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500 size UH-1C Huey - 174th AHC

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  • #21
    First test flight is complete, and the shark mouth has been added! Still needs some tuning and work, but handled 16 mph winds without any issues. Time to work on the detailing now. Adding windscreens/windows, final paint work, rocket pods, doors, etc.




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    • #22
      Very nice, Delta! :Cool:

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      • #23
        Originally posted by Prowler901 View Post
        Very nice, Delta! :Cool:
        Thanks Prowler! Gluing in the windscreens and working on the cockpit detailing now.

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        • #24
          She's looking good, I like the scale outline on this body way better than the Roban .

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          • #25
            So, this weekend I brought the Huey out to Helis Over Apache Pass along with my 500 Apache and Little Bird. I mostly tend to bring my choppers to warbird events, so this was my first ever heli-only event. Got everything finished on the Huey at the last minute the day before, including the tailboom paint and rocket pods. Flew a few flights on each bird with no issues, until flight #2 on the Huey.. In the middle of a flyby at about 20 ft, I saw the tail rotor come completely to a stop! The bird started a slow spin, and I brought it down to about 2 ft before I hit throttle cut for a hovering auto. It hit hard, but the damage is fixable. One of the H-stabs dug in and fractured the fiberglass on the tail. The skids broke apart as well, but it appears that only the plastic Ts failed. Windows popped out, and the cockpit interior broke up in a few spots as well. Blades are also totaled, and a servo horn broke. Luckily, the head and mainshaft are undamaged.

            After removing the mechanics, it was pretty easy to locate the failure point. A bearing failed in the angle gearbox, and overheated. This melted straight through the gear, and sheared it off completely. Just a reminder to double check your bearings and lubrication! Will likely be changing them out for aftermarket bearings next time around:




            I'll also post photos from the event when I get them. One of the other guys there took a lot of photos of them in the air. Unfortunately, the accident was the only flight he didn't photograph, and I have no video either. Next time around I guess... Stay tuned.

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            • #26
              Not cool!!!! That little tail rotor spinning is inherently important to flight success!!! LOL "I've got nominal control!!! We are going down!!!!" :Scared: Glad you can fix her....

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              • #27
                Originally posted by Hardway View Post
                Not cool!!!! That little tail rotor spinning is inherently important to flight success!!! LOL "I've got nominal control!!! We are going down!!!!" :Scared: Glad you can fix her....
                Ha! Definitely was a bit of a hairy moment! Hoping to have her back in the air by the end of the month. New blades are already on the way!

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                • #28
                  Sorry to see this, never seen a gear failure of this type gear box before. Over a
                  bearing at that . I hope all is repairable. I have the same tail case in my 500 size AH-1 Now going on 5 years old.
                  Click image for larger version  Name:	20130322_233224.jpg Views:	2 Size:	108.5 KB ID:	128151

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                  • #29
                    Originally posted by JFandL View Post
                    Sorry to see this, never seen a gear failure of this type gear box before. Over a
                    bearing at that . I hope all is repairable. I have the same tail case in my 500 size AH-1 Now going on 5 years old.
                    Click image for larger version Name:	20130322_233224.jpg Views:	2 Size:	108.5 KB ID:	128151
                    Good to here that it has been reliable, hoping this is just a very rare one-off failure. Have another one on the way, and will be checking the bearings first thing.

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                    • #30
                      If you look at the picture of my gear box you can see I even had to cut part of one end off to get it to fit, along with making torque tubs. I did replace the bearings that came with the tail box with a set of Align's bearings. I don't recall seeing any bad bearings in the tail box., really no Idea why I even changed out the bearings as they looked good. I just did.

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                      • #31
                        Originally posted by JFandL View Post
                        If you look at the picture of my gear box you can see I even had to cut part of one end off to get it to fit, along with making torque tubs. I did replace the bearings that came with the tail box with a set of Align's bearings. I don't recall seeing any bad bearings in the tail box., really no Idea why I even changed out the bearings as they looked good. I just did.
                        I might do the same swap with mine just to help my nerves on the next flight. Looking around on a few other forums, I haven't ever seen a failure of this type documented. On an excellent note, Motion has relayed the issue to Roban, and they are working to ensure it doesn't happen again.

                        Also, I just got the photos from Helis Over Apache Pass. Most turned out kind of blurry, but these were the best out of the lot.

