Bell 222 ARF Electric Conversion
by Bob Fiorenze [email protected]
A marriage of Century Helicopter Products’ detailed fuselage and Miniature Aircraft mechanics
The full-scale Bell 222 is powered by Lycoming LTS101 gas turbine engines. It has a length of 42 feet 6 inches and is 12 feet 2 inches high. Sometimes referred to as the “Deuce,” the Bell 222 can be equipped with retractable landing gear or fixed skids (utility version).
The large interior can be configured for use as anything from a 10-place utility aircraft to a six-place executive transport. With its excellent single-engine performance, this helicopter is a terrific candidate for offshore oil platforms or an air ambulance.
When I decided to build an electric-powered scale helicopter, I realized there was not much selection in the 60-size bodies. Most larger scale bodies are designed for nitromethane engines. After some research on the Web I decided to go with Century Helicopter Products’ Bell 222 ARF. This scale body comes with a great paint scheme.
The Century fuselage measures about 53 inches long and 11 inches high, with a ready-to-fly weight of roughly 12 pounds. I also purchased the optional retractable landing gear.
Two design goals had to be met. One, the engine-powered Bell 222 had to be converted to electric power. Two, the body had to allow easy access to the Bell’s mechanics for routine maintenance and repairs. The accompanying photos in the original article show how this conversion was accomplished.
Choosing the helicopter mechanics was easy since I have been flying the X-Cell line of helicopter kits from Miniature Aircraft and am familiar with them. I decided to go with the new electric Ion, designed by Chris Stephenson of Miniature Aircraft.
Frank Noll at Futaba helped guide me toward the best radio gear for my conversion. The nine-channel CA9 helicopter radio with an R149DP PCM receiver, four 9202 servos, and the 401 gyro with digital servo seemed to be the best combination. For the sport-scale modeler, this radio will get the job done without being in the high-price category.
Chris suggested that for my scale application I use the Actro 24-4 outrunner motor coupled with two 5S3P 6-Ah/42-volt Thunder Power Li-Poly batteries. This pairing of components produces an extremely powerful system.
Flying a fast helicopter is the best of both worlds. It can hover in the driveway or be flown like an RC aerobatics airplane at 100 mph. The model is capable of loops, rolls, stall turns, high-G turns, and other aerobatics.
The best way to describe this helicopter’s awesome power is to picture it in a 5-foot hover, then add full power. The model looks as if it is going to self-destruct from the vertical acceleration. Flight duration with the electric system is 14–18 minutes, depending on how hard you lean on the throttle.
This article would be incomplete without mentioning the tremendous assistance from electronic systems engineer Mickey Nowell. As a longtime friend, he is always there to help.
— Bob Fiorenze
Sources
- Bell 222 fuselage: Century Helicopter Products
1740-C Junction Ave. San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 451-1155 www.centuryheli.com
More About the Machine
The excellent semiscale Century 222 (item D4033AG) is ideal for the modeler who wants a business-class civilian aircraft painted identical to an existing helicopter or to create a custom paint scheme. The completely painted fuselage is approximately $800 and is available in two color schemes: red and black.
The fuselage design allows simple and easy access to the main mechanics without sacrificing the scale outline. With mechanics installed, expect a finished length of about 54 inches, a height near 10–11 inches, a width of 16.5 inches, and a finished weight of roughly 12–13 pounds.
The optional retractable landing gear (item CN2036RTB) was used to enhance the realistic appearance and allow world-class-looking landings. The retracts cost approximately $80 and require a separate servo for each strut plus an extra servo on the nose for ground steering.
The X-Cell brand of helicopters represents a solid combination of innovation and engineering. The Ion-X (item 1024) is a high-performance, electric-powered helicopter based on the popular Fury mechanics. New design features include an open tail-rotor gearbox and the option for either a single- or two-stage gear-reduction system. Available gear ratios range from about 5.43:1 to 9.5:1.
The mechanics are designed to use low-rpm outrunner motors or high-revving conventional motors with motor shafts that extend at least 55 mm outside the motor case. My familiarity with these products and positive experiences guided me to choose the Ion for this project.
At a recent air show I installed my Air Speed Indicator (see www.rcaviation.com/fiorenze/ for details and pricing) in the Bell 222 and did three upwind and three downwind speed runs. The best average speed was 89 mph — not bad for a helicopter!
— Bob Fiorenze [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
