Scale Heli Question: Lights for Hughes500D

[BloodClod]

Hi guys,

I'm new to scale helis but I'm trying to put together a Hughes500D fuselage on my 450X Trex. Have some questions I hope you can help answer:

- what is the lighting arrangement on the Hughes500D? From what I can see it should have a red and green permanent light on the skids, and then two red strobes on the main heli body (one up top and one below)? And one landing light at the lower front of the body?

- What kind of LED do you recommend for me to use? Best to go look around SIM LIM or is there a recommended assembled set I can get from somewhere?

- Should I run the lights off the main lipo or use a separate battery? For separate battery I'm concerned about weight as it's a Trex. If I use the main lipo I guess I need some specific circuitry?

Hope you guys can offer me some advice.

One other non-lighting related question... what's the best glue to use to assemble the fuselage (e.g. attach tail fins, landing skid supports, etc)? I read that GOOP is a good choice?

Thanks in advance.

[Super-Hornet]

Hi Bloodclod

Welcome to the world of scale flying.

For the navigation lights in real MD-500E, please check out this post:

http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29888&highlight=navigation

In summary:
Green on the right at the tip of the landing skids. Some MD-500E has the light just below the pilot cockit door instead.
Red on the left at the tip of landing skids. Some MD-500E has the light just below the pilot cockit door instead.
White at the top of the "T" tail section.
Red/White rotating beacon on the tail (Middle of T tail section).
Red beacon of the belly of the heli.
Possible white spot/high lights at the middle of the heli's nose (suspect for pilot navigations and landing during night time).


Why kind of LED or lights is all up to your own creativity. Most chooses normal LED or some chooses Ultra bright LED. There do exist navigation commercially but I think u can only find it overseas. U want to cut cost, DIY your own circuitry instead. Quite simple actually. Some real helicopter has the Burst of 3 short blinks and then pause for 1 second while others are more constant blink and pause for 1 second type. If I remember correctly, Blackhawk/Seahawk/Jayhawk are the blink and pause type. Not sure about real MD-500E. U can get blinking LED using:
1. Normal LED but it blink instead of constant on.
2. Use bicycle night lights instead.
3. Use some circuitry or using microcontroller to program it instead.


Whether to use separate battery or tap from main LiPoly, again, it is up to your own preference. Some chooses to use separate battery ("ang" use that) while others tap from the main LiPoly and some even tap from BEC also (I tap from BEC). U do not need big battery for the LED... just a normal 2 pieces of AA battery should be sufficient. If u use/tap from BEC, all u need is a 100 Ohms (for Ultra Bright LED) for each LED and that is all.

I use epoxy glue (Araldite) instead.

SH

[BloodClod]

Hi Bloodclod

Welcome to the world of scale flying.

For the navigation lights in real MD-500E, please check out this post:

http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29888&highlight=navigation

In summary:
Green on the right at the tip of the landing skids. Some MD-500E has the light just below the pilot cockit door instead.
Red on the left at the tip of landing skids. Some MD-500E has the light just below the pilot cockit door instead.
White at the top of the "T" tail section.
Red/White rotating beacon on the tail (Middle of T tail section).
Red beacon of the belly of the heli.
Possible white spot/high lights at the middle of the heli's nose (suspect for pilot navigations and landing during night time).


Why kind of LED or lights is all up to your own creativity. Most chooses normal LED or some chooses Ultra bright LED. There do exist navigation commercially but I think u can only find it overseas. U want to cut cost, DIY your own circuitry instead. Quite simple actually. Some real helicopter has the Burst of 3 short blinks and then pause for 1 second while others are more constant blink and pause for 1 second type. If I remember correctly, Blackhawk/Seahawk/Jayhawk are the blink and pause type. Not sure about real MD-500E. U can get blinking LED using:
1. Normal LED but it blink instead of constant on.
2. Use bicycle night lights instead.
3. Use some circuitry or using microcontroller to program it instead.


Whether to use separate battery or tap from main LiPoly, again, it is up to your own preference. Some chooses to use separate battery ("ang" use that) while others tap from the main LiPoly and some even tap from BEC also (I tap from BEC). U do not need big battery for the LED... just a normal 2 pieces of AA battery should be sufficient. If u use/tap from BEC, all u need is a 100 Ohms (for Ultra Bright LED) for each LED and that is all.

I use epoxy glue (Araldite) instead.

SH

Thanks SH. I'll go see what options are available for LEDs from SIM LIM.

Appreciate your info!

[BloodClod]

Hi guys, just wanted to show my project at the moment. It wasn't easy fitting the 450 HDE to the frame... I think most people fit the CDE version.

But after much test-fitting and dremeling it finally went in.

Thanks to SH for his advice.

I've still got lights to install.

[Super-Hornet]

Ah... Looking nice!

I use HDE Frame also but modified to become direct eCCPM120 control.

Oh.. if u want to further do improvement on it, maybe u can use normal TRex tail skids (horizontal) for the frontal side and another tail skids (straight one) at the real. That will give u better "curve" shape at the tip of the landing skids. The one u are using does not look curve enough.

Another thing u can add is mirror on the landing skids. Some MD500 do not have though...but it will be nice if there is. I wanted to do the mirror but can't find anything that look like it.

