Vibe 90 is a pleasure to
build.
It comes with several main components,
such as the main rotor head and tail-rotor
gearbox, preassembled. I enjoy this as much
as anyone, but please take the time to make
sure all screws are tight and that you have
applied thread locker to the appropriate
locations.
Building any helicopter has many
important steps. Read the manual carefully.
An important part of the Vibe build is
grounding the carbon frame, which is done to
eliminate the possibility of radio-frequency
noise. Don’t skip this step!
By grinding through a small area of the
clear epoxy coating to expose the raw carbon,
the aluminum crossmember will be able to
electrically conduct between the side frames.
If you neglect this step, you may experience
radio glitches that could harm your new Vibe.
JR suggests that you not fully tighten the
frame screws until the major part of the frame
is assembled. Then, using a flat surface as a
base, tighten the cross bolts in the order
recommended to ensure that the frame is
straight.
The Vibe drive system has received a total
upgrade, beginning with a larger-diameter
start shaft that uses a heavy-duty, one-way
bearing. The new hardened main shaft, with
its heavy-duty autorotation assembly and
newly supported bevel gear hub, has also been
beefed up.
Take your time when setting the gear
mesh. I like a tiny bit of play in the gears so
they will work smoothly. The manual
describes a process to set this mesh. Get it
right and your gears will last indefinitely.
The Vibe has one of the most solid engine
mounts in the business. Not only is it
supported from the back, but it is also
supported from the bottom. There will be no
twisting here! Either the YS 91ST or O.S. 91
engine will be a perfect fit.
As did its predecessor, the Vibe’s
swashplate can be configured as 140°
Collective Cyclic Pitch Mixing (CCPM) or
the more common 120° CCPM setup. I chose
140° to mimic the setup Curtis Youngblood
originally did in an effort to eliminate
unwanted CCPM interactions that are
commonly seen on the 120° setup.
The difference is that with a standard 120°
setup, the outer swashplate balls are evenly
spaced. Fore/aft cyclic inputs result in the
front two servo linkages moving less than the
rear in-line servo linkage. Interaction can
occur because of the difference in servo travel.
This translates into a quick cyclic input,
possibly causing a pitch change.
Those who are looking for absolute
precision in their flying may notice this. Sport
fliers will not.
The 140° CCPM setup extends the front
two mounted swashplate input balls forward,
so that their longitudinal distance from the
main shaft equals that of the in-line swash ball
on the rear. In fore/aft cyclic moves, the front
two servo linkages move the same distance as
the rear servo linkage.
The DX7 does not support the 140°
CCPM configuration. However, I can
simulate the support in the transmitter by
adding an elevator-to-pitch mix in the radio.
The JR Vibe has one of the most efficient
cooling fans available. It is larger in diameterthan most, which means that the fan blades
spin faster and provide increased airflow. The
fan hub is mounted to the engine with top and
bottom collets to ensure proper centering of
the fan. I ran the Youngblood Active Throttle
Governor on the Vibe and installed the sensor
magnets at this time.
The clutch mounts to the fan hub using
two 4mm screws. The hub has four holes so
you can rotate the clutch 90° if required to
minimize runout. Use red thread locker when
attaching the clutch. The clutch screws can
come loose in time and ruin the fan hub.
As I mentioned, the tail-rotor transmission
comes preassembled. The tail-rotor pitchcontrol
mechanism delivers precision tail
control because of the ball-bearing-supported,
dual-point tail-slider mechanism. This was an
upgrade on the Vigor but is stock on the Vibe.
The tail-rotor pitch-control linkage now
has a frame-mounted bellcrank in the mix,
which lets the tail-rotor servo mount in the
canopy yet still have straight runs to the tail. I
like this; it delivers crisp control and keeps the
tail-rotor servo out of the exhaust gunk.
Prepare the aluminum drive shaft by
attaching two carrier bearings to it using green
thread locker or cyanoacrylate. The carrier
bearings use a rubber O-ring around the
outside of the carrier to hold the bearing and
shaft assembly in place in the boom. Lubricate
the inside of the boom with a soap-and-water
solution to aid in sliding the drive-shaft
assembly into place.
