Heli-Baby NT Build w/floats

[Keyrigger]

Hi all:

Last week, I got the notice that my kit had been received at my Niagara Falls PO box so it was time to head on south (driving rain for most of the way) and pray for smooth border crossings. I have got to admit that the plain box was a bit of a letdown as I was hoping for a reproduction of the original box. My original Heli-Baby, that I bought used back in 1979, had the box so I was anticipating an update of that with the new kit. Well, not this time around, but maybe sometime in the future.

I will not post this as a single large group of photos but at this time, it is nearly complete. Things might change in equipment before I get it into the air so I am not too eager to post and then to change it. I am right now stuck at the canopy gluing stage, which I hope someone can give a tip or two about, as I don't want to ruin it. I have more than enough of the recommended glue so if some of you have some tips, I am all ears.

The main box contains the canopy halves, boom and pushrod in a bag, pre-assembled landing gear, the seat molding, lots of peanuts, and a small but very heavy Diabolo box. I was expecting more I was in for a surprise. That little box, 300x110x70mm, held the entire mechanical contents to the kit. Wow. That I had not seen before. Even the unbent tail rotor protector was inside (more on that in a later post).

This first post is the building of the main upper chassis and the motor. The gear mesh is non-adjustable but is spot on for tolerances. Plenty more to come. Take care.

Don

[Keyrigger]

Here is the next set in the build. These parts are as well made as any high end model components I have ever seen. The finish and quality of the hardware is second to none. I can hardly wait to get this finished and in the air. Lots of cockpit details will be added once I am at that stage, including another scratch built instrument panel (I hope) with lighted gauges. This series takes it to the installation of the float struts. The prototype had a second set of holes drilled in the front plate to the rear of the gear strut position. I matched that set so that I could used the original location of the float struts and not have to modify the floats. I have been told that I have the last set of floats in existence at the factory. I hope that another batch of floats might be made in the near future, hint, hint. Take care.

Don

[Magneto]

Nice job Keyrigger!! Keep the pics coming ,How cool is that you can buy a custom built reproduction Heli built to a much better spec, Gerd never ceases to amaze me!! He puts alot of care and time into his Helicopters and it shows there are not many helis that can hold a candle to minicopters!!

[Keyrigger]

Thanks Magneto:

This kit is really nice to put together. At first, I thought that the manual on the computer would be a bit of a pain but afterwards, the ability to zoom in on a section made up for any inconvenience of not having a written copy in my hand. If I really needed it, I have a printer on my home network, so a hard copy was a few clicks away.

The next stage is the cockpit floor, servo, and swash plate assembly. There is a bit of trimming needed when installing the tail servo mounting tray but after a couple of minutes with a flat needle file, the deed was done. You do get a second set of cabin plates which are made from laser cut plywood, just as accurately done as the CF plates. I chose to stay with the carbon plates for this time as I will be using this one around water a lot so the plywood, unless treated, would swell with the constant contact with moisture. Enjoy.

Don

[seefest]

Nice pics. My dad and I just got his put together. Should maiden it next week after I get around to helping him set up the electronics.
The only issues we had with the kit were the following:
Canopy halves were trimmed a bit shy. Needed to trim the carbon rear backrest in order to get enough overlap of the two halves to glue them.
The front skid mounts needed 4mm shims to enable the canopy to slide on easier.
The two cupped shims in the tail rotor were missing as well as a few nuts up forward.
Other than that it went together really nice and is very well made. My dad is like a kid again, lining up his 70s Heli Baby and 2016 version on the bench!

[Keyrigger]

seefest:

I found the tail shims in one of the other packages and at first, I could not figure out what or where they went. It became very apparent once I got close to tail assembly time. I found that the canopy was a very close trim and I am sure that they tried many different times to get the right amount of material on each side for the optimum fit. I kind of messed up the gluing of the two halves but I have a second set to see if I can get it any better. When I tried the fit over the cockpit back and bottom, it was a tight glove fit. If I had tried to use the back as a building jig, it would not have fit like it did. I also tried it out on the prototype and my try at the canopy also fit it perfectly with the O-rings making the bottom fight spot on.

The next parts of the build were the head and boom. I have not seen such a snug fit since going over the sk-rotorkopf head that is on my up and coming MH-6 (previously my TOW Defender). There are similarities in the overall concept but this head is much tighter in tolerance.

The boom mounting bulkheads are just as precise as the head and need to be slightly spread apart to be slipped on the boom. The guides for the pushrod are quite a sight. They are made from Delrin and have brass bushings inserted for the running of the pushrod. They are simply held on with electrician's tape. Who Knew???

I slightly deviated from the plans by putting the vertical fin on the opposite side as I felt that the rod was interfered with by the clamps and there was drag created by the clamp grabbing it. There was no obvious way around it as that is exactly where the rod ran when the fin mount is placed where they suggest. Putting it on the other side lets the rod run completely clear of the clamps. I'm getting closer to finish now as it is starting to look like my first one, less the very wide float struts. Take care.

Don

[Keyrigger]

The tail was next and it was as well machined and easy to put together as the main rotor. I don't know how it got in another package, but I did find one of the counterweight sleeves in and amongst another group of parts. I thought I found it in the main rotor parts bag but it became very clear where it was supposed to go once I got here.

I intend to make up a tail skid that matches the original style and I thought I had purchased the right diameter wire but in checking it, I was a few tenths of a millimeter off in the size. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I had mentioned that there were going to be times when I had ran out of items to install but wanted to pictures of them in order of appearance. Today is such a day. I didn't have a long enough remote receiver extension to install the second remote but took the pictures after the fact. You will see some later items there but the main focus is on the second receiver.

I also began to put the interior together with the main fitting of the seat back over the servos. I trimmed it as close as I could, keeping as much of the seat that I could rather than pull a square out of it and calling it a day. The wiring of the ESC and motor come next time. Take care.

Don

[Raptorapture]

Nice work!

Great to see the minicopter engineering and precision applied to this classic heli.

[Keyrigger]

At the prodding of a friend of mine, I put one thing on the list of things "To Do" today, and that was to buy the correct wire size and length to make two tail rotor skid wire loops for both of my Heli-Baby's. I found a 4' length of 3/32" wire and that was more than enough for the job, leaving enough for a third if I needed to alter the length more than I had to. The original had much shorter blades as well as smaller blade grips giving it a much smaller overall tail rotor diameter.

I found this out when I went to make one for the prototype as I took a full scale drawing and made the wire skid to match. Of course, it was nearly an inch short so I ended up making a very long loop just as was done by Gerd. I wanted to have this as close to the original as possible so a taller set was on the table and it went nicely. The funny part is that I didn't measure either one before bending them up as I made each one to fit rather than to a length, sigh. I would hazard a guess that each one is about 15" long before bending. Take care.

Don

[Keyrigger]

It was time to get at the cockpit and properly do up the instrument panel. The prototype gave me a chance to have a bit of fun by adding details for this fantasy helicopter that never existed. I didn't have the formed panel so I had to go by what I remembered and pictures that showed some of the shape. The height was not so easy to work out but it turned out not so far off. This time, I had a full sized panel to work from so it was a lot easier.

The main panel was at least 20% larger so I had room for more instruments. I also felt that they should be lighted and worked out a twin light mount inside. Each instrument was an individual unit that was made from plastic tubing and .010" sheet. The main panel was then drilled out behind the instrument and glued into place. You can see in the one shot the effect of the red LED's that I was after. The red shows up even under flash photography so I know it will be seen when not hit with sunlight.

I received a few "what the &*@&" looks when I pointed out the key set on the original so this time I measured an ignition key and made one in true 1/6th scale which worked out to 12mm long. The ring was made from the inside wire of a heavy duty twist tie as it held its shape very well. The key set was carved out of .060"x.125" plastic bar and if there was a lock that was that small, it would operate the tumblers, lol.

I used the same lighting controller that I used in my CH-139. I twinned it to make things simple and it gave me the pulsing/landing light combination that worked so well. I will have one rotating beacon, and the usual navigation light set as soon as I work out how I will attach them to the chassis and tail housing. The last shots show the rest of the interior including the pedals I made as the formed ones were meant for some very flexible figures that mine just are not, lol. It's all good. Take care.

Don

[Keyrigger]

This set is of the electronics installation. I had a CC Phoenix 85HV left over from something in the past and found that it would be a good fit here. It does tend to get in the way of the Velcro strap but that is easy enough to deal with. The battery is shown installed with the lead exiting the back but has since been switched to the opposite direction. It worked out well for balancing, too. I hard wired the ESC to the motor as the wire diameters are very different and the wire types are dissimilar.