SH

[BloodClod]

Ah... Looking nice!

I use HDE Frame also but modified to become direct eCCPM120 control.

Oh.. if u want to further do improvement on it, maybe u can use normal TRex tail skids (horizontal) for the frontal side and another tail skids (straight one) at the real. That will give u better "curve" shape at the tip of the landing skids. The one u are using does not look curve enough.

Another thing u can add is mirror on the landing skids. Some MD500 do not have though...but it will be nice if there is. I wanted to do the mirror but can't find anything that look like it.

SH

Thanks SH - can you elaborate your idea on the tail skids? I'm interested but not very sure what you are referring to.

Have lights to install but thinking of ideas how to do the landking skid lights as the LEDs are a little thick and don't fit into the skids...

[Super-Hornet]

Your LED is exposing outside the skids is O.K. All u need is the LED socket/pins is inside the skid will do.

As for the horizontal skids... well, u notice your skids is not curve enough at the front. I believe u are using your HeliArtist skids right? If u can get TRex skids, u will notice it is more curve shape.

When u put in the skids (TRex) and slide it further front and leaving the rear end Vertical skids only holding the horizontal skids by half. That mean u still have 1/2 of the hole deep for another skids. Cut a broken or sacrificed one horizontal metal skids and cut it 2 short one. Put that short one on rear skids. CA it. In this way, u can actually extend the horizontal skids

SH

[BloodClod]

Your LED is exposing outside the skids is O.K. All u need is the LED socket/pins is inside the skid will do.

As for the horizontal skids... well, u notice your skids is not curve enough at the front. I believe u are using your HeliArtist skids right? If u can get TRex skids, u will notice it is more curve shape.

When u put in the skids (TRex) and slide it further front and leaving the rear end Vertical skids only holding the horizontal skids by half. That mean u still have 1/2 of the hole deep for another skids. Cut a broken or sacrificed one horizontal metal skids and cut it 2 short one. Put that short one on rear skids. CA it. In this way, u can actually extend the horizontal skids

SH

Great idea on the skids. I will consider that.

The LEDs I have came as a set and there seems to be something soldered to the base of the LED and shrinkwrapped. It's small, but just a little thick to fit into the skid. So even if I want to expose the LED, the socket pins are a tad too thick to fit inside.

Also want to find someway to highlight/shade the other hatches, etc.

Is it hard to build a scale 5 bladed head? I'm keen to try but I don't know where to start. Any advice?

[Super-Hornet]

If your LED is already soldered onto a PCB, then u either:
a. unsolder it and solder directly to the pins.
b. use another LED instead.

I think what u did on your existing highlight good enough. I would prefer dark grey marker than black marker though. I use 2B or 3B pencil instead. But if the fuselage is like glass type (glossy), then u can only use marker because pencil graphics cannot hold.

If u can find correct scale of those hatches and door handle from some static scale model, it will be even better. U can add other things that make it even better (scale) look like:
a. antenna
b. Mirrors
c. Wire cutters
d. Navigations lights

Currently the cheapest 5 bladed rotor hub will be from Lightning Heli. Alternate is from Detee-enterprise BUT it is way too expensive. If u can DIY your own rotor head, then by all mean, go ahead. U can always use real heli rotor hub...or even those commercial one and make it your own set.

SH

[BloodClod]

Managed to fit the lights into the skids today... also attached the light to the bottom of the fuselage. I've got 2 more for the tail (one on the horizontal stabilizer and another at the middle of the vertical stabilizer) but I'm wondering what's the best way to attach these LEDs?

Any ideas?

[Super-Hornet]

For the tail lights, I use PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

SH

[boo_saa]

nice heli bro.. i have the same fuselage, trying to fix my Mt in it but the tail servo don seen to sit in well.

[BloodClod]

For the tail lights, I use PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

SH

how do you do that?

Thanks for all the help by the way!

[BloodClod]

nice heli bro.. i have the same fuselage, trying to fix my Mt in it but the tail servo don seen to sit in well.

thanks. I read an ad that said this v2 version would fit the MT but I would think some mods would be needed too.

For the Rex I had to be creative with my servo mounting. Used a HS56 but attached the servo to the vertical tab instead of the normal horizontal tab.

Also made my own tail support instead of using the one in the kit so that I didn't need to cut clearance for the servo link rod.

I would have preferred to fit a MT into the fuselage as I like the stable flight characteristics but I think it would have meant even more work.

Post some pics? Perhaps we could offer some suggestions to help.

[ScorpionM2]

The LEDs I have came as a set and there seems to be something soldered to the base of the LED and shrinkwrapped. It's small, but just a little thick to fit into the skid. So even if I want to expose the LED, the socket pins are a tad too thick to fit inside.

Is it hard to build a scale 5 bladed head? I'm keen to try but I don't know where to start. Any advice?

Bro, where you got your LEDs as a set? Do they come already blinking? How much you paid for them? If not convenient to say here can PM me.

Also the scale heli master in Singapore in Super Hornet. I got tons of very good advices from him too. He build his own 3, 4, 5 and 6 bladed head. If you really keen to build your own, he is the best man to ask.