Are you contemplating purchasing an X-Cell GASSER HELICOPTER GRAPHITE KIT MA1005-6? You will pay about $1,150.00 for this kit. Here are some things to consider:

1. The X-cell Gasser is parts intensive and cannot be assembled quickly. The instructions are very detailed and each step requires repetitive reading to understand and follow them. In some cases they are confusing, in others inaccurate and some instructions do not apply to the current model. The accuracy of the assembly and the use of locktite (a good thing in most cases) slows the assembly process even more.

2. The flywheel on the G-23 Zenoah engine will have to be removed and balanced. This requires the purchase of an expensive flywheel puller, borrowing or constructing one. It will also require the use of a balancer. Also the cooling fan will have to be balanced. It seems that Miniature Aircraft would do the balancing considering the price of the heli.

3. Lining up the flywheel on the engine with the clutch can be a problem. Although a spacer is provided and talcum powder is used on the drive pins, the proper gap is difficult to obtain. Once the gap is reached, a second person is needed to tighten the engine bolts while the engine is held in place. However, during your initial installment of the engine, you may fine that the engine's rear mounting holes have been poorly machined. They have not been cut high enough to tighten the engine once the flywheel reaches the proper gap between the clutch. This will require the removal of the engine's rear motor mount and the ignition coil and using a dremel to lengthen the mounting holes. It seems that Miniature Aircraft would correct this flaw considering the price of the heli.

4. Another problem is how the fuel tank was designed to mount. This is an extremely poor design. Two holes have been placed on the bottom of the plastic servo tray and two large wire tires have been provided for mounting the fuel tank. The wire ties were meant to be wrapped around the tank and inserted through the holes. This provides a very skimpy and unacceptable mounting base for the tank. It is the weakest gas tank mounting method that I have ever seen on a heli. (Inquire if you want to know how I solved this problem).

5. The fiberglass fan shroud is mounted in only three places in the front and the rear of the thin shroud is left to vibrate. Also a very skimpy fiberglass mounting plate is used to mount the fan shroud. You may find that the holes provided for the self-tapping mounting screws are too large and may not provide adequate anchorage for the screws, so shoe goop may have to be used on the screws or in the holes. Extra trimming on the fan shroud may also have to be done for proper fit and to facilitate spark plug removal and insertion.

6. The fan shroud, the front of the servo tray, the struts and the skids do not have predrilled mounting holes. You will have to drill them yourself. It seems Miniature Aircraft would drill the holes considering the price of the heli.

7. Although there are four monting holes on the gyro plate, yet there aren't any to bolt the plate to the gyro mounts. Thus shoe goop must be used to glue the plate to the mounts.

8. The canopy that comes with the X-cell Gasser was not designed originally to fit the Gasser and therefore a great portion of the its rear must be cut off in order for it to fit over the carburetor and muffler. Trimming the canopy takes much time and care to insure you do not crack it and the trimming does not leave the rounded edges and rear strength that is on the original canopy. If Miniature Aircraft is going to sell the Gasser, it should also design a canopy made specifially for it considering its price.

The X-Cell Gasser is an acceptable heli once it has been properly assembled; but considering all the work Miniature Aircraft has left undone in the kit, the price of the kit should be reduced accordingly.

Oh here we go, the complaints about the heli, well, to answer your complaints, see below:

1) Yes, the heli is parts intensive as you call it, but then again you can seperate more pieces in case of damage and replace smaller sections as needed. As far as the instructions, I disagree. They are top notch and the plans with the heli are great. Pictures and words make a building experience fun.

2) That is really old news. With the new engines out, 231 and such, no balancing of the flywheel is necessary. You just bolt it and go. However, so you know, when I bought my gasser in 1997, I bolted that g23 and went with no balancing either, and it was just fine though the new 231's are more balanced than the older engines.

3) You make something that is so trivial sound so complicated. You just put the engine in, eye-ball it so that the clutch to the engine top is level, check both sides, and slowly snug the screws and you are all set. I hold the engine with one hand and snug with the other hand - no problem for me. If you want to get anal about it, you can use a feeler guage to get the gap to be the same on the left and right side of the clutch too. I've done that before as well, but I find that eyeballing it to be evenly gapped is good enough.

4) I'm not sure what your beef about the fuel tank is. My heli is over 6 years old, still has the stock fuel tank in it, and its flown 1054 flights to date. I've never lost the fuel tank in flight due to poor mounting and its survived all my 8 crashes since I bought the bird. I don't see any problem with mounting it the way Min Air suggests, and, I guess you just don't like their idea.

5) I haven't had a problem with the mounting of the shroud personally. If you want it to be more fixed than 3 holding screws, you can use a little thin CA on where it contacts the mounting plate. That plate by the way if good enough and will never break from vibration or a crash. What more do you want from it?

6) Yes, there is no holes predrilled you are right. My only guess is that these parts are universal and can be mounted on different machines. If Min Air drilled the holes for you, then they become machine specific. I understand your complaint, though I don't think its a big issue to drill your own holes.

7) Personally I never used that gyro plate. If you buy the nicer rear can muffler with the heli instead of the stock box muffler, that plate will not be a suitable place for the gyro with all the heat in the back. Besides, if you don't use it that is less weight to carry around. I mount my gyro to the servo tray, and it works just fine. You can put it inverted in front of the fuel tank, or upright on the radio tray somewhere.

8) The canopy is the same argument at #6 above. It is a universal canopy that fits all of the xcell line of machines. It would be nice to have it precut, I agree there, as that is more work for the user to do. They do draw a line on it with a template for you to see what you need to cut, but I guess they prefer to have one for all, and just draw a line on the ones going into the gasser kits. If you use a dremel tool to cut the canopy, there is no danger of cracking it. Just cut it with a cutoff wheel as best as you can outside the line drawn, and then use the sanding disk to polish it up and get the nice curves to match the drawn line. There is no need for rear rounded ends for strength, a straight cut will do and the back of the canopy will never chip because its not rounded.

The xcell gasser is a fine machine yes once assembled, and it stays together as long as you can keep it together. I've flown mine over a thousand flights, and you know what, its held up well during all that time. Anyway, to each his own opinion, so read mine with a grain of salt and make your own opinions.

-=>Raja.

I don't think you will disagree with the following: As expensive as the the X-Cell Gasser is (as well as all the other heli kits offered by Miniature Aircraft), all the work of trimming this, drilling this, fitting this, balancing this and reworking that should not be issues when putting the kit together. As much as the kit costs, buyers should be able to simply, follow the instructions, assemble the kit and be done.

Your other option would be (and this is strictly my opinion), buy a Bergen Intrepid Gas. It's a couple hundred cheaper than the X-Cell Gas, but in my opinion is one of the best designed platforms out there. Every ounce of the heli is expertly designed, made from quality materials, sold with clear instructions, and doesn't require the user to perform the last 10% of the engineering work that the X-Cell does. (You're not the first I've heard speak poorly of the X-Cell.)

Again, this is just my opinion. Take a look at it yourself and see what you think.