Improved Aftermarket T500 Kit?

[Scott_RC-TEK]

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b4.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b1.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b2.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b3.jpg

[kgfly]

Exciting to see some alternatives emerging.

I am confused though, is this your RCT-460 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9882737&postcount=1051) or something else ?

How is it an improvement over the stock Trex500 ?

Is any of what's pictured stock Align parts ? Are the parts which are not Align interchangable with Align parts ?

How does the weight of the pictured assembly compare to the stock Trex500 equivalent ?

[cfrank2005]

Hey Scott..now we're back on track! I was yearning for your 425mm size RCT500 from way back (it's now called GL500 by some asian vendors). Is this going to be your new RCT500 or RCT460 (or something else)?

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Exciting to see some alternatives emerging.

I am confused though, is this your RCT-460 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9882737&postcount=1051) or something else ?

How is it an improvement over the stock Trex500 ?

Is any of what's pictured stock Align parts ? Are the parts which are not Align interchangable with Align parts ?

How does the weight of the pictured assembly compare to the stock Trex500 equivalent ?No, this is NOT the RCT-460 we have been working on. There are no original Align parts on this in-house engineering rebuild, but all parts are interchangeable with the original. Weight is almost unchanged from the original.

Some background:
Recently, we set out to design ultra high-end aftermarket rotor heads, tails, tuning parts, etc. for some of the more popular helicopters on the market. We also wanted to see about making some of the common parts on our evolving RCT-500(460) design more compatible with other manufacturers as requested by many customers.

In the process of making stuff work and fit properly, there is a lot of trial and error... and OEM parts consumed. Therefore, I asked engineering if we could make some "in-house" versions of the helicopters and/or parts we were designing around. After all, we have access to all the raw materials and CNC equipment so why not just make our own OEM parts and see if we could improve them at the same time? First up was the TREX-500 since we are currently designing a new tri-blade tail for it. Above, is the end result.

I will admit that this aftermarket version of the T500 is a 90% clone of the original (design) so there is nothing ground breaking or novel about the unit other than it being (in my opinion) more pleasing to the eyes and having most of the potential enhancements/upgrades already included so we don't have to deal with plastic stuff where we don't want it. A couple upgrades include metal main shaft bearing blocks and metal tail blade grips. The frame set also has a few improvements over the original stock version with the inclusion of the alternative battery plate and bottom plate along with better looking black skids.

I am not sure if we will offer a full kit in the USA or just offer the "tuning" parts.

Regards,
Scott

[kgfly]

Thanks for the explanation Scott. I imagine that if the parts are compatible and less expensive then there will certainly be a market for them. Good luck with this project.

[learninginverted]

Scott will u consider losing the tail gearbox drive to run a true belt drive? That will make a true improvement over the original trex...imho.

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Hmmm... not sure. Some people like the reduction gear driven tail, while others like direct belt driven... Then there are those who like the torque tube. Honestly, I see a torque tube in this unit's future before I see a direct belt drive (but anything is possible if there is a market for it ;) ).

Regards,
Scott

[L0stS0ul]

I personally dislike the reduction gear for the tail system. I'd like to see a direct belt drive and a torque tube option :)

[P-Diddy]

Scott, I'd like to see you offer this as a kit, personally. I think Align is great and I own a 600N and a 450. The 450 has a lot of generic/clone versions out there already and that has helped drive down prices quite a bit. I think it would be a big seller, especially if you offered a torque tube version since the belt drive has been known for its static problems.

-Pat

[KCinNC]

if you offered a kit /w torque tube, i'd start selling alot of my other Heli's right now !!!

[BobOD]

Hmmm... not sure. Some people like the reduction gear driven tail, while others like direct belt driven... Then there are those who like the torque tube. Honestly, I see a torque tube in this unit's future before I see a direct belt drive (but anything is possible if there is a market for it ;) ).

