"Official" RCH Heli Thread
- Thread starter Tony
- Start date
Tony
Staff member
You know that Gaba or I will answer any questions that you may have. If you break it all down, there are very few moving parts to a nitro engine. You have the crank, rod, piston, wrist pin and ring. That's it. Tuning is just to temp, you have a DX8 with Telemetry, so that will not be hard. If you wanted, you could hook up a servo for the high speed needle to tune in flight. Questions, just ask.
Westy
LEGEND
I havea great HD camera that was not that expensive that has awesome any shake and focus capabilities ... been taking my most recent heli vids with it.
Tony
Staff member
Fuel, a starter that won't kill the engine when I flood it (hehe) and the time to set the gyro up. Oh, and I need to get all of the Telemetry setup on it, get the voltage wire soldered to a plug for the battery, make a plug going from the big port on the battery to the Rx and a final head setup.
All in all, not really that much, just takes time that I'm finding hard to come by.
All in all, not really that much, just takes time that I'm finding hard to come by.
stokke
Well-Known Member
Sounds good
What starter are you going with, and what does it cost? (link if possible please)
Tony
Staff member
The starter is $122.99 from AMainHobbies. Needless to say, it will be a bit before it's in the air.
Align Super Starter (Helicopter) (Yellow) [AGNHFSSTQ01] | RC Helicopters - A Main Hobbies
Align Super Starter (Helicopter) (Yellow) [AGNHFSSTQ01] | RC Helicopters - A Main Hobbies
breeze400
Spagetti Pilot
Tony I found this on e bay. Plus there is a new one here for $108.
Align Starter STQ100 Trex 700 Trex 600 | eBay
Align Starter STQ100 Trex 700 Trex 600 | eBay
Tony
Staff member
It's time we bring this thread back to life!!!
I just wanted to tell you all that the RCH Heli is still sitting here awaiting funding to go into the air. After talking to many members that have donated to make this helicopter possible, it's unanimous that I do NOT put it in the air with this engine.
so lets start off where this thread left off. Above you will see a post by Sam stating where to find a starter for the heli. Thanks to Kyle, we have an Align starter for this helicopter. And it works GREAT! More than enough power to turn this .55 size engine over and get it started. The only bad thing about it is that my 3s 2200mah batteries will not fit in it. Not even my new packs that are not puffed lol. However, I have an 1800mah pack that I use in it and even though it's a lower C rating, it never even gets warm. Love this starter.
For those that don't know, We had some hard times with this helicopter. Half of the donors wanted to sell it, the other half wanted to keep it and get it in the air. I was torn in the middle, but my ADD and OCD got the best of me and I went to the side of the ones that wanted to sell it. There is a thread on this and I may be beating a dead horse here, but I feel it needs repeating.
I tore the helicopter down to each individual part and put a LOT of parts for sale on here and on eBay. 4 of the parts sold and that is when the crap hit the fan. It was then that I decided to go ahead and make the decision to not only keep the helicopter that we had, but to also restore it to the condition that I think it needed to be in to be called the "Official RCH Helicopter". And that is exactly what I have done, and am doing now.
I have to give it to Stokke, he said in his thread that we should wait for the money to come in and start with new EVERYTHING, and he was right. I remember reading that thread for the first time, and it's still stuck in my head. If we had done that, there would not have been so many headaches with this heli. But, what's done is done, and it is what it is, or is it?
As of today, about the only stock part left on that helicopter is the frame. Everything else has been replaced thanks to the donations made by the members here on the forum. However there is still more to get.
Remember above I had said that the members that donated to this heli didn't want it to fly with this engine? Well to catch those up that don't know, this engine is toast. When Gaba picked this helicopter up, the engine looked brand new. I saw pictures of it and it looked great. When I got it, I pulled the muffler off, and the piston ring looked brand new. I tried to take the head apart, but that was a no go, the bolts were locked into the block.
With that, after about 16 weeks of getting parts and donations, it was time to put it in the air. It started and sounded "okay" but somethign was off. The maiden flight of this thing was very short thanks to massive vibrations. I lowered the throttle and it went into the air. However on the second flight where I was not recording, the muffler came loose and the engine got VERY hot. That nice new piston ring now showed signs of wear. And only after one tank of fuel. This is not good.
It was then that I decided to tear the engine apart. This wouldn't have been so bad if the head bolts were not locked in place. I thought it was red thread locker, but it was the reaction that happens between aluminum and steel when there are no coatings. With some help from my MAP gas torch, I heated that head up so hot that it discolored the anodizing, but it got the bolts off.
While tearing down the engine, I noticed some things that didn't quite look right. Remember, it didn't feel right when running. I looked closer, and the sleeve was not sitting in the block as it should have. The pin in the block was pushed all the way into the block and the sleeve was rotated about 10º. I removed teh sleeve, and the inside of the block was scratched up beyond repair. Closer inspection showed rust on the crank and rear bearing. And when I removed the bearings to clean them and try to save them, a LARGE piece of metal came out of the front bearing.
With all of these issues, the members that donated suggested that we do NOT put this heli in the air until we get a new engine. And that is where we sit today. The helicopter will run the way it sits right now, but for how long is the question. Do I want to risk crashing this helicopter because of the engine blowing up when I knew that we should have waited? The answer to that is a simple no. I want to see this helicopter in the air flying around, smoking out all of these damn bugs that are "bugging" me when I'm flying the 450. But, We must wait.
The helicopter is sitting on top of my Plotter, where it has been since I put the engine back in just for weight. It's sitting there calling my name every day to fly it, and MAN I want to fly it. Using the 450 as my sim was the best decision I have done in a long time. But doing so has made me want to fly even more. It's like a drug, you get a little taste, and the next time, you want a bigger taste. That is the issue that I'm dealing with now lol. I want that bigger taste.
