Roban AH-1W Cobra 700 Size Scale Helicopter

[PawPaw]

Outstanding flying, sfcfury! Man, I got a long way to go.

[sfcfury]

It records to a 64GB micro sd card for viewing later. Soon as I get a card installed & powered up gonna see what kind of view I get. May end up moving it to one of the weapon stub wings. Problem is, as in the pic, the cable between cam & PCB is very short. FLIR location would be perfect but I want some view of the heli in flight also.

I know exactly what you mean! I had my gopro hero 5 on my 500 Size cobra... mounted it the outside of the canopy right behind the pilot... you could see a lil bit of the cockpit the whole time

[PawPaw]

It records to a 64GB micro sd card for viewing later. Soon as I get a card installed & powered up gonna see what kind of view I get. May end up moving it to one of the weapon stub wings. Problem is, as in the pic, the cable between cam & PCB is very short. FLIR location would be perfect but I want some view of the heli in flight also.

[sfcfury]

PPaw... that's some good looking work in my book... I guess my only concern would be without proofing what it sees with the canopy on? I have used gopro Hero and the runcam2 in limited amounts... and you feed it through the phone. How you could capture or see what those small fpv cameras can see is my question as well... b/c I like the idea of putting one in the FLIR or cockpit... but I know I'm not going to fly with googles or anything...

[PawPaw]

Got the cam installed where I wanted it....be nice to know how to hook it up! Since I won’t be using FPV or remote video of any kind I believe it just needs a power connection to the tiny 1.25mm connector. Thinking I will splice it into a standard Futaba extension & power it off a spare receiver channel. Suggestions appreciated! Note: the cable wrap to the left in the photo has nothing to do with the cam. Just me experimenting with cockpit detail.

[PawPaw]

Thanks, sir! Pics always help. Kinda hoping to fit the cam in that top recess & the cam’s PCB in the lower (larger) recess, if the frame doesn’t need that space.

[sfcfury]

No, it's right in front... (and thats with that fatter 4525 tengu motor- your scorpion is 4035). I don't have the mechanics in right now to take a picture, but here are some and maybe you can compare to yours. Fun side note, you can see some of all the places I have had to dremel to try to get the mechanics to slip in there.

[PawPaw]

sfcfury, did you have any clearance issues between the cockpit & front of the motor/frame? Just eyeballing it looks like the back of the cockpit would touch the motor? I don’t have my mechanics installed yet but trial fitting the cockpit in the canopy.

[DCORSAIR]

The helical gears seem to be hit and miss... yea my kit is going on two years old... I've been on the notify list for the gears from scaleflying.de lol. They say they help with the drive train noise... but I feel like most of the noise comes from the gears to the vertical tail drive shaft... What actual model of the camera is that? It looks like the caddx? And how would you view what it sees?

Well, my Roban AH-6 has the straight cut gears and my new Magnum PI version came with the helical cut gears, don't know why it is, but the AH-6 is quieter, go figure, I don't think it's worth spending the money on the upgrade, maybe like you said, the gear noise is coming from somewhere else.

[PawPaw]

I ordered the RunCam Split 3 Nano 14x14mm HD from them yesterday. It just records to an SD card, I think. Should be a perfect fit in the recessed panel behind the left shoulder of the pilot & view through the canopy. AH-1W sure gives lots of discreet mounting options. Now to figure out what to use in the 2.75 launcher tubes....

[F106DeltaDart]

The helical gears seem to be hit and miss... yea my kit is going on two years old... I've been on the notify list for the gears from scaleflying.de lol. They say they help with the drive train noise... but I feel like most of the noise comes from the gears to the vertical tail drive shaft... What actual model of the camera is that? It looks like the caddx? And how would you view what it sees?

Yeah, I sat on that list for quite a while as well. Luckily managed to get an order in after they restocked a few months ago. The camera is a Caddx beatle: https://www.getfpv.com/caddx-beetle-...-5-8g-vtx.html. I’m planning on using some headplay SE goggles to view the video feed. Haven’t had a chance to test that out yet.