Regards,
Scott

Um...one vote here for the direct drive belt.

[dieselracer]

Interesting...Would be nice to see it with a TT

[kgfly]

Those wanting belt drive might find this interesting: http://www.rcgroups.com/electric-heli-talk-17/

[TheOne]

Wow that is one very nice clone.........It would be interesting to know how much more of an improvement would this be compared to the original kit...Anyways good job on cloning it though...

[KaanX]

Ooops mistake, sorry :rolleyes:

[learninginverted]

Thanks Scott, I am no engineer, but till date i have yet to figure out a reason for the reduction gear driven tail. While the effect is minimal, it seems inefficient to run an extra set of gears just to drive the belt.

A torque tube is also a great option. Either would represent an upgrade and a true distinction against the current trex 500.

How about a poly carbonate canopy? Im a great fan of those too. u might suspect that i currently own a Beam 450 :P

[achco]

wow, that looks cool.

when will it available? and how will it cost?

[Ecaf]

Scott,

Sign me up for one please! :)

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys. Well, maybe we will look into offering this kit once our internal needs for it have been met. I have not given any thought to what the set target price would be with the upgrades included, but I think it would have to be at least 10% less than the original "stock" kit to be viable. I may have some CF frames made up as well and test those (zap! :eek: ) with some new anti-static components we just received. ;)

Regards,
Scott

[Kawasaki297]

If it is less than the Trex 500 and comes without a motor and esc I would definitely be interested. I am looking for another heli at the moment and I like the trex but it is too expensive with the electronics included.

Cheers

[Aussieflyer]

Thats an awesome clone !!
Keep up to good cloning.

[cfrank2005]

Scott, personally I prefer the RC-TEK RCT-460 (500 Class/460mm Blades). Definite improvement over the TRex 500 look imho.

[Scott_RC-TEK]

OK, maybe will be put the two heli's side by side and do a comparison photo shoot. The few built RCT-460's are at the Shanghai show this weekend, but I will have John send one to me when they are done.

Regards,
Scott

[CatchmyCorsair]

You might consider adding metal to the boom clamp to avoid static. Or making a CNC boom clamp, but then you start getting heavier than the T500.

If you could mod this heli to significantly reduce its weight and offer quality bearings, I think the investment would be worthwhile. But then competitive pricing probably goes out the door.

Or, if you go the tuning parts route, offer a flybarless head. I bet that would catch on.

[blade strike]

I think people are missing the point as I did at first :o IMHO rc-tek did not build this to make money but to save money on buying align kits for testing their upgraded parts.

Now that they have an off the shelf heli that is a nice looking clone of the 500e, they might want to try to recover some cost.

I think if anything the rct460 looks like a winner, and this clone might be a good option for people that want a rex500 w/o the elects and want the align's parts support :)

Anyways I think all these option in the 425-460 class just helps this hobby even more :cool:

IMHO I think the 425 class birds are the PERFECT size!!!

[Scott_RC-TEK]

When we launch the "I²" product line on behalf of Innovative Imagineering in Q2/Q3 of this year, which will be very high-end 100% US engineered, CNC milled, and hand finished after market upgrades, you will see:

Dual and Tri-Blade Tails
Dual, Tri, and Quad-Blade Heads (flybar and flybarless)
Various other upgraded components

Here are a couple HD videos of the T500/RCT-460 tri-blade tail proto-type at a recent funfly:
Table Display (http://www.rc-tek.com/i2/i2_tri_a.WMV) (21MB)
Flight Video (http://www.rc-tek.com/videos/i2/i2tail_hd1.WMV) (65MB)

Regards,
Scott

[blade strike]

Here are a couple HD videos of the T500/RCT-460 tri-blade tail proto-type at a recent funfly:
Table Display (http://www.rc-tek.com/i2/i2_tri_a.WMV) (21MB)
Flight Video (http://www.rc-tek.com/videos/i2/i2tail_hd1.WMV) (65MB)




Where are my royalty fees :p I do have to say that tailed kicked ass on my heli!