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                        • #32
                          Originally posted by F106DeltaDart View Post

                          I might do the same swap with mine just to help my nerves on the next flight. Looking around on a few other forums, I haven't ever seen a failure of this type documented. On an excellent note, Motion has relayed the issue to Roban, and they are working to ensure it doesn't happen again.

                          Also, I just got the photos from Helis Over Apache Pass. Most turned out kind of blurry, but these were the best out of the lot.
                          Nice Bro!!! Sorry it had a failure, but at least it is not a loss... :Whew::Cool:

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                          • #33
                            New blades just showed up, time to start trimming and painting! This time I’ll document the process a bit better for creating the scale blade tip profile.

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                            • #34
                              That would be cool to see your work on the blades. Still can't understand just what happened to your tail case gear. You would think a bearing would feel choppy if you turned the shaft if it was bad. Bad luck. I know my AH-1 tail case that came in
                              Align's kit was very bad. The stock gear came apart after only 35 seconds in a hover. Took me around 11 months to make tail parts to replace the junk Align used in their kits.

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                              • #35
                                Completely agree on the align gearbox. Every one I’ve ever seen has stripped out either on the ground or in the first hover. For my failure, I think the blame lies with me for not conducting a thorough inspection. I was eager to get it done and in the air, and rushed through it a bit to quickly. Should have been fairly easy to catch before the problem developed.

                                I did get to throw together some new blades this afternoon. Started with a brand new set of 500mm Zeal Blades. These were the closest in length and aspect ratio that I could find to fit with a Huey. I also split apart one of the crashed blades to get a better look at the structure. The top 2 Blades are from the accident.


                                A closer look at the structure. Each blade has a metal rod leading edge spar, and embedded tip weights. These are bonded to both the spar and the carbon skin. Ideally, you won’t need to cut through either of these when removing the rounded tips.


                                Locations for cuts marked out on the blades. You want to get the cut as far out as possible, more blade diameter = more efficiency. Up to 500mm blades fit with no problem clearing the tail rotor.


                                Blades trimmed with a Dremel cutoff wheel. Starting to look more Huey-like


                                After sanding to clean up the cut, I applied 2 plys of fiberglass over the tip and bonded with some thin CA. It forms a very quick and solid bond to the tip surface.


                                Blade tips glassed, trimmed, and sanded. I then filled the remaining weave with rustoleum high build primer for a smooth finish. This is also a good time to check and adjust blade balance before final paint.


                                One of the final steps was creating spacers. The head uses 3mm bolts, while the blades have 4mm holes. I found some tubing on McMaster Carr with a 3mm I.D and 4mm O.D. and cut it to the correct lengths. Fits perfectly inside the blade mounting holes.


                                A few coats of paint, and you have a set of nice, scale-looking Huey blades!

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                                • #36
                                  not bad at all!

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                                  • #37
                                    Started working the new Hstab yesterday. The ones that came on the model were easily the worst part of the airframe. They had a very thin chord (sort of close to a B model) but it definitely wasn’t correct for a C. They also weren’t aligned 100% correctly either. The funny thing is, I think PKM noticed as well, because they included some new H-stabs with the kit. I added a bit more chord with some styrene, as well as a bit of span to match the measurements of the full scale.

                                    Here is the old (red) vs the new:



                                    And both new stabs installed:

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                                    • #38
                                      Better!!! for sure

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                                      • #39
                                        Originally posted by JFandL View Post
                                        Better!!! for sure
                                        Thanks! I just finished the final touches on repairing the damaged sections on the fuselage as well. Tailboom is now primered, and rivets reapplied to the stab and other effected areas. Just waiting on skid parts and the pilot figures now.

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                                        • #40
                                          Finally got back to working on the Huey. Skids are fixed, and the tail boom damage has been repaired.



                                          Also started another mod to the airframe. From day one, the lack of the sliding door tracks in the rear cabin has bothered me. They are one of the most prominent features on the full scale aircraft. Will also be adding the recessed inspection steps, vents, and fuel port. Now of course, I thought if I was going to add door tracks, they may as well be functional. I mean how hard could it be? LOL


                                          With some styrene and CA, and a lot of patience, I rigged up some sliding tracks using a C channel and an I-beam slider. Still need to make the front guides in the cabin, but so far it is functioning nicely.



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