Tacoed my 500

[adjday]

Well I had a good run...I bought a Trex 500e (i think) that was converted to a DFC TT from the previouse owner back in November and had my first real crash with it just a couple weeks ago. I took the bird apart and built it back from scratch mainly because i crashed in a soft sandy swamp.

The normal parts have made the list for replacement. But i noticed and also knew about some mods the previous owner had done that i just lived with...but now im doing a re build, i thought id ask some questions....

1st....The lower frame was aluminum (destroyed)...the type that has the circular shape to allow the motor to drop through...the factory part is plastic? Does the aluminum one help save the frame sides? Any one have a link to this part?

2nd....the previous owner had stuffed 2 wine bottle corks in the front of the frame and used shoe glue to keep them in place....im gessing to help keep the frame more rigid....is the original frame supposed to have a speader installed to help this out?? The only thing helping the nose of the frame stay stiff would be the cheep plastic battery tray, the motor mount and the lower frame.

I also heard of someone making a frame stiffner for the 500.....? I havnt found one...yet. Any thoughts?

A little more info on the frankingheli..
The I.D. of the frame is 3.8mm with the tail block installed

Uses the 31 tooth forward TT gears

Main gear is straight tooth

Came with Align DS510 cyclic servos and a talon 90 esc.

Tail servo mounts on the tail boom...not in the frame.

Any other upgrades or mods that could be suggested would be helpfull. (I did drop down the battery tray to use 3300 batteries).

Thanks guys/gals

[babyuh1]

Bummer!

[Gladius]

I've never felt the need for an aluminum bottom plate. Plastic works great, is cheap, and I've yet to break a frame on the bottom (broken a couple, but always up higher.)

I have no idea what the cork was for. Maybe vibration dampening? Or a slight CoG adjustment?

[adjday]

Thanks Gladius, appreciate the info. Just trying to make sense of what parts from what different models were used with this build.

Did the pro change the frame I.D. to something a little more narrow? Or was it every model after the 500E?? Also will the trex 500 TT swing any larger blades that the 430 mm mains with 72mm tail? What is a safe distance from mains to tail if so?

BYW...im in the 2800 rpm range and getting 5:30 min with 3.8 on each cell after. I was hoping to get away with a lighter feeling heli with a little larger disc, with sacrificing a little flight time.

[Gladius]

The 500E and the 500 ESP use the wider frames with the 31T tail gear. The 500 Pro used the narrower frames with the 36T tail gear. The 36T allows/requires you to run higher headspeeds. I'm running my ESP at 2750rpm, and it's got all the pop that I need. I have my timer set to 5:00 min, and come down right around 30%.

Someone posted that they were using the Halo 450mm blades without any problems. That's something that I looked into doing, but the Align 425mm blades are just so cheap and fly pretty nicely, that I have a hard time spending twice as much for a set of Halos.

[adjday]

Nice! Thanks for the info and help meng.

Happy flying