FY Roger

Cant wait to try it at the field. My only gripe is the main ratio and recommended kV. It comes with a 12T pinion for a ratio of 9.33/1. So I ordered an Eclipse 4230EC-370kV to compensate. Good news though, I learned there is a 10T pinion available which I ordered. Head speed in hover is 1175 and love the feeling of highly precise mechanics. It's about time a manufacturer offers decent quality at sensible price.

Happy new year...

It's not only nose-in or turning inside, it's scale flight at its best with the scale helicopter in all of it's full scale brother attitudes. It's quite easy with practice on standard tail helis (raised or straight) which have much better tail authority. Last summer I flew my new 1/6 Vario H145 which is a modified EC-145 with a Vario 10 blade fenestron. The new fenestron is lighter and a lot more efficient than the old 8 blade or 9 blade Roban. And easily adaptable since it has the same form factor as Align. But I dont use either and against all detractors mine flies perfectly with a belt drive. The new fenestron does not bring tail authority to levels attainable with standard tail blades but provides enough for most circumstances. Although it's still a light wind flier. So far I have built 4 fenestron scale, two H130, one H145 and the latest one a 600 size Gazelle (with the old 8 blade and CW blades), I will complete setup this year. I intend to build a 3rd H130 with the 10 blade Vario for this summer also.

https://youtu.be/mJ8nn5DdGQs?si=t0U6CKuQK_DpS-sf
https://youtu.be/zPySNsuKMVg?si=1RCE34gi1EM3aEpd
https://youtu.be/qx-QkmtXhxI?si=nG3i9noape3gaevX
https://youtu.be/Uiz6wcz_BCA?si=C6CWJOwLu5P8Kg9A

This very much outlines last season...

For 2026, I have the Vario 520n on the work bench. I ordered a 1/4.5 R22 from my friend at RVE, I should get in a few days and, will build a 5th H130. All to explore and improve orientation flight for scale.

Have great new flying season and remember if they stay on the shelf, your skills are not improving.

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.