Copycat 500 build

[Luke Warmwater]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

yeah little bit of clear packing tape on the bottom will keep the foam from getting roughed up on landings....

I converted my P38 to a belly lander. Packing tape on the tow booms and the pod and she has come back pristine after 3 batteries.

More than can be said for my bi-plane; she just about exploded mid-air when the motor came of its mount! Still, it foam, so epoxy will sort it out.....unless I end up feeling more inclined to get a new kits....lol

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Luke Warmwater

I converted my P38 to a belly lander. Packing tape on the tow booms and the pod and she has come back pristine after 3 batteries.

More than can be said for my bi-plane; she just about exploded mid-air when the motor came of its mount! Still, it foam, so epoxy will sort it out.....unless I end up feeling more inclined to get a new kits....lol

I've had a motor or two come loose in my day...not fun..but entertaining! Lol

[Luke Warmwater]

It made everyone laugh!

It all started with a weird noise under power (never good!!!), so I decide to bring her in with as "dead-stick" as possible. She needed a little power in the turn to finals...weird noise, big exposion at the front as the cowling disintergrated and she slowly nosed over....

Motor, prop and motor mount all intact.....the motor is just hanging by the wires and there is no cowling left at all. So.....a new cowl has set me back.....wait for it......
£4.00!!!

Yup, just four squid for the repair! So I will repair her and get her in the air again, although it may be her last chance. I have my eye on the Flyfly Chipmunk.....anyone tried it?

[Oldladypilot]

That is one advantage to airplanes, they're inexpensive to repair.

[Bugster]

My garage (hangar) roof is the parking place for 10 of the most beaten up airframes known to man. At least one must be 17 years old. Yes they are usually dead easy to repair but each repair adds weight until they eventually cry "enough - I ain't committing aviation no more". I really must be brutal and get rid of some with their 35mhz receivers, clunking great servos, battery compartments and c of g designed round heavyweight NiCads.

Then in my inbox came a promo from CenturyUK - a 4 engine 6ft span B17 with massive presence and attention to detail for about 400 notes. I am trying to resist

[Oldladypilot]

Originally Posted by Bugster

My garage (hangar) roof is the parking place for 10 of the most beaten up airframes known to man. At least one must be 17 years old. Yes they are usually dead easy to repair but each repair adds weight until they eventually cry "enough - I ain't committing aviation no more". I really must be brutal and get rid of some with their 35mhz receivers, clunking great servos, battery compartments and c of g designed round heavyweight NiCads.

Then in my inbox came a promo from CenturyUK - a 4 engine 6ft span B17 with massive presence and attention to detail for about 400 notes. I am trying to resist

Buggie, that's the funniest thing I've read in a while!

The B-17 sounds awesome! I don't think I'd get anything that big though!

[JettaManDan]

just do it

Back OT sort of ..I finally got to starting my Trex build...now being my 7th CP heli build it is going really well. In on like 3 hour stretch i have the main frame built..the servo's in..the tail put together and the tail mechanicals on and ready for blades...this is a base model Trex (real align one) so it is a plastic tial holder...and some plastic parts in the head..i'm finding it easier to work with in some ways than metal...and i'm not afriad of a lot of the connections backing out. It also seems much lighter. I'm going to do a bit more tomorrow but after waiting 10 weeks (no joke) my new Slash 4x4 Platinum is showing up tomorrow..so going to have to trim and paint the body and get my radio system in there and fire that bad boy up for some bashing on sunday! Gonna be sweet. Hoping by next weekend (9 days from now) to be test flying the 500 and see how it is. Need another big boy to fly

my r/c march on continues

Dan

[boykintom]

I think my next build will be an HK 500. I built (and just finished repairing again) an HK 450 Pro, which I really like, and I see no reason not to go back to HK for the 500, too. Looks like it isn't much more expensive in parts and batteries than the 450. Will you use two 3s or a single 6s?

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by boykintom

I think my next build will be an HK 500. I built (and just finished repairing again) an HK 450 Pro, which I really like, and I see no reason not to go back to HK for the 500, too. Looks like it isn't much more expensive in parts and batteries than the 450. Will you use two 3s or a single 6s?

if you have suitable 3s packs there is no reason not to use them except for the hassle of getting them strapped together and on the heli..as long as you know how to make a proper series adapter or buy one it is no problem..and if you have one cell go bad on one pack you aren't losing a whole 6s pack, just one 3s....but of course it is easier to just strap one pack on there...i got lucky with a buddy who has like 4 of the 500's and tons of batteries and sold me 2 for really cheap..so i have 3 6s packs right now and they work great... just make sure you have a way to strap the packs together and to the heli..would suck to have one come loose in flight...