The tail-rotor transmission has a nice
plastic access plug that can easily be removed
to inspect the gears and add grease as needed.
The head assembly is next. This is where
significant changes can be seen between the
Vigor and the Vibe. The Vibe head has been
machined in the corners to allow additional
cyclic throws without binding. It also includes
a new adjustable flybar/blade ratio system that
lets the pilot tune the response to his or her
liking.
The Vibe’s new swashplate has had
material removed to prevent binding of the
mixer arms. It works so well that you may
want to order a Vibe swashplate for your
Vigor.
The Vibe head comes preassembled. As
with every helicopter I own, I like to
disassemble the head and inspect the bearings.
This is the time to grease the thrust bearings if
required. When assembling the head and
linkages, I like to use a ball-link reamer to get
the perfect fit for the plastic links. I have
never been a fan of squeezing the links with
pliers to loosen them.
The Vibe comes with a beautifully
finished yellow-and-white fiberglass canopy.
As is the rest of the helicopter, the canopy’s
quality is top-notch.
My only suggestion is that the
manufacturer make the black windshield
slightly smaller. My old eyes seem to struggle
with orientation at the 45° nose-in position.
On the flip side, I seem to be the only one
who has that problem.
The decals look great and are easy to apply
to the canopy. My fin decals did not fit
properly to the stylish new carbon-fiber fin
set. I have been told that this was because of
an early run and has since been corrected.
From here you can install your radio of
choice. I started with the JR XP9303 and
switched to the Spektrum DX7. Take your
time to get the CCPM system set up properly.
This will make the difference between a goodflying
helicopter and a great-flying helicopter.
Flying: The first flights with the Vibe were
everything you would expect from a
helicopter of this caliber. Its hovering and
flying characteristics are rock solid. The
helicopter appears to flow through flips, rolls,
tumbles, and pirouettes easier than ever
thought possible. I never like writing this or
reading this, but the Vibe truly does track as if
it is on rails.
Its 3-D flight is limited only by the pilot’s
skills. I have been flying this machine for
roughly a year, and it only gets better. I cannot
say I have found any shortcomings with the
model. It continues to perform well week after
week with nothing more than routine
maintenance.
Upgrade fanatics will be disappointed; the
Vibe doesn’t need any. It comes out of the
box with everything you need.
Some of the changes I have made include
installing Radix main and tail-rotor blades and
the new Super Stubz flybar paddles from
Curtis Youngblood. The Radix blades come
in two versions; the lighter variation is known
as the SB, or Stick Banger. Either blade
delivers superior performance.
A set of lightweight Super Stubz paddleswill add life to any helicopter! For something
milder, you can get the standard Stubz.
An important thing to remember is that any
helicopter’s flybar gets stressed when the pilot
does extreme 3-D flying, and it will eventually
break. I suggest checking this often and
replacing it at regularly scheduled intervals. I
change the flybar roughly once a month.
A recent addition to the Vibe is Scott Gray
Products’ SGP Reactor. It was designed for
extreme RC helicopter flying. The Reactor is
unique because it features a dedicated threeservo
power bus, allowing you to plug the
high-drain servos directly into the regulator.
Some digital servos on the market can draw
2-3 amps each when under load, which is why
a dedicated power bus is used on the Reactor.
This regulator has dual regulated supplies to
provide pretuned voltages: 5.2 volts to the
receiver, gyro, tail rotor, and throttle servos
and 5.6 to the three main high-current-draw
CCPM servos through the power bus.
I use the Reactor with a 2S 4000 mAh Li-
Poly battery and can fly all day without
charging. Testing has shown that each flight
takes approximately 300 mAh out of the pack.
A longtime friend and flying buddy is
convinced that you cannot tell the difference
between a low-end plastic helicopter and a
high-end, 90-size competition machine. After
flying the Vibe, you will “feel the difference”
and you will like it! MA
Ray Stacy
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
JR/Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Rd.
