Apogee Heli-Roc

helicopter recovery competition model

I purchased this kit in the summer of 1997, intending to build it for the C HD (Helicopter Duration) event at MWRC-97. Unfortunately, this model is designed for 10.5mm or 13mm motors, so it wasn't appropriate at the time and I set it aside. We're holding a B HD event at 14AL-98 and Apogee makes 10.5mm B motors, so I decided to put this together to have a reasonably competitive entry. I'll use my converted Turbo-Copter for a back-up, if needed.

I was initially afraid of how complex the model might be, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how quickly and easily the kit went together. I started working on the kit on a Sunday evening and, even with the limited time I had available to work on it, I was done by the following Friday. This is a very good introduction to competition Helicopter recovery models. I'm looking forward to the AL14-98 competition.

Construction

2 May, 1998	completed construction
	details
30 April, 1998	finished stand-offs
	I cut and bent the remaining music wire to form the 'J' hooks that form the front attachment points (in the nose cone) for the rubber bands that extend the rotor blades. I also cut the launch lugs and glued in the bottom lug. One of the supplied pieces of launch lug tubing was cut to form supports on the rotor angle stand-offs (to support the rubber bands at an angle to help assure rotor deployment) and the pieces were glued in place. When I attached the orthodontic bands to test the rotor, the hinges started to bend (not at the hinge line) so I whipped the hinges down with more sewing thread and soaked the whipping with thin CA. After this, the rotors activated cleanly. After checking the rotors, I drilled the holes for the burn-string into the body tube.
29 April, 1998	more fillets
	I added fillets to the rotor angle stand-offs when I got back from choir practice.
28 April, 1998	attached rotor blades
	Using thick CA, I tacked down the hinge ends of the rotor blades. I used the kit supplied string as whipping over the hinges and thin CA to set things solid. I cut three pieces off the supplied music wire and bent them to form the 'J' hooks that attach to the rotors, glued them into the rotor angle stand-off pieces and attached the angle stand-offs to the rotor blades.
27 April, 1998	fillets
	This evening I did fillets for the fins and BT reinforcements before I went off to Chorus rehearsal.
26 April, 1998	started construction
	The first evening, I built the motor mount, cut the ejection bypass ports in the body tube, sanded the rotor blades and fins, and glued on the fins, nose cone and BT reinforcements. I also trimmed the (Klett?) blade hinges and attached them to the rotor blades.

Built: April/May, 1998
Launches:
30 May, 1998 - 14AL-98
Repairs:
dd mmm, 1998	none, yet

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Last Updated:	10 June, 1998
Author:	Alan Rognlie
Email:	arrognli@execpc.com