Hellenicopter

Agusta-Bell 206B RC Helicopter in Scale 1:5.7 of the Greek Army Aviation

Introduction

I have started this blog as an english-text alternative to a thread that I have opened in modelclub.gr (modelclub forum in greek) regarding my project to build an RC scale model of an Agusta-Bell 206B Jet Ranger II of the Hellenic Army (see unofficial site).

Now a few words about the project itself. The model is based on the fuselage provided by Vario (model 1004) in scale 1:5.7. There are very little differences between a Jet Ranger III (model kit) and an Agusta-Bell AB-206B Jet Ranger II that I needed for the project, so I decided to get the kit from Vario. The kit has been bought from one of the best specialists and professionals in the field, Mr Thomas Baumann who has helped me with making my choice of the model and its accessories (Helikopter Baumann). Thanks Thomas! I would also like to thank the team of eflight for their professional support not only for this construction but for all my RC models and accessories. In addition, I would like to thank the team from Innoflyer and especially Mr. Christophe Raible for the help with the lighting system and for letting me test a new CPL model before its official launch. I would like to add here the biwix.com RC helicopter store and Johnny Trolliet at my hometown Renens for his exceptional service, availability and prices!

The particularity of this project is that the mechanism that I fit in the fuselage is not the one from Vario but a modified Align T-Rex 700E (Align RC Helicopters). I will give here details on the way that this is done with diagrams, photos, tips and tricks. This will cover the first part. The flight tests of the modified T-REX 700E have been conducted at the RC model field in Dizy, Switzerland that belongs to the Dizy RC Modelling Group (GAM Dizy). Big THANKS to all the members of the Club for the great friendliness since the first day I started there and for their help with advice and tips!

The second part will be dedicated to the scale model itself. Some photos of the Greek AB-206B can be found on the internet but they do not cover all the details. More photos of the aircraft with the Greek colors may be requested in the forum of modelclub.gr where I have gotten most of them thanks to the team spirit and great friendliness of the members (THANKS^1000 dsamba!!!). In order to complete the photographic part of the project I managed to get my own photos of a Jet Ranger III. This has been made possible thanks to the courtesy of the people from Heli-Lausanne (Heli-Lausanne) who have immediately accepted my request to get there and take as many photos as I needed. A big THANKS to them too!!!

At the last phase of construction, I have got invaluable help for the dimensions of the AB-206B landing gear from Iraklis Karailidis. Many-many thanks to you Iraklis!

So after this short introduction I will start publishing the steps I have already taken and will take during this quite challenging project (at least for me, it is my first scale RC helicopter).

I hope that you will find this blog helpful if you have a similar (or the same) project as mine and you will enjoy it as much as I do!

Welcome!
Hellenicopter

08/05/2015

First fit of scratch-made parts (with and without 3D printing)

The project has accelarated the pace in the last weeks and hopefully it will be ready for June. Rivets waiting for their turn as well as other parts. To be updated soon. Some photos below show a temporary fit of parts. The black-colored parts are 3D-printed parts using a FunToDo Industrial Blend resin. The red cable-cutter is made with a MakerJuice SubG+ resin. Other parts are either made of plastic, polyester resin or of composite material (carbon-fiber, tail cover of the tail hub). More coming soon.

Cheers,
Hellenicopter

26/12/2014

Upper cable cutter made with mUVe 3D DLP

The work goes on with the 3D printer and the latest piece that came out successfully is the upper cable cutter of the Jet Ranger. Based once again exclusively on available photos a 3D CAD model has been made from scratch and finally printed with mUVe 3D DLP. The new z-axis paid off as the details that are reproduced with the printer are extraordinary for an amateur modeller like me. Here are some photos of the new piece still in red resin as I didn't have time to correctly adjust the pigment concentration and the exposure time for the white resin.

21/12/2014

Innoflyer light setup on Vario Jet Ranger (1004)

Hi All,

After a request from a friend I have sketched the setup I have made for the lights on my Vario Jet Ranger. The lighting system comes from innoflyer.ch and there is absolutely no soldering required to connect the light sources to the controllers. The light intensity is spectacular and the visibility of the navigation lights is guaranteed at daylight.

On the right column of the blog you can find the pdf file regarding the lighting system.

In a previous article you can see the efficiency of the lights in daylight and you can also check my youtube videos here and here.

Cheers,
Hellenicopter

09/12/2014

Some new printouts

After a relatively long time of experimenting with the new mechanics of my mUVe DLP and fine-tuning the system is back and running and the results are outstanding. I am still using the red SubG+ resin from MakerJuice as I haven't found a good recipe for the white resin. The resolution with the red resin is really good. The new mechanics give an exceptional stability and repeatability to the printer.

You can see below some pictures of the latest printout,which is the lower cable cutter of my Jet-Ranger, as good as I managed to design it from scratch using photos and the pdf documents I found on the subject (you can find the links on the right-hand side of the blog).

More to come soon.

Cheers,
Hellenicopter

25/11/2014

New Z-axis for my mUVe DLP system

There was no new modelling activity during the last month because I have recently started the upgrade of the mechanics of my mUVe DLP 3D printer. I have chosen two linear drives from Igus with preloaded screws and a total displacement of 300mm. The axes come pre-assembled and they fit perfectly into the mUVe chassis with minor changes. The old axis is completely removed. Now I have to add the vat supports from the old microrax chassis and the mechanical endstop. I have switched my RAMPS 1.4 board to 1/16 stepping and now the most noisy part of the printer is its... cooling fan. I am planning to resume printing this week and I will post my new parts in a while.

Until then cheers,
Hellenicopter