So everyone, the helicopter is still here and it's about 90% new. It's the best of both worlds. We kept the heli, but we got a new heli out of it. And I must say, the thing looks amazing with all of the new parts on it. But the reveal will have to wait until it's ready to fly before I will post a picture or video of it. So for those of you that were wondering what happened to the RCH Heli videos, that is what happened. It was just too damaged to "repair". I ended up having to "replace" just about everything. Not something that makes good video as it's just a simple R&R.
We do still need donations to finish this heli, so any donation is welcome and will help. Only two parts are needed to complete the heli (that I know of) and that is the Engine (OS 55HZ-H) and the lower Carbon Fiber plate that is on the bottom of the helicopter. That's it. I have the fuel, starter and everything else to put this baby in the air, we are just waiting on more funding.
I just wanted to tell you all that the RCH Heli is still sitting here awaiting funding to go into the air. After talking to many members that have donated to make this helicopter possible, it's unanimous that I do NOT put it in the air with this engine.
so lets start off where this thread left off. Above you will see a post by Sam stating where to find a starter for the heli. Thanks to Kyle, we have an Align starter for this helicopter. And it works GREAT! More than enough power to turn this .55 size engine over and get it started. The only bad thing about it is that my 3s 2200mah batteries will not fit in it. Not even my new packs that are not puffed lol. However, I have an 1800mah pack that I use in it and even though it's a lower C rating, it never even gets warm. Love this starter.
For those that don't know, We had some hard times with this helicopter. Half of the donors wanted to sell it, the other half wanted to keep it and get it in the air. I was torn in the middle, but my ADD and OCD got the best of me and I went to the side of the ones that wanted to sell it. There is a thread on this and I may be beating a dead horse here, but I feel it needs repeating.
I tore the helicopter down to each individual part and put a LOT of parts for sale on here and on eBay. 4 of the parts sold and that is when the crap hit the fan. It was then that I decided to go ahead and make the decision to not only keep the helicopter that we had, but to also restore it to the condition that I think it needed to be in to be called the "Official RCH Helicopter". And that is exactly what I have done, and am doing now.
I have to give it to Stokke, he said in his thread that we should wait for the money to come in and start with new EVERYTHING, and he was right. I remember reading that thread for the first time, and it's still stuck in my head. If we had done that, there would not have been so many headaches with this heli. But, what's done is done, and it is what it is, or is it?
As of today, about the only stock part left on that helicopter is the frame. Everything else has been replaced thanks to the donations made by the members here on the forum. However there is still more to get.
Remember above I had said that the members that donated to this heli didn't want it to fly with this engine? Well to catch those up that don't know, this engine is toast. When Gaba picked this helicopter up, the engine looked brand new. I saw pictures of it and it looked great. When I got it, I pulled the muffler off, and the piston ring looked brand new. I tried to take the head apart, but that was a no go, the bolts were locked into the block.
With that, after about 16 weeks of getting parts and donations, it was time to put it in the air. It started and sounded "okay" but somethign was off. The maiden flight of this thing was very short thanks to massive vibrations. I lowered the throttle and it went into the air. However on the second flight where I was not recording, the muffler came loose and the engine got VERY hot. That nice new piston ring now showed signs of wear. And only after one tank of fuel. This is not good.
It was then that I decided to tear the engine apart. This wouldn't have been so bad if the head bolts were not locked in place. I thought it was red thread locker, but it was the reaction that happens between aluminum and steel when there are no coatings. With some help from my MAP gas torch, I heated that head up so hot that it discolored the anodizing, but it got the bolts off.
While tearing down the engine, I noticed some things that didn't quite look right. Remember, it didn't feel right when running. I looked closer, and the sleeve was not sitting in the block as it should have. The pin in the block was pushed all the way into the block and the sleeve was rotated about 10º. I removed teh sleeve, and the inside of the block was scratched up beyond repair. Closer inspection showed rust on the crank and rear bearing. And when I removed the bearings to clean them and try to save them, a LARGE piece of metal came out of the front bearing.
With all of these issues, the members that donated suggested that we do NOT put this heli in the air until we get a new engine. And that is where we sit today. The helicopter will run the way it sits right now, but for how long is the question. Do I want to risk crashing this helicopter because of the engine blowing up when I knew that we should have waited? The answer to that is a simple no. I want to see this helicopter in the air flying around, smoking out all of these damn bugs that are "bugging" me when I'm flying the 450. But, We must wait.
The helicopter is sitting on top of my Plotter, where it has been since I put the engine back in just for weight. It's sitting there calling my name every day to fly it, and MAN I want to fly it. Using the 450 as my sim was the best decision I have done in a long time. But doing so has made me want to fly even more. It's like a drug, you get a little taste, and the next time, you want a bigger taste. That is the issue that I'm dealing with now lol. I want that bigger taste.
So everyone, the helicopter is still here and it's about 90% new. It's the best of both worlds. We kept the heli, but we got a new heli out of it. And I must say, the thing looks amazing with all of the new parts on it. But the reveal will have to wait until it's ready to fly before I will post a picture or video of it. So for those of you that were wondering what happened to the RCH Heli videos, that is what happened. It was just too damaged to "repair". I ended up having to "replace" just about everything. Not something that makes good video as it's just a simple R&R.
We do still need donations to finish this heli, so any donation is welcome and will help. Only two parts are needed to complete the heli (that I know of) and that is the Engine (OS 55HZ-H) and the lower Carbon Fiber plate that is on the bottom of the helicopter. That's it. I have the fuel, starter and everything else to put this baby in the air, we are just waiting on more funding.