permison Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I am looking at purchasing a mini 500 kit helicopter. I am hoping to use it to build time and commute to work on a rare occasion. The price is right for something fun to play with. Anyone have any experience with them. How would having Mini500 time look on my resume? Would a hiring company consider it different from R22 or any other small training aircraft? Comments good or bad would be greatly appreciated. Permison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67november Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 It's been mentioned that it does NOT autorotate, so if the stove quits, you're nothing more than a brick hurtling to the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-38 Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 It's been mentioned that it does NOT autorotate, so if the stove quits, you're nothing more than a brick hurtling to the ground.That is good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbit Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Ummmm... You might want to read this. If you're like me - A reader that likes to look at pictures and skim the material, search for the word "fatal". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1badz32 Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 It seems like some of the fatalities are just complete pilot error or lack of maintenance, out of 25 reports on that page 12 incidents people walked away from uninjured, 7 where killed, and 6 were injured. I went to youtube.com to watch some expairimental heli flights, and most of the pilots dont wear helmets.... is this due to erogance or in a crash is a helmet just not enough protection?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apiaguy Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Imagine the R22 as an experimental helicopter in the early days and how people would react to it?... The mini500 suffers from a 2 stroke powerplant among other things.... alot of the accidents were engine failure (multiple times sometimes) The 2 stroke has never had good luck in aviation with mixture issues and carburator problems being a hang-up... I know someone is going to say some kit that uses a 2 stroke that is awesome....(believe me I am a 2 stroke fan) but I don't believe so far it has been a good aviation engine.....That said...The mini500 had growing pains... if lawyers hadn't shut down the production it could have possibly been refined thru the years but too many deaths in the early times stopped that. It WOULD auto.... better than a r22. I wouldn't be caught trying to fly one.... too many issues and no more factory parts...I don't think anyone would dispute it is a helicopter and the hours in one are valid as any other helicopter. I would stay away.. that's why you can find them for under $12k when they sold new for $25k... Better off in an older rotorway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helonorth Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) I think helicopter time is helicopter time. I know someone who works for PHI that had almost all his previous time in a home-built. The Mini 500 is a tough way to do it though, as you may not livethrough the experience. 1badz32,you are in desperate need of spellcheck and please get rid of that goofy picture! Edited December 13, 2007 by helonorth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67november Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I think helicopter time is helicopter time. I know someone who works for PHI that had almost all his previous time in a home-built. The Mini 500 is a tough way to do it though, as you may not livethrough the experience. 1badz32,you are in desperate need of spellcheck and please get rid of that goofy picture! Now, Now ,Now HN, Are you giving a fellow Minnesotan a hard time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 There have been some previous threads on the Mini 500. Yes, the NTSB reports are filled with incidents. It would be interesting to know how many are flying to get some idea of accidents vs. hours. I dont think there are many hours each year put on these ships, thus I imagine a rather high accident rate. There are a couple VR members that have actually flown or owned a M 500, I will leave it to them to comment on the ships abilities..I am not qualified for that one myself ! I can say I have been in winds and updrafts many times in an R22 when I wished I was flying something bigger...I could not imagine trying these trips in something as small as the 500. Goldy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helonorth Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) Sorry for being harsh to the new guy. Goldy, why would less hours flown equate into more accidents?I do not know much about the Mini 500, but I do know they are long out of business and spareswould be a problem. According to Wikipedia (no authority on anything, I know) the Mini 500was plauged with "faulty design, workmanship and materials in critical componets". My formerfixed wing flight instructor had to dive for cover when one crashed in front of him while hewas working the line. The instruction manual said to use a type of sealant on the fuel systemthat dissolved and blocked the fuel filter. Nice. Edited December 13, 2007 by helonorth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1badz32 Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 The mini500 suffers from a 2 stroke powerplant among other things.... alot of the accidents were engine failure (multiple times sometimes) The 2 stroke has never had good luck in aviation with mixture issues and carburator problems being a hang-up... big 2nd!IIRC the ski-doo 583cc was a high performance engine... meaning it probebly has a higher compression ratio than "most" sled engines. Typicly performance engines are much more "unforgiving" meaning they will self destruct easier if oporating conditions are not perfect. If one reads through the NTSB's report, most of the incidents report power failier. I dont believe the 583cc rotax is able to maintain the duty cycle nessecary for heli flight. Im not sure how the M500's creators ever decided on this engine but it seems to be a large short coming of the machine.On the other hand the turbine powered mini looks like it would be a much better option, granted the price goes up x10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optigirl Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Revolution HelicoptersTalon »» Mini~500. I love my homebuilt helicopters i have 3 my self. The Rotorway and the 2 Adams Wilson variants.Adams Wilson AW-95 The Mini 500 is a crazy kit. We had problems with ours and after laying out the parts and running the calculate across everything the math didn't add up. Parts to big, parts to small. So we opted to sale or kit and buy the AW's. So I guess what I'm saying is, be very careful putting this thing together. (or any kit) I didn't get to fly her, But my dad was keen on her ability's. With a few extra weeks he said he could of had her up and going. From what I do understand there is also a company out there called Liberty Technologies, Inc. who do put out there own versions of the Mini~500 then shoe horn in a turbine. At 100,000 ill stick to my AW-95.Liberty's link~~LD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Goldy, why would less hours flown equate into more accidents? What I was trying to get at was there are a lot of accidents considering how many , and how little time these birds seem to be flown. If you were able to tabulate the accident rate per 100,000 hours flown I think it would be horrible. I dont think I have seen a 500 with more than 200 flight hours on it yet.... Thats where I was headed with my comment... Hi Lana !! Goldy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low Level Lover Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I flew one for 260 hrs, the engine was the least of my problems, other than lack of power in the summer, but made me a better pilot I figure because I learned how to manage what power I had. In the winter she was a rocket and a blast to fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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