[Luke Warmwater]

Originally Posted by boykintom

I see no reason not to go back to HK for the 500, too.

Check with OLP....she'll give you a list of all the HK parts that needed replacing.

[Oldladypilot]

Originally Posted by Luke Warmwater

Check with OLP....she'll give you a list of all the HK parts that needed replacing.

Need replacing? Or I replaced because I felt like it or it was recommended? lol!

Seriously though, a lot of people say to not even try flying the HK500 with the stock tail assembly. An HK500 CMT maybe, ask Steemo.
Same with the tail belt drive assembly.....many people say not to trust it.

Real good chance your main gear will wobble, get an Align one along with one way bearing.

Some good hardware. I got an Rcscrews kit but some people say stainless is actually not as strong as a good quality metal hardware. I've done nothing so far but crash but none of the stainless hardware has failed.

Not a bad kit really. Just replace the critical parts with Align.

Have you had to replace much on your HK450 due to a bad part boykintom?

[boykintom]

I have had to replace very little on the HK450 Pro because it was bad. Due to crashes, I have replaced many main shafts, feathering shafts, main gears and blades, but not much else. Most of the replacement parts have been other clones--whatever was available. I have not found any of the others to be better than HK, and often not as good. My concession to Align parts so far have been links and link ends and the servo tray. The metal servo tray on the HK broke in flight, causing a crash. The plastic Align replacement is much stronger.

The one issue I have had recently may be due to the HK 401 gyro. I noticed that in HH mode when I was doing pitch pumps, the tail started to blow out a little, where it used to be solid. Then the heli started nosing left on its on, and wouldn't immediately respond to stick input. This caused a fairly minor crash--I'm finally learning to hit throttle hold when I know I'm going in--found out quickly that chopping the throttle is a bad idea when you have as much negative pitch as I have. Funny thing is, after this last crash, the gyro problem or tail issue, whichever it was, seems to have gone away. Any suggestions or diagnoses will be greatly appreciated.

[Oldladypilot]

I got my HK 500 repaired but haven't tried it yet.

I flew my P-51 Mustang for the first time and it went pretty well.....up until the belly landing. The cheap Chinese plastic propeller shattered like balsa wood. It wasn't even turning at the time! So I need to find a better quality propeller, any suggestions? Everybody says a 2 blade is better but I'm not interested in speed at the moment and would like to stay with the 4 blade.

I ordered a little Hobbyzone Champ from Horizon Hobby. The reviews are really good on it and I'm told it will be better to get good with it before moving on to the Mustang. I had to at least try the Mustang though!
I won't need as big an area to fly in with the Champ. I have lots of batteries for it since I got quite a few for my Blade helis. Parts are cheap and there's lots of mods.

I think I'll shelve the 500 helis for now and work on them when I have a chance. My Bee and my planes should keep me entertained.

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Oldladypilot

I got my HK 500 repaired but haven't tried it yet.

I flew my P-51 Mustang for the first time and it went pretty well.....up until the belly landing. The cheap Chinese plastic propeller shattered like balsa wood. It wasn't even turning at the time! So I need to find a better quality propeller, any suggestions? Everybody says a 2 blade is better but I'm not interested in speed at the moment and would like to stay with the 4 blade.

I ordered a little Hobbyzone Champ from Horizon Hobby. The reviews are really good on it and I'm told it will be better to get good with it before moving on to the Mustang. I had to at least try the Mustang though!
I won't need as big an area to fly in with the Champ. I have lots of batteries for it since I got quite a few for my Blade helis. Parts are cheap and there's lots of mods.

I think I'll shelve the 500 helis for now and work on them when I have a chance. My Bee and my planes should keep me entertained.

I stick with APC props...they work the best...the 4 blade props are usually very fragile..i'd go with a 2 blade APC prop anyway...and it's not about speed..it's about thrust and power to pull yourself out of a jam!

I reviewed the Champ myself for RCSpeak.com - it is a great plane and fun to play with in tight places...just not very wind friedly...so be careful with it....some clear tape is your friend on this plane...and move the pushrods to the outter holes on the control horns..they are tiny and fragile looking but you can flex the horns to move the pushrod..will give you much more control...

I have a Mini T-28 and it is a hoot to fly...

I broke my exploded 500 down yesterday and damm if i know what happened..all i can think is the one way bearing siezed probably..nothing else looked bad except the stuff that took a hit in the crash....have what i need to rebuild most of it..but my real TRex 500 GF kit is about 70% built..hooing to finish it this week and get it out for a test this weekend..we'll see!!

[Luke Warmwater]

For belly landings, you ideally want a 2 bladed prop. Any more, and the prop has little chance of getting out of the way when you land. Also, make sure your ESC is not set to brake; you need the prop to be able to move out of the way easily and not be held in place by the motor!

