Hi Everyone,

Some may remember me from my thousands of posts about helicopter fun on the other forum, especially my recent
Mini-500 build. I hope to be able to adopt this forum as my outlet for my enthusiasm.

My first post is going to just pick up where I left off with my first 25 hour/condition inspection. I have been flying the crap out of it when I fly but it has taken 1.5 years to get past 25 hours, mainly because I am a 270 pound pig and live in a confined area.

I removed my exhaust to send it out for Jett-Hot so I took some internal pics to verify my use of 155 Main Jets and 2.78 Needle Jets have been correct. My Rotax 582 Bluehead has not given a SINGLE issue and based on the tan color in here...IT`S HAPPY.

Bryan...Stan here. That has got to be the most meticulous built Mini 500 ...

Glad you achieved your goal. I no longer fly, but am enjoying life in a new direction. I enjoy watching others experience what I had fun doing.

Take care.

Welcome aboard Bryan.
That is one sharp looking MINI!!!!!
Very nicely upgraded to flight status.
It looks like you have put a lot of work into that beauty.
How many hours do you have on it?

Thanks for the kind words. This was a new-in-the crate kit I bought in 2013.
I got my Airworthiness inspection in May of 16.

I haven`t been able to fly it as much as I expected because my MRGB pinion bearing setup
I came up with hasn`t worked well. The shaft journals are 0.0006" (6 tenths) less than the
bearing bores. The inner races spin at 20-30 RPM on the shaft and set off the chip warning.

Form May 16 to now I have only put 25-30 hours on it. Two short cross-countries of about
30 miles. I`ve been consulting with a subject matter expert at the company who made the
gears. He gave me guidance on the steps to safely add 0.001" to the journal diameters so
maybe that will fix the spinning.

Good to hear from ya Stan. Glad you are enjoying your current hobby!

I overshot my goal by a few thousand bucks because I wanted Aerospace Quality gears and Rick Hawkinberry
took my money. My BeLite fuel gauge was $300 unexpected. Jett-Hot was not planned. I`m at $15,000.

Nice flying!
It sounds really good.
Doesn't seem like it is having any problem hauling your 270 lbs.
That 582 is sure a good running engine if it's set up properly.
Do you use pre-mixed or running the oil injector?

Thanks!
GETTING OUT is the problem! I am at wide open throttle hovering with 4 gallons when it`s in the high 80`s outside. I have to go straight to the airport and fuel up.

I use the OEM setup on the 582 except jetting and exhaust. My exhaust is the Fetters` PEP pipe that was created supposedly to be most suited to helicopter torque demands. I use the CPS oil that is a syn/min blend supposedly well suited for 582`s. I use the OEM injection system but calculate my resulting ratio after EVERY FLIGHT. I have 4 EGT probes. Two of them feed the EIS and the EIS warn light starts blinking at 1190. The other two feed my main, IN YOUR FACE EGT gauge --a dual digital 2.5" round one in the center of my panel-- It`s a non aviation top-fuel Drag Racing one that is VERY accurate. The numbers change color Green/Yellow/Red at set points you program. At absolute max of 1200, A warning LED blinks on its face. I have dual CHT`s a BeLite "weight measuring" programmable fuel gauge that does the color-changing thing too.

For a helicopter, jetting is totally different than fixed wing or gyro. My 582 runs at about 6300 Revs if you are hovering, doing a max power climb, or a steep approach. The pistons scrape the cylinder walls the same number of times per minute, whether high power is putting in plenty of oil or if a low power descent is supplying less oil. That`s why you can see in my very first picture, I have slobbering-rich needle jets installed and fairly lean main jets installed.

Yes I don't think the average non chopper guys truly understand the abuse we put our engines through just for a simple hovering in hot and humid climate and slightly heavy pilots
I have always been around 240-250 depending how big of a breakfast I ate.....
I always thought the 269 was a superior little machine with its 1000 lbs lifting power.
Two big guys and 30 gallons on board we were still doing max performance takeoffs one after another in the hot Florida weather.
Some of my students repeatedly pulled the snot out of the engine maxing the manifold gauge out
Nice ship Bryan!!!

The other forum became a nuisance and Dennis Fetters just quit coming by and now ...so have I.

.

Thanks for sharing Brian .... I love your attention to detail

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Just watched the videos ..... BRAVO !!!!! .... smooth or what !!!!! ..... that has to be theeee best mini 500 of all time.

Well..... we are happy to have you here.
I did like very much the "Army" Brantly you have restored.
That was a piece of art!!!!
Also you don't have to worry about being a conservative on this forum.

Thanks for makin me feel welcome guys, and thanks for the kind words...you too Arnie.

I got some polish and got the buffer ahold of it! Looks a lot better!

The blades are painted like Robinson`s

Commemorating 50 years of 500`s

Here I am rigging the rotor head

My used 125 hr 582 came off a Rans that was still flying every week. I wound up with $1900 in it and the EIS after selling the prop, RK-400 clutch, muffler, and gearbox.

Prepping it for helicopter use.

Hey Bryan!
Glad you finally made it to the right site!
I saw your polishing job and have a few comments,
1. you should be a plastic surgeon polishing women's titties!
2. I think you want too far, you polished the tail rotor right off the thing! Please reinstall it before next flight?

If I recall correctly, you will be happy to note that VB doesn't post here!

LOL Bahaa!