Latest in Scale Helicopters

Being a Veteran of the Vietnam era I have a great fondness for anything helicopter during that time. If you have not read "Low Level Hell" by Captain Hugh Mills you should read it. That is the man and the book that made "Miss Clawd" a well known helicopter in the scale helicopter community. This is my second Miss Clawd with the first being built in the early ninties and nitro powered. This one is a product of Vario Helicopters and equipped with Vario Benzine mechanics, powered with a Scorpion 5035 and retaining the Benzine clutch with a Heliworkshop clutch adapter, a Castle 160 ESC on 12S, Spektrum electronics and a Sound system making a very realistic model. The mechanics were highly modified to allow for a full cockpit and easy battery change. The cockpit is completely "scratch-built" from wood, plastic and aluminum. Pilots are a product of TailoredPilots, WarBirdPilots and patches added for the Vietnam era. Personal weapons and other cockpit accessories came from BlackOpsToys and Ebay. Stetsons were 3D printed by my friend of many years Mark Burks owner of Micro Designs. The "stogie" in the gunners mouth was the idea of my fellow full size pilot Csptian Randy Rivers that I shared a lot of civilian airspace with who also flew the OH 58D in the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars. I try to fly this model just as Miss Clawd was flown by Captain Mills.

I have built a total of 13 Roban scale helicopters and all have flown perfectly. I loved the looks of the Mercy Air but wanted to change it to the "Utility" version replacing the retractable gear with skid gear. Being new to 3D printing, I printed some suitable looking seats, patient streacher, SPH5 flight helmet, cyclic grips. I pieced together the pilot using accessories from Ebay and BlackOpsToys, added a harness set from Micro Designs to finish out the cockpit and interior. I enjoy building the Roban models, they build easy and fly great. I can't keep them all, lol and this one has a home with a lifelong friend David Stinnett and he is enjoying it immensely.

I purchased this model in 2023 in the"white" and only test flown. It has HELI-FACTORY mechanics with Hacker Q80 for power, Kontronik 200 on 12S, Bavarian 3X, ModelSoundsInc sound system ans Unilight lighting.
It was a "slick" fuselage with no exterior detailing. I added the rivets, panel lines and all exterior detailing. The cockpit was scratch-built, pilots were purchased from BlackOpsToys and pieced together with different heads and bodies ( the Frankenstein method ) along with assorted pilot accessories.
The armament is a combination of 3D printed parts from SCALE-PRINT and 9MINIMATRONIX.
Most Super Cobras are painted some form of Navy gray or camouflage. I did a lot of research and found that the USMC used the Sea Cobra in Opperation Urgent Fury and most of their helicopters were Deep Forest Green and even with this being a different version of the Cobra I chose this color, not building for competition but for personal preference. I did modify the skid gear for the proper angles and stance.
As with all my HELI-FACTORY models everything fit perfectly and flys GREAT
This model is now owned by Owen Battle and I am begging him to bring it down to Tennessee for me to once again fly.

I have been an avid admirer of Heli-Factory models for several years as well as a very big fan of the Bell HUEY. I have several thousand hours in helicopter aviation and had the opportunity to fly the Huey and have been "hooked" ever since. With Heli-Factory introducing the 1/5th scale Bell 205 last year I had to have one and it is one of my most prized models. I have an acquaintance who flew for Air America in the sixties and I wanted to build this 205 to represent a 205 flown by the "CIA" covert airline. This model is about 96 inches in length. This is the first Heli-Factory Bell 205 using electric for power. The mechanics are designed and geared for turbine use so I reached out to Vincent Offenbeck at Egodrift with the necessary information and he recommended the 5040HS-385 using a Kontronik 210ESC and running on 14S. All Spektrum electronics, Bavarian 3X. I have added a BEIER-ELECTRONIC.DE sound system.
The cockpit and exterior detailing are a product of Scale-Print, the pilot is from PremierPilots and detailed with the necessary Air America clothing and patches. With the mechanics hidden I had lots of room for scale accessories. Air America was famous for "across the border" operations that were not allowed by the U.S. Military in Vietnam. They flew a lot of cargo resupply ( among other things, lol ) and that is what I wanted to represent. The model is painted in Air America colors of silver and blue and this one is highly weathered to represent a well used helicopter. The 205 has a RTF gross weight of 54 pounds and flys GREAT.

Here's my progress on the Big Schweizer 300 from Vario. I just moved to Idaho, so waiting to get moved into our new home, but I'll post up more as the project progresses. I've modified the mechanics frames and installed a back FG panel in the cabin to allow the installation of a full cockpit from Patrick Leong. He and I collaborated on the first of it's kind fully detailed cockpit for this kit and it is a work of art. More on the cockpit later. My colleague Patrick printed an incredibly detailed Lycoming engine for it as well. It's converted to electric on 12S with one on my custom clutch adapters for the motor. I'll post pics of the mechanics frame mods when I pull the heli from storage. Stay tuned...

Wiring under the Cockpit-floor and the cockpit is completed!

Here are some videos showing the functionality of the Cockpit.
The pilot reproduces the commands given to the helicopter.
The Arduino is used to control the control panel lights and you can be controlled directly from the radio.
Currently the LEDs light up randomly.
The next step is to read the battery voltage and indicate the charge with the green, yellow, red LEDs

Here I constructed a bubble window for the Vario AS350 for a nice customer and then deep-drawn it myself. I converted a domestic waterworks (cut out the membrane and screwed on a vacuum meter) and connected a small vacuum pump. I quickly cut the thermoforming box out of multiplex and screwed it together. I then warm the clamped thermoforming material in the oven and then quickly place it over the thermoforming model. Open the ball valve and after a few attempts, it works :-). If someone needs such a bubble window for his model, he only has to send me the door for scanning and of course dig a little deeper into his pocket as the construction including scanning is a considerable amount of time.
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