dbcisco

I am familiar with scale modeling 1/72, 1/48, 1/64 etc.
What is all this 300, 400 etc. ?

Silly question 1: What do these equate to in real scale ratios?

Silly question 2: Why aren't you using real engineering ratio terms for scale?

Silly question 3: Who dreamed up the 300, 400 etc. numbering system in the first place?

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

Scale Helis is a reference to their realistic looks and the manner they are flown,compared to the small canopy, insect looking aerobatic Heli.
The 450-600 or 60/90 nitro etc is a size, not scale description.

dbcisco

Now I'm even more confused

So "Size" is some arbitrary terminolgy dreamed up by the RC world and "scale" means "realistic looking" and none of these terms have any relation to the term "scale" as used in the rest of the world including "scale modeling".

blade_killer

RC helis come in sizes, not scales...

A 300 is the blade CP, Honeybee CP and the like of that size and rough weight

A 400 is slightly larger like the Trex 450 or Belt CP

A 600 is even larger like the Trex 600

you also go into engine sizes when you see 50, 60, 90, etc.

and then there are turbine and so on.

You can equate scale but it would be what scale fusaloge will fit on the mechanics I have, like a 1:18th scale body will fit a 300 size heli and so on.

RodanAZ

The RC side of things can be pretty confusing, as many manufacturers use different terminology for similar sizes...

Blade Killer hit most of the high spots... additionally, a 600 electric is equivalent to a 50 nitro. Here, the 600 refers to blade length in mm and the 50 refers to the nitro engine size. A 500/550 electric is equivalent to a 30 nitro heli. The smaller electrics are usually sized by the motor (450, etc.), but again, different manf. use different terminology for their motors, so there you go...

The term "scale" refers to an RC heli that is made to model a real helicopter, as opposed to the pod/boom helis.

The actual scale of the model varies greatly due to the mechanics used and the physical size of the real helicopter. Some of the smaller (450 electric) heli fuselages are around 1:15 to 1:20 scale, and some folks have adapted 1:18 display models to the RC mechanics and gotten them to fly. When you get up to 50 size, it still varies... My MD500E is on a Raptor 50, and works out to around 1:6.5. An AS355 fuselage (also from Thunder Tiger) for the same Raptor 50 is around 1:7.8, because the real heli is larger. When a heli is adapted to the RC mechanics, the determining factor is the distance from main rotor shaft to tail rotor shaft. The manf. makes it fit this dimension, and scales the rest of the fuselage accordingly. The larger real-life helis may get down around 1:10- 1:12 depending upon the size of the mechanics.

Clear as mud??

Hopefully this helps, but ultimately, they all differ somewhat.

RodanAZ

BTW, the 1/48, 1/72 in plastic models is the actual scale, ie. 1/48 is 1" on the model is 48" on the real thing, etc...

In my example above, my MD 500 is ~ 1:6.5, so 1" equals 6.5".

dbcisco

Thanks everyone. I come from scale modeling and engineering on full-size heli's so all this "scale" and "size" stuff makes no sense to me. I guess whoever started this nonsense years ago didn't pass their math courses.

So here is what I have built so far: A 1:18 scale model with 300 size RC mechanicals and electronics.




But if I want to put an internal combution engine in it; I would use the displacement to describe it.
Only the "scale model" mfg's are using accurate measurements and proper use of the terms scale and size.
Am I getting it?

RodanAZ

Correct. The standard glow sizes are 30, 50, 60/70 and 90. The 30 and 50 are also sometimes known by blade size (550 and 600), especially if electric. Gasser and turbine are a whole different ballgame, but at that point you're usually not talking about a "kit".

Correct again. Many times, manfs. will not even state a scale for their products, instead selling them by the mechanics size. It's usually up to the modeler to figure the scale by comparing dimensions on the scale ship to the full size. Many of them are not very scale, at all...

Your Little Bird project looks pretty good, keep us posted!

blade_killer

RodanAZ
thanks for chiming in, I'm glad someone could expand on what little I know

dbcisco

Here's a better pic of the 1/18 scale, needs a bigger motor. Any suggestions on a step from a 380? I would like to keep to brushed motor for now.