[Oldladypilot]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

I stick with APC props...they work the best...the 4 blade props are usually very fragile..i'd go with a 2 blade APC prop anyway...and it's not about speed..it's about thrust and power to pull yourself out of a jam!

I reviewed the Champ myself for RCSpeak.com - it is a great plane and fun to play with in tight places...just not very wind friedly...so be careful with it....some clear tape is your friend on this plane...and move the pushrods to the outter holes on the control horns..they are tiny and fragile looking but you can flex the horns to move the pushrod..will give you much more control...

I have a Mini T-28 and it is a hoot to fly...

I broke my exploded 500 down yesterday and damm if i know what happened..all i can think is the one way bearing siezed probably..nothing else looked bad except the stuff that took a hit in the crash....have what i need to rebuild most of it..but my real TRex 500 GF kit is about 70% built..hooing to finish it this week and get it out for a test this weekend..we'll see!!

My Trex is still hanging there waiting for me to get the Quark gyro on it.

How do I figure what size prop to get? Use the same length, only 2 bladed?

There's a 235 page thread on another forum about Champ mods. A 40/60 mix of white glue and water you brush on the Champ is supposed to help avoid damage. A UM P-51 Mustang motor, and a 5043 prop seems to be the most popular mod, and larger Dubro "bush" type wheels/tires.
I'll just stay with stock for now though.

That sucks that a little bearing caused your crash. I wish you luck on your Trex maiden!

Originally Posted by Luke Warmwater

For belly landings, you ideally want a 2 bladed prop. Any more, and the prop has little chance of getting out of the way when you land. Also, make sure your ESC is not set to brake; you need the prop to be able to move out of the way easily and not be held in place by the motor!

I'll check that Luke, I don't think it's set that way though. 2 blades makes sense for belly landings. 4 blades and your sure to hit them. I'd like to get a prop saver as well.

[JettaManDan]

Originally Posted by Oldladypilot

My Trex is still hanging there waiting for me to get the Quark gyro on it.

How do I figure what size prop to get? Use the same length, only 2 bladed?

There's a 235 page thread on another forum about Champ mods. A 40/60 mix of white glue and water you brush on the Champ is supposed to help avoid damage. A UM P-51 Mustang motor, and a 5043 prop seems to be the most popular mod, and larger Dubro "bush" type wheels/tires.
I'll just stay with stock for now though.

That sucks that a little bearing caused your crash. I wish you luck on your Trex maiden!



I'll check that Luke, I don't think it's set that way though. 2 blades makes sense for belly landings. 4 blades and your sure to hit them. I'd like to get a prop saver as well.

you can go a little larger on the 2 bladed prop....what is the stock size?

the Champ i got i eventually gave to my 11 year old cousin..and he has flown it like 50 times and crashed it a bunch..some clear packing tape and a bit of hot glue is all that was needed to fix it...i wouldn't mod it right off the bat..it is fragile looking but holds up well....it is a floater so slow enough for you to not crash it a lot...larger wheels may be the only mod i would do..the stock ones are small and won't let it roll on anything much beyond a perfectly flat and smooth surface..i just hand launched mine and landed it on grass mostly..

here was my full review and then flight video of it if you want some entertainment

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFiHC16tOes[/ame]

thanks! Yeah i hope to finish the heli up this week and spin it up this weekend...hope at least!

[Oldladypilot]

The Mustang's prop is 10". I'm told that this one is the best 2 blade replacement:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...ub-spt-PKZ1005

I enjoyed your review! Looks like a fun little plane!
I just pulled it off my porch where the UPS guy left it so I'm off to open it up and take a look!

[KeithT]

Hey boys & girls - how's it going over here?
Thought I'd pop in & see what progress you are making

Funny isn't it - the 'plank disease' is obviously spreading far & wide - got myself a second hand Multiplex Twinstar to learn on. First job was obviously to crash it good & hard to see how much it cost to repair Amazing things aren't they....
A few dollops of CA and some bits and pieces and they're back in the air
Not quite like helis
ANOTHER Raptor 50 crash on (not)Good Friday This time the tail belt split lengthways - no-one's ever heard of that so I am claiming a manufacturing fault and going for the £140 repair cost from the belt supplier. I was just about to land when the tail gave out, so it's not too badly damaged. One minute earlier & it would have been 100ft up and doing about 50mph. Probably no chance with the claim, but worth a try.
Anyway, message to OLP is - don't get depressed - flying these darm helis is frought with difficulty and very very few manage it. Stick at it and join the few not the many. By the sounds of it, flying real planes, you're a million jumps ahead of most of us anyway

Take care all...

Keith

[Luke Warmwater]

OMG!

Look who it is!

Hows tricks these days?