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**sfcfury** · May 18, 2020, 07:06 AM

I see you're like me... gonna have about 4 different things going on at 70-98% done!!!

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 07:13 AM

Helical gears standard on this one! I learned much from the AH-1W so decided to start smart this time. I grabbed the mechanics first & set all the linkages to spec while the assembly is light & small. That way only the servo linkages will need adjusting later.

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 07:15 AM

Ain’t it the truth, sfc? You have no idea! Unfortunately, my wife does.....

**sfcfury** · May 18, 2020, 07:17 AM

Originally posted by PawPaw View Post

Helical gears standard on this one! I learned much from the AH-1W so decided to start smart this time. I grabbed the mechanics first & set all the linkages to spec while the assembly is light & small. That way only the servo linkages will need adjusting later.

Nice! Yea I think they definitely got better, and the newer models (especially if its a completely new kit/heli) have worked alot of the kinks out. I'm starting to think I literally got the first run batch of Cobra kits. And like you said, I definitely have learned a lot! But hey... if you're just out buying heli's and all... I mean feel free to send one my way!!

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 07:28 AM

I chose Futaba S3071 HV servos for the 407 for several reasons: I had them & they are almost impossible to move when unpowered, unlike some other digital servos I’ve used. I did need to add ply spacers to get their bases off the shelf, ‘tho.

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 07:36 AM

Trust me, sfc....This 407 wasn’t in the budget but I’m getting more concerned with our future trade with China & see the difficulty businesses are having restocking items. It’s insane. I consider myself lucky to get the 500KV when I wanted a 530-560.

**sfcfury** · May 18, 2020, 08:06 AM

Yea... I'm waiting on a Funkey 600 fuselage to ship... Gonna try to sell my 500 Cobra and OH6, and make a 600 size OH6.

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 08:08 AM

The skids were close, but not quite perfectly aligned with the fuselage slots & required a fair amount of pulling to get fitted. Luckily, didn’t deform the parallel angle between the L & R skid too much.
The decals in this AeroMed B407 kit are awesome but do require a few days & much patience to apply. Not difficult (leave the plastic film on for 24 hrs!) but tedious. The result is virtually indistinguishable from paint due to the ultra thin composition of the decal. Again, I chose to do this step early in the build while everything is still in component pieces.
I mixed milled fiberglass with epoxy to reinforce the tailboom wooden blind nuts this time. It only takes one episode of a loose blind nut with the boom mounted to learn the hard way. I also epoxied the blind nut to the wood block.

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 08:25 AM

There are quite a few photos available for N922TG & I plan to add pop out floats & the skid mounted spot lights. The lights are in hand but need to figure out material for the floats, med stretcher, etc. All ideas are much appreciated!

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 08:28 AM

Yes sir, I’m waiting for this COVID-19 issue to resolve more so I can sell some airplanes. I have many!

**PawPaw** · May 18, 2020, 09:27 AM

Another issue I’m researching is the need for a capacitor bank mounted between the batteries & ESC....mounted close to the ESC. There will be a long wiring run to the ESC which appears to require mounting at rear fuselage. Maybe it’s a car thing, but I’m reading capacitors are required to “protect” the ESC from surges when long wiring runs are required. Castle Creations sells these so must be science behind the thought. However, my thoughts are the helis don’t see rapid and frequent throttle changes like racing cars so the caps aren’t necessary? Ideas?

**PawPaw** · May 19, 2020, 09:30 AM

Landing spot lights turned out to be fairly easy to figure out. Now on to the pop out floats & helium/nitrogen inflation bottle.

**lt1pwr** · May 23, 2020, 08:21 AM

Nice choice on your 407. Roban did a decent job capturing the details from the full scale helicopter. There are several things that are wrong or need to be corrected but all in all, it’s a nice looking bird. Regarding your ESC placement and the need to extend the wires, I had the same dilemma and didn’t want to extend the wires which could solve 1 problem but create another. Another concern is stuffing 2 batteries and an ESC in close proximity of the motor under a very tight and small space environment under the dog house. There would be a lot of heat build up and a possibility of a battery wire coming in contact with the rotating can of the motor and causing a short and having a total electrical failure. My solution was to move the batteries inside the cabin thus leaving open space in the dog house for less heat build up and congestion. The batteries in the cabin are in the open and helps keep them cool. You can’t even see the batteries unless I point them out. They are easily accessed by removing the rear facing seats which are held in place by magnets. The battery wires go up through the ceiling in to the doghouse where they are easily connected to the ESC. This was a win/win for me and I’ve had no issues whatsoever.

As your building your 407, keep in mind that it’s extremely tail heavy and you will need to add a lot of ballast weight up front. I chose to fill the front seats with bb’s and sealed them with hot glue. That plus the batteries in the cabin and my receiver battery under the forward facing rear seats held by magnets balances it right on the money.

Hope that helps and gives you some options to think about!

Jay

Attached Files

**PawPaw** · May 24, 2020, 06:30 AM

Awesome work, Jay! Your 407 really stands out. Since I’m trying to capture the details of N922TC I’ve been thinking about placing the ESC under the stretcher base which replaces the port side rear facing seat & the port side copilot seat, but thanks to your pics the ESC would work better in the doghouse with batteries below. Thanks!