DecentDevilAH64Apache500sizeInstructionManual

Instruction Manual AH-64 Apache Scale Fuselage

for TREX-500 & Replicates

Specifications:
Length: Width: Height: Weight: Suitable for: 1020mm 355mm 320mm 690g without mechanics / 1510g with mechanics installed (w/o electronics) ALIGN TREX 500 and replicates

Introduction:

The AH-64 Apache Scale Fuselage is a kit to convert your TREX 500 into a scale (1:18) version of the AH-64 Apache Attack helicopter. The kit contains all necessary scale parts, as well as all mounting and installation parts, to mount your yet existing TREX 500 mechanics properly.

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AH-64 Apache for TREX 500 set contents:

1 - Main Fuselage 2 - Tail Boom Hatch 3 - Landing Gear fixed 4 - Landing Gear susp.

5 - Front Wheel 6 - M230 Machine Gun 7 - AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles 8 - Missile Holder

9 - Wing Missile Mount 10 - Engine Inlet 11 - Hydra Rocked Pod 12 - Weapon Wing

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13 - Cabin Hatch Mounts 14 - Main Gear Distancers 15 - Main Gear Mounts 16 - Tail Landing Gear 17 - Main Frame 18 - Tail Frame 19 - Tail tube & holder 20 - Tail belt 21 - Pushrod holder 22 - Belt pulley 23 - Pulley spacers 24 - Screw set 25 - Belt shaft & gear 26 - Pushrod & tube 27 - Cabin Windows (no pic)

AH-64 Apache Fuselage assembly instruction:

1. Installation of the elevated tail conversion parts on your existing mechanics Before you can install your helicopter mechanics into the scale body, you must convert your TREX 500 into an elevated tail one, adjust it properly and test fly it. Here is how its done: A) Remove tail boom First of all, disassemble the tail boom entirely, so that only your belt is coming out the tail boom holder. B) Exchange mainframe The mainframe parts supplied with the AH-64 Kit do allow your tail boom to exit the mainframe at a much lower position than in the original version. Dismount both original mainframes. Assemble all parts to one side of the conversion main frame, but do not assemble the other side yet. C) Exchange belt pulley Take your original belt pulley, and push the belt pulley off the shaft. The gear can stay on the old shaft. Then, press the pulley onto the supplied shaft, centered on the rimmed area. Install the supplied gear as shown on the shaft, mount it together with the supplied prolonged tail belt into its position. Then mount the other side of the mainframe again.

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D) Mount tail frame First of all, mount the long tail boom into the mechanics and make sure the belt comes through untwisted. Then add the pushrod distancers (3 distancers) to the tail boom, and mount the tail rotor guidance tube and the pushrod. Then, assemble the conversion tail frame at one side as shown in the picture, make sure the belt passes the pulleys as shown in the drawing. Add the other side of the tail frame and mount the short tail tube pointing upwards. Make sure the belt goes through it untwisted and mount the pusrod distancers to the tail boom and the tail rotor guidance tube and the pushrod.

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E) Mount tail rotor frame Finally mount the tail rotor frame of your original mechanics as usual. Adjust the belt tension. Mount the tail servo and adjust the travel of the pushrod properly. Distribute the pushrod distancers along the tail tube in that way, that the pushrod moves both smoothly but without giving the pushrod a chance to move. It is recommended to fix the distancers position with cyanoacrylate glue.

F) Test fly the elevated mechanics After assembling all conversion parts, double check each screw connection for tight fit. In some places it is recommended to use threadlock to secure the screws from getting loose, please refer to your helicopters instruction manual for this. Adjust your mechanics properly, and make a test flight checking if your setup is working properly. G) Prepare mechanics for installation In order to prepare your mechanics for installation into the helicopter mechanics you have to take of the main landing gear. Please set these screws aside, you will need them to mount the mechanics onto the body. Also take both canopy holders off and replace them with normal screws instead. Also, you have to take of the elevated tail area. Take off the tail rotor frame and remove the short tail tube. Now your mechanics are prepared for installation. Now lets start preparing the scale body.

