Airwolf Project

[Hotshot Charlie]

Hi gang,

I got a good deal on a Airwolf Kit (ARF) with pre-painted fuselage. I have always been interested in scale, so the project begins. Here are a few photos as all the parts came out of the box and getting ready to figure out where to start.

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/1e5c0f6e01ddb6371ec515b632d284c1.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/bfa9c158e47ea3d5ee6d3e9f32921230.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/38a2b7878445bb7f87f278f9142ae6d7.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/ca1dc81da7ef45c112b88265ae7cd2b2.jpg

[blakka_1]

Wow, that's a gorgeous kit :cool: . I'm not really a scale person but I have to admit I wouldn't mind one of those for myself, looks stunning, keep us updated. :)

[WillJames]

Looking good Rob!! Thank you VERY much for sharing your project with us FREAKS!!

[Laurens]

Cool project. I wonder if it'll fit in a Caliber 30

[Hotshot Charlie]

Not sure, mechanics will fit all bodies..... with some modifications !!!! That is where you get into a lot of work. Usually best to buy the mechanics that are made for the fuselage.

Thanks everyone, this will be a fun project.

[Christopher J]

Come on Charlie, .."Get r Done!!"

Charlie, it was really nice to meet you at the Birmingham event.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Hey Christopher,

First class job of flying your Airwolf. I enjoyed watching you. I am getting ready to go in to the shop and start working on the retracts. I have all I need to get them going now, so in a few hours, I hope to have them installed and somewhat working.

I have a Hawk Sport flying now, I might take those mechanics and put them in the Wolf..... Not sure, it is hard for me to tear down a good flying heli...... hehehee

I bought some CF blades for the wolf from Pete at B'ham, they are black and white and should really look great on the Wolf...... gotta quit typing and get to work !

[Christopher J]

Thank you for the compliment. I tell you, I couldn't do what I do with out regular questioning and help from scale gurus. Guys like Joe Howard, Dr Tim, Emile, Jerry HIcks, Peter Wales, Tony Tirone, and the Scalerchelis.com crew, ect have helped me out quite a bit.

Keep us up to date on your project here, and the scale site.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Retracts and Retract Servos finally installed. The nose gear required a lot of tinkering (to say the least). I ended up using a different pushrod setup to make it work smoothly. I actually broke the supplied retract pushrod while trying to bend it into shape, and had to make me another pushrod. Just time comsuming. Now I lack running the servo to retract pushrods. Shouldn't be too bad, but I hate to say that. heheheeee

HERE SHE IS ON HER FEET !!!

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/d05401710041b1b674f6897ca7210ead.jpg

More photos of the installation are in my gallery below.

[Laurens]

That link surely shows me some nice heli's, but when I go downstairs I see them in my own bedroom....

Use the Gallery button in Rob's profile instead :wink:

[Hotshot Charlie]

Uoops !!! :oops:

[Christopher J]

Good to see she's "On her feet".

Nice job.

[WillJames]

Looking good Rob!! Guess Chris's was an inspiration to you. :)

[Hotshot Charlie]

Will wrote:
Guess Chris's was an inspiration to you.

You bet, his Airwolf was great ! I love the scale stuff. All the scale birds at B'ham, were an inspiration! Very nice scale turnout.

I am not going to give up learning to do some 3D stuff, but my heart lies in the scale ships. I am already thinking about what the next scale bird will be !!! :mrgreen:

[Laurens]

Any updates Rob?

[Hotshot Charlie]

I have the mechanics pretty well finished. I am looking for a set of skids and a tail boom support for it so I can test fly the mechanics before I put them in the fuselage. YeeeeeHaaaaaa ! :mrgreen:

[Laurens]

Would a tailboom support be really necessary? As for the skids, just put your Stinger 50 skids temporary on it if it fits.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Tail boom support is not "necessary" but recommended. I think I am going to move all my stuff from my Hawk Sport Pod and Boom and put it in the Wolf. If I wasn't going with the OS37 in the Wolf, I would just change the lower frames on the Pod and Boom and put it in the Wolf. Decisions, decisions. I hate to tear a perfectly good flying heli down to get another one going.

[Hotshot Charlie]

The rain and non-flying weather has got me back on my Airwolf Project. I have just about gotten my mechanics ready for the test flight. All I lack is installing main blades and fuel tubing. I also will have do curve setups and she will be ready for the weather to clear up. I stole my landing gear off my Hawk Sport for the mechanic test flight. Here are a few pics:

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/82089b59215545927f052f1e793eb211.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/d4e38eef27a21f716c93fade7d535cf4.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/b9fbcaf49544d855b1114d7e22fc6446.jpg

[Laurens]

Good luck with the test flight :D

[Hotshot Charlie]

Thanks Laurens, test flights are always fun. :wink: But if you take your time and don't do anything stupid, they can be totally sucessful.

[Christopher J]

Let 'er rip man.

Can't wait to see some pics of yours in flight.

[Heli_jack]

Just take it slow at first Rob.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Hey Chris and Jack,

Thanks for the comments, I can't wait to get her in the air, but will definitely take my time. This will be a neat heli, since there really isn't any scale heli's around these parts.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Got my Airwolf Mechanics in the air today. A few little things to do, but nothing major. Seems to be very stable, after trimming out.

Only probs I had were:

Fuel tank clunk line to heavy, I used regular line instead of clunk line and it didn't pick up fuel at the bottom of the tank very well. Created a little excitement at the bottom of tank one! :shock:

One of my TR control rod guides came loose from the "drop" of CA glue holding it in place, this is what grounded me for the rest of the day..... I forgot to pack my CA back in my tool box (left it sitting on the work bench).

On the Scale Muffler, it seemed to leak around the top air vent fitting. I need to figure out a better way to seal this.

Everything else trimmed out nicely. Got blades tracked well. I am realitively impressed. I will put about a gallon through the mechanics before I move it into the fuselage.

Here are a couple of pics:

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/cba19010d42bd828dc4b67f67877919b.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/a6e7f5d41c18508b11712ffe54cf3be9.jpg

The blades were NOT turning as fast as it looks in the photo. The bird was almost spooled totaly down.