jnr
Heliman
Location: Allerød - Denmark
| Hi John,
I've completed building a Bell230 with Uni Expert Mechanics for a couple of months ago.
The mechanics are really nice and lightweight. I've have been building on and of on the helicopter for the last couple of years ( - yes, I wrote "couple of years"  - but I have also been building airplanes meanwhile).
I started out buying the fuse, kit for retractable landing gear and a basic UEM. After completing the fuse, I started buying different kinds of upgrade parts for the mechanics - the UEM that I bought was a 9X-version for electric, but after a second thought (and getting my hands on a cheap glow-engine), I wanted to upgraded it to 200X, so that I could fit a 15cc 2-stroke engine as powerplant.
Because I didn't buy everything complete from the beginning, I encountered some problems getting the right parts delivered. Here in Denmark we dont have a dealer that has Graupner spareparts for helicopters, so they have to be ordered directly from Graupner in Germany through my local dealer. For an example: I ordered a set of landing skids (for training and trimming, because I was a bit nervous of setting the helicopter down to hard on the 3-point landing gear) - and the skids arrived 4 months later.... 
I also figured out that its rarely a good idea to buy a upgrade-"kit" from Graupner - it's cheaper to just buy the loose parts instead. I needed a low-rpm-clutch, a matching clutchbell and a one-way wheel. Graupner has a kit they call a "low-rpm 4-stroke kit" and they recommend that for both 4-stroke and 15cc 2-stroke engines. But only the clutch, the bell and the wheel fitted my OS91. The rest of the stuff in the bag, that also was needed to fit the clutch didn't fit. So I had to get some loose parts instead - and ended up spending more money, instead of just buying everything without kit.
The same thing happened when I bought the "Glow upgrade kit". That kit should according to Graupner contain everything that I would need to upgrade the mechanic from electric to glow. But it didnt... It basically contained the fan, a high-rpm clutch and bell, the top of the ventilation and another german manual (already came with the electric-kit) and a handfull of screws and stuff. So the only thing I could use from that kit was the fan and the ventilation part. Then I had to get the fuel-tank, and all that other fuel-related stuff, the rest of the ventilation-parts (yes - you need 2 other components, that are not included in the kit), mounting brackets, gyro plate (that was not included either) and another handfull of screws. In total I ended up spending 3 times the same as the "Glow upgrade kit" has cost me.
But all in all: The mechanics and the fuse itself is of really good quality. The combination of gear, engine and mechanics itself gives a really powerfull helicopter. The OS91 deliveres an awsome amound of power, and using the low-rpm clutch and gear I selected, the engine swings the rotor steady at 1400rmps at half throttle - and the engine just sounds like a 10cc running at idle... If my next helicopter-fuse can fit a UEM - I will probably end up putting such a thing in it again - eventhough I know that I will end up regretting half way through - but at that time I will also know that in the end, I will end up with a cool, steady and powerfull helicopter.... 
/Jesper |
