Costas Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 One of my (too many according to the Wife) hobby pursuits is flying model helis. Started many years ago when my mechanical & aeronautical interest in these things became affordable, way back in the late 80's when I first gained employment and it grew from there. For those that have had no previous exposure to these things, I think you may be surprised at the level of sophistication and complexity which is associated with these larger "TOY" rotary aircraft. Sit back and enjoy a collection of pics from the various heli builds I have amassed over the years: The majority of models you will see are based on IC 2-Stroke Nitro/Methanol engines (3.5HP) and another one which has an Electric 3-Phase (10KW) power plant. More to come.... Rod C, tomo, Dreamr and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAP911 Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 Machining porn - Superb!!!!! The finish on those parts is stunning Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 22June, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 Following heli is classed as a 'boutique' low production run unit (made to order) manufactured in Germany. Electric powered - Depending on setup, top speed in excess of 250 Km/Hr. More to come.... TwoHeadsTas, Shedpest, tomo and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 Nice!!!!!!!! Love all that carbon work and fine machining........ Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skidmarks Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 Stunning Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luzzo Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 11 hours ago, Costas said: top speed in excess of 250 Km/Hr. Amazing Heli's @Costas Must be a buzz to fly at those speeds. Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishcop Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 @Costas I was enjoying flying mine - then drones got popular and all sudden everyone thought they were an RC pilot 😕 I've stepped away. tomo and Costas 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 22June, 2021 Report Share Posted 22June, 2021 I will have to brush the dust of my 600 Costas and Fishcop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 23June, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 4 hours ago, Fishcop said: @Costas I was enjoying flying mine - then drones got popular and all sudden everyone thought they were an RC pilot 😕 I've stepped away. Drones are great when used as a tool for a specific task otherwise IMO they are just a bit of a novelty when it comes to actual flying skills enjoyment, just like you have alluded to. I'm also a registered RPAS pilot as I gained this accreditation for some drone operational work which we carried out as a trial where I work. I have never bothered to fly a drone for fun.... only for work, as I find it way to boring when it comes to flying recreationally - especially since flying helis for many years. Great to hear of a few others being involved with RC aircraft. tomo, Shedpest and Fishcop 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishcop Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 4 hours ago, Costas said: Drones are great when used as a tool for a specific task otherwise IMO they are just a bit of a novelty when it comes to actual flying skills enjoyment, just like you have alluded to. I'm also a registered RPAS pilot as I gained this accreditation for some drone operational work which we carried out as a trial where I work. Same - we use for koala monitoring and some other forestry work, though the automation now included in the software (Esri) means I don't really 'fly' them myself any more, just plot flight lines. Really all I do in the field is call it back to base if I spot raptor taking an interest. I only fly electrics 400-500 class - much cheaper to fix when I inevitably smash them I'm also looking to get back into slope soaring on the beaches here - foamies are a lot more forgiving! True story... My brother is an exceptionally accomplished helicopter pilot (Chief Rotary for Lifeflight). When he saw my first RC helo (Trex400) he was well impressed with the engineering and flight stability. I fly mode 2 and he quickly realised it was quite similar to a collective and controls in a real helo - so he instantly considered he'd be able to fly it... $600 destroyed in 7 seconds. He's still severely embarrassed when that story comes up 3legs, tomo and Costas 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 42 minutes ago, Fishcop said: Same - we use for koala monitoring and some other forestry work, thought the automation now included in the software (Esri) means I don't really 'fly' them myself any more, just plot flight lines. Really all I do in the field is call it back to base if I spot raptor taking an interest. I only fly electrics 400-500 class - much cheaper to fix when I inevitably smash them I'm also looking to get back into slope soaring on the beaches here - foamies are a lot more forgiving! True story... My brother is an exceptionally accomplished helicopter pilot (Chief Rotary for Lifeflight). When he saw my first RC helo (Trex400) he was well impressed with the engineering and flight stability. I fly mode 2 and he quickly realised it was quite similar to a collective and controls in a real helo - so he instantly considered he'd be able to fly it... $600 destroyed in 7 seconds. He's still severely embarrassed when that story comes up After so long playing with R/C yachts and cars, initially with 2 ch, when I took up R/C flying, mode 2 was the logical choice, and luckily the club I joined flew mostly mode 2. Did get into gliders for a while, and yes foamies were great, especially wings were fantastic as slopies. I have only flown electrics, and still have 3 or 4 in the shed. I'm lucky in that I only have to jump over the back fence and I can fly, as my neighbour has a good area on some old farmland I have permission to fly on, but I just need to get some time. I have a Parkzone Radian electric glider that I use as my "get back into it" model whenever I've had a layoff from flying. I have toyed with helis, but never got into it seriously, and now no time, particularly as I'm back into R/c yachts (RG65). Costas, Fishcop and tomo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 23June, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 Lol... We have a few full size pilots over the years join our heli only RC club and they usually don't make for the best student due to their pre-conceived ideas. You don't need to worry about nose-in hovering on the real thing... Fishcop and tomo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 34 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said: I have toyed with helis, but never got into it seriously, and now no time, particularly as I'm back into R/c yachts (RG65). R/C Yachts and twin engine racing boats have been on the radar for awhile, Finding the time to build is the problem. Fishcop 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 20 minutes ago, tomo said: R/C Yachts and twin engine racing boats have been on the radar for awhile, Finding the time to build is the problem. If you want a good, basic R/C yacht then the Dragonforce DF65 and Dragonflite DF95 are a great place to start - minimal building, ABS plastic and