The “lazy susan” bearing arrived and I wasted no time in cutting up a length of old kitchen cupboard to make a base and a top platform for my turntable. There was no particular science involved - I made the base big enough to make sure it wouldn’t topple over and made the top just big enough to accomodate the skids of the Belt CP. A bit of drilling, a few bolts and screws and I have a turntable!
I have a Hitec Eclipse 7 programmable transmitter and an eSky Heading Hold Gyro. I had read the bit in the manual about setting up the gyro, but as with most manuals it was not exactly clear. No matter what I tried, I could not get to a stable position with the tail servo. The helicopter insisted on rotating one way or the other.
Luckily, the following was posted as a response to my plea for help
“Please remember that to set up the tail, you must get as close to mechanically perfect as poss. To do this, you need to be in Rate mode not HH mode.”
I reduced the gyro gain on the transmitter in order (< 50%) in order to switch into Rate mode. It took quite a few goes, but eventually I achieved a steady tail 
I then put the gain up to 70% and there it was - a steady heading locked tail! I carefully moved the tail left and right to ensure that the heading hold feature was working.
So, all I need now is a calm day so that I can finally take it for test flight
Flight - did I say flight? Of course, what I meant was a mildly controlled hover around the back garden 
By some hugely lucky coincidence, HeliGuy posted a series of 4 videos to the Belt CP forum that detailed the entire setup procedure a couple of days before I started my build. The videos are specifically for setting up a DX6i transmitter and servos, but the basics of making the swashplate work correctly, ensuring all servos act as they should can be applied to any setup.
I won’t go into detail here as it is covered by the videos as well as numerous posts on the forum. I followed the videos and did the bits that were relevant to my setup. I must say the setup looks much easier on the DX6i than it is on my HiTec Eclipse 7!
For setting up the tail servo and gyro, the helicopter was fixed to a turntable made from an old computer harddisk. This enabled the servo to be positioned easily without having to fly and adjust and fly and adjust …! It also made it very easy to set the corect gain for the gyro.
I am currently waiting for a “lazy susan” bearing to arrive so that I can construct my own turntable
I purchased the Belt CP barebones kit from HeliGuy, which means no motor, radio gear or servos. The receiver, motor and ESC have been removed from the King. As the servos on the King were damaged, I had already purchased TowerPro SG90’s and one SG50 for the tail.
This is what I started with:
The motor, a JustGoFly 400DH, fitted perfectly without any modifications. The pinion needed to go quite high on the shaft though, so that it meshed properly with the main gear.
All of the servos fitted perfectly, except for the pitch servo (the one at the rear, near/underneath the gyro). I had to file the hole smooth, then I had to remove the stickers from the servo and file the mounting lugs down until it would fit.
Because of the size, shape and connector positions on my Hitec Electron receiver, I decided to mount it on it’s side. To do this, I needed to remove one of the mounting shelves from the body. I very gently removed it using a junior hacksaw blade and then smoothed it down with a fine file.
The ESC was attached to the side of the body, next to the battery compartment and the BEC was positioned underneath the frame.
All the wires were tie-wrapped in place …
job done! Well, except for the setting up of everything. Stay tuned for the next installment
Long live the Belt CP!
Finally, the situation has been resolved. Lack of time and lack of stock has meant that I have not had a working helicopter for many months. However, earlier this week I got an email saying that the Belt CP kit was once again back in stock. My order was promptly placed that day and the King’s replacement arrived today.
The build will hopefully start tomorrow and I will note my progress here, so until tomorrow…