Build/Review: Just-Heli 450 SIZE 500D-H-203 V2 Fuselage (w/Lighting System)

[BlackTitanium]

What's in The Box:


This Hughes 500D fuselage, manufactured by Just-Heli, is the Army H-203 V2 model with Navigation Lighting System.

*Fiber Glass scale fuselage x 1
*Pellucid canopy cover x 1
*Horizontal stabilizer x 1
*Vertical stabilizer x 3
*Molded Plastic Landing Gear x 4
*Aluminum Skids x 2
*Frame Stand Wood Board 1
*Frame Stand Wood pack x 1
*Screw Pack x1
*Factory Installed Lighting System x 1



The navigation lighting system is factory installed on the fuselage and landing skids.





Lenses for the red strobes are also included and installed.





Review Notes:
1. This fuselage feels lighter in weight than the other 500D paint schemes.
I assume this is due to the flat finish paint on this model.
The other paint schemes have a clear coat, giving them a high gloss finish, but also adds extra weight.

2. The front window is tinted clear plastic and is factory installed. There are no side windows included in this fuselage kit.

3. Lettering is factory painted on the fuselage. There are no decals in this kit.

[BlackTitanium]

The build time of the 500D kit could be completed in just a few hours.
The fuselage will accommodate most 450 class helicopter mechanics.
Some modifications may be required, depending on the helicopter model you choose to install.

Horizontal and Vertical Stabilizer Assembly
To assemble the horizontal and vertical stabilizer, first remove the white flashing LED from the horizontal wing.



Using a 5 minute epoxy, assemble the horizontal and vertical stabilizer components.
Set aside and allow epoxy to cure.




Landing Gear Assembly
Position into place the landing gear assemblies.
Red LED on the left and Green LED on the right.




Apply 5 minute epoxy to landing gear struts contact points.
Set a weight, i.e., Lipo pack, onto the fuselage floor of the fuselage, the weight will aid in keeping everything level while the epoxy sets.
Tip:
Apply masking tape to bottom of the fuselage, around the struts, to prevent epoxy from dripping through.

Note The red lens on the fuselage bottom was a little loose. The excess glue around the red lens was my messy mistake.

Installing Helicopter Mechanics
Using a helicopter that has been fully set up and flight tested, remove the canopy nuts, landing gear, tail boom support rods, horizontal and vertical stabilizers.
Disassemble the tail rotor gear box assembly.



Position the helicopter mechanics into the fuselage to determine how many wood pieces will be required.




My install required 6 wood pieces front and 8 wood pieces rear of the fuselage.
Wood pieces used may vary on your installation.
Use CA or Epoxy to mount the wood pieces into place.

Re-install the tail rotor gear box assembly, and secure the helicopter mechanics into place.
I use 8" tie wraps to secure the helicopter mechanics to the fuselage.




Attach the Vertical/Horizontal stabilizer.
It will be necessary to use some type of spacer between the tail and stabilizer assembly.




Review Notes:
1. Paint finish on all components are well matched.
2. Fitting fuselage of components was perfect.
3. Hardware included in the kit was not use for my assembly
4. Additional hardware, not found in kit, was used to mount stabilizer assembly to tail (2x12mm screws, spacers and washers).
5. A 9650/9257 sized tail servo will not fit without a modified bracket.
6. I recommend using a Futaba S3153 digital servo for the tail.

[BlackTitanium]

Navigation Lighting:

With the stock setup of the port (red) and starboard (green) navigation lights, on the landing skid tips, both lights are visible from a side view.
Only the red light should be visible as viewed from the left, and only the green light as viewed from the right.




To make the LED's more visible from the side view, I removed some of the metal, from the skid pipe, to expose more of the LED. The exposed metal also acts as a reflector.




To isolate the LED's visibility, so that only the red can be seen on the left or green on the right, I manufactured blinders, using a washer and shrink tubing.
Tip: The blinders are movable on the slick skid surface. To prevent movement, slide the blinder off, and apply a small amount of rubber cement onto the skid pipe, and re-install the blinder.





Both the red and green lights are visible from a front on view, but only one can be seen from a side view.





The Stinger:

When landing the 500D on an uneven surface, i.e. grass, the heli may have a tendency to tip back.
This situation is hazardous to the tail rotor blades.
Although not completely scale looking, I installed a stinger on the vertical stabilizer.

I carefully drilled a hole into the bottom of the vertical stabilizer.
I used a spare hex driver for the stinger. Applied some JB Weld and allowed it to set over night.





Mechanical Clearance:

A little bit of modification to the fuselage was needed, to accommodate bind free movement of the mechanics.
1. An opening in the tail boom end, to allow free movement on the tail pitch servo rod.
2. An opening of the dog house, to allow free movement of the swash mixing arms.





Exposed Wires:

I didn't like the look of the red & black wires running from the tail boom end up to the flashing white LED on top of the stabilizer.
Although it may not be the best solution, I covered the wires with black braid and shrink tubing.




Review Notes:

Recommended tools and hardware
1. Dremel Tool
2. Washers
3. Shrink tubing
4. Wire Braid
5. Fine Sand Paper
6. Rubber Cement

[BlackTitanium]

Center of Gravity:

When using 3S Lipo packs, the tail end can be heavy and far off CG.
I normally balance the Heli by adding lead weights in the nose section.

By using a 1500 mah NiMH receiver pack to power the lighting system,
I discovered that by mounting the battery pack in the nose section, my CG was spot on.




LED Control Connector:

The LED lighting system runs on a 3.7-6.5V power source.
It can be powered through the receiver and controlled via remote switch on your TX, provided that you have an open channel on your receiver.
Since I am using a 6 channel receiver, I opted for powering the lighting system with an external power source.

All of the LED wire connectors are labeled. The LED controller does not have any markings.
I used a Sharpie to label the LED controller for reference.




Review Notes:
I have to say, that I am really impressed with the lighting system.
The red/green and flashing white LED's are even very visible in day light!
The navigation lighting really does provide orientation cues for the pilot.
I want to put this lighting system on all of my scale fleet!

[ben1101]

Hi BT,

Would it be an easy mod to cut new holes for the landing gear to slot into on the wooden frame, closer to the center line of the heli to give the skids a wider stance?

Also, Would you be willing to give it a go and see if it improves the look of these fuses?

(I just 'shopped these pics to give an example)

Thanks,

Ben

[BlackTitanium]

Ben,

Oh now you ask that question!
Don't know why I didn't think of that before.

Yes, it can be done very easily.
My struts are already well epoxied into place, on the H-203, but here's an example of how it could be done using the Just-Heli Red N23CP.

[ben1101]

Hi BT,

Naice! Could you take a photo from a 3/4 angle? How do you think it looks compared to the stock setup?

[sidneyw]

BT,
Did you get to weight the fuse prior to installation?
How much clearance at elevator servo? I found the Align version has very very tight fit, making contact to the fuse causing vibration. I added a thin layer of high density foam to isolate the vibration.

[ben1101]

Ta Da!

Here's some eye candy!

[BlackTitanium]

Originally Posted by ben1101

Hi BT,

Naice! Could you take a photo from a 3/4 angle? How do you think it looks compared to the stock setup?

I agree, that the wider stance looks better, although this example is too wide.
It looks like about a 4mm move towards center line would be right where the struts need to be.
I will install the struts that way when I complete the build of the red N23CP.

[BlackTitanium]

Originally Posted by sidneyw

BT,
Did you get to weight the fuse prior to installation?
How much clearance at elevator servo? I found the Align version has very very tight fit, making contact to the fuse causing vibration. I added a thin layer of high density foam to isolate the vibration.

I don't have a scale to weigh the fuselage.
The fuselage appears to be the same mold as the Align.
My heli mechanics has an over slung fly bar, which allows mine to sit a little lower in the fuselage, so I am not having a issue there.

[majuro15]

I really like what you did with the washers and heat shrink to isolate the nav lights. Looking good!

[sidneyw]

I find the MD500 scale flight characteristic better than A109, Jet Ranger and AS350 that I own. May be the weight or the shape of the fuse in 450 size, it handles much better.

BT, how many MD500 are you going to keep.

[BlackTitanium]

Originally Posted by sidneyw

I find the MD500 scale flight characteristic better than A109, Jet Ranger and AS350 that I own. May be the weight or the shape of the fuse in 450 size, it handles much better.

BT, how many MD500 are you going to keep.

Yes, I too find that they all have different flight characteristics, and the 500D is easier to fly scale.
The A109 and Airwolf fly similar and are the hardest to fly scale.

How many 500D's am I going to keep? Well, I still need a 500E too.
Maybe one military and one civilian.
But then again, the DX7 has 20 model memory so...

[Darthdrk]

Each body will have a different feel when flying (Due mostly to weight and also air displacemnet around the body) but you need to tune headspead and pitch for each also. with some tweaking you can get them flying pretty much near the same. With the Jet ranger Sidneyw Try tuning down the headspeed while increasing the pitch a little.

BT, you can never have to many helis but Ive found out the hard way having a lot of helis on a radio that will store multiple models can turn into a bad thing. "oops, I thought I was on this one".

[ViperZ]

Very Nice work Black Ti! I love the Nav light blinders.


How do these Just Heli 500e's compare to the Heli Artist versions? Or are they the same thing?

I would love to purchase just a set of the pre installed landing skidds & LED's, do you know if that is possible, or could you recommend an alternative kit? I already have the Align 500e, which I believe is a Heli Artist (from a previous post you made).


Thanks for all your great information regarding this class!

[hellafreaky]

BT- sweet 500D, nice work! just now seeing this vid. we have very similar flying styles.