[sfcfury]

The helical gears seem to be hit and miss... yea my kit is going on two years old... I've been on the notify list for the gears from scaleflying.de lol. They say they help with the drive train noise... but I feel like most of the noise comes from the gears to the vertical tail drive shaft... What actual model of the camera is that? It looks like the caddx? And how would you view what it sees?

[F106DeltaDart]

Delta, yours came with the Helical gears as well? The FPV camera, are you going to tuck inside the flir? Was that pic just to show the size? I'm really liking that idea, maybe not to get so far as to make it traverse, but just as a fixed point camera, and that it looks pretty realistic. I had never even thought about replacing the servo arms till it came up as a topic in here... so I ordered some align ones just to see. The stock ones that came with the OMG servos are just so big and hefty feeling, that I can fathom in scale flight the way come close to breaking etc. With that being said, I have reconfigured my tail servo setup... as it was bottoming out when getting the mechanics fitted, and it was almost impossible to get it pulled back out. So I flipped it upside down, and using a flex rod to the elbow. That's were I actually put one of the align servo arms. Crazy you had to shim the servo's...

Mine did not include the helical gears, but I purchased my kit over a year ago, so things may have changed. Just finally getting around to building it now. The FPV camera will be fully hidden inside the FLIR unit. I just had it there to show size.

[F106DeltaDart]

F106, I have the MKS servos & they have the same arm spline count as Futaba, if that helps. Did the new gears require taller standoffs? Just when I thought my CC would get a break now I gotta order a camera. 🙂

Good to know! The helical gear is a drop-in fit. No standoff changes needed!

[sfcfury]

Delta, yours came with the Helical gears as well? The FPV camera, are you going to tuck inside the flir? Was that pic just to show the size? I'm really liking that idea, maybe not to get so far as to make it traverse, but just as a fixed point camera, and that it looks pretty realistic. I had never even thought about replacing the servo arms till it came up as a topic in here... so I ordered some align ones just to see. The stock ones that came with the OMG servos are just so big and hefty feeling, that I can fathom in scale flight the way come close to breaking etc. With that being said, I have reconfigured my tail servo setup... as it was bottoming out when getting the mechanics fitted, and it was almost impossible to get it pulled back out. So I flipped it upside down, and using a flex rod to the elbow. That's were I actually put one of the align servo arms. Crazy you had to shim the servo's...

[PawPaw]

F106, I have the MKS servos & they have the same arm spline count as Futaba, if that helps. Did the new gears require taller standoffs? Just when I thought my CC would get a break now I gotta order a camera. 🙂

[F106DeltaDart]

Looks great, I used the small servo wheels on my 500 and it was plenty of throw, you going to 3D that thing with those giant servo wheels?

Good to know, I’ve only adjusted the pushrod lengths so far. Haven’t really looked at throw much yet.

[DCORSAIR]

I got the servos installed today as well as the helical gear upgrade. The 2 outer servos needed an 1/8” plywood shim, and the center required a 1/4” shim to fit properly. As discussed on the last few pages, I’m also wondering whether metal arms are needed. Any recommendations for a metal arm for the MKS 665 would be greatly appreciated.

I also received the tiny whoop camera from GetFPV. I didn’t realize just how small this thing was! It will fit in the FLIR with plenty of room to spare, and is actually very close to scale with the real FLIR camera!

Looks great, I used the small servo wheels on my 500 and it was plenty of throw, you going to 3D that thing with those giant servo wheels?

[DCORSAIR]

One thing about these Roban kits, you can't be afraid to use a dremel, they become more of a custom fit than and ARF kit...........

[F106DeltaDart]

I got the servos installed today as well as the helical gear upgrade. The 2 outer servos needed an 1/8” plywood shim, and the center required a 1/4” shim to fit properly. As discussed on the last few pages, I’m also wondering whether metal arms are needed. Any recommendations for a metal arm for the MKS 665 would be greatly appreciated.

I also received the tiny whoop camera from GetFPV. I didn’t realize just how small this thing was! It will fit in the FLIR with plenty of room to spare, and is actually very close to scale with the real FLIR camera!