Jan. 19th 2002
It was too windy to fly today so I spent most of the day working on the 500E. The photo above shows the progress made so far. I've cut the holes in the body for the landing gear and have the mechanics in for a test fitting. This part was pretty difficult, The landing gear struts exit the body at an angle outward and forward. It was a challenge to get the holes right. I got them pretty close and I will trip up the holes with styrene.
The photo above shows the 6/32 bolts holding the gear struts on. As it turns out, the Raptor 60 is aligned perfectly with the inner bolt holes. I will drill out the plastic frame large enough for the 6/32 bolts. As you can see in the photo I'm running the Red Belwood Dual Glow Head on the Webra 61P5. Its cooling fins are rounded on bottom and extend further than the stock head downwards. After I drill the hole and drop the heli down anoth 1/4 inch I will probably have to cut out a small opening in the plywood deck so the head will have ample room.
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The photo to the right shows the 1/2" basswood I placed under the rear legs of the Raptor 60. The position and angle of the 500's tail boom requires this modification on most mechanics, I don't think this is unique to the Raptor. The MD500 Sits on its skids with the tail angled downwards slightly. This actually helps align the mainshaft vertically when the helicopter is sitting on its skids. I think I need a little more support under the deck as the kit provides a front, middle and rear former or bulkhead. The lite ply seems to flex from the weight of the mechanics. I hope it won't add to much weight but I really feel it needs it. I'd rather it be a tad heavy than a tad underbuilt. |
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The photo above shows the mechanics in place. The collective arm was a concern at first but it appears as there is enough clearance under the canopy for full pitch. If I need to I can re-position the arm lower and reduce some negative pitch and make up the positive pitch on the linkage rods above the swashplate. I wish there was room for a front cockpit, there isn't so I will tint the glass with Rit Dye a dark blue/black.
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Here's a shot of the nose after I have fitted the mechanics. The canopy is really wide but isn't much longer at the front than the stock canopy. As you can see, the gear is very strong, it's 1/8" thick aluminum and is 1" wide. The heli sits about 6" off the ground on the scale gear. I have some fairings that will cover the landing gear struts and they will be painted as well. The front of the canopy will be modified. All the MD500's I've seen have a round air intake in the middle of the front canopy and a recessed landing light underneath. I plan to cut a hole in the front of the canopy where the fiberglass is widest an place an intake I am working on. It is made from copper (a flex line insert) and I got it from the hardware stor in the plumbing dept. It is the right size I need and it has the smooth rounded intake, I'll just have to fill around it and make a fake box on the inside to cover my mischief. The landing light will be a GEM light. |
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The stock Raptor has the tail rotor on the right side of the tail boom. Unfortunately, this is just the opposite of the real MD 500. I was able to remove the tail case and flip it over 180 degrees. There are opposing dimples inside the tail case so it locked in squarely on the other side. The tail boom has holes on both sides so that part was very easy. I don't have to flip the blades over either. They are still going the right direction. I did have to remove my carbon fiber rudder servo pushrod and take the carbon boom brace for the rudder servo and fip it to the top side. The 500 body has plenty of room on top of the tail boom. The kit included a flexable plastic pushrod/tube assembly. It is very smooth and requires very little pressure to move it so I don't think there will be any problems with it being driven by a 9253 digital servo. The fiberglass boom had just enough room to squeese the pushrod and the boom into it! |
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