How to Design a Micro Helicopter

Making the Main Body

• 1

  Cut a 98 mm by 12 mm rectangle out of a piece of circuit board with a rotary cutting tool. Drill a hole 10 mm above the center of the circuit board for the 5.4 mm by 6.8 mm main shaft tube.

• 2

  Insert two 3 mm by 6 mm bearings at both ends of the tube. Secure the bottom of the tube to the circuit board with epoxy.

• 3

  Attach the gear set for the motor to the bottom of the main body. Secure the motor to the main body with epoxy.

• 4

  Drill two 2 mm holes at each end of the main body. Insert carbon rods through the holes and secure them with epoxy. Attach the landing skids onto the ends of the rods and secure them with epoxy.

Making the Swashplate and Assembling the Rotor Head

• 5

  Cut the rod end set into a round shape with a pair of tin snips. Insert the rod end into the plastic spacer. Secure the rod end with epoxy.

• 6

  Insert the aluminum ball into the rod end. Make sure the ball moves freely within the rod end. Attach the assembly onto the ball bearing, and then place the aluminum ring over the bearing. Secure these pieces with epoxy.

• 7

  Drill two holes in the plastic spacer. These holes will hold the screws that hold the ball linkage. Mount the swashplate over the main shaft and secure it with epoxy.

• 8

  Cut two 12 mm by 3 mm pieces of circuit board with a rotary cutting tool. Drill a hole at the top middle of each piece for the flybar. Attach two 3 mm pieces of circuit board in between the two pieces on each end and secure them with epoxy.

• 9

  Insert a 1.6 mm bar through the 3 mm collar. Attach two 2 mm pieces of circuit board to the bar. Mount the bar and the collar inside of the middle of the rotor head assembly and secure the pieces with epoxy.

• 10

  Secure all of the pieces by inserting 1 mm by 4 mm screws through the bottom of the rotor head. Mount the collar on the rotor head over the main shaft. Insert the flybar through the holes at the top of the rotor head.

• 11

  Attach the rotor blades to both ends of the rotor head with screws. Tighten the screws carefully with a Phillips screwdriver.

Installing the Control System, Tail Rotor and Servos

• 12

  Create the control linkage by inserting the ball links inside of the rod ends. Insert each end onto the 3 mm metal rod. Secure the linkage with epoxy.

• 13

  Insert another rod through the top ball link. Place the rod on top of the flybar and solder it into place. Attach the bottom ball link onto the screw on the plastic spacer.

• 14

  Create an ̶0;H̶1;-shaped anti-rotation plate from circuit board material. Insert a small pin through the short portion of the ̶0;H.̶1; Position the plate in between the swashplate and rotor head, and then secure the piece with epoxy. Connect a rod end to the other screw on the plastic spacer via the ball link, and then epoxy the end of the rod end to the pin on the plate.

• 15

  Attach the tail boom to the main body using epoxy. Attach the two tail rotor blades to the back of the gear set with epoxy.

• 16

  Attach the shaft to the gear set and lower the motor and shaft-holding tube over the shaft. Connect the motor to the tail rotor with epoxy.

• 17

  Mount the aileron servo, elevator servo and remote-control receiver onto the main body of the helicopter. Connect the servos to the receiver. Mount a rechargeable battery onto the main body and wire it to the servos and motors.