Post your Atom 500 pic.'s here...

[cyclo]

Decided to break out this old Fusuno Atom 5.5 canopy from the mothballs and use it on my stretch Atom this weekend...

[stark]

@cyclo, awesome pics . What struts are those? They look awesome. Are they a drop in replacement? are you using compass' canopy quick release?

[cyclo]

Originally Posted by stark

@cyclo, awesome pics . What struts are those? They look awesome. Are they a drop in replacement? are you using compass' canopy quick release?

Thanks stark! The CF struts I acquired from a local Compass dealer here in Canada... RCHeliCanada. Unfortunately, the shop is no longer online. Before RCHeliCanada closed, the struts were being sold very cheaply. I should have gotten a spare or two at that time. They really look good on both the Atom and the stretched Atom especially if you have the Atom 5.5 Fusuno canopy.

EDIT: Below is an upright pic. I love this heli... I hope the eXo 500 is a worthy successor. BTW I am using an oversized 6HV fin.

[Xciler8]

I really love mine too and I run the same canopy, main and tail blades. It just flies so perfect, requires almost no maintenance and looks so darn good in the air (as your photos prove!)......its been a joy to own and learn on.

I guess I'm just disappointed in the diminishing parts support for this model and now when I fly mine I'm trying to be careful not to crash as I'm afraid that might be its last. I going to keep flying it until I can't!!!

[Chargersforlife]

Atom 500 ROCKS!!

I've had this heli for about 4 years now and she has not let me down yet! Can't say enough good things about this beast. I'm disappointed it is being replaced with the EXO. Talk about big shoes to fill g

[cyclo]

Originally Posted by Xciler8

I really love mine too and I run the same canopy, main and tail blades. It just flies so perfect, requires almost no maintenance and looks so darn good in the air (as your photos prove!)......its been a joy to own and learn on.

I guess I'm just disappointed in the diminishing parts support for this model and now when I fly mine I'm trying to be careful not to crash as I'm afraid that might be its last. I going to keep flying it until I can't!!!

Just my 2 cents but it is too bad Compass appears to be moving away from the keep it simple designs that fly extremely well approach... Atom, 6HVU, and 550U.

Originally Posted by Chargersforlife

Atom 500 ROCKS!!

I've had this heli for about 4 years now and she has not let me down yet! Can't say enough good things about this beast. I'm disappointed it is being replaced with the EXO. Talk about big shoes to fill g

Same here, I have had the Atoms for 4 years now... They still fly great. The 550U is a great big brother to these Atoms but unfortunately it too has been discontinued. I love flying my Chronos and 7HVU but there are times when I just want to fly with a minimum of fuzz (6S lipos, no Rx packs) and that is what the Atoms and 550U are there for.

I do have faith on the upcoming eXo 500... I might build one in the Fall and if I do I will try to come up with an objective comparison between it and my Atoms... Especially comparing it to the stretched Atom which shares the same RT 515mm blades.

[stark]

All stock

[jc318]

Here is mine. Had some fun yesterday. My first Atom coming from Align and already impressed!

[Ah Clem]

Lookin' good there, jc318!

Great photograph!

[jc318]

Thanks! My gf took it with her cell. Need to get her a good camera. I wish I would have got an atom a long time ago. Very nice machine

[cyclo]

Stretched Atom... Still going strong after all these years knock on wood.

[cyclo]

Damn... Can't believe the last post here was already a year ago... Time flies.

It now appears I will be able to resurrect my Atom 500 that I crashed hard last spring practicing inverted circuits/funnels. That hard inverted crash resulted in bent blade grip arms, broken frames, among other things, and at the time I decided it was not worth it to fix anymore and just use the surviving parts as spares for my surviving stretched Atom.

Anyways, thanks to tc_racer, I was able to get a brand new never been used Atom 500 kit at a bargain. tc_racer also included a pair of stretched booms, stretched belts, Atom 5.5 canopies, and CF skids. This means I will be able to resurrect the Atom 500 but most likely as another stretched Atom with 515mm blades.

I probably will not be using the Castle 75 ESC on my crashed Atom but instead will be getting a HW100A V3 most likely this Black Friday.

Atom #1 crash last spring:



New Atom 500 kit (foreground) to revive the crashed Atom above... I'm looking forward to rebuilding this stretched Atom this Winter... Will be taking it slowly. This feels like reviving a classic. . To minimize the chances of cracking the frame in hard inverted crashes I will be using the Atom 5.5 canopies all the time. I placed a foam rubber inside to prevent the canopy from flapping and this wraps around the lipo. That should help absorb the impact of a hard inverted crash. I also intend to double up the frame that supports the skids... Just like in the 550U/6HVU.

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by cyclo

Damn... Can't believe the last post here was already a year ago... Time flies.

It now appears I will be able to resurrect my Atom 500 that I crashed hard last spring practicing inverted circuits/funnels. That hard inverted crash resulted in bent blade grip arms, broken frames, among other things, and at the time I decided it was not worth it to fix anymore and just use the surviving parts as spares for my surviving stretched Atom.

Anyways, thanks to tc_racer, I was able to get a brand new never been used Atom 500 kit at a bargain. tc_racer also included a pair of stretched booms, stretched belts, Atom 5.5 canopies, and CF skids. This means I will be able to resurrect the Atom 500 but most likely as another stretched Atom with 515mm blades.

I probably will not be using the Castle 75 ESC on my crashed Atom but instead will be getting a HW100A V3 most likely this Black Friday.

Atom #1 crash last spring:



New Atom 500 kit (foreground) to revive the crashed Atom above... I'm looking forward to rebuilding this stretched Atom this Winter... Will be taking it slowly. This feels like reviving a classic. . To minimize the chances of cracking the frame in hard inverted crashes I will be using the Atom 5.5 canopies all the time. I placed a foam rubber inside to prevent the canopy from flapping and this wraps around the lipo. That should help absorb the impact of a hard inverted crash. I also intend to double up the frame that supports the skids... Just like in the 550U/6HVU.

Good to know that you are in the process of rebuilding stretch Atom. I was asking tc_racer for the NIB Atom kit only but he preferred to sell everything instead of parting it out. So I did not buy the Atom from him.

[Ah Clem]

cyclo,

Nice that you were able to get a brand new one!

I acquired a slightly used one that belonged to a friend earlier in the year. It is complete and in-tact, but I am holding it to be an organ donor in case the unthinkable happens to my Atom or stretched Atom.

Truthfully, the Atoms have been sitting since I go the eXo's, but it's nice to know they are still there (they are like old friends, if that makes sense).

[cyclo]

Originally Posted by Ah Clem

cyclo,

Nice that you were able to get a brand new one!

I acquired a slightly used one that belonged to a friend earlier in the year. It is complete and in-tact, but I am holding it to be an organ donor in case the unthinkable happens to my Atom or stretched Atom.

Truthfully, the Atoms have been sitting since I go the eXo's, but it's nice to know they are still there (they are like old friends, if that makes sense).

I initially had no plans of fixing the Atom nor getting another heli for this year because of budget constraints but this was just too good to pass up. I also have spares for them so I decided to go for it. Ah Clem, you are right about being like old friends, these Atoms indeed are.

[tc_racer]

Originally Posted by lcc014

Good to know that you are in the process of rebuilding stretch Atom. I was asking tc_racer for the NIB Atom kit only but he preferred to sell everything instead of parting it out. So I did not buy the Atom from him.

If I'm not mistaken I gave you a price on the NIB kit separately. At least that's what my sent PM's show.

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by tc_racer

If I'm not mistaken I gave you a price on the NIB kit separately. At least that's what my sent PM's show.

My bad, I mis-understood your reply. I thought that you preferred to sell the whole bundle

[ARM_Coder]

Originally Posted by stark

All stock

And still looking gorgeous!

The Atom 500 is timeless. And was by far the best bang for the buck of all helis I had on my shelf.

Cheers!

[cyclo]

Originally Posted by ARM_Coder

And still looking gorgeous!

The Atom 500 is timeless. And was by far the best bang for the buck of all helis I had on my shelf.

Cheers!

Agree with the Atom. I am just waiting for Black Friday to get a HW100A ESC and then I will start rebuilding my original Atom... Pretty excited to get it back up in the air.

I intend to stretch the Atom with 515mm blades and it will be my primary smack single lipo trainer and will be flying it only when it is not windy. I will try to build it as light as possible so I can use it to practice tic tocs, etc., without stressing the lipos too much.

My 550U flies real well and is a great beater/trainer but the EC5 connector desoldered while I was practicing tic tocs last summer.

[cyclo]

My two Atoms are still going strong... I have been racking up flights on my 500 (430mm blades) after I rebuilt it more than a year ago.

Electronics include a HW 100A ESC and the original Savox 1257 mini and 1290 non HV regular sized servos. I am using the Compass motor from my original Atom (crashed) and it is still going strong.

I have also been using 80mm tail blades... SAB and Zeal blades fit perfectly and tail holding is great with these 80mm blades... better than the original 72mm blades. I can do inverted funnels both directions even in windy conditions with 80mm blades without loosing the tail. Note that on my stretched Atom (515mm blades) I am using KBDD 83mm blades. I have also been practicing tic tocs and the tail hold fine but I have tail pre-comp set to max on the 500 too.

Pic of the Atom 500 wiring:


With SAB 80mm tail blades:


Atom 500 and 550 (stretched) on the flying field last weekend.. I put large skid nuts on the rear skids on the 500 to raise the tail to minimize damage to the oversized 80mm tail blades.



I will continue flying these helis while I still have parts for them.