Champaign IL 61822
(877) 504-0233
[email protected]
www.horizonhobby.com
Sources:
Vibe 90, JR electronics, governor and NHP
rotor blades, YS 91ST helicopter engine:
Horizon Hobby
MP5, Radix blades, Super Stubz, Active
Throttle Governor:
CJ Youngblood Enterprises, Inc.
(979) 828-4269
www.curtisyoungblood.com
SGP Reactor:
Scott Gray Products
(519) 208-0361
www.scottgrayrc.com
O.S. 91SZ-H helicopter engine:
Tower Hobbies
(800) 637-4989
www.towerhobbies.com
Other Review Sources:
Model Airplane News, October 2006
Model Helicopter World, May 2006
RC Heli, Winter 2005

Vibe from MA and Horizon Hobby for review.
Being a longtime Vigor pilot, I was excited to
see what changes had been made to the new
product.
The big difference with this review is that I
have been flying the Vibe for a year and have a
good feel for it; that is rare for reviewers.
Thank you to AMA’s Michael Ramsey for
giving me the time to put a few gallons on the
machine before writing the article.
This model is the result of JR team members’
feedback on the Vigor’s proven design. Curtis
Youngblood is widely regarded as one of the
best helicopter pilots in the world. His search
for the perfect helicopter, attention to detail,
engineering skills, and amazing control over
model helicopters have led him, and team
members Len Sabato and Marty Kuhns, to
refine the successful Vigor CS to become the
new JR Vibe. Significant improvements have
been made to the clutch, head, and tail rotor
assemblies to enhance performance.
This helicopter came to me packaged in a
sturdy, colorful box, with all parts neatly
bagged and labeled to correspond to the
assembly steps in the detailed building
instructions. I have read many instruction
manuals through the years, and the Vibe’s is
absolutely one of the best. The illustrations are
clear, the descriptions are complete, and the
assembly flow is logical. Each step has “Team
Tips” where applicable to assist in the building
process.
The manual also includes exploded
drawings with part numbers detailing everycomponent. I appreciate the suggested radio-programming guidelines
and settings for JR equipment, along with control-linkage drawings
printed in actual lengths. Very nice!
The Vibe comes as a complete airframe minus engine, electronics,
and main blades. This is a wise decision since most modelers like to
pick their favorite equipment to outfit their helicopters.
For the initial build I chose the O.S. 91SZ-H without the pump and
regulator because they were not yet available. I have since switched to
the pump-and-regulator version. Both engines run perfectly and
produce a tremendous amount of power.The Youngblood MP5 is my muffler of
choice. The MP2 worked wonderfully, but
the MP5 is even better and is more suited for
the higher head speeds.
Horizon Hobby provided the preferred JR
DS8317 servos for cyclic control and the JR
G7000T/8700G heading-hold gyro package
for the tail. This complete servo setup is a
proven combination of speed, torque, and
reliability. The initial power supply was a JR
four-cell, 4500 mAh battery. There was no
shortage of flying time with that pack!
My preferred radio was the JR XP9303
transmitter with the R649-S PCM receiver. I
have since switched to the new Spektrum
DX7 system from Horizon Hobby. This
spread spectrum radio rocks! Not only do I
enjoy the solid connection and fast response
time, but I no longer worry about the
possibility of radio interference from the
increasingly popular park flyers that are
popping up in back yards everywhere.
In addition, I started with NHP 710 main
blades and NHP tail-rotor blades.
Construction: This kit’s quality is nothing
short of a benchmark. No trimming,
grinding, or sanding is needed to get parts to
fit properly. The Vibe 90 is a pleasure to
build.
It comes with several main components,
such as the main rotor head and tail-rotor
gearbox, preassembled. I enjoy this as much
as anyone, but please take the time to make
sure all screws are tight and that you have
applied thread locker to the appropriate
locations.
Building any helicopter has many
important steps. Read the manual carefully.
An important part of the Vibe build is
grounding the carbon frame, which is done to
eliminate the possibility of radio-frequency
noise. Don’t skip this step!
By grinding through a small area of the
clear epoxy coating to expose the raw carbon,
the aluminum crossmember will be able to
electrically conduct between the side frames.
If you neglect this step, you may experience
radio glitches that could harm your new Vibe.
JR suggests that you not fully tighten the
frame screws until the major part of the frame
is assembled. Then, using a flat surface as a
base, tighten the cross bolts in the order
recommended to ensure that the frame is
straight.
The Vibe drive system has received a total
upgrade, beginning with a larger-diameter
start shaft that uses a heavy-duty, one-way
bearing. The new hardened main shaft, with
its heavy-duty autorotation assembly and
newly supported bevel gear hub, has also been
beefed up.
Take your time when setting the gear
mesh. I like a tiny bit of play in the gears so
they will work smoothly. The manual
describes a process to set this mesh. Get it
right and your gears will last indefinitely.
The Vibe has one of the most solid engine
mounts in the business. Not only is it
supported from the back, but it is also
supported from the bottom. There will be no
twisting here! Either the YS 91ST or O.S. 91
engine will be a perfect fit.
As did its predecessor, the Vibe’s
swashplate can be configured as 140°
Collective Cyclic Pitch Mixing (CCPM) or
the more common 120° CCPM setup. I chose
140° to mimic the setup Curtis Youngblood
originally did in an effort to eliminate
unwanted CCPM interactions that are
commonly seen on the 120° setup.
The difference is that with a standard 120°
setup, the outer swashplate balls are evenly
spaced. Fore/aft cyclic inputs result in the
front two servo linkages moving less than the
rear in-line servo linkage. Interaction can
occur because of the difference in servo travel.
This translates into a quick cyclic input,
possibly causing a pitch change.
Those who are looking for absolute
precision in their flying may notice this. Sport
fliers will not.
The 140° CCPM setup extends the front
two mounted swashplate input balls forward,
so that their longitudinal distance from the
main shaft equals that of the in-line swash ball
on the rear. In fore/aft cyclic moves, the front
two servo linkages move the same distance as
the rear servo linkage.
The DX7 does not support the 140°
CCPM configuration. However, I can
simulate the support in the transmitter by
adding an elevator-to-pitch mix in the radio.
The JR Vibe has one of the most efficient
cooling fans available. It is larger in diameterthan most, which means that the fan blades
spin faster and provide increased airflow. The
fan hub is mounted to the engine with top and
bottom collets to ensure proper centering of
the fan. I ran the Youngblood Active Throttle
Governor on the Vibe and installed the sensor
magnets at this time.
The clutch mounts to the fan hub using
two 4mm screws. The hub has four holes so
you can rotate the clutch 90° if required to
minimize runout. Use red thread locker when
attaching the clutch. The clutch screws can
come loose in time and ruin the fan hub.
As I mentioned, the tail-rotor transmission
comes preassembled. The tail-rotor pitchcontrol
mechanism delivers precision tail
control because of the ball-bearing-supported,
dual-point tail-slider mechanism. This was an
upgrade on the Vigor but is stock on the Vibe.
The tail-rotor pitch-control linkage now
has a frame-mounted bellcrank in the mix,
which lets the tail-rotor servo mount in the
canopy yet still have straight runs to the tail. I
like this; it delivers crisp control and keeps the
tail-rotor servo out of the exhaust gunk.
Prepare the aluminum drive shaft by
attaching two carrier bearings to it using green
thread locker or cyanoacrylate. The carrier
bearings use a rubber O-ring around the
outside of the carrier to hold the bearing and
shaft assembly in place in the boom. Lubricate
the inside of the boom with a soap-and-water
solution to aid in sliding the drive-shaft
assembly into place.
The tail-rotor transmission has a nice
plastic access plug that can easily be removed
to inspect the gears and add grease as needed.
The head assembly is next. This is where
significant changes can be seen between the
Vigor and the Vibe. The Vibe head has been
machined in the corners to allow additional
cyclic throws without binding. It also includes
a new adjustable flybar/blade ratio system that
lets the pilot tune the response to his or her
liking.
The Vibe’s new swashplate has had
material removed to prevent binding of the
mixer arms. It works so well that you may
want to order a Vibe swashplate for your
Vigor.
