What parts are needed to conver a 425 into a 550

[timmmax]

Hey guys- I have been out of helis for a few years--had a trex 450 and JR Voyager a few years back. I am getting back into helis for the purpose of amatuer AP stuff and the Gaui 550 seemed like a good affordable way to get back into flying and big enough to do some GoPro stuff. I found a 550 basic kit with the optional flybarless kit (for later on, I will start with flybar to get back into it). It's on it's way and was gathering parts for the build. This is what I was going to do, any input would be appreciated.

HYPERION S-3520 14 TURN 1190KV BRUSHLESS OUTRUNNER MOTOR
Hyperion Titan 80 or CC 75 Ice ESC
5S 4270 mAH
42T Main w/15T pinion
14T Tail comes with it (I think)

I cannot see myself ever getting into any 3D, Just scale type flying / hovering for Aerial Photog stuff.
Suggestions?
Thanks,
Tim

[PTcaflyer]

...well, IMO the 5s Batt. may be heavy for the 550...If you run it at 15/42 , you are looking at 2271HS and 16/50 you would be around 2035...on 5s power.
that is good HS for 550 blades and low-mass CF blade VS GF would do fine...
PT

[timmmax]

PT- thanks for the reply--what about 4S 5350mAH or so?
Tim

[PTcaflyer]

Are you looking for long flight times as the reason for the big batts?
4s is too small IMO...your amps will eat up your equipment!
you could run 2 - 6s in series (I think thats right...) at say 2600 size or so and it would be like 5200MAh !
Rule of thumb formula for long flight is: Long blades/Efficient motor/gearing for the powerband...
PT

[timmmax]

Yes, I am looking for duration. I was going by the info here:

http://aircraft-world.com/prod_datas.../GA-HUR550.htm

[PTcaflyer]

...oh yeah...i saw that spec sheet...good guidelines to start with...Did you get your airframe while it was on sale?
Those Hyperion Tail servos are great! DS20-gmd on both of my Gaui's
I have been building 450 clones and will go back and forth with flying the 500's
I'm looking to get a CF 550 frame next to use the Scorpion 4020-910 motor I have...
PT

[timmmax]

Yes, I caught the sale on the airframe but just missed the $20 servo sale %#^$@*.Hopefully by kit will show up next week. Thanks for your input.

[PTcaflyer]

...you will love the 550 and become one of the "Grin" club members...the 550's have a lot of "Hang Time"... 500 bladed are great Sport Flyers with higher head speed.
I have tried to run a keychain cam on my 550 and cannot keep consistant vibration levels low enough to be usable with out the "Jello" happening...
PT

[Jerrymac]

Originally Posted by PTcaflyer

you could run 2 - 6s in series (I think thats right...) at say 2600 size or so and it would be like 5200MAh !

PT

Just a note. Hooking 2 x 6s in series will give you 12s. You would need to hook them in parallel to get 6s X 2x the capacity.

[PTcaflyer]

+100 Jerry...
I was rattled by the bad news in Reno today... My thoughts and prayers go out to the dead and injured.
PT

[Mikej]

If you want more flight time, your best option is to buy more batteries, comprimising the flight characteristics by buying very large betteries is not a good idea. The Turnigy 6S 2650mah batts are $35 each - much better to get a couple of those and keep it flying nicely.

[Wolveslayr]

I have my 425 nearing completion. Yet from the beginning I knew I wanted to stretch it. My question is over time will I spend a lot more maintaining the 550 vs the 500? Seems things get a lot more expensive at the 550 level. I'm talking blades, batteries, electronics etc. I know the boom kits are the same $ Could I get the 550 boom but fly it with 500 blades. I guess I'm trying to quantify the long term cost difference between the two. Todd

[volens31]

WookieDumpling, when I got my 550 kit it came from the manufacturer with the long boom and 500 blades not 550s. I flew it like that whilst learning, obviously you'll need a higher H/S than if running 550 blades but otherwise it should be fine.

Cheers
Nick

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[Jerrymac]

Wookie, keep in mind that there are 3 different boom/belt sizes for the Hurri.
One for blades up to 425mm, one for blades up to 500mm and one for blades up to 550mm.As mentioned above, you can use the long boom with 500mm blades, but, you can also use the medium boom and 522 belt with 500mm blades.

The biggest cost difference between the 425 and the 550 will be the main blades, as everything else is basically the same.You can even run the same batteries in the 425 and 550 if you want to. Only thing I have found is that 500mm blades are not very common among most suppliers. Seems like there are many brands of 430mm and 550mm blades but 500mm blades are a little harder to come by

[Wolveslayr]

Originally Posted by Jerrymac

Wookie, keep in mind that there are 3 different boom/belt sizes for the Hurri.
One for blades up to 425mm, one for blades up to 500mm and one for blades up to 550mm.As mentioned above, you can use the long boom with 500mm blades, but, you can also use the medium boom and 522 belt with 500mm blades.

The biggest cost difference between the 425 and the 550 will be the main blades, as everything else is basically the same.You can even run the same batteries in the 425 and 550 if you want to. Only thing I have found is that 500mm blades are not very common among most suppliers. Seems like there are many brands of 430mm and 550mm blades but 500mm blades are a little harder to come by

Thanks Jerrymac, that's the kind of information I need. A question though if you go with the long boom and 550mm blades does that demand a lower kv motor or can it be handled through gearing for a ~1300kv Turnigy (3126) that I'm guessing is 75% eff.

TIA

Todd
surprised 500mm blades are rare with the number brands with a 500

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by WookieDumpling

Thanks Jerrymac, that's the kind of information I need. A question though if you go with the long boom and 550mm blades does that demand a lower kv motor or can it be handled through gearing for a ~1300kv Turnigy (3126) that I'm guessing is 75% eff.

TIA

Todd
surprised 500mm blades are rare with the number brands with a 500

You can just about get low enough - use a 14T pinion, a 60T primary gear and a 20T OWB gear and run a throttle curve of around 85% and you are down below 1900 HS which should be ideal for 550 mains

[sp00fman]

You can also consider the Trex550 blades (520mm) They should even fit on the mid boom. a member here was running that ans i asked if it had enough clearance. He told me it was fine. Not sure about the price of those blades...