Woohoo, FURION, WOOHOO...

[Thrasymedes]

Well I have a Furion on the way and I'm really excited about it. This will be my first MA product but I have always liked their stuff. I wanted something I could take out at lunch and fly and maybe even hit some open parks when the weather breaks nice enough. If not my winter flying would probably be sparse at best. I have been practicing on the sim but after flying the real things all summer it just doen't cut it anymore.

Was thinking....Scorpion motor, ESC, GY520 gyro w 9257, haven't fully decided on the cyclic servos yet, and Rotor Tech blades.

Any tips regarding this heli would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

[billyd]

You will love this heli. NOTHING is better on 3s and 325mm blades. This is THE 450 heli.

My only advice is to take your time with the canopy. It's a pain to get it right. And be sure to be very careful gluing the windshield on with spray adhesive. You can't use goo remover to remove the excess because it dulls the black plastic. And using goo2 (for plastic) doesn't work well and usually ends up ruining the bond and leaving the excess glue.

The heli is awesome and goes together easily. But the canopy is terrible to assemble well. I have tried it two times and still don't like the results. And the decals don't stick well to it. Also the black window scratches really easily.

I look forward to a FG canopy for the Furion.

[Mercuriell]

I don't like small helis but I love the Furion !! I found the ALign 60A ESC great and much cheaper than a Jazz equivalent. With the canopy I found using black silicone rubber sealant worked well - spot glued the front first then the middle then finally the tails in three different stages. Haven't tried the GY520 - it looks very nice - the 401 works great too. Only tips in building are make sure you have the new head axle spacers else it binds - see the build vids / thread - also worth enquiring about the stronger tail grips bolts though I haven't fitted those to mine yet

[rappyrex14]

i finally got mine running after like 5 months. just gotta loosen up the head a bit with some flights. very solid heli. it should be greak. i dont have any of the new bolts or hardened shafts. imma fly it a bit and see what it needs.
great heli
don

[mlucia]

As Billyd said, take your time with the canopy. It is a bit cumbersome but will come out ok with some patience.

If you have a first production model be sure to email Tim at Miniair regarding the tail bolts, hardened main shaft and brass axle spacers (as John said).

Do not expect it to go together as quickly as a Align machine. There is more involved but you will enjoy the build. Everything fits like a glove and has some unique design aspects.

A really cool heli for sure!!

I went with Hitech 5065's, Scorpion 6, Scorpion 60A ESC, 401/9257.

Couple other things... be careful with the figure 8 like bearings on the tail pitch slider. Do not put any stress/angle on the bearing when screwing in the bolt. They are delicate (ask me how I know ).
The brass spacer that goes in each blade grip......you may need to sand them down. There has been a couple cases of the grips being tight and that was the cause. I had to on mine. It was mentioned in Johns build thread.

[laoheli]

Great Heli my setup
HS5065MG
Scorpion -8
Scorpion 45A ESC
GY401/9257
Thunder Power 325mm
Thunder Power 2200 - 25

[Thrasymedes]

Thanks for all the tips, and I did watch those build videos. Wwwwooooooow....now I'm even more excited!!! What a nice piece of engineering!!! Building is part of the fun for me and this will be great. I have no doubt this thing should fly very well and trouble free.

I have to say I'm impressed with Miniature Aircraft. Makes me rethink my choice for a 90 sized machine next spring. It may just well be an Ion X2.

[rappyrex14]

does anyone have an e-mail for this man john at M.A...for the upgraded kit parts??
Thanks in advance,
Don

[mlucia]

The persons name and owner is Tim. Not John

minair@miniatureaircraftusa.com

Or just give him a call: (352)-383-3201

[Thrasymedes]

Well my Furion arrived today and I have to again say WOW! Yes, Mark I definitely see what you mean about the build taking more time than a Trex, but it will really be worth it. This thing is an engineering marvel compared to a Trex 450. I plan to take my time and build her up right, and the design that has been done here deserves nothing less.

What a small box though...LOL....smaller than my Gaui 200 box but it's all in there. I actually like the canopy and can't wait to see what kind of paint scheme I can get going. The only thing I didn't really care for is the tail boom sticker over the Bandit logo. It's just inconsistent with the rest of the helicopter's quality and has already been pealed off. The tampoo printing underneath would be what I would have expected from a 450 of this quality.

