Virpil CM3 Base - Dis-assembly & Nyogel application Tutorial

[HC_Official]

Got some Nyogel 767a to try and improve performance on my CM3 base

 

 

[dburne]

Ever wonder why these companies don't go ahead and add the grease to their hardware during assembly rather than consumers needing to take  them apart to do this after receiving to get them working ideally? Frankly I find that a turn off to motivating me to consider the stick.

And it is not just Virpil, VKB also. I just took my Gunfighter apart earlier today to do the same, add some Nyogel to where the clutch plates clamped. PITB, not too mention one screw on the PCB I would have to remove was apparently already wallowed out from assembly so I could not get one of the clutches done. Impossible to get that screw out to remove the PCB.

We pay a lot of money for this hardware, I would expect better really.

Edited October 16, 2022 by dburne

[Dallas88B]

Its the "we're no worse than anyone else" corporate motto.

Besides, if they start using proper lubricant what do they do with all their current stock... retrofit ? include a tube of Nyogel 767a ? ... and say here you go you can strip it down and repair this brand new device. Better to add Nyogel 767a to the parts list, sell it to the punters, make more $ and call it good.

 

[dburne]

Well they could at least refine their assembly process to add the grease to the sticks. I mean they have videos showing how to do it , why the heck can they just not provide the dang things with the grease already applied? Surely would be much easier to do in house during assembly. I have the VKB Gunfighter and same issue with it as well.

I don't mind changing springs and cams, that is part of the flexibility of these nice gimbal designs. But having to take further apart to include removing PCB's in order to be able to add a tiny pinch of grease to the shaft the clutch plates fit over? C'mon!

Edited October 16, 2022 by dburne

[Dallas88B]

13 minutes ago, dburne said:

they could at least refine their assembly process to add the grease to the sticks.

Yes. Agreed. If only.

[imacken]

Let’s keep this in context. The issue here is only for some helicopter users not liking the way the stick works for them in retaining a static position. I and most other buyers who are mainly jet flyers don’t have the issue. 

[HC_Official]

Even you yourself admit to have noticed this even tho you are not using a "helicopter" style config

[imacken]

As we have discussed on the Virpil forums, I have noticed it, but it's no showstopper for me and shouldn't be for others who are thinking of buying this very nice base. 

Although I can see the issue, I still wonder, in practical terms, when anyone would be doing small circular rotations of the stick.

All I am saying is that we could keep this issue in perspective, and not blow it out of proportion.

[HC_Official]

8 minutes ago, imacken said:

Although I can see the issue, I still wonder, in practical terms, when anyone would be doing small circular rotations of the stick.

 

I am guessing you dont fly helicopters ?

[imacken]

Not really. I have tinkered with the Apache, but jets are mainly my thing.
Out of interest, under what circumstances do you make these small circular movements on the stick in helis?

[HC_Official]

trying to hover

[imacken]

Thanks. I didn't find that myself, but that's probably down to my bad technique!

[dburne]

28 minutes ago, imacken said:

Thanks. I didn't find that myself, but that's probably down to my bad technique!

In the new Virpil CM3 stick, can one access the clutch adjustment screws from the exterior of the gimbal base without removing the stick or anything, like on the fly ? In my Gunfighter MK III I have to remove the top plate with gimbal attached to access those clutch screws. So in effect remove the stick, remove the gimbal top screws and pull gimbal out.

Edited October 17, 2022 by dburne

[imacken]

Yes, the clutch adjustments can be made on the fly.  Screws are accessible on the top of the base.

BTW, it was my heli hover technique I was talking about above!

[dburne]

5 hours ago, imacken said:

Yes, the clutch adjustments can be made on the fly.  Screws are accessible on the top of the base.

BTW, it was my heli hover technique I was talking about above!

 

That is good to know and a huge selling point. The ability to adjust those clutches from exterior on the fly. 

[Dogmanbird]

pg44a is excellent for anyone wanting a kind of hydraulic feel on pedals, collective and who is using a longer stick extension. It's best used sparingly and over a large contact area. From my experience it tolerates being under heavy pressure between two surfaces over long periods. Unlike 767, it doesn't get squeezed out and dry out as quickly, which will eventually change it's feel (needing a re grease after a while).  However, I find it too strong without an extension. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Dogmanbird

[frizball]

FWIW, I just finished lubing up my CM3 and it does make a world of difference and is well worth the effort. 
 

a couple of notes..

1- the arm bolt is not, in fact, 14 spider legs as suggested in the tutorial :). It’s a 7/32”. Though I understand that will still be a one-off size for those who live in parts of the world where we don’t all have both metric and standard tools.  
 

2 - if you loosen the 4 top bolts as well as the two large-ish pan head screwed on the top, then the top plate will be able to easily pull away from the cam assemblies and make removing the clutches super simple. 
 

3 - less is more with the 767a. If you think there’s still some on there, try to wipe it off. 

I didn’t really have an issue with the sawtooth stiction when I was using the WarBrd grip w/200mm extension. The tiniest amount of tension on the clutches was sufficient to hold the stick in place in any position. The sawtooth was there, but barely noticeable. 

Then I upgraded to the Alpha Prime, which is probably twice as heavy as the WarBrd, requiring a bit more friction on the clutches which made the sawtooth a problem. 

It feels really good now. Though with that heavy ass grip, it requires a really tight clutch in order to not slowly fall over once you get too far away from center. But even with the clutch really tight, it has a good feel and I don’t notice the sawtooth issue. 

Now I have about 49.8g of nyogel that I don’t know what to do with. Haha.

[imacken]

Just a side note, your post is impossible to read with dark mode on here.  Don't know if it's the text colour or the background.

[HC_Official]

On 10/22/2022 at 7:38 PM, mjfrisby said:

FWIW, I just finished lubing up my CM3 and it does make a world of difference and is well worth the effort. 
 

a couple of notes..

1- the arm bolt is not, in fact, 14 spider legs as suggested in the tutorial :). It’s a 7/32”. Though I understand that will still be a one-off size for those who live in parts of the world where we don’t all have both metric and standard tools.  
 

2 - if you loosen the 4 top bolts as well as the two large-ish pan head screwed on the top, then the top plate will be able to easily pull away from the cam assemblies and make removing the clutches super simple. 
 

3 - less is more with the 767a. If you think there’s still some on there, try to wipe it off. 

I didn’t really have an issue with the sawtooth stiction when I was using the WarBrd grip w/200mm extension. The tiniest amount of tension on the clutches was sufficient to hold the stick in place in any position. The sawtooth was there, but barely noticeable. 

Then I upgraded to the Alpha Prime, which is probably twice as heavy as the WarBrd, requiring a bit more friction on the clutches which made the sawtooth a problem. 

It feels really good now. Though with that heavy ass grip, it requires a really tight clutch in order to not slowly fall over once you get too far away from center. But even with the clutch really tight, it has a good feel and I don’t notice the sawtooth issue. 

Now I have about 49.8g of nyogel that I don’t know what to do with. Haha.

null

[frizball]

no idea..  I wrote the post out on the virpil forum, on my phone.  Copied/pasted from that to this forum, on my phone.  

[MAXsenna]

2 minutes ago, mjfrisby said:

no idea..  I wrote the post out on the virpil forum, on my phone.  Copied/pasted from that to this forum, on my phone.  

I believe there are issues with "dark modes" on this forum. I have dark mode on for YouTube, and I copied something from it once, (selected text only), and it was unreadable when I pasted it here.