The Vibe head comes preassembled. As
with every helicopter I own, I like to
disassemble the head and inspect the bearings.
This is the time to grease the thrust bearings if
required. When assembling the head and
linkages, I like to use a ball-link reamer to get
the perfect fit for the plastic links. I have
never been a fan of squeezing the links with
pliers to loosen them.
The Vibe comes with a beautifully
finished yellow-and-white fiberglass canopy.
As is the rest of the helicopter, the canopy’s
quality is top-notch.
My only suggestion is that the
manufacturer make the black windshield
slightly smaller. My old eyes seem to struggle
with orientation at the 45° nose-in position.
On the flip side, I seem to be the only one
who has that problem.
The decals look great and are easy to apply
to the canopy. My fin decals did not fit
properly to the stylish new carbon-fiber fin
set. I have been told that this was because of
an early run and has since been corrected.
From here you can install your radio of
choice. I started with the JR XP9303 and
switched to the Spektrum DX7. Take your
time to get the CCPM system set up properly.
This will make the difference between a goodflying
helicopter and a great-flying helicopter.
Flying: The first flights with the Vibe were
everything you would expect from a
helicopter of this caliber. Its hovering and
flying characteristics are rock solid. The
helicopter appears to flow through flips, rolls,
tumbles, and pirouettes easier than ever
thought possible. I never like writing this or
reading this, but the Vibe truly does track as if
it is on rails.
Its 3-D flight is limited only by the pilot’s
skills. I have been flying this machine for
roughly a year, and it only gets better. I cannot
say I have found any shortcomings with the
model. It continues to perform well week after
week with nothing more than routine
maintenance.
Upgrade fanatics will be disappointed; the
Vibe doesn’t need any. It comes out of the
box with everything you need.
Some of the changes I have made include
installing Radix main and tail-rotor blades and
the new Super Stubz flybar paddles from
Curtis Youngblood. The Radix blades come
in two versions; the lighter variation is known
as the SB, or Stick Banger. Either blade
delivers superior performance.
A set of lightweight Super Stubz paddleswill add life to any helicopter! For something
milder, you can get the standard Stubz.
An important thing to remember is that any
helicopter’s flybar gets stressed when the pilot
does extreme 3-D flying, and it will eventually
break. I suggest checking this often and
replacing it at regularly scheduled intervals. I
change the flybar roughly once a month.
A recent addition to the Vibe is Scott Gray
Products’ SGP Reactor. It was designed for
extreme RC helicopter flying. The Reactor is
unique because it features a dedicated threeservo
power bus, allowing you to plug the
high-drain servos directly into the regulator.
Some digital servos on the market can draw
2-3 amps each when under load, which is why
a dedicated power bus is used on the Reactor.
This regulator has dual regulated supplies to
provide pretuned voltages: 5.2 volts to the
receiver, gyro, tail rotor, and throttle servos
and 5.6 to the three main high-current-draw
CCPM servos through the power bus.
I use the Reactor with a 2S 4000 mAh Li-
Poly battery and can fly all day without
charging. Testing has shown that each flight
takes approximately 300 mAh out of the pack.
A longtime friend and flying buddy is
convinced that you cannot tell the difference
between a low-end plastic helicopter and a
high-end, 90-size competition machine. After
flying the Vibe, you will “feel the difference”
and you will like it! MA
Ray Stacy
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
JR/Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Rd.
Champaign IL 61822
(877) 504-0233
[email protected]
www.horizonhobby.com
Sources:
Vibe 90, JR electronics, governor and NHP
rotor blades, YS 91ST helicopter engine:
Horizon Hobby
MP5, Radix blades, Super Stubz, Active
Throttle Governor:
CJ Youngblood Enterprises, Inc.
(979) 828-4269
www.curtisyoungblood.com
SGP Reactor:
Scott Gray Products
(519) 208-0361
www.scottgrayrc.com
O.S. 91SZ-H helicopter engine:
Tower Hobbies
(800) 637-4989
www.towerhobbies.com
Other Review Sources:
Model Airplane News, October 2006
Model Helicopter World, May 2006
RC Heli, Winter 2005