Marvel Craft A109S on TRex 600

[tekparasite]

Those retracts look sweet Majuro15!!!

I cheated on mine, as I modified existing ones, and I'm using electric retracts to avoid using servos etc.

I still haven't hovered yet. Seems like it's taking forever even though mine came pre-painted.

It's only my 2nd attempt at scale, so I'm happy with the results so far.

[majuro15]

Originally Posted by tekparasite

I cheated on mine, as I modified existing ones, and I'm using electric retracts to avoid using servos etc.

Hey, no such thing as cheating, it's pronounced customizing!!! I like the electric retracts, sorry you've had poor luck with the cheaper ones. One thing to note on your nose gear (not sure if you're concerned) the A109 only has a single nose wheel, not a double. Still looking good though!

Well, Christmas came and then got returned lol!

The 700 sized head from RC Aerodyne came in on Christmas eve. A marvelous looking piece, for sure. I started taking my time and putting it together all to find out that it's just not going to work on a 600 size frame. A couple of problems, one being the second Jesus bolt that 700's have, two being the swash that is supplies is for 12mm (obviously) but the links will not work with a 600 size swash and third, the thing is just huge!!! I will say that if I ever build a 700 scale bird, I'll give one of these a shot!

Disclaimer is that I didn't fly it or even spool it up, so it could look just as cool as the plug-n-play head that I have now and not fly worth a crap!

So, back to the drawing board. Decided to strip down both plug-n-play heads (crashed one and new one which didn't fly well) to the hubs and start piecing a complete head back together using the best of the parts. I did a bit of balancing along the way, along with a lot of measuring with the dial calipers and eye balling. Made sure all of the blade grip studs were correct length and no bent ones. Also checked all bearings and J-arms.

I have a complete helicopter again and it's waiting patiently for the sunrise tomorrow for another test flight. Promising news is that I did the no-blade spool ups while mounted inside the fuse and the SK was registering a 1.2-1.7 overall vibration index. It still has a bit of a wobble, so we'll see what it looks like with blades on it. The fuse (seemed to) handle the vibes very well though, almost soaking them up. No resonance even with the tail blades on and nothing really moving around. The gear also did fine during these tests, so that's promising too.

Did a bit more work on the control panel and will update once I test fly the pod and boom tomorrow. I'm aiming for a maiden fuse test flight by this weekend.

[majuro15]

Got the pod and boom back in the air this morning. Windy here so did some test hovers and circuits in the front yard. I'm basically back to where I started from, SK showing vibes from 3.7-5.0 with the higher end coming from spool up. The heli flies great, as usual, and the skids are calmer, but not where they were before the crash. I'm basically just fed up with trying to get the darn head true. You can only put so many band aids on a wound.

I'll do one more balance on the blades, just to check and I'm putting it in the fuse for the beginning of tests on that. I honestly think it's as good as it's going to get. I may end up buying another similar head when the fuse is out for paint just to see if I get luckier. My SK unit's USB is also jacked up, so I'm not able to get the vibe logs off easily anymore.

ANYWAY, breath, Tim, breath!!! Happy again and will be installing in the fuse starting tonight. I plan on doing some blades off tests and then tail only, followed by several ground runs to make sure things are good before doing a couple of hops.

[helipainter]

what is the rpm associated with them vibes?

Heads are a bitch crashed. When you have it all assembled, take a look with a ruler, flat swash, blade over boom, are they all the same height back towards the tip? I've bent grips and blocks, that usually at least shows ya which ones off if it isn't bent fore/aft of the feather bolt

does that head have a feather shaft and feather bolts on the other 2 grips or is it all threaded feather bolts on all four grips? can you buy those seperately?

I just grenaded my first mini usb connector on a gopro, inside seperated from the outside inside the camera, that happening here?

[majuro15]

Steve,

As far as the head goes, I ordered a completely new one. The quality just isn't there, I guess. The hub itself will wobble a bit, as I broke it all down piece by piece. I guess it's just the nature of scale heads, not made by the major manufacturers.

The SK unit has always had a loose wire or something, I'm guessing the USB port is not soldered well to the board inside. I have been selfish and just not sent it back for repair/replacement. I may do it next week when I get the fuse sent off to you.

Can't wait to get it in your hands!!!

[majuro15]

Finally made it in the air yesterday!!! Despite a delay caused by no heat in the house (bad gas regulator), I was able to make the maiden "hop" in my neighborhood.



Nothing major, just as I planned it. Fuse and mechanics looked good during spool tests, both with and without blades. The tail seemed very loose and I later discovered that it was binding with a bit of Loctite that had seeped on to the control arm bearing. I have a metal one on the way to upgrade the tail a bit.

