Post by Chris Reibert on Oct 15, 2012 19:09:38 GMT -4
Review: Bell 206 Jet Ranger - TV News Helicopter V2 Scale Fiberglass Fuselage (700-Size)
Written by: crmodels
Fuselage Specs:
Length :1510 mm
Width :220 mm
Weight :280 mm (not included landing gear )
Recommend main blades length :660-700 mm
Manufacturer: RC Aerodyne
Available From: www.scaleflying.com
Price: MSRP: $599.95 You Pay: $499.95
Mechanics:
Helicopter: Chaos 600 stretched to 700
Motor: Scorpion HK 4025-1000kv
Servos: Align 610's on cyclic, 620 on the tail
Gyro: AR7200bx BeastX 3axis
Esc: CC HV100 w/ CC Bec Pro
Battery: THOR 22.2v 6s 5000mAh 35C Li-Po
Sport Flight Duration: 5-6 minutes
Introduction
Time and time again, build after build, RC Aerodyne still shows no lack in quality when it come to their scale fuselages. Let me start by saying after building three MD500 fuselages ranging from 250-450 I figured it was time to go Big. For my first big scale I choose the Bell 206 News Edition in (700 size) but decided to use the Chaos 600 as the flight mechanics. By using the 600 size helicopter for mechanics it allowed me the room in the front of the fuselage to install the scale cockpit. I also used the new Black Widow FBL head to give it a true to life scale Bell 206 flybarless look.
What’s Included
Upon opening the box your will find the Bell 206 fuselage packed with about a pound of foam. You can be rest assured if you order a fuselage from RC Aerodyne your fuselage will come well packed and damage free. The kit includes all the parts you will need to complete the build if you are using 700 size mechanics. A wooden base with blind nuts is also included for easy installation of a Chaos 600/Trex 600 helicopters. The tail boom and torque tube extension kit sold separately if you plan to use the 600 size mechanics in this fuselage. Also if you use 600 mechanics there is plenty of room for the scale cockpit.
Assembly
Assembly went straight forward if you follow the instructions. I choose to use 600 size mechanics so I had to use an adapter plate to raise the mechanics up inside the fuselage. I decided to make my own riser block instead of using the included adapter plate. You will also have to do some grinding up in the doghouse as well as in the tail boom section to make clearance for the moving metal parts such as swash links and rear tail pitch slider.
Tail Boom
The tail boom and torque tube extension kit to stretch your 600 to a 700 size helicopter can be found on RC aerodyne’s website for $69.95. A little trimming of the tail boom will be needed to accomplish proper torque tube placement. I used the Golden Rod push rod set to take care of servo rudder control. It can be bought at your local hobby shop for around $6 bucks. I would rock recommend the Golden Rod for a 3D setup up but this works great for scale where there is minimal abuse on the push rod and rudder. I applied tape all the way down the boom to ensure the Golden Rod did not move and make it snap free when it came time to sliding the mechanics into the fuselage.
*Test Fly the stretched mechanics before installing them into the fuselage to make sure everything works correctly and the helicopter flies well. The last thing you want is testing the mechanics inside that beautiful fuselage*
Head
The real life Bell 206 is a flybarless helicopter so I chose to use the Black Widow flybarless rotor head from RC Aerodyne. It can be purchased on the website for $89.95 or if you really want the 100% scale look they also sell a Bell scale head that looks amazing.
Cockpit
I choose to use my Chaos 600 with stretch kit so that I was able to add the Bell 206 scale cockpit from RC Aerodyne. It can also be purchased on their website for $129.95. It comes right out of the box prebuilt and ready to glue right into the fuselage with zero modifications.
FLYING
Even with the mechanics haven been test flown you will need to take a flight or two to make any adjustments to the helicopter. Seeing something that big fly around the field is truly a site to see. It carries so much field presence and is a sure hit to draw a crowd anytime it is in the air. I have taken it to over seven events this summer both airplane and helicopter events and it always gets the crowd on their feet and their cameras in the air. It flies much heavier than the mechanics itself and takes very little cyclic input to move it around. I plan to go through the entire bird over the winter and work on proper scale head speeds. As you can see and hear in the video I just dropped my Chaos 600 3D into the fuse without properly setting up the scale like head speed. She still flew great for me all summer but I want it to sound more scale like which will also produce longer flight times for me.
Conclusion
I was very happy with the build quality of the fuselage and believe that with little knowledge of scale helicopters a new comer into the scale world would not have too much trouble with the build. The instructions were clear and I had the build completed in a weekend’s afternoon. The water transfer decals slid right off onto the fuselage without any issues and the working front doors with real hinges was an added bonus feature of the Bell 700 size fuselage. The removable top front doghouse cover is held on by magnets which make battery changes a snap. I would recommend the Bell 700 size series to anyone looking to get into a Big scale project with minimal build time.
