500 3 Blade Head

[Derek]

500 3 blade head2.png (91.83 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

500 3 blade head.jpg (16.28 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

Guys! I can't get this out of my head....

A while back, some of you might remember me talking about this, I was wanting to have a 3 blade main rotor head on a 500 helicopter. I looked around and I did find two places that have two different styles of heads (above). I sent emails to both companies asking if these heads would handle my mild 3D and sport flying. The first company said that their 3 blade head wasn't designed for 3D flying. The other company...well, the guy pretty much yelled at me and said "no". The first head requires an 8mm shaft. That's a bit large, considering that my 500's both have 5mm main shafts, but a good lathe operator could take care of that problem.

What could possibly be upgraded (most likely on my own) to make either of these heads 3D capable?

Or....should I seriously just drop the thought and move on?

[Tony]

I've seen a lot of vids on these 3 and 4 blade heads and everyone seems to have some sort of problem with them.... It's an ambitious move Derek... But I'm sure you will get it going should you opt for it. Can you buy 3 blades that are balanced exactly the same?

[Derek]

I'm sure you can get 3 blades that are balanced the same but it's probably a bit of a "lottery" because I can only get blades in pairs. Most likely, there would be some further balancing needed.

[Lee]

Can you not find bearings for 8mm rather than lathing the shaft down?

[Derek]

Can you not find bearings for 8mm rather than lathing the shaft down?

hmmm, I don't know. I never thought to look.

Are you suggesting getting 8mm bearings and then drilling out the bearing block to hold the larger bearings?

What about the blade grips and feathering shafts? Would those hold up to a bit of abuse?

[Derek]

I'm not gonna concern myself with a 3 blade head right now. I'll just file that idea away and maybe come back to it later on. I've got a mini quad coming, two other priority projects for this year, and three other planes to finish here at the house.

I still think it would be awesome and unique to have a 3 blade 500 helicopter!!!

[Lee]

I was thinking to look for bearing with the same OD outer diameter, but an 8mm ID inner diameter.
Not sure there are any, but worth a look if you go back to this project.

[Derek]

ok...i see what you are saying. I'm sure there is a bearing out there somewhere.

Although I think this would be a cool idea, unique in itself, it's just gonna have to go back on the back burner.

[pvolcko]

It may be difficult to find a radial bearing that has the same OD and the larger ID that will still be high enough to take the off axis loads and fit in the recesses of the block properly. By shrinking down the OD/ID difference you will force the use of smaller bearing balls which will mean narrower height. May also mean it will not tolerate the RPMs and loads necessary and made possible by the larger bearing balls in normal main shaft bearings.

Just guesses. Could be completely wrong. I often get these things backwards.

[Derek]

I dunno guys....I think this idea of mine is just gonna have to stay an "idea".

bummer!

I just need SAB to come out with a 3 blade head for the 500, lol. I did see that Thunder Tiger has a 550e with a 3 blade head. I'm not sure that would work on my 500 anyway and I can't find parts for the 550e 3 blade head anyway, lol.

So....I'll just move on. I've got other stuff to work on and I'm sure that I'll have a dozen more "curious" ideas as the year goes on, lol.

[Tony]

You've had some good ideas in the past Derek, I'm sure the future will yield more from yourself. Bring them on bud...

[Derek]

Thanks Tony! My imagination is always running and it never stops. Who knows...I may come back to this idea later on.

I've got these projects to deal with this year:

1. My 74" scratch built 3D plane
2. My "Titan" 500 Project
3. My "Weston UK Velocity 50" scratch build project
4. My Dad and I are building a plane for him so that he can fly with me. I'm very much looking forward to this.
5. I have a twin boom pusher that I built 2 years ago that I intend on finishing soon
6. I have that HK Dart 250 mini quad coming and parts to order for it.

Then I'm sure there are various other projects/ideas that will come along including dealing with Tracy, lol

[Tony]

Well that's an awful lot of projects to keep you going in 2015... Lol.

I think you should concentrate more on your Dads plane than Tracy's probs mind, that would be awesome to fly with him....

[Derek]

Yeah..i'm only gonna deal with Tracy when he comes over. Since the weather is still very cold here, he doesn't come over often. I'm taking my Dad to the LHS on Wednesday (my next day off) and we're gonna order some wheels, 3 blade props, and some other hardware. As for the electronics, we just need the ESC and HK is currently out of stock. Dad is quite excited to learn.

I'll surely post some pics/vids of my Dad and I

[Tony]

It must be awesome having a LHS to browse around in, I'd never be out... Lol