Boom Supports

The standard tail boom supports that come standard with the Tsurugi are short and of a relatively light-weight construction. In fact, after approximately 80 flights one of my supports snapped cleanly into two pieces although many would consider my machine to be extremely smooth. When replacing the struts you may want to look at something more substantial. I have tried a couple of different types and would like to tell you about them.

Kalt

These struts really are well made. They are of a heavy gauge, wide diameter aluminum tube that provides proper stiffness. Plastic fittings are provided which must be pressed into the ends of the tubing. In turn, each plastic fitting is pinned by a 2.5mm screw which will retain the fitting and prevent it from rotating. The struts also polish up really well adding some "eye candy" to your model. These are the struts I use and can recommend them 100%. Street price is around $30.00.

Hel-X

I tried a set of these struts in carbon fiber. I was impressed with their lightness though I felt that they did not appear to have the stiffness. I fitted them to my Tsurugi and went flying. My initial thoughts were correct: try as I might, they continued to vibrate to the point that they sounded like a musical instrument. Of course their resonance was influenced by RPM but unfortunately it was right in what I feel to be the sweet-spot of my Tsurugi. I adjust the compression and tension but this did not drastically alter how they vibrated. There is nothing wrong with the construction or quality of these struts, but they just don't appear to be sturdy enough. Typical street price is around $20.00.

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