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2. Assembly and mounting of the scale fuselage. A) Landing gear installation First of all, mount the landing gear. Use the grasp nuts and press them with pliers into the wooden board, as shown in the picture. Mount the fix rod as shown make sure the small wooden washer is between the board and the rod !

Then, install the board into the fuselage as shown. Install the suspension rod and mount it as shown. You have to press the spring down in order to get the wheel mounted. Proceed the same way on the other side. Then mount the wheels, add the top tube caps. It is recommended to add a few drops of oil in order to make the suspension rod move smoothly after installation. Finally fix the suspension rods holder ring in its position. Have in mind that once the mechanics are installed, the spring will feather in deeper.

When you installed both gears and aligned them properly, please use epoxy glue to glue in the board in its proper position. The side of the board pointing towards the tail has got to be aligned with the cabin holder, but this part will be later installed, as shown in the picture below.

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B) Inserting the mechanics Now, shove the mechanics into the fuselage. Do cutouts both on the swashplate holder and on the tail conversion frame area as shown, in order to fit the body in its correct position and make screws accessible.

C) Mount elevated tail Now, start mounting the previously installed short tail tube, tail rotor frame and bell altogether as you had installed it before mounting it into the body.

Once all these parts are fixed and operational, start to make proper cutouts both on the tail part of the fuselage and on the hatch of the tail fin as shown. Use sandpaper to smoothen the cutout areas! Make sure that the main gear position is properly adjusted before working on these cutouts.

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Once these works are finished, check the position of the mechanics again, and fasten the main frame to the bottom of the fuselage using the original landing gears screws.

D) Main Gear spacers and cabin holder The next step is to install the main gear spacers as well as the weaponry support bar. These parts are all wooden, and need to be assembled using epoxy 2 component glue. First glue in the gear spacer as shown, glue it against the fuselage side. There is not much space, we recommend to take extra caution.

Then, start mounting the cabin holder. First of all, mount the magnets into the cutouts of the wooden board. Make sure the magnets do match the polarity of the installed ones in the hatch. If you miss that point, your hatch will not close! Then install the board on each side, and glue it in with epoxy glue. Also make sure that it interconnects with the landing gear board, and also glue these two parts together to gather extra stability.

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E) Weaponry In order to start assembling the weaponry, you get started with the AGM rocket holder. First of all, assemble the rocket holder itself, using the two plastic rods as depicted. Then start, using epoxy glue, gluing the rockets into their proper position both on the lower and middle holder layer. Then mount it onto the weapon station holder using epoxy blue. Make sure to mount it centered and at proper dimensions as shown in the pictures.

Then go to the hydra rocket station, mount the rocket pod centered to the weapon station holder at the shown distance.

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Then mount both hydra rocket pod and AGM missile launcher to the weapon wing using epoxy glue. Make sure they are mounted in the proper position as shown in the picture.

Now, mount both wings in their appropriate position as well as the turbine inlet part using epoxy glue. You may have to sand the turbine inlet to gain a proper centered mount in front of the engines inlet.

F) Tail landing gear The tail landing gear has to be assembled as shown. The flat part has to be mounted using epoxy glue, while the upper steel rod serves as a load distribution and goes straight into a predrilled hole in the tail of the body. Bend the steel rod as shown to make it fit into the small hole.

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G) Tail wing The tail wing is simply glued into its proper, centered position with epoxy glue as shown in the picture.

H) Cabin windows Finally, the cabin windows have to be installed. First of all, trim the window sheets with scissors until they easily fit into the dedicated areas. We recommend to use as few glue as possible, to avoid cosmetical damages.

Now, you are ready to fly your AH-64 Helicopter fuselage. Please make sure that you install the battery properly to adjust the center of gravity. Decent Devil wishes you having a lot of fun with this stunning fuselage !