More pictures will be posted on this page as the two helicopters develop and it goes without saying that we are all looking forward to seeing them both fully completed and flying. You can also follow the progress of these two Chinooks and find out about other's who are also building them by following the link to rchelicopter.nl forum. Richard's Chinook can also been seen on the Vario website by clicking here.

Martin's Chinook Project

Well after months, if not years, of head scratching Martin finally took the plunge and has built his own twin rotor head Chinook helicopter. Martin's machine was built with a limited budget and proves what can be done with some ingenuity. The side frames are built from plywood with aluminium supports holding the engine mounts, bearing blocks and servo trays. The heads and gearboxes are Morley mechanics and the engine is a Just Engines 48 aero engine. The radio system uses two v-tail mixers and two CSM 120 gyros for the rudder and pitch along with a couple of free mixers used in the transmitter. As Martin states the heli is a bit of a handful and for the experienced flier only but he has proved that it is more than capable of circuits and is not just a machine for hovering around the field. The fuselage is under construction at present and is being built the old fashioned way using balsa wood and coveing.
 

Richard's Chinook Project

Richard Addington is also building his own mechanics using aluminium and fitting them into a large scale Vario fuselage. The heli uses a Zenoah 26cc petrol engine with Vario remote electric start and runs with two three bladed Vario rotor heads. The majority of the mechanics are home built including the gearboxes, clutch system, main gear with one way bearing, muffler and undercarriage legs. The radio setup was originally intended to be mechanical mixing but has since been converted to 120° ccpm running through a mixing board. After initial test flights most of the aluminium has now been replaced with carbon fibre and glass fibre composite material. The fuselage is taking shape and is a modified Vario moulding.