Other than that, it did great. Lifted off easily at mid stick with 1300 rpm head speed. Mid stick equals about 4.5-5 degrees pitch out of a possible 11 at the top. CC log showed 37 amps peak during hover on my 100 amp ESC. CG was good, although I had the main battery farther forward than I will once the cockpit is in, so ballast will be needed. The head still isn't perfect, but SK showed vibes in the 4-6 range and had no visible shakes, so I'm happy. The gear did great (despite me letting it roll backwards down hill!) although as you can see, I didn't cycle it. I'll do a little forward ground roll to make sure the nose casters correctly before liftoff.

Overall I'm very happy! The wife and I will be on vacation next week, so no second flight, but when I get back hope to do some small maneuvers to see how she does. Still on track to send the fuse off for paint at the end of the week!

[convict27]

Wow! She looks really good. You have done an amazing job and congrats on getting her airborne!

[Pagan207]

this is the fuselage Im going to use for my next scale!! thanks for posting because I love to see the process of the building. it is not going to be with much detail as yours which by the way is a dream come true, you has a magnificent and perfect scale, and it just shock me your skills and dedication .But what Im doing is your landing lights!! thats exactly what I want it to do and then I open this thread and you are telling me how, thats perfect!!!! the other details I do not think I can manage, Im very impatience and had no work space!
waht im still deciding is If I use a trex 700 or the mechanics the manufacturer sells that give you space behind the cockpit to build passengers seats because the mechanics are fixed in the dog house area exclusively ,thats is extreme scale!!! I like simplicity so when it came the moment of decide wich one let see what happen. thx again please post pics when you paint it so I can have an excelent wallpaper and inspiration!!!

[majuro15]

Pagan, thanks for the compliments! It's been a lot of work and my fuse is no where near as detailed as others have made, but I'm happy with it! The custom mechanics from Marvel Craft are impressive, if they had those when I bought this, I would have done it for sure!

I got some metal upgrades from Align and KDE Direct today for the tail. Turns out I had Loctite on the little connector arms for the tail rotor, causing it to be stiff. The new KDE mod has bearings for those and is much smoother. Put that on and did the fuselage's second test flight in the driveway.

Very successful, hovered for around 6:30 in light winds (3-7 kts) and the thing did great. Hovering just below mid stick with plenty of pop that got it above the second story roof in no time. Also had plenty of oomph to keep it from coming down too hot. I did some small, slow circuits and must say everything was smooth. I think the tail gain can be turned down just a little or adjust the stop values, as the tail wags once or twice on a hard stop now.

I'm going to down load the SK and CC logs this weekend to take a look. Visibly, the fuse is solid as a rock, as well as the mechanics. I'm debating on even putting in a top brace from the mechanics to the fuse. Anyone have advice on that?

This weekend is full for ANG drill, but Sunday I'll be breaking the fuse down to send off for paint on Monday. I'll fly pod and boom for a bit to enjoy myself during the weeks of painting. Then a proper maiden flight!

[majuro15]

I had another great test flight. 7 + minutes of hovering and put 3400 back in my 5000 mah pack. Good temps (no windows) and good vibes. Very happy with the performance. Also did a gear cycle in flight with perfect results. Looks freaking awesome!

Now, the mechanics are in a heap on the table as the fuse is all broken down and taped up for painting. I have it boxed up and am sending it over to HF Painter in CA in the morning with lots of packing material and lots of insurance!!

I fine tuned my scheme tonight and am really looking forward to it. Should be done around the end of February, just in time for the cockpit panel. I'll put the mechanics back in pod and boom until then for something to do.

[Pagan207]

cant wait!! good luck!!

[Pagan207]

hello! any progress with the painting?

[helipainter]

it's prepped, silver and has the main masking laid out. hoping to be close to finished after today. got three colors to get through as soon as it warms up.








except were doing a red doghouse and different number



these marvelcraft really have alot of scale contour, it's been a challenge laying out, like a real one. Downhill slide now

[majuro15]

Yup, looking great thus far! Steve's done a great job prepping it and giving me feedback on how to best build stuff for a great finished product. I'm taking notes for my next build. Can't wait to get this thing back and put it in the air!

[helipainter]

got the red and black on today. theres nothing to photograph, it's just all black. After the white gets sprayed, i'll peel all the masking and put it back together for some pics. Should be finished up over the weekend.

[blade77]

Drooool - This is looking good. Can you put a coke tin beside it in one of the pics for size comparison?

[majuro15]

Sweet!! Can't wait to see some color on it.

It's pretty big, about 5 and a half feet long I'd say. My 600 is actually a little small inside of it, but I beefed it up to handle it.

[Helifan314]

Just so I'm clear on it, is this the four head from RC Aerodyne you're installing on it?

[tekparasite]

WOW!!! NICE!!

[Pagan207]

wowww