copperclad Elite Veteran Location: ..
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| Out of curiosity, what thickness of aluminum did you use for your side frames?? Did you use a CNC?
Have you considered strategic reinforcement in areas of high stress? Just a thought.
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hi iedit4tv sorry , i missed your post , i am using 2.3mm 6061 T6 alloy , just somthing i had in the shop and it is just 0.3mm thicker than the stock G-10 frames , i have a CNC plasma cutter that will cut the profiles in alloy , but as this is a first off , i have been cheating a bit  , i scanned the original frames into a 2D graphic program and convert the image to a vector graphic , this makes modifying the profile easy , and i print it out to paper 1 to 1 scale and spray glue it to my stock , i use masonite till i am happy with the profile , and then cut them out in alloy , i find that handling a mockup is still the way i enjoy working
once i have some flight time and see the concept is valid i can convert the finished profile to G-code and run a batch on the plasma cutter , but for one offs , i still find it easier to just work them up in a vector graphic and cut it out with a bandsaw
i haven't thought about reinforcing the frame , i would like to get enough air time on the frame to see the failure first
a lot of what i am doing is down and dirty , to get one in the air , and see if the idea is workable , i had been looking at the 600n for a while and thinking it looked very nice , and i was working on putting a G-20 in a R-90 conversion and read a post by fixit , saying that he just put an oversize nitro in his 600 , and that he would like to put a 231 in , i couldn't tell if he was joking or not , but i was thinking , "forget the 231 " , "put a G-20 in it" , and it has been like a bad case of 600 fever for me since , i bounced the idea , back and forth with fixit for a week or two , and then jumped in 
i have a pretty good shop and have really gotten to like modding helis in the off season , and this seemed like the perfect project , the forum here is really great to post and share ideas , and i have been having a great time with this on RR , dana 
here is a photo of the new frame , and with the stock frame lined up on top , the new frame is 15mm taller and 20mm longer , due to the bottom and front being extended to allow for the larger engine

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