That was a great weekend, I met some real cool people :cool:

[misskimo]

460 to 480 is the size I like the best , yeh! this trex clone without the motor and esc, will be the sheets! as well as fixing the static problem with the belt, I got the torque tube for mine though and a stretched eco 8 belt in the other rex so I can spin 470s

[kgfly]

I think I must have missed something, how will it fix the static issues if it is still a belt drive tail ?

[BobOD]

When we launch the "I²" product line on behalf of Innovative Imagineering in Q2/Q3 of this year, which will be very high-end 100% US engineered, CNC milled, and hand finished after market upgrades, you will see:

Dual and Tri-Blade Tails
Dual, Tri, and Quad-Blade Heads (flybar and flybarless)
Various other upgraded components

Here are a couple HD videos of the T500/RCT-460 tri-blade tail proto-type at a recent funfly:
Table Display (http://www.rc-tek.com/i2/i2_tri_a.WMV) (21MB)
Flight Video (http://www.rc-tek.com/videos/i2/i2tail_hd1.WMV) (65MB)

Regards,
Scott

Boy am I glad he didn't mention Penta-Blade heads :eek:
I'm getting dizzy.
:D :D :D

II

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Boy am I glad he didn't mention Penta-Blade heads :eek:
I'm getting dizzy.
:D :D :D

IIWe haven't had our weekly meeting yet... ;)
Keep up the great work, Bob~

Regards,
Scott

[learninginverted]

Scott, what are the benefits of a tri blade tail? Vs a standard twin blade at least.

[BobOD]

I can answer that.
Greater thrust for a given RPM and pitch range.
OR
Greater efficiency at a lower RPM.

There is a down side though. The resolution is reduced. In other words, a given correction requires a smaller pitch change. This is only an issue when there is backlash (slop) in the system because the pitch corrections are more similar in size to the backlash. So the backlash becomes more significant. This is the key to the upcomming "I²" design. It has been specifically designed to take out backlash. A prototype has been on my heli for a couple hundred flights now and it is still smoother and more slop free than any tail units I have seen.

Bob

[learninginverted]

hey, thanks bob.

That also explains why REal helicopters with significantly lower rpm ranges have more blades.

[BobOD]

hey, thanks bob.

That also explains why REal helicopters with significantly lower rpm ranges have more blades.

UM...ours ARE real helicopters...just higher performing ones. :D :rolleyes: :cool:

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Yeah... what Bob said... :D :cool:

Regards,
Scott

[n3m1s1s]

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b4.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b1.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b2.jpg

http://www.rc-tek.com/images/t500_b3.jpg


I REAAAALY WANT ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOULD IT HELP IF I SAID PRETTY PLEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASE~? :)

[cfrank2005]

Hey Scott, any update on these aftermarket T500 kits?

[Skywolf]

Looks like all the work is done! When is the relaese date!!!Ha
I would love to see them released and produced and I know they would sell very well if pricing is as stated.

[kgfly]

This project seems to have been shelved. FYI there is already a T500 clone available from CopterX (http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=173_174&products_id=6193), the CX500SE for about $250 (airframe only) to $300 (airframe, motor, esc & bec).

[cfrank2005]

This project seems to have been shelved. FYI there is already a T500 clone available from CopterX (http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=173_174&products_id=6193), the CX500SE for about $250 (airframe only) to $300 (airframe, motor, esc & bec).
Hey Kenneth..have u got a link for this heli ?

[kgfly]

Sure Frank, just click on the underlined word "CopterX" in my post above ;)

[Scott_RC-TEK]

Our version would have been more expensive than the cheaper clones coming out of Asia so we shelved the project in order to focus more on the US engineered and produced aftermarket upgrades for these helicopters such as those discussed here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=989538

Regards,
Scott

[aftica]

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