iceaxe
Posts: 26
Joined: 4/16/2006
From: merrimacqueensland, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline
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hi guys , i have been working towards building an Approach Engineering kit for quite some time now . It all started about eight months when i first saw pictures of the Approach Engineering kits as i was then flying a couple of ep8 electric helis and Tim and Kieth from the aussie importers for Quick of Japan ep helis sent me some pics of a conventional balsa \ply scale cobra and apache that would fit my ep8 http://www.totalerc.com/shop/index.php , from that day on i have wanted to build one of these kits .
The guys told me to contact James from Approach Engineering and have a chat as the ep8 kits where still in development , but that he had other kits in the works and that he was a very approachable guy , well after being in contact with james on and off over the last 6 months and having just finished my md530 little bird ,i found i was desperately needing something to go on with . i have been following a couple of builds on various sites that continued to impress me with the kits . So i have set about giving myself a goal this year of building each of the Approach Engineering kits on offer starting with the 30-46 size Boeing AH64A Apache ,followed by the ep8 e-cobra with hopefully the swift sized apache and cobra then finishing up with the 60-90 size cobra over the xmas break , so stick with me as i fully imerse myself in the world of Approach Engineering . http://www.approachengineering.com/index.html
With talking back and forth to James from Approach Engineering over the last 6 months , and finally deciding to build one ond share my experience with others ,it dawned on me that it would be interesting to get to know the man behind teh kits so i possed some questions to James which he kindly took teh time out to reply to .
Hello James and thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to let us know a bit about you.
Word is getting around the scale heli scene all over the world about your company Approach Engineering and for those that haven’t heard, they manufacture scale cobra and apache fuse kits for r\c helis using conventional balsa \ply construction methods used in r\c aircraft construction ,definitely not a new technique in radio control aircraft, but in the world of scale helis it is new and exciting.
Approach Engineering’s range currently include the 50 size apache ,a soon to be released and much anticipated 60-90 size cobra and the just released smaller e-cobra and e-apache designed for the 550 size electric heli scale modeler .
For those interested in any of Approach Engineering’s range you can become very familiar with them at the web site
http://www.approachengineering.com/index.html and for sales inquiries contact Al at Starwood Scale Models
http://www.starwoodmodels.com/products/ap/ .
Firstly James rumor has it that you have a rather exciting job away from Approach Engineering that gives you first hand access so to speak of the attack helis that you have designed ,can you firstly give us all an insight into what that is and secondly about your career flying these helis?
JAMES>>>>>
Thanks and I appreciate your time. In addition to Approach Engineering I have the opportunity as being a full time flight instructor in the AH-64A Apache. We are located in West Jordan, Utah and have one of the best areas to fly and train in. It is a great unit and we have top notch aviators and crew chiefs that make up our unit. We were deployed fairly recently in Operation Enduring Freedom to help out the efforts in Afghanistan. We spent a year in country doing what was needed of us. There was so many good things happening there for the people that you never heard about on the news. I did have the time to do a lot of the time consuming design work on many of these fuselages while I was over there and even built a few of the prototype aircraft.
James, have helicopters always been a big passion of yours? Or is flying in general your passion?
JAMES>>>>>
I have always loved aviation from as long as I could remember. Being a part of aviation was very important to me so my life followed that path. After high school I looked to go into the service so I could fly but it was right after Desert Storm and there were very little opportunities to be an aviator due to the down sizing going on. So I continued on with my schooling and completed my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. Once finished I looked back into the military and the rest is history. I have always been amazed with helicopters and many of the guys here asked why I did not go into the Air Force and it was because this is where I want to be.
How long have you been involved in the world of radio control flight and do you remember what got you started?
JAMES>>>>>>
I have been involved with RC from the time I was about five. I did not have anyone around me that did it so I started off in cars. As I got older and started to earn money mowing lawns I was able to get some better racing cars. The airplanes were still out of my reach and without anyone to help it seemed like a huge step. Finally when I was about 13 I purchased my first airplane, a ****cat glider. Very inexpensive, about $80 for everything I needed to fly, and more simple. My very first flight was with me at the controls trying to figure things out. I did realize pretty quick that my CG was too far aft and made for a fairly short flight. I continued to learn on that aircraft fixing it many times until it was finally beyond repair.
