Post by Chris Reibert on Sept 22, 2012 14:58:19 GMT -4
Review: Bell 407 Super Scale from RC Aerodyne
Type: 470 size class 140 CCPM electric cp helicopter
Scale: 1:13
Flying Weight: 2.6 lbs
Length: 32.3 in (820mm)
Height: 8 in (205mm)
Blade Diameter: 13 in (320mm)
PNP Super Combo Includes:
Motor: 2222-2000 KV brushless motor
Servos: 9G metal gear digital servos
Gyro: Tarot 3-axis gyro
Esc: 45A brushless 6s capable
Battery: 22.2v 6s 1250mAh 25C Li-Po battery
Sport Flight Duration: 5-6 minutes
Manufacturer: RC Aerodyne
Available From: www.scaleflying.com
Price: PNP Super Combo $599.95 Kit $399.95 Display Model $299.95
Introduction
RC Aerodyne's new 1/13th (470 Size) scale size Bell 407 is now available. It's the first entry in our Super Scale series.
So what is SUPER SCALE?
- High quality, light weight epoxy fiberglass Fuselage
- Scale Mechanics: These mechanics are specially designed to be super compact and fit inside the top doghouse, completely hidden from view.
- Scale Fittings: Wire cutters, antenna's, steps, exhaust
- Full Cockpit: Scale cockpit includes front panel, all of the seats from front to back.
- Multi-blade Rotor head: Quad-blade high performance rotor head
- Scale Rotor Blades : Carbon Fiber scale rotor blades designed for low head speed.
- LED Lighting: Includes scale led lighting system.
- Belt Driven Tail Rotor
- Quad Blade rotor head and scale carbon fiber rotor blades included
- Complete built in / preinstalled position lighting system (controllable via aux channel)
- Special CCPM mechanics built in the top section, as on a real helicopter
- Use of 450 standard equipment (6S battery, 1800KV motor), fly with your existing parts
- Product comes pre-assembled and requires very few hrs for completion
Opening The Box
The Bell 407 comes in its own unique box with the RCA logo on the front of it and a clear window to peek in at the helicopter inside. When you open the box, you are greeted with a well organized hard foam holder which prevents the components from shifting during shipping. The subassemblies (rotor head, blades, and accessories) are all paced away nice and snug. Also included is a beautiful display/work stand. The package I am reviewing today is the Bell 407 PNP Super Combo which includes a brushless motor, brushless ESC, four digital servos, 3-axis gyro, and a 6s lipo battery. The price of the PNP Super Combo is $599.95 All that is needed is a standard 6 channel helicopter radio and receiver. This helicopter also comes in kit form as well as static display desk model.
Assembly
The Bell 407 comes mostly preassembled from the factory. All that is left to do is install the electronics and scale head. The manual walks you through how to remove the scale mechanics to start the electronics installation. I found the manual easy to follow and in the back had a full breakdown of all the parts in the helicopter, as well as detailed 3D views of every part in the helicopters assemblies.
Main Rotor Head
Everything in the head comes 98% prebuilt minus the blades allowing assembly that much easier for the first time scale builder. All links are already made up and attached to the blade grips. Just slide the head onto the shaft, install the jesus bolt and pop the links onto the swash plate. Blade tracking adjustments are made with the input linkages. Colored tape is a must when tracking the multi blade head. Blade grips and head block are made of solid plastic and are a hinged rotor design. I see no need for a metal head at this time.
Main Frame
Main frame or should I say lack thereof… This is not the standard pod and boom style airframe design meant to be bolted into a scale fuselage. This is like no build you have ever seen before. The Bell 407 has a complete belt driven scale mechanics sub assembly that bolts into the scale fuselage. What is unique about this design is it allows all the electronics to be mounted onto the scale airframe as well as in the rear of the fuselage allowing all mechanics to be completely hidden out of site. I was amazed that this much detail and engineering could be put into a 470 size R/C helicopter.
Fuselage
The pre-painted fiberglass fuselage comes in 3 vibrant Color schemes from Yellow/White, Burgundy, Red/White/Blue News Chopper Edition, as well as Gloss White. The fuselage has so many scale details down to the cable cutters, antennas, body rivets, and even a fully functional and installed navigation lighting system. The kits also come with a complete sheet of water transfer decals to finish off the scale presence.
Instruction Manual
The 28 page instruction manual is very detailed and walks you through exactly how to remove the scale mechanics for electronics installation. It has detail 3d drawings on how the parts should look as well as a parts list with pictures in the back of the manual for reference.
Electronics Setup
RC Aerodyne includes all electronics in the PNP Super Combo minus TX/RX. I installed the electronics per the manuals instructions. The three cyclic servos install up top in the dog house as well as the motor and 3-axis gyro. The receiver, esc, and lighting module install down in the rear of the fuselage under the dog house behind the interior seating back wall. The battery installs in the bottom front of the helicopter under the seating floor and can be accessed through a spring loaded hatch on the belly of the fuselage making quick battery changes extremely fast and easy. With all of the linkages in the head being preassembled I removed them and made sure they were all equal lengths before moving onto phasing.