surprising performance. See www.hobbywarehouse.com.au. Well priced too. But, if you want to race, see what your local club sails - many will sail DFs, but also International One Metres (IOM), Marbleheads (RM), 10 raters (R10R) or A Class. Current arms race classes are IOM & RM, can set you back many $thousands. Way back when, I started what is now the largest R/C yacht fitting business in Oz (Radio Yacht Supplies) and I imported from Sweden and sold a couple of all singing and all dancing fully autoclaved pre-preg carbon boats with all carbon swing rigs and sails etc. They worked out at about $8-10k each from memory, and that was 25 years ago!!! tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 1 hour ago, TwoHeadsTas said: But, if you want to race, see what your local club sails - The only thing I know about my Yacht Club is cheap beer and red wine on friday night ( And a couple of the members crew on ocean racing Yachts for most of the year) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 2 minutes ago, tomo said: The only thing I know about my Yacht Club is cheap beer and red wine on friday night ( And a couple of the members crew on ocean racing Yachts for most of the year) . Ha Ha. Radio Sailing Australia lists Portland YC as a club sailing radio control...... tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 34 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said: Ha Ha. Radio Sailing Australia lists Portland YC as a club sailing radio control...... Yes aware of the R/C component, The Yacht Club has gone thew a bit of a transition over the last couple of years they sail every friday night and Sunday . I think the new Commodore has breathed new life into the club. TwoHeadsTas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 23June, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 A few more pics and with a touch of commentary added for those not familiar with these things: This is one of my current 'Daily Driver' throw-around models - A relatively cheap model manufactured in Asia with design input from an Aussie competition pilot. Assembly of side-frames Tail Rotor shaft main drive - Main gear end Hall Effect sensor (magnetic pickup) detects clutch bell rotation which feeds RPM signal to my onboard head speed governor. This maintains constant head speed (varies throttle based on the pitch changes of the main blades during flight). Hardened motor pinion gear (silver) mounts to clutch bell and couples motor output to main gear. [ Sprague (one-way) bearing is fitted to main/tail drive gears. Main rotor shaft passes through this one-way which provides drive to the rotor head but disengages rotor head when performing engine off auto-rotations. 1.05 cu in (0.017 L) Engine... Approx 3.5HP+ output when running on 20% Nitromethane - at 18K RPM Motor cooling provided by fan mounted to crankshaft - You can also see the clutch shoe assembly mounted right at the very end. A ducted shroud directs air over the motor's head cooling fins. Note 'trumpet' on carby intake. Motor utilises a pressurised fuel system and constant fuel pressure is maintained by the regulator (round thing with the 5 small holes pictured below) as fuel is drawn into the carby. Motor attached to engine mounts and mounted into frame with cooling duct in final position. Note the needle adjustments on the carby - 3 Primary adjustments (Low/Idle, Mid-range and Top end) Main Rotor head assembly - Shaft running through the centre can actually pivot and internally there are rubber o-rings which we can change out for various shore values to alter the damping factor for the head. Single main blade Grip Swashplate and Main Rotor head - Main shaft diameter is 12mm Tail Drive gearbox assembly Note pitch slider control which the pilot controls to allow the heli to pirouette - Basically the rudder function. Completed Heli A fair amount of electronics is hidden from view on this model due to the copious amount of space between the frames. Shot taken by one of our club members while model was in orbit... Scott930 and tomo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHeadsTas Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 Nice stuff, fantastic engineering, very neat and tidy!! Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight 911 Posted 23June, 2021 Report Share Posted 23June, 2021 I spent many years with single rotors. Absolutely love them. It can be a real money pit though! I pretty much gave up so I could support my Porsche habit. I had to sit the PPL helicopter theory to get my licence back in the day. Still have this machine on the shelf. TwoHeadsTas, Costas and Carrera28 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthurK Posted 8July, 2021 Report Share Posted 8July, 2021 Hey @Costas, you werent on archeli back in 2004-2008 by any chance? I had/have 2 Raptor 50s and and electric T-Rex450. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 10July, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 10July, 2021 On 08/07/2021 at 18:39, ArthurK said: Hey @Costas, you werent on archeli back in 2004-2008 by any chance? I had/have 2 Raptor 50s and and electric T-Rex450. Yeh - that was me...! 👍 I seem to recall that you had used the same username back on ARCHELI - I thought it sounded familiar 😀. Was out flying this morning for a couple of hours - Wanting to get one of my large scale helis which is based on Raptor 90 mechanics back in the air. Looking to upgrade its power plant to an OS 105HZ-R. Model weighs in close to 8Kg so the 105 should pull harder than the 90 that is currently installed. The Agusta is currently setup with my old JR12X but I run a Futaba 18SZ on my 3D machines so I need/want to also convert it over to Futaba. Being a CCPM flybar model the setup is more involved and I have been too lazy to do the change-over as yet. I still have heaps of spares for the Raptor 90 - Enough to keep my Agusta scale heli in the air for many years yet. SteveF, LeeM and tomo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc968cs Posted 10July, 2021 Report Share Posted 10July, 2021 What a beautiful collection - thanks for sharing. So if one was looking to get started with an RC helli - a good one, any suggestions? Costas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costas Posted 10July, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 10July, 2021 16 minutes ago, mc968cs said: So if one was looking to get started with an RC helli - a good one, any suggestions? If you have not flown anything previously, I would recommend getting hold of a simulator to initially practice on a PC as they are difficult to fly if you don't have any initial experience flying models. It will be very difficult to fly on your own as initial setup of a heli can be quite involved so I would recommend you join a club that has regular heli pilots/members for assistance. I would start with an electric 450 sized heli (parts are relatively cheap) or even the next size up depending on how committed you feel. A couple of local shops: https://www.zenrc.com.au/ https://mad4heli.com/ tomo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc968cs Posted 10July, 2021 Report Share Posted 10July, 2021 Thanks @FUCHer (why’s your handle not coming up?) Yes I’m a novice but thinking could be fun and appreciate the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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