I installed a Skookum 760BE for the gyro with twin DSMX remotes as previously shown. I may, at some time, cut the servo wires so that the bundle over the receiver can be reduced but I will still need a bit of a mess somewhere because of wires that I don't want to shorten. I may move the excess remote receiver wires to another spot to clean up the installation. One of the main installation differences is the adding of the tray on top of the battery box. This allows the ESC and (if yours is small enough), the BEC to be put on top. The CC BEC Pro is a bit too large for that but if I switch to the smaller 10A BEC, I will revise the installation.

The light controller is from ScaleRcHelis.com and is shown in its first position which has since been changed to flat on the floor and further forward. It makes for a clean install and the wires to the navigation side markers are very short. I think the last set will be final installation of the interior and the canopy. Take care.

Don

[Keyrigger]

The end is now in sight. There is just the assembly of the interior, popping on of the canopy, and balancing of the blades to do. I bought a new balancer from Miniature Aircraft this winter and this was the perfect time to try it out. I found it much more sensitive than the Heli-Max static balancer I had used in the past, along with a simple unit from Align. Both work but this one is far more elegant. I am really pleased with the NHP blades that I ordered with the kit as recommended by Gerd. They balanced perfectly for CG and needed a small piece of cellotape at the CG to perfectly static balance the blades.

The running lights are at least 5000mcd for the left, right, landing/warning and beacon. The little light in the tail is only 2000mcd but it stands out like a sore thumb even in bright direct sunlight. I made the housings from PVC board and turned the tail housing by hand. The wires for the tail light are run inside a carbon fibre tube that hides them as if the rod is part of the control rods.

I cut the seat back very close around the servos as this was my first chance to do so in the three I have had. The first two were purchased assembled so this is my first actual build and a chance to do things my own way when I have the choice. With all of that done, it was time for the maiden.

I took my fleet to the Burlington Bayview field and prepared for the first flight. I brought my Q500 quad in anticipation of recording this for posterities' sake and set that up with some assistance from one of the club members. His job was to hold the controller and punch the red power button if so directed. Once I get the video uploaded, I will post the link in here. For now, here are the last of the pictures up to the takeoff video of the maiden. Take care.

Don

[cobieg]

Don, it looks fantastic! Now you need a nice pond to chase some ducks around LOL.

Ron

[Keyrigger]

Thanks Ron. The maiden off the water is coming up soon. Our club holds a weekend long float fly at a conservation area not too far from me. It's a wonderful day of flying, shooting the breeze, and great sausages on a bun. I'll be down south for the Fall Classis at Triple Creek in October. Maybe you can make it there? Take care.

Don

[cobieg]

Triple Creek sounds good. I'll have the 500C done by then.

[Keyrigger]

I finally worked out the processing problem I was having with the video. I posted it at full resolution and at 48fps. Most computers can easily play that but some, like mine, choke at 60fps for some reason. Enjoy.

Don

Heli Baby Maiden Flight (1 min 32 sec)

[Raptorapture]

Great to see it airborne!

[Keyrigger]

That was a really small hop for a maiden flight. However, I have since put at least 12 packs through it and it just gets better every flight. I have already done some Split S's and a few loops just for fun. There is more power than the prototype but it's not earth shattering power we are talking about here, lol. I did find that I had been a bit stingy with the pitch and increased it to just over 11 degrees this evening. I added a small amount of right trim to the Skookum as there was a tendency to drift to the left but overall, it is a solid flyer in the air. Gerd, if you happen to read this, do you know the power in watts of the motor? I can't seem to track it down anywhere. Thanks. Take care.

Don

[seefest]

Here are a couple pics of my dads build. It flies very nice and sounds even better.

[Keyrigger]

Nice build. Love the original, too. I do like the original landing gear the best as far as design. It's low slung and very long to create a nice, stable platform. I finally got mine out on the water and what a day to test it out. Winds were steady at around 20kmh with gusts up to 48kmh at times. I was the only flyer out of four that took off and landed. Lots more were there but they stayed on the ground. Some took off but flipped on landing, some flipped trying to take off, and one crashed as he had insufficient experience in high winds. One big advantage a helicopter has is its high disk loading compared to most model airplanes. it's fun to take to the air when most planes are on the ground on account of the winds. Take care.

Don