Phasing: If you set a blade over the tail boom you need to either electronically or mechanically set the swash/pitch links so that when you move the cyclic fore/aft the blade will not move, and when you move the cyclic left/right it will have full cyclic deflection so you will have the lifting force which will roll the aircraft to the left or right.
With all electronics set up it was time for a test flight and blade tracking.
Test Hover and first Flight
To check tracking during the first test hover I added different colored tape to each one of the blade tips. It is a little more difficult and time consuming than tracking a standard two blade head but you use the same guidelines. Spool it up into a test hover about 3-4ft off the ground, see what blades are out of track, land and adjust the linkages till tracking is equal and smooth. With a decent hover accomplished and blade tracking complete I was ready for the first forward flight test. I found in the first flight not to be as smooth as I would have like but I quickly found that by adding a little bit of weight to the nose and adjusting the FBL unit I was able to work any issues I had in the first flight test.
FLYING
The next few flights went much better once some more small adjustments were made. Seeing the Bell 407 buzz around the field was truly breath taking. Even though it is a quarter the size of my 700 size Bell 206 it still lets it’s presence be known. I was amazed at how many people were taking pictures and coming up to ask me about the Bell when I landed. With all the small details on the fuselage and blue sky behind the bird it looked so much like a real a full size Bell 407 coming to land on the ranch. The red painted areas on the blades give it a cool red ringed affect as the disk spins.
Conclusion
I was very happy with how the build went and feel if you are looking to get into a first scale build the Bell 407 Super Combo is a good option to go with. I was blown away from the second I opened the box and saw how much detail was put into this helicopter. RCA makes it easy to get started and they take the frustration out of searching around for the correct electronics. With the PNP Super Combo all you need to worry about is what transmitter and receiver you are going to use. I would urge anybody looking to get into a scale project to give this helicopter a try.
Pros
- Easy Assembly
- Simple to read instruction manual
- Battery access assemble in seconds
- Tons of true-to-life details
- Pre-Painted fuselage with navigation lighting system
- Scale blades and tail rotor location
Cons
- Have to remove scale head and doghouse to access 3-axis gyro/electronics
- Some might find blade tracking 4 blades to be difficult
- Not available in the Stars and Stripes Edition color scheme yet
Bell 407 Videos
What’s in the Box:
Build Video Part 1:
Build Video Part 2:
First Flight:
Flights:
Type: 470 size class 140 CCPM electric cp helicopter
Scale: 1:13
Flying Weight: 2.6 lbs
Length: 32.3 in (820mm)
Height: 8 in (205mm)
Blade Diameter: 13 in (320mm)
PNP Super Combo Includes:
Motor: 2222-2000 KV brushless motor
Servos: 9G metal gear digital servos
Gyro: Tarot 3-axis gyro
Esc: 45A brushless 6s capable
Battery: 22.2v 6s 1250mAh 25C Li-Po battery
Sport Flight Duration: 5-6 minutes
Manufacturer: RC Aerodyne
Available From: www.scaleflying.com
Price: PNP Super Combo $599.95 Kit $399.95 Display Model $299.95
Introduction
RC Aerodyne's new 1/13th (470 Size) scale size Bell 407 is now available. It's the first entry in our Super Scale series.
So what is SUPER SCALE?
- High quality, light weight epoxy fiberglass Fuselage
- Scale Mechanics: These mechanics are specially designed to be super compact and fit inside the top doghouse, completely hidden from view.
- Scale Fittings: Wire cutters, antenna's, steps, exhaust
- Full Cockpit: Scale cockpit includes front panel, all of the seats from front to back.
- Multi-blade Rotor head: Quad-blade high performance rotor head
- Scale Rotor Blades : Carbon Fiber scale rotor blades designed for low head speed.
- LED Lighting: Includes scale led lighting system.
- Belt Driven Tail Rotor
- Quad Blade rotor head and scale carbon fiber rotor blades included
- Complete built in / preinstalled position lighting system (controllable via aux channel)
- Special CCPM mechanics built in the top section, as on a real helicopter
- Use of 450 standard equipment (6S battery, 1800KV motor), fly with your existing parts
- Product comes pre-assembled and requires very few hrs for completion
Opening The Box
The Bell 407 comes in its own unique box with the RCA logo on the front of it and a clear window to peek in at the helicopter inside. When you open the box, you are greeted with a well organized hard foam holder which prevents the components from shifting during shipping. The subassemblies (rotor head, blades, and accessories) are all paced away nice and snug. Also included is a beautiful display/work stand. The package I am reviewing today is the Bell 407 PNP Super Combo which includes a brushless motor, brushless ESC, four digital servos, 3-axis gyro, and a 6s lipo battery. The price of the PNP Super Combo is $599.95 All that is needed is a standard 6 channel helicopter radio and receiver. This helicopter also comes in kit form as well as static display desk model.
