Eurocopter EC155B Dauphin N4

Model Airplane News, Oct 2001 by Bell, Rick

Len Mount of Gravesend, Kent, England, is a very well-known helicopter modeler. He has competed yin many aerobatic contests including the world championships. A few years ago, Len retired from competitive aerobatics and turned his talents toward scale modeling. He produces some of the biggest and best scale helicopter models around. His projects include a 1/6-scale Cobra AH-1S that is more than 7 feet long! Len's other models include a Westland Lynx, a Bell Jet Ranger and an Airwolf.

Most recently, Len built a Eurocopter EC155B Dauphin N4, the newest addition to the Dauphin family of utility helicopters. You might recognize earlier versions of the Dauphin as the search-and-rescue helis used by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Dauphin N4 features a 5-blade spheriflex main rotor head and an enclosed fenestron tail rotor. It's powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 2C1 engines and can cruise at over 140 knots. The Dauphin seats 12 passengers comfortably and has room for their baggage. It has a maximum weight of 10,582 pounds, a maximum useful load of 5,009 pounds and a sling-- load capacity of 3,527 pounds with a takeoff power of 851 shaft horsepower and a maximum range of 449 nautical miles.

Len's stunning model is a faithful reproduction of the full-size helicopter. At 80 inches long, this 1/6-scale heli makes a very large model. The fuselage is constructed entirely of fiberglass and plywood; Len actually made the molds himself. Len designed the fuselage with a removable tail boom to make transporting easier, which means that the tail drive, navigation lights and tail servo wiring all have quick disconnects at the main joint.

The model features 26 