Hi
My name is Dana Andrews and i have been an avid hobbyist since the early eighties . I became interested in model helicopters in 2002 . and over the course of learning to fly and building a few kits . i progressed into scratch building a few coaxial helis , and found out that modding and building helis was not only possible but fun also . I had been reading some threads on converting a Raptor 90 to gas and in one of the posts , My friend Fixit mentioned he had just installed a Webra P5 in his Align 600n and mentioned he would like to try a Zenoah 231 . i couldn't tell if he was joking or not , but i can remeber thinking " forget the 231! , put a G-20 in it !!!" and this is what got the idea started , actually it was more like a fever . i had been very interested in the 600n , but didn't want to get back into the mess and expense of nitro helis . and the basic idea of doing a conversion , is to tap into a inexpensive source of parts , like the raptor or Align parts , and end up with a machine that is cheap to fly and maintain . the new Align 600n is one of the lightest 50 class nitro machines out and designed by Jason Krause . and from everything i could see , it looked like it would be a great candidate for a gasser conversion with Zenoah's new G-20ei engine
with these conversions , you can't be sure it will all work out , without jumping in and getting wet . and what you find out is some areas you were worried about work out great and other areas you thought would be easy , or didn't think about at all , turn out to be tricky . all in all it makes for a very interesting project . i approached the project with the idea i would second source the drive train from Century , in order to have a fan , fan hub , and shroud that were designed specifically for a gasser . and then i used a R-90 clutch , clutch bell and pinion , i turned the R-90 pinion down to just the shaft , and bored the stock Align pinion out to just the gear and pressed them together forming a hybrid part . this let me transition from the drive train to the stock kit , and from there i redesigned the frames to except the new and larger engine . but after that it is align parts all the way
i started by scanning the stock frames into a 2D graphics program so i could convert the profile of the frame into a vector graphic . the reason for this is it is much easier to manipulate a vector drawing and the profiles needed some serious editing . once i had the new frame laid out to where i thought it would work , i cut them out of 1/8th inch masonite . this let me verify that i was not building myself into a corner . and with the masonite frames finished i built the machine to check the fit of the parts and all the critical allignments . this gave me enough information to tweak the profiles and re cut the frames . and in this way i was able to work out a new set of profiles i felt would work well with the new engine . at this point it was cut the frames in alloy and start working out the final details of the kit . anyone who has done a conversion knows not to bother counting the number of times you have to put it all together so you can take it all back apart . and these projects are a good example of " slow and steady , wins the race " .
i am very pleased with the way the machine turned out , and i have just started flying it . i see it as a proto type i can now use to shake down the design . i will put some hours on the machine flying to find any weak spots in the conversion , and if all works out as i hope , i can correct them in a V2 . i am interested in producing a DIY kit . i hope that anyone with questions or suggestions will feel free to contact me , i will do my best to respond to everyone , thank you , Dana Andrews