Assembly
The Bell 407 comes mostly preassembled from the factory. All that is left to do is install the electronics and scale head. The manual walks you through how to remove the scale mechanics to start the electronics installation. I found the manual easy to follow and in the back had a full breakdown of all the parts in the helicopter, as well as detailed 3D views of every part in the helicopters assemblies.
Main Rotor Head
Everything in the head comes 98% prebuilt minus the blades allowing assembly that much easier for the first time scale builder. All links are already made up and attached to the blade grips. Just slide the head onto the shaft, install the jesus bolt and pop the links onto the swash plate. Blade tracking adjustments are made with the input linkages. Colored tape is a must when tracking the multi blade head. Blade grips and head block are made of solid plastic and are a hinged rotor design. I see no need for a metal head at this time.
Main Frame
Main frame or should I say lack thereof… This is not the standard pod and boom style airframe design meant to be bolted into a scale fuselage. This is like no build you have ever seen before. The Bell 407 has a complete belt driven scale mechanics sub assembly that bolts into the scale fuselage. What is unique about this design is it allows all the electronics to be mounted onto the scale airframe as well as in the rear of the fuselage allowing all mechanics to be completely hidden out of site. I was amazed that this much detail and engineering could be put into a 470 size R/C helicopter.
Fuselage
The pre-painted fiberglass fuselage comes in 3 vibrant Color schemes from Yellow/White, Burgundy, Red/White/Blue News Chopper Edition, as well as Gloss White. The fuselage has so many scale details down to the cable cutters, antennas, body rivets, and even a fully functional and installed navigation lighting system. The kits also come with a complete sheet of water transfer decals to finish off the scale presence.
Instruction Manual
The 28 page instruction manual is very detailed and walks you through exactly how to remove the scale mechanics for electronics installation. It has detail 3d drawings on how the parts should look as well as a parts list with pictures in the back of the manual for reference.
Electronics Setup
RC Aerodyne includes all electronics in the PNP Super Combo minus TX/RX. I installed the electronics per the manuals instructions. The three cyclic servos install up top in the dog house as well as the motor and 3-axis gyro. The receiver, esc, and lighting module install down in the rear of the fuselage under the dog house behind the interior seating back wall. The battery installs in the bottom front of the helicopter under the seating floor and can be accessed through a spring loaded hatch on the belly of the fuselage making quick battery changes extremely fast and easy. With all of the linkages in the head being preassembled I removed them and made sure they were all equal lengths before moving onto phasing.
Phasing: If you set a blade over the tail boom you need to either electronically or mechanically set the swash/pitch links so that when you move the cyclic fore/aft the blade will not move, and when you move the cyclic left/right it will have full cyclic deflection so you will have the lifting force which will roll the aircraft to the left or right.
With all electronics set up it was time for a test flight and blade tracking.
Test Hover and first Flight
To check tracking during the first test hover I added different colored tape to each one of the blade tips. It is a little more difficult and time consuming than tracking a standard two blade head but you use the same guidelines. Spool it up into a test hover about 3-4ft off the ground, see what blades are out of track, land and adjust the linkages till tracking is equal and smooth. With a decent hover accomplished and blade tracking complete I was ready for the first forward flight test. I found in the first flight not to be as smooth as I would have like but I quickly found that by adding a little bit of weight to the nose and adjusting the FBL unit I was able to work any issues I had in the first flight test.
FLYING
The next few flights went much better once some more small adjustments were made. Seeing the Bell 407 buzz around the field was truly breath taking. Even though it is a quarter the size of my 700 size Bell 206 it still lets it’s presence be known. I was amazed at how many people were taking pictures and coming up to ask me about the Bell when I landed. With all the small details on the fuselage and blue sky behind the bird it looked so much like a real a full size Bell 407 coming to land on the ranch. The red painted areas on the blades give it a cool red ringed affect as the disk spins.
Conclusion
I was very happy with how the build went and feel if you are looking to get into a first scale build the Bell 407 Super Combo is a good option to go with. I was blown away from the second I opened the box and saw how much detail was put into this helicopter. RCA makes it easy to get started and they take the frustration out of searching around for the correct electronics. With the PNP Super Combo all you need to worry about is what transmitter and receiver you are going to use. I would urge anybody looking to get into a scale project to give this helicopter a try.
Pros
- Easy Assembly
- Simple to read instruction manual
- Battery access assemble in seconds
- Tons of true-to-life details
- Pre-Painted fuselage with navigation lighting system
- Scale blades and tail rotor location
Cons
- Have to remove scale head and doghouse to access 3-axis gyro/electronics
- Some might find blade tracking 4 blades to be difficult
- Not available in the Stars and Stripes Edition color scheme yet
Bell 407 Videos
What’s in the Box:
Build Video Part 1:
Build Video Part 2:
First Flight:
Flights: