Funkey

Starting my first scale Heli.
Finishing up an Align 550X super combo kit.
Have a Funkey Bell222 (not Airwolf scheme).
50/600 size. Most things are straight forward except how ill mount the battery. If stock mount, I’ll have to get access from front or improvise a mount.
Next foreseen problem is mechanical retracts that came with kit. Servo sync etc. I’ll be using either a DX7 G2 or JR XG8 DMSS
Question is are they worth messing with or suggest electric or air that will fit well. Could someone recommend a set of servos for the supplied retracts. Better yet, a reasonably priced set of electric or air retracts
I guess the first question should be is the 550X a good setup for the Funkey 222.
Any comments and help is appreciated..

I found the Nimbus 550 a very suitable donor in scale conversions from 550 to 700. Because it's using belts it also makes for a very smooth running heli. It's not as expensive as SAB because of its single-stage reduction gear but is very high-quality nonetheless. Its modular side frame makes it a great candidate for dog house installation. It has a decent motor ratio of 10.6 to 1 using a 10T MOD 1 slanted pinion and stock adjustable motor mount. And all-new from Ra a 12T tail pulley to bring tail to head ratio to 5 to 1. Last fall I installed one stretched to 580 in my old Fun-key AStar using a Goblin 570 tail belt (yes same GT3 x6mm as SAB). It shares the 27mm diameter tail boom from the Specter V1 so anything between 550 and 700 is fair game. Because, unlike Align, its main shaft is plain 10mm, longer main shafts are easy to cut at minimal costs. I installed the new tail pulley this week and it's RFT. Just waiting for warmer temps for a test flight. I flew it first in December and loved it. New this year is 12s with Aureus 105 and Egodrift 4030HT-400kV from you pick your own kv Beta series.

10 years ago when I came back to the hobby I set myself two goals, stand-off scale, and slow flight or should I say scale flight? I just don't see a 1/7 scale doing 70 mph. That's almost 500 mph, a helicopter lol? I tried 450 to 700 sizes (I'm just new to 800 and it's even easier). I find the 450-500 size marginal for everyday wx but they are great indoors or on a calm day. The 600 size is a good compromise between visibility and cost but I prefer 700, it's even easier to see. I try to keep the weight around 15lbs (7kg) for my back lol. 800 is a stretch but it will fit in my small car once the blades are removed. Cost also is a factor so I capped my builds to 3-4K$. Reliability can impair concentration and progress so I opted for the most reliable I could find. I looked at 3D helis because they are very rugged. If they can stand 2500 rpm, my guess is they would be ok at half the head speed. Parts availability and costs are important factors also. So I went with SAB. It was not easy at first but after 15 builds I got the hang of it. They are extremely reliable, smooth, and run silently because they use belts and 2-stage gearing. It's important because beauty is not only skin deep for me. It has to run to my liking. I love the good old days but prefer the newer technology: latest motor/esc, controller system with telemetry, and FCU (for easy programming). I had to learn all that too. Motor for efficiency, telemetry for diagnostics, and FBL for precision. I spent hours on those and it paid off. A properly set heli almost flies by itself and makes progress easier. I also managed to stretch my flying times to almost 10 minutes with my 700 size on 4100 12s packs. But I find 7 to 8 ideal and it's in the first minutes I feel most progress is made, the rest of the flight I enjoy. I practice one maneuver at a time until it's dialed into my brain (no pun lol). I figure one day I will be able to do a complete scale flight of 8 minutes. It takes time it's there that lies the fun.

Since the field is closed until April, I use this time for maintenance on all my planes and helis.

Since I was removing the Shuttle mechanics from the FK A109 for a good degreasing and inspection, I thought I would give the fuselage a new look. I removed the tricycle gear and added skids to make a stand off (way way off) AW109 Trekker.

I used a set of skids for the FK .30 size JetRanger and took an inch out of the cross tubes to make them a bit narrower. I am really liking the look. Next I will figure out a way to close the holes from the gear and maybe change the exhaust to the baloney cut exhaust. Skids will also be painted , just not sure what color yet.