Scale Radio Control V-22 Osprey

I could not believe it when I first watched it. A scale model of the V-22 Osprey that is able to translate from vertical (helicopter) mode to horizontal (airplane)mode and back again.

Kit has been under development for 3 years working out the details of hover, conversion, and airplane flight

Licensed by Bell/Boeing. 35 inches (spinner to spinner). Model is easy to fly as a helicopter or an airplane. 1/18th scale.

Model easily converts in and out of airplane mode with no bad tendencies. Collective and cyclic pitch for precise control indoors and out, even in high wind. Electronic controller manages ship keeping it fully controllable for all conversion angles. Pitch, Yaw and Roll remain inline with body through entire conversion. 3 axis gyro stabilization. Can be flown with 7 channel model helicopter transmitter. Also, a user friendly PC Software interface makes programming and adjustments easy, using a standard USB-Cable.

Basic ship can be flown in a profile configuration to help with test flights and setup. Easy to add body covers to complete the scale look after all setup is complete. Precisely designed in CAD for reliability and maintainability. Precise scale model of CV-22 Osprey.

I have been looking at helicopter models, like the E-Flite Blade series (like the CX3 with the MD-520N Notor tailboom); for the past several weeks. Especially after discovering that most of my (technically former) WINGS Miniature Aircraft Society flying buddies were getting into them finally. (The technical part is I do not have the money right now to rejoin the club). Have to join the crowd I guess eventually.

I like the Blade series for the upgrade path that it offers. When I get tired of the MD-520N body, there is the Bell Jet Ranger, the UH-60 Blackhawk bodies that can be switched to. The UH-1 Huey is an upgrade path for the Blade CP, CP+, CP Pro, CP Pro2. The CP Pro series has the single rotor and a working tail rotor.

UPDATE (May 25, 2010): Well, I lost my internet connection in the middle of working on this post. Had to relocate to a wi-fi spot at Hastings to finish this. Basically, it was the reference link below that was unfinished.

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Ref. (http://www.rotormast.com/rm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=130).

Horizon Hobbies, E-Flite Blade CX-3 (http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH2080).

Flash Force 255 Pictures of Mine

OK, here are some forgotten pictures that I sent in to Flash Force HQ way back when.  This was when I had the M2 Bradley APC and the OH-6 Littlebird helo from 21st Century Toys.  

The OH-6 Littlebird helicopter was photoshoped so that the camera tripod that it was sitting on was removed from the picture.  And thus, I had a "in-flight" shot of the model.

The Bradley was photographed in front of the fire department building on the ramp of the former Reese Air Force Base (now Reese Technology Center).  

Also, several years ago, the V-22 Osprey was here in Lubbock, Texas, conducting high wind stress tests.  And ironies of irony, it was one of the calmest springs that we had had in years.  Anyway, I took several pictures and since I did not have a action figure in the "official" uniform of Flash Force, I photoshoped one figure and pasted it into the real world photo of the Osprey that I took.  I was quite happy with the way that it came out.

If one will note, the title image for this blog is of my M2 Bradley and a Typhoon radio control turbine jet that my friend Les Morrow built.  Both are now sadly gone from our respective grasps.  I sold off the Bradley and Les eventually sold his Typhoon to get another jet model airplane.  Both models were photographed on the main (or center) runway out at Reese Technology Center.