My first aircraft was a Senorita and learned quickly on that. Great builders plane. I could go on and on about all the different gliders and aircraft I built and re-kitted over the years, lots of stories. Well finally I had saved up enough to get into the world of RC helicopters. My first one was a Schluter Magic. I bought it used with a Rossi 60 and a Futaba super 7 radio. The gyro was the old mechanical one. It was like flying all over again.
So did being a real world heli pilot make it any easier to learn to fly r\c helis when you started?
JAMES>>>>>
I flew RC helicopters long before the real ones. I would have to say that flying the RC ones helped me fly the real ones.
How long ago did the idea come to reproduce the amazing helis that you fly for real?
JAMES>>>>>>
I have been working on this idea for about seven years. I had been building my own scratch built aircraft for years. My first prototype was built off some poster board with hand drawn plans. Still have it flying actually. It has a Kyosho Nexus giving it life. I am sure that many of you know Emile Sherrif better known as Copter Doctor and he was a great inspiration to me.
Having just received my Approach Engineering 50 size ah64 apache, and seeing first hand the amount of thought and detail that has gone into this kit, can you give us some insight into the time line and process that has happened from its inception, to the kit that I now have, and what ideas you have for it in the future?
JAMES>>>>>>
It took about three years to go through the prototypes, pictures, building instruction manuals, ect to go from the drawing board to the kitted box. I learned a lot from each prototype and used those ideas for the future kits helping to speed things along. The first one that I did for the plans of production was the 60 size Cobra fuselage. It was built with some friends of mine over in Afghanistan and is a great flyer. There still had a lot of detail work to be done on it and that is why it is not yet available. Some good news on that is I am currently working hard on that design again and hope to have it ready by the big IRCHA event in Muncie.
There has been a lot of work put into the smaller helicopters such as the Quick of Japan EP-8 V2 helicopter that is out being field tested in order to make sure the kit is ready for production. Great aircraft and a lot of fun.
I have so many ideas going on right now I do not even know where to start. Everything from some fixed wing to many more helicopters. I have a prototype Comanche built, working on some Hueys, F-14, F-18, P-38, Mirage 5, and on and on. Right now I am focused on the helicopters and will continue there. The time line is tough to say. I work very hard on the kits and there is so much work to be done on each aircraft that I do not have a set timeline. I have been trying to get one out but just set the priority of the aircraft to be built and go from there. Right now I am committed to finishing up the 60 size Cobra and the EP-8 size Cobra.
I have also just released a Swift and Logo size Apache as well that is a great kit. Lots of scale details added in with it. Check it out on Starwood Scale’s website www.starwoodmodels.com along with the others.
Do you do every thing yourself as far as continuing r&d and manufacturing of the kits or do you have others involved in the company these days?
JAMES>>>>>>>
Right now I do everything. I now have my inventory of parts set up where I have been able to employ my son to help me put together some of the sub assemblies. That has been a lot of fun working with him.
You must have one of the best setup garages out of all of us can you tease us with what your setup is like ?
JAMES>>>>>>
Well I have about 3/4 of my entire basement dedicated to this. I have everything from my laser cutter, drill press, spot welder for batteries, band saw, scroll saw, soldering equipment, belt sanders, disk sanders, dust collectors, a large array of shelving, four work benches, vacuum forming station, inventory of wood and misc parts, injection molder, pressurized air, and a tooling center and lathe for making all of the additional parts and for making the molds. I am starting to move more to outside vendors to allow me more time to do the design work and keep things progressing along.
All of the kits are designed in Solid Works which is a solid modeling software. It allows me to put together all the parts in 3D to make sure that everything fits well.
For those of us out there that are already jealous, how many helis do you have and what are they, oh and do you actually get much time to fly them?
JAMES>>>>>>
That is a good question, I still have my Schluter magic, nexus, ECO8, a swift, 2 logo 10’s, 2 X-Cell 60, Falcon 50, Raptor 50, and even some of my own designs. Almost all of them are still flying. The funny thing is that I could use a lot more to see how they all fit inside the different fuselages. For those of you that like E power I just came up with a great little conversion for X-cell 60 aircraft that just drop right in. That is still in testing. I still get out and fly as much as I can. It is fun to go out with my boys and share it with them.
With such a busy life do you suffer the same issues that plague the mere mortal’s amongst us ,and that being the evil look from the other half every time we so much as take a ;step in the direction of the garage\hanger ?
JAMES>>>>>>
Of course I do but who needs sleep anyway? My family is very supportive and I always make sure that they are not being left out.
