My first heli was DuBro's Whirlybird. No gyro, learned to hover, never any forward flight. I've still got it, only issue is the cracked cowl/canopy. Next was DuBro's Hughes 300. Still no gyro, more hovering, forward flight. Sold that one. Next was the GMP Competitor. This time a gyro and and some limited aerobatics. The damage was more than a new one so quit for a long, long time. My primary interest is 1/2A so naturally, when LM came along I had to have one. Good little machine, quality excellent. No collective though and mostly only forward flight. Not flown for a few years. Now we have electrics that can be quite spectacular in the right hands. Not my skill level ever but full collective, solid control and quality has got me interested again. But the cost for converting to electric anything can be daunting. I have 40 years worth of hobby stuff, radios etc and even a GWS gyro I used on the LM.

So, now I'm interested again in a small, very nimble heli but don't want to go electric. I have lathe and milling tools. I make mods to get perfect throttle control on 1/2A engines. My thought is to start with a Shogun and convert to glow. Looks doable especially the tail shaft drive version.

Why, when it's a done deal electric? Partly cost, partly because I love engines, noise and smoke. Well, not a lot of noise, I mufflerize them pretty good. Partly because it's a challenge to do. Creative instincts and all.

Has it been done before? I did a search and not so far, it seems.

Don't know anything about the new machinery. With glow, I'm sure I'd need auto-rotation. Seems unnecessary with electric but is a one way bearing part of the package? Everything else looks adaptable except for this one item.