Eurocopter AS350

[Kittyhawk]

Well this was meant to be a couple of Boeing B.17s but a time dependent request came in for an AS350, also known as the Squirrel I think so the bombers have been laid aside for a bit. It is to be a gift for the MD of a helicopter company specialising in aerial photography - thats what the funny looking thing sticking out the front is for, my rendition of a gyro stabilised camera.
A bit out there on the fringe of my usual stuff but good to have a go at something different.

 

[Tris]

Wow, that is fantastic! What sort of scale are you working to?

 

[Kittyhawk]

What sort of scale are you working to?

Most of the aeroplanes people want are WW11 fighters and for these I use 40:1 scale. This make for a model 25 -30cm long which seems to be the preferred display size. Two and four engined models are of necessity bigger. The helicopter is 40:1, 27.4cm long.

 

[Inspector]

Beautiful!!

Pete

 

[Sandyn]

What a beautiful model. What an unique gift the MD of the company will get . Do you put a maker's mark on your models?

 

[Kittyhawk]

Do you put a maker's mark on your models?

No, pretty low tech in my workshop. I just write on the bottom of the base what the model is and my name with a pencil.

 

[Ollie78]

I would be interested to see you make your own "ideal" plane. Not copying anything existing.
All your models are great, and I wonder what you would come up with.

Ollie

 

[AES]

Well this was meant to be a couple of Boeing B.17s but a time dependent request came in for an AS350, also known as the Squirrel I think so the bombers have been laid aside for a bit. It is to be a gift for the MD of a helicopter company specialising in aerial photography - thats what the funny looking thing sticking out the front is for, my rendition of a gyro stabilised camera.
A bit out there on the fringe of my usual stuff but good to have a go at something different.
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As per usual (i.e. always Kittyhawk), a superb model. Apart from "just" the wood work (!), in this case I'm particularly impressed with the work you've done on the skids and camera boom. As ever Sir, MOST impressive. The MD should be delighted as not only is it immediately recognisable, it's clearly of "Management Suite display level". The sort of standard that could easily have been given as a business gift/trophy.

Edit for a P.S. QUOTE: I'm particularly impressed with the work you've done on the skids and camera boom. UNQUOTE: Not forgetting the swash plate and actuators. (Which I did forget first off)!

 

[clogs]

again another stunning model....

 

[Kittyhawk]

I would be interested to see you make your own "ideal" plane. Not copying anything existing.

I'm incapable of doing that. I have some skills in taking other peoples plans, dimensions etc and converting them to working drawings for wood but to design something from the outset is beyond me and I think thats the difference between arts and crafts. Conceivably I have some ability as a craftsman but as an artist/designer, never.

Not forgetting the swash plate and actuators.

Thanks for naming that assembly - there's a lot of scary magic going on up there between the rotors and learning the term 'swash plate' enabled an internet search of how it all worked. Complicated, and I imagine a failure of any of the many parts and its game over.
I had a pal who used to fly helicopters for a mining company in New Guinea. He used to say, fixed wing pilots were optimists, rotary wing pilots pessimists. I understand that now.

 

[Jake]

I think this pilot (in said Eurocopter) must have had an optimistic bent.

https://www.letelegramme.fr/bretagn...u-raz-un-blesse-video-06-07-2022-13100635.php

 

[Jake]

The model is up there with that flying btw, not really into models but these are really stunning objects.

 

[The Chiller]

Bloody hell. That is stunning. Top quality work.

 

[AES]

Thanks for naming that assembly - there's a lot of scary magic going on up there between the rotors and learning the term 'swash plate' enabled an internet search of how it all worked. Complicated, and I imagine a failure of any of the many parts and its game over.
I had a pal who used to fly helicopters for a mining company in New Guinea. He used to say, fixed wing pilots were optimists, rotary wing pilots pessimists. I understand that now.

I'm not really into helos Kittyhawk, but we did learn some of the basic helicopter aerodynamics in training. As you say, it's more than complicated - I'd class it as bloody miraculous (a bit like the fact that in aerodynamics, you can - apparently - "prove" that a bumble bee cannot possibly fly)! Weird and wonderful machines!

For example, most rotor heads have "multi-directional" hinges: Each blade can, independently change pitch (angle of attack), that's what the cyclic control does, AND do that with all blades together (that's what the collective control does); can "lead and lag" the rotation of the rotor head/shaft; can "cone" upwards and downwards; AND because of gyroscopic effect, the control input to each blade has to be input at 90 degrees out of phase! Makes my head hurt just thinking about it all. And to make matters even more interesting, some helos have a "solid" rotor head (not sure which ones) where all the above hinges are combined into "a piece of solid plastic"! As said, the mind boggles- well mine does anyway.

 

[Skydivermel]

I once did 26 free fall parachute jumps out of one of these in a single day, on July 23rd 1986.
Fantastic Model.