Bottom line, I think this thing must be the Lamborghini of 450's, awesome!

EDIT: What's the skinny of the Bandit to Furion name change? Just curious...

[billyd]

I wasn't successful in painting this canopy. Others (professional painters) have tried and failed as well, so you might want to reconsider. Perhaps you will find a way, if so I want to hear about it!

Like I said you will love the heli. I had that sticker unpeeling on my tail boom too, and it was applied a little crookedly too boot, very irritating and unlike the rest of the heli.

Finally, the canopy looks fine, it's just plastic and difficult to get and keep looking good. The window plastic scratches very easily, and the decals don't stay put long.

These are all minor quibbles, wait until you see it fly. It is an amazing heli.

[skigolfmike]

I think you might be able to dye the canopy using Rit dye. Maybe I'll get a spare canopy, dye it yellow and use the red stickers.

[billyd]

Originally Posted by skigolfmike

I think you might be able to dye the canopy using Rit dye. Maybe I'll get a spare canopy, dye it yellow and use the red stickers.

Maybe that will work. Paint doesn't stick to it. I tried sanding, wet sanding, plastic primer, paint for plastic, even a krylon paint for plastic (that worked best). But even the best sticking coat comes off the plastic without much effort. In a few weeks flying my painted canopy looked awful. I ended up tossing it. It got pretty heavy too.

[Thrasymedes]

Maybe it needs a sealant sprayed on first? I might try that. At my work we have protoypted some plastic parts that needed a sealant before being painted so it would bond.

Thanks for the great heads up though billyd, I would have hated to put a lot of time into paint to watch it crumble off.

[Laurens]

Back in the days people would "flash" a raptor canopy, which would remove some of the greasy stuff thats in plastics. Basically they put a torch on it for a very short time so it wouldn't melt. This might help with the Furion canopy too I guess.

[Thrasymedes]

I hope so, I really like the shape of the canopy, it looks cool and is different than the usual rounded shape of even the Canomods. The worst case would be if the material has any "self-lubricating" properties, with which nothing would help.

[skigolfmike]

I bet there is oil in the plastic. The decals barely stick. Pretty sure Rit dye will work though.

I'll get another canopy, some Yellow Rit dye and give it a shot. BTW, if you do this the water has to be boiling for the plastic to absorb it. We used to dye RC car pieces like this all the time.

[Thrasymedes]

Originally Posted by skigolfmike

I bet there is oil in the plastic. The decals barely stick. Pretty sure Rit dye will work though.

I'll get another canopy, some Yellow Rit dye and give it a shot. BTW, if you do this the water has to be boiling for the plastic to absorb it. We used to dye RC car pieces like this all the time.

I'm guessing there must be oil in the plastic too, and if that's the case, painting it would be useless. That must be why a lot of people are having a hard time gluing the black window on too. Too bad MA didn't just make it out of fiberglass, the shape is awesome...looks like something out of Transformers.

Cool, let me know how this dye thing works out.

[SDGeo]

Did you finish your Furion? I was just going to add "when they say use Grreen Locktite, USE Green Locktite". Especially on those figure 8 tail bearings. I actually bought an extra pair of those bearnings just so I could properly locktite them and have them as spares. Green locktite with a tooth pick just like the instructions say.

I love my furion! I think its a mavel of engineering and beautifully designed. I've had people come over to me just to see the tail.

Good luck!

g

[Thrasymedes]

Originally Posted by George Rillo

Did you finish your Furion? I was just going to add "when they say use Grreen Locktite, USE Green Locktite". Especially on those figure 8 tail bearings. I actually bought an extra pair of those bearnings just so I could properly locktite them and have them as spares. Green locktite with a tooth pick just like the instructions say.

I love my furion! I think its a mavel of engineering and beautifully designed. I've had people come over to me just to see the tail.

Good luck!

g

I wish I could say I have even started this heli, but I have not......it's still in the box....DOH!!!! Maybe it has been the rainy winter that has kept my heli building dreams at bay. I should start this weekend....