MD500e 450 parts build

[Gravythe clown]

Has anyone else bought the the parts to do the MD500e build and has completed it?
my A-109 had a bad crash and destroyed the fuse and canopy. The helicopter survived for the most part, just needed a new main shaft. So not really liking the gear on the A-109 I decided to switch out fuses. The only one Motion has all the parts for was the MD500e. So I bought what was needed.
Its a nice fuse and will look great in the air. However there are a few things I’m not sure how to put together. And no there is no build instruction at all. Even motion has nothing to offer, not even a contact for manufacturer to get help. Thanks for selling me a product with absolutely no support.

So so if you have bought these parts and built it, I would love some input.

gear; not really sure how to attach. Really don’t look like there is going to be a lot of meat in the tiny piece of wood to screw it into. And if I did, the tips stick up to much and won’t allow the helicopter mounting plates to sit flush. Also how the heck do you screw in the back struts? I imagine epoxy might work, but if I ever break a gear, good luck changing it out.

mounting the helicopter itself. After I build up the base hoe the heck to I screw the back section down?


Thanks
Gravy

[scootergenie]

I'm going to order the AH6 fuse tonight, so I'll be joining you. Going to also order a 450 sport frame from Tarot rc, so hopefully be able to figure it all out.

[scootergenie]

Ordered the ah6 fuse and skids. After looking at some of the pics on the pnp product page, I noticed the frame for the mechanics is shimed way up from the gear mount plate.

[Gravythe clown]

Yep, the A-109 was raised by a plastic block and then 3 or 4 wood plates. The wood plates were in between the heli frame and the plastic block. The the plastic block screwed in from underneath on the bottom and exterior of the fuse.
The MD500e uses like 14 of the wood plates to get the heli up there. But it screws in from inside the fuse. I have feeling I’m going to have to drill 4 access holes in the bottom of the fuse to get to these.

I did did get my magnets for the canopy glued in yesterday. So now the two half’s are one. Still waiting on main shaft before I start trying to get the heli put in.

gravy

[scootergenie]

do we have to remove the tail boom to get the frame into the fuselage ?

[Gravythe clown]

Not the boom but you will have to remove the tail section

Gravy

[gwhuntoon]

Hi Gravy,

I'm new to this site and to my surprise, (I thought I was the only one), I just bought the same Roban fuse you did from MotionRC. My wife broke the front of the canopy from my old Align 500E fuse so I've been searching for a replacement. I ended up finding an old identical Align 500 fuse new in the box with a new 450 heli kit which all came from HobbyKing. (Got really lucky, since their out of production). I located it near Toronto on a local Canadian website like a Craigslist. So anyway, with more searching I found the same fuse you did and I'm slowly starting a new build doing it right from everything I've learned over the years. I kind of like the look of the Roban but I'm not planning on making it a Police chopper.

Seems like heli's were all the rage not that long ago, then drones became the new thing and heli's and parts have become scarce.

I just got a 5 blade rotor head from eBay but I'm still trying to decide what donor heliI want to place inside, a 450 clone or maybe a new Align 450 Dominator? Like you, I noticed the blocks for the struts and am planning on using tiny wood screws to hold them this time. I went the epoxy route before but its a real pain to remove. For some added strength, I may use some hot glue inside instead. FYI - My wife also broke a strut. All my past years of flying and just a small ding, then while cleaning my wife trashed it...

I have a 3D printer and can design my own 3D models so I've modeled and printed my own skids in PLA. I still have the original black skids for a template but my mod includes a wiring conduit down the back of the skids for nav lights. Like I said, I'm doing it right this time. I've also modeled scale looking nav lights for the ends of the skids as well as an offset beacon to go under the hull and a scale strobe mount with cover for the tail.

BTW - you already found this out, the Roban hull doesn't include magnets. I got those and hot gluded them in for possible easier removal later, I might want stronger magnets. The Align fuse came with magnets and alignment pins to help hold the canopy in place. Instead of the pins, I've put a small foam gasket around both the fuse and the canopy. Looks nicer than the pins in my opinion. The Align also had a hard black foam spacer with offset hole to keep the tailboom centered and stable in the fuse tail section as well as molded canopy side windows (probably not good for cooling though).

What I did find though, is the Roban is nearly identical to the Align. Some minor cosmetic differences but I'd swear they practically came from the same molds.

[gwhuntoon]

BTW, a plastic block would be a whole lot stronger, I may have to model some. The laminated plates will come apart after a while, they are just like the ones that came with the old Align fuse. I would definitely coat the sides of those with epoxy before using them. Also, getting the back screws in for those blocks is a p i t a. Some long extensions, lots of patience and a steady hand are needed going through the cooling holes on the top of the fuse.

[Gravythe clown]

Well she’s about 90%. I need to buy the tail rotor assembly when it comes back in stock. Two reasons. One the assembly listed in the MD500e has the extra piece needed for mounting the tail, second my tail rotor shaft is bent. I did try to fab my own mount piece and ended up cracking the vertical stabilizer.

With that hat said I did fly it out in the front yard. Looks good in the air.

Gravy

[scootergenie]

Looking good Gravy ! My AH-6 fuse is on the way, so I'm excited to get started after seeing yours. I found a tail rotor assembly on Tarot rc that looks identical to the one on MRC. Even the stab mount looks the same. It's 13.00 and change, and in stock. I guess I'm going to order The Tarot sport frame, and get a flybarless head for it. The 450 sport kit is 90.00 without any electronics or motor.

[scootergenie]

oops.... forgot the other picture.

[Gravythe clown]

Thanks, got one ordered.

Cant wait to see your AH-6. Where did you find the fuse parts?

[scootergenie]

On Tarot RC. They have all the parts for these 450 frames. And complete kits also.

[scootergenie]

I got the fuse parts from MRC. But had to get the stabilizer from the police version because the ah6 stab is oos.

[Gravythe clown]

Well she’s all done. Just took her for a test hover. She’ll get her first full flight tomorrow.

gravy

[scootergenie]

pretty sweet ! I like the search light. Waiting for the mechanics for mine. and still on the fence as to which controller to get.

[Gravythe clown]

Thanks. I had the light left over from when I replaced the front gear for my FW F-15.

I used the ZYXs2. It seams to work ok so far. I had a bunch of flight with it when it was in the A-109 coastguard fuse. I like it because I can SBUS to it.

Gravy

[scootergenie]

I like it because the instructions claim I can hook up a dsmx satellite and use it as a receiver. But I would have to make an adapter cable to connect it to the gyro. No biggie.

[scootergenie]

Could you share the orientation of the tail servo on the boom ? I'm having a time getting the frame in the fuselage because it seems no matter what orientation I put the servo, it contacts the fuselage.

[Gravythe clown]

Yeah that was a huge PITA. It took many many adjustments. Not just on the angle but also the height of the helicopter. My servo is almost vertical but not exactly. I also ended up removing a few step plates to lower the whole thing. I’ll try to remember tomorrow when I have it out to see if I can take a pic of it and post.

gravy