Trex 500 and Airwolf fuselage

[Davy Crockett]

Hello folks

I recently posted about Airwolf fuselages for the Trex 500 as Ive always fancied having a flying 'model' (excuse the term) and got my hands on the Align one, albeit a grey one.

Well, Ive spent the last week and a half building it and sprayed it up in proper colour yesterday (still needs finishing). The retracts are fitted and working, and the mechanics are in almost ready for the maiden

I have never flown with a fuselage fitted so heres my questions, hopefully avoiding it coming home in several bags!......

What differences and what challenges lie ahead?
What do I need to pay particular attention to before I attempt the maiden?
How much does the extra weight affect flight characteristics and times?
Is there a heat issue being enclosed?
Do I need different throttle/pitch curves/headspeed?

Any advice will be gratefully received, and heres a couple of pics just in case things dont go well

[Quandry]

Looks cool!

I have never owned a scale heli so no helpful first hand advise. A friend of mine had a 50 size airwolf years ago though and found that the extra weight and body shape meant it needed a lot more lift - especially headspeed when cornering/turning.

[asomaro]

With mine, all I did was to make sure that the airframe was flying great before it was installed into the fuselage. I thought the weight would make a big difference, but to be honest - it didn't although you will notice that she reacts a bit more slowly and is obviously less agile. Having said that she has been looped, rolled and flipped without issue!

I did put in a separate BEC rather than rely on the stock one within the ESC, specifically because of the additional power needs and the fact that there is an additional servo for the retracts.

When I maidened mine, I just took it very carefully and just got it light on the undercarriage to ensure that everything was OK. When all felt OK I gave it a bit of a bit of a bashing and she flew much better than I had expected. I didn't change the head speed, but then I do run mine of a 100% flat line on I/U.

No issues with excess heat, the air intakes seem to keep things fairly cool, even though I have ducted fans (fake ones) in mine so they block the air intakes up quite a bit. If you don't have any form of telemetry, then you would be wise to see if anything seems a bit too warm on landing - the ESC is the obvious candidate as it would normally be exposed to the elements, but if you have mounted it on the side of the main frame somewhere near the main intakes, then it ought to be OK.

Bear in mind that the added weight will tend to use up a bit more power than you are used to so I'd shorten you timer by about a minute just to check that the lipo's are not too depleted, then adjust accordingly.

Cheers,

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks for the advice

Hopefully I'll be home friday so theres a good chance I can get some time to finish her.
I'm definately going to take heed of getting the airframe flying right, it flew fine before but I'd rather spend a day dismantling and sorting rather than the alternative!

Looking forward to seeing it airborne but c**ping myself thinking about it!!

[Tripler]

My standard 500 Airwolf before the Align esc cought fire,
they do fly nice though

[Davy Crockett]

Update folks...

Finally finished the airwolf today (delayed due to unfortunate relationship circumstances) and just returned from the maiden... It's freaking awesome!!!

As advised earlier, I got the mechanics flying properly and fitted fuselage. The tail rotor pushrod was binding causing a tail wag, which was duly sorted and she hovered nicely in the garden.

Took her up to where I fly and just as I was setting up, I had an audience stood on the road watching.. Crap!! Now I'm under pressure!

Spooled up, nice and gentle and into the hover, absolutely rock solid! Ok, this is for flying, not a shelf queen, flicked up the retracts and flew 2 packs doing gentle circuits, hovering and a few high speed passes, all to the delight of the audience

I have to say that I am chuffed with how she looks and flies and am so pleased with my 1st attempt at scale flying.

I will be finishing the painting and adding nav lights so any recommendations would be greatly welcomed

[matt-snitters]

Hi Dave,

Glad you got it finished and up in the air with no probs. Lets hope you get you other issue sorted

Managed to get the 450 up in the air today, just need to get the settings right as it wobbles a bit at the mo

Matt

[Davy Crockett]

Hi matt

Well done on the 450, keep at it and you'll be inverted before long!!

[asomaro]

Congrats on the flight Dave, they look great on the ground and even better the air!

Cheers,

[Davy Crockett]

Congrats on the flight Dave, they look great on the ground and even better the air!

Cheers,

Thanks mate! Really pleased with how it flies, needs a few little tweaks but overall she's great.

Just ordered nav lights and hopefully arrive for the weekend