Bell 206 Videos
Build:
Flights:
Written by: crmodels
Fuselage Specs:
Length :1510 mm
Width :220 mm
Weight :280 mm (not included landing gear )
Recommend main blades length :660-700 mm
Manufacturer: RC Aerodyne
Available From: www.scaleflying.com
Price: MSRP: $599.95 You Pay: $499.95
Mechanics:
Helicopter: Chaos 600 stretched to 700
Motor: Scorpion HK 4025-1000kv
Servos: Align 610's on cyclic, 620 on the tail
Gyro: AR7200bx BeastX 3axis
Esc: CC HV100 w/ CC Bec Pro
Battery: THOR 22.2v 6s 5000mAh 35C Li-Po
Sport Flight Duration: 5-6 minutes
Introduction
Time and time again, build after build, RC Aerodyne still shows no lack in quality when it come to their scale fuselages. Let me start by saying after building three MD500 fuselages ranging from 250-450 I figured it was time to go Big. For my first big scale I choose the Bell 206 News Edition in (700 size) but decided to use the Chaos 600 as the flight mechanics. By using the 600 size helicopter for mechanics it allowed me the room in the front of the fuselage to install the scale cockpit. I also used the new Black Widow FBL head to give it a true to life scale Bell 206 flybarless look.
What’s Included
Upon opening the box your will find the Bell 206 fuselage packed with about a pound of foam. You can be rest assured if you order a fuselage from RC Aerodyne your fuselage will come well packed and damage free. The kit includes all the parts you will need to complete the build if you are using 700 size mechanics. A wooden base with blind nuts is also included for easy installation of a Chaos 600/Trex 600 helicopters. The tail boom and torque tube extension kit sold separately if you plan to use the 600 size mechanics in this fuselage. Also if you use 600 mechanics there is plenty of room for the scale cockpit.
Assembly
Assembly went straight forward if you follow the instructions. I choose to use 600 size mechanics so I had to use an adapter plate to raise the mechanics up inside the fuselage. I decided to make my own riser block instead of using the included adapter plate. You will also have to do some grinding up in the doghouse as well as in the tail boom section to make clearance for the moving metal parts such as swash links and rear tail pitch slider.
Tail Boom
The tail boom and torque tube extension kit to stretch your 600 to a 700 size helicopter can be found on RC aerodyne’s website for $69.95. A little trimming of the tail boom will be needed to accomplish proper torque tube placement. I used the Golden Rod push rod set to take care of servo rudder control. It can be bought at your local hobby shop for around $6 bucks. I would rock recommend the Golden Rod for a 3D setup up but this works great for scale where there is minimal abuse on the push rod and rudder. I applied tape all the way down the boom to ensure the Golden Rod did not move and make it snap free when it came time to sliding the mechanics into the fuselage.
*Test Fly the stretched mechanics before installing them into the fuselage to make sure everything works correctly and the helicopter flies well. The last thing you want is testing the mechanics inside that beautiful fuselage*
Head
The real life Bell 206 is a flybarless helicopter so I chose to use the Black Widow flybarless rotor head from RC Aerodyne. It can be purchased on the website for $89.95 or if you really want the 100% scale look they also sell a Bell scale head that looks amazing.
Cockpit
I choose to use my Chaos 600 with stretch kit so that I was able to add the Bell 206 scale cockpit from RC Aerodyne. It can also be purchased on their website for $129.95. It comes right out of the box prebuilt and ready to glue right into the fuselage with zero modifications.
FLYING
Even with the mechanics haven been test flown you will need to take a flight or two to make any adjustments to the helicopter. Seeing something that big fly around the field is truly a site to see. It carries so much field presence and is a sure hit to draw a crowd anytime it is in the air. I have taken it to over seven events this summer both airplane and helicopter events and it always gets the crowd on their feet and their cameras in the air. It flies much heavier than the mechanics itself and takes very little cyclic input to move it around. I plan to go through the entire bird over the winter and work on proper scale head speeds. As you can see and hear in the video I just dropped my Chaos 600 3D into the fuse without properly setting up the scale like head speed. She still flew great for me all summer but I want it to sound more scale like which will also produce longer flight times for me.
Conclusion
I was very happy with the build quality of the fuselage and believe that with little knowledge of scale helicopters a new comer into the scale world would not have too much trouble with the build. The instructions were clear and I had the build completed in a weekend’s afternoon. The water transfer decals slid right off onto the fuselage without any issues and the working front doors with real hinges was an added bonus feature of the Bell 700 size fuselage. The removable top front doghouse cover is held on by magnets which make battery changes a snap. I would recommend the Bell 700 size series to anyone looking to get into a Big scale project with minimal build time.
Bell 206 Videos
Build:
Flights: