Death and Rebirth: MD500E 700 Scale

[Trooper7]

They say there are seven stages to grief - disbelief, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance - I believe I went through all seven as I watched my beautiful MD500E plummet to it's demise.

No one to blame but myself. Seems spinning 700mm blades on a M0.8 main gear was insufficient. Unloading and then loading the disc up again in a steep pullout into a hard bank turn was too much.

At the end of my walk of shame it was quite clear there was no salvaging the fuselage. It would be easier to start fresh.

Mechanically the heli fared much better, the aforementioned main gear fail, a bent boom, one set of servo gears and 2 blades were lost, the rest would live to see another day.

And so begins another build thread of my MD500E 2.0











WARNING: The following images contain graphic content which some viewers may find disturbing.

































First thing was to order the new fuselage courtesy of JetTech Models...again.



Cut out Windows



Cover with tape and install into canopy to help support the delicate fiberglass window frames while its being worked on....




Mount canopy to main frame, clamp into place and drill holes for guide pins. I epoxied the pins into place using a spare piece of wood on the opposite side to help keep everything square...




Installed magnets on the inside of the main frame with epoxy. Conveniently held in place with its partner on the outside.

With guide pins aligning the canopy and main frame I epoxied in the magnets on the canopy side...handily, the magnets find their own centers.




Next I rebuilt the frame used to raise my 600ESP mechanics (45mm) to the right height. (Using a Align 600 FBL main shaft)









Resulting a perfectly centered tail.




Mark and drill for mechanics mounting







Install blind nuts on the underside for ease of mechanics installation and removal.




Mark where side supports meet framework



Glue in Blind nuts here as well.




Cut out access panel for AR7210BX access and programming.




Mark and drill for nav light housings.



This bit does a nice job without tearing up the fiberglass




Fill and sand the seams...





Remove engine cowling hinges. I do this because I find it easier to do the decal work. I just paint these pieces later and glue back in place.






Fill some flaws in the gel-coat




This model came with black struts which saved a bit time and work. I taped off the parts to be left black and prepped the struts for paint.



A light scuff with some Scotch Bright



Repeat for second coat





Ready for Clearcoat



Mask and prep to paint interior black






Mask and paint exterior

[Trooper7]

Upgraded to the M1.0 Main gear.

I find the mechanics to be much quieter with the slant gear and fewer teeth.




Also added a Cap-pack. This dropped my ripple voltages to below 1.0v

[heli143]

awesome work!!

[cobieg]

OUCH !! I have put my 600 size 500 "C" through it paces, it loops, and rolls really nice. I found out last weekend that it doesn't like to do tic-toc's, the tail blew out pretty hard. Other than that, I am happy with it.

I like the mount you made for the mechanics to get the boom centered. I found that and installing the windscreens to be the most challenging part of the build. It is looking very nice. Are you going with the same paint scheme?

Ron

[Trooper7]

Yes, the windows can be a challenge. It's why I opted to screw them into place. This way seemed easier to accomplish rather than gluing them in plus I felt it was a more secure method. A lot of test fitting and trimming and sanding before the first holes were placed always helps. I wasn't as patient with my 600 build and paid the price of cracked and askew window placement.

[Trooper7]

Adding pictures back missing from original post that Photobucket held hostage:

[Johngbaptist]

What is the update on this build?

[Trooper7]

Rebuild is complete. Heli back in action...

Trooper7 flies his 500E (7 min 26 sec)

[Keyrigger]

Without seeing the entire page as it loaded, I heard the first second of audio and knew who was taking the video. Tell JestRR that he is missed. Nice flying beast.

Don

[Tman49]

Hey Trooper7,
I enjoyed your flying. That gives me something to strive towards.

Regards,
Thomas

[Johngbaptist]

Trooper

the video and flying look great!

I recall the original was a 700 from funkey, and for some reason it just looks smaller than a 700 in the video. Can you give me some finished specs? OAL, rotor diameter (after you cut the blade tips, are they 700 or 600 spinblades?), and height and width of the fuse. Just curious before I do actually purchase anything.

thanks,

JB

[Tman49]

Originally Posted by Trooper7

Rebuild is complete. Heli back in action...

Trooper7 flies his 500E (7 min 26 sec)

What's the head speed on that?

[Trooper7]

1325 rpm

...with high ratio Align tail gearing.

[Tman49]

Thanks for your reply.