[Tower]

It's been a while since I've posted any Heli builds. Sooooo...
The Century Seaking body kit has been in the basement for a while. I purchased it here on RCC. I have been struggling with the selection and cost of the head and tail rotor assemblies but finally made up my mind and bit the bullet. It helps a bit (not) that a lot of manufacturers have stopped making them which narrowed the choices. There is only one source of 5 blade tails I could find and all they have is left over stock - Century is apparently now out of the Heli business, despite the appearance of their website and Helicopter World is selling off what's left. This may be the last online Century Seaking build you will ever see, not that I could find much anyway online for this aircraft. And, maybe the only electric build.
The Seaking is a common sight in Atlantic Canada, particularly over the Halifax Harbour. I grew up in Dartmouth with them flying from Shearwater over the house. Now I live in the Annapolis Valley and see mostly Cormorants out of nearby Greenwood. And, the Seakings are slowly being phased out by the new cyclones.
This Seaking will be a labour of love (accept when it is aggravating me) and has a very interesting back story which I will pass along in future posts.
The head and tail rotors arrived yesterday from RC Aerodyne, and Helicopter World. Now I am in the figuring phase and wondering how to shoehorn a Trex 700L Dominator into it and still access the batteries easily - and I think I have a workable solution.
I already have a problem with clearances on the tail pitch adjustment arm. A solution may already be at hand for that though as well - fingers crossed.
She looks almost done sitting there and is even close to the right colour. I am not fooled. This one is going to take awhile.

[Keyrigger]

Good luck with the build.

Don

[Tower]

Thanks Don
Looking forward to flying the mechanics. Awaiting some servo gears for the 700 and need to save a few more pennies for the blades. Any ideas on scale tail rotor blades?

[Keyrigger]

I do use mainly tail blades manufactured by Fun-Key with the main brand name Rotor Tech. There is a good size selection available for machines up to 800+ in size. Normally, tail blades tend to be fairly consistent in weight, so you can order three sets to make up the five blade tail assembly you need. Send Phil Noel a message at orders@leisuretech.ca and ask for his recommendation of the length you might need with that size rotor. I would guess around 95 to 110mm but depending on the speed of the head, length of the main blades, and weight of the model, you might need a bit more length. As an example, I am running a 120mm three blade set on my 800 size F3C/Scale trainer as I am running speeds below 1000 rpm. Tail authority is critical for a multi-blade tail on a scale helicopter so getting it right can be quick or can take a bit of time. Be extra careful with the manufacturing of the tail cable drive unless you intend to fabricate up a full torque tube setup. Take Care.

Don

[Max]

Oh Man! That is gonna be so sweet!

[Tower]

Thanks Max. Don - thanks for the info. I may be looking at a replacement for the 800MX motor to get the head speed down. I had hoped to do it with a new spindle but that likely does not exist for the slant gear dominator setup. I have been in touch with Phil regarding the blades and will take a look at options. I do plan on using the wire drive. A friend locally tried the torque tube method on his Seaking and could not get the geometry to work. I had a left over mechanical setup from the Tiger and it would not fit apparently once the mechanics were tilted back to get the main rotor angle correct.

[Keyrigger]

A friend of mine does make angle drives for raised tails and can also make them to work with an intermediate shaft. He makes dropdown mechanics for helicopters like the Sikorsky H-34, Huey, and Apache, so there may be some help available if you exhaust other methods. He uses the same motor I do in my MD-7, which is the KDE 295kv 700 motor. It has a bit over 9 horsepower available and is perfectly suited to large scale helicopters. Take care.

Don

[Tower]

Hey Thanks for the info.
I am keen to try the wire drive as I have not used one before. I will keep your friend in mine if it does not work out. I have been kicking around the idea of running the motor 6s and knocking the rpm down by 1/2. I understand this should work for a scale Heli - data logging the current draw will be key to seeing if this is workable. The dominator is designed for very high current loads at 12 s under serious stress so I am hoping 6s with little stress will work. Apparently others have done it. I will take a look at the engine - I like that option better but am trying to contain the cost on this, which is already very high.

[Tower]

I know what your going to say. Step 23 in the build already - He is fast. And, actually I skipped a few steps, namely 1-22, which focus on the wire drive installation. I am awaiting on a potential solution for a throw limitation on my tail pitch adjustment slider before attempting the tail.
So, jumped to the internal frame construction for the mechanics and started with gluing the landing gear mechanism blocks in to place. Tada! I am going to have to rest up after that.
Wood kit and hardware packs look good.
She is underway.

[Tower]

Good and bad on the first test fit;
Good
1) Mechanics fit in the space fine
2) My hope of being able to slide the batteries into the mechanics from the rear looks like it is going to work fine.
3) motor clears the doghouse
Challenges
1) main shaft too long - head is too high - easy fix - shorten shaft
2) blade grip arms appear to stick out way to far - no clearance. Awaiting a manual from RC Aerodyne to look at options. This could be a serious problem.
3) to get the head at the right angle, the mechanics clearing the retract bar (aluminum bar in the photo), room for the batteries to slide forward, and the mechanics down into the Heli and clear of fibreglass all around the front former F4 will need a redesign. Plywood - not bad at all to redo.