Brief Description: Rigging the Tail Rotor Drive Shaft
I received a Craftsman Laser Trac laser level several years ago as a gift. This type of level projects a line instead of a small dot like a laser pointer does. I have two other levels that work on the same principle, but this one is by far has the longest and brightest beam.
I started the alignment first by determining where the center of the shaft sits in relation to the outside of the bearing housing. This was a simple matter using a set of digital calipers and placing a center line mark on a white piece of tape on the side of the bearing.
I then placed a mark at the center of the tail rotor input coupling and another mark at the opposite end on the #1 pillow bearing. Using the laser on a camara tripod it was easy to place the beam accurately at each end and then raise or lower the shaft/bearings to align with the projected beam. I plan to mount the laser on the ceiling directly above the drive line to align it from front to back. I still need to make the shims for each pillow bearing.