Why balance rotor blades anyway?
Good question, and the answer is simple – to stop any unnecessary vibration in the helicopter. If you’ve ever driven a car with a front wheel out of balance, then you’ll know how annoying that horrible vibration through the steering wheel can be. Unbalanced helicopter rotor blades have the same effect, but the vibration that they cause is more than just annoying – it impedes the flight performance of the helicopter and at worst can shake parts loose over time. Having said that though, don’t be too upset if you can’t eliminate all vibration. The spindly nature of low-priced FP electric rc helicopters means that they are bound to show a certain degree of vibration; only heavier, more robust models will run completely smooth. But your job is to minimize the vibration as much as possible. It’s also important to note that while rotor blade balancing is the primary way to remove vibration, rotor blade tracking is also important, and the blades should be tracked properly as well.
