Alright, got it all finished tonight. Made some aluminum blocks to mount the engine and everything fit nice. I then reinforced the inner ply structure and landing gear blocks in several areas. Pull start will come out through the bottom or you can remove the front of canopy and it will pull straight ahead. Very happy with my first real scale project- thank you all for the tips and help!

Looking Good.............Jack!

That's looking GREAT, nice work! A word of advice: any wood or reinforcements should really be bonded into the fuse with Hysol, or BVM Aeropoxy. Regular epoxy does not have a lot of flexibility or strength. Especially since you have a gasser "AKA" vibe machine
Barry

All helis and planes have an expiration date stamped on them...you only find it after you crash!!

Hmmm, I did not know that... I used Great Planes 30min epoxy for all reinforcement pieces..

You can run an extra bead of BVM over the edges. It's good that you used 30 min epoxy vs 5 min, because it's much stronger.
Barry

All helis and planes have an expiration date stamped on them...you only find it after you crash!!

Ok thank you for that. I have built many planes from kits or blueprints over the years so I am well versed in woodworking and glue joints- but I have never heard of BVM. I will be sure to check it out now.

Really nice job on the install. Hysol and BVM AeroPoxy are aeronautical grade adhesives and they differ from standard epoxy in that they have a stronger adhesion and they retain some flexibility so they are less likely to break loose due to vibration or sheer forces.

http://www.bvmjets.com/pages/catalog/aeropoxy.htm

Looks great. How about a youtube when its done? In the meantime, how about a pic of it beside a smaller heli

Team HeliProz - Retired
AMA #513507
IRCHA #4011

How's this for a size comparison? Next to my Raptor 90SE Gasser!

I know the size of a raptor 90, and it looks small beside that scale job.

Team HeliProz - Retired
AMA #513507
IRCHA #4011

Happy to report the maiden today went well! I did have to richen the engine slightly to compensate for the long tube off of the can but no issues otherwise. I also enlarged the bottom opening when I got home tonight to make more clearance for the recoil rope to be pulled. Man it looks awesome in the air

That's Good To Hear!!

Congrats!!!!!

Now we need pic's of it in the fuselage!!!

Got your first "taste" of what scale is all about....

To me a pod and boom heli, just isn't dressed yet

Stan

AMA 2918-Team Spin Blades,,Castle Creations, Unique Aircraft

Right on Jack.....!
Congrats also.......!
Hey?....how much (if any) weight did you have to add to the nose?

Yes Stan, now im thinking of a fuse for my Raptor 50 This is very addictive! And no, I didn't add any weight to the nose. You don't see in pics because I had it removed during construction, but the fuel tank sits way out in front so it adds substantial weight when full and I rarely fly below half a tank.

Thanks Jack.......and yes it sure is addicting......!

I wanted to show detail of my recoil start as this was a tricky part we had discussed. I place the machine on a table (or my tailgate) to start as shown. The only issues I had was the rope was rubbing into the fiberglass so I added the heavy polymer block as shown. It works slick now and no more potential damage to the fuse.

Great Job!!

Very nice job... looks nice and clean..
Good idea with the block to keep the pull rope off the fuselage..
Have fun with it..
Stan

AMA 2918-Team Spin Blades,,Castle Creations, Unique Aircraft

Outstanding Jack.
Hey.........are you sure you haven't done this before?

Sand Bagging?????????

rcheli808, you think he was just holding a bit of important info back a bit!!!

Stan

AMA 2918-Team Spin Blades,,Castle Creations, Unique Aircraft

Nooooo I swear I wasn't lol! Thank you for the kind comments, but it was good advice on here and years of building and fabricating stuff on my planes that helped. I was happy to actually use my building tools again and adhesives I had that have been sitting idle since I started flying helis.