So out of all the different sized cobra and apaches, which one is your favorite to fly and why?
JAMES>>>>>>
I would have to say the electric Apache. Part of it is because it is a great kit, the real one has a place in my life, and I just love the ease of electric helicopters. Just a flip of a switch and you are spooling up. No messy fuel to clean up after and no smoke bellowing out of the aircraft making it look like it just took a round! Even the sound is more real.
What does the future hold for James Linder and Approach Engineering, where do you see yourself in five years?
JAMES>>>>>>
Well I never have a crystal ball but I hope to be here still doing this, well of course with a lot more kits to offer. I am working with the possibility of making the kits with a fiberglass version so there is a lot of learning to do there as well. I am working on a few fixed wing designs as well that I hope to release in the near future. So keep your eye out for them as well. I just hope to be able to provide a high quality aircraft that others can enjoy as much as I have.
Thank you James for your time, and giving us an insight in to the world of Approach Engineering .
now that i have finally put my money where my mouth is and contacted Al Wert over at http://www.starwoodmodels.com/products/ap/ who sells the kits for Approach Engineering , Al gave me a price with shipping ,which i found to be very agreable , so i gave the credit card a thrashing and sat back for the long hard wait .I was expecting a 2-3 week wait , but man was i pumped when after 7 days i got a nice parcel slip from the postman to come pick up an international parcel,was that excited that i shot over the next lunch time to get it and had a quick look before going back to work , man that afternoon went slow i can tell ya .That was friday teh 22nd june ,so here i am a little over a week later with an apache that is about to be preped for painting .
So with out any more teasing here is how i got to where i am today with teh kit.
Welcome to the Approach Engineering AH64A Apache for .30-.46 size mechanics
This is what you are greeted with on arrival , a very inspireing couple of picks of an apache in action with a pic of james below,but then who ponders on teh box covering for long hey lol,
so off comes the box top , every thing is well paded ,and nicely packaged , with teh laser cut parts kept in seperate bundles depending on there build process ,if you have never built a laser cut kit before then man get out there and do it , gone are the days of spending hours cutting out parts and sanding them , hte over all quality of this kit is second to non , i have built a few topflyte scale fighters over the years which i have put at the top of teh ladder for quality ,and hte Approach Engineering kits are right there with them , the quality of the balsa and ply is superb ,and an important factor in the final finish and build of a kit ,every thing you need is there in the kit , no more spend a couple of days ringing hobby shops chasing hardware for your model before you start it .
If you have not built a conventional balsa ply scale kit before ,hten a lot of people might be a nervous ,when opening a kit of this nature for teh first time , but all worries are put aside when you open up the 46 page fully ilustrated and well thought out construction manual , have a good read through it so you understand the order that it all goes together in , it really does make this kit look easy to construct , and that is becuase it is . a novice builder could easily put this kit together ,with out any issues ,the manual is that well thought out
the pages are very clear and simple to understand , James has spent an amazing amount of time on this so that you dont have to ,this is no fly by the seat of the pants kit that was thrown together by a company ,this is a very well thought out kit that has seen a lot of design processes put into it nothing comes up short in the kit ,it impresses me with quality of the design more and more with every page i turn in the manual
When you take a closer look at the contents you clearly see the stamped id of each part so there is no mixxing parts up as you go
Another standout feature of these kits is that they come with a disk full of real world apache photos ,showing in great detail each of the modelled subjects ,at first you look through it and go "yeah thats super cool" but once you are well into the build you find yourself falling back to the photos for scale shapping and details ,and this is just another aspect that makes these kits stand out from the rest , never before have i built a kit that has such scale documentaion included with it ,the phots are truely awesome and have saved me hours searching the net looking for scale documentation to improve the overall finish of my apache ,after all whats the point of building such a kit and not giving it the best finish you can .
Openning the manual again ,after sitting down with a coffee and going through the whole thing , we are presented with the assembly details for teh vertical tail fin frame , and this is where you really start to appreciate just how much design effort has gone into this kit and how straight forward and easy they are to build . so take out teh parts required ,and test fit the parts to make sure you have a good fit before applyiing any CA ,as a carpenter we have a saying ," check twice cut once " in other words double check everything before you apply any CA then you wont have any issues ,especially as most of the build will be happening later at night lol,any way no problems here , all teh parts went together perfectly and in a straight forward manner , it really is as easy as reading the manual , and in a very short time your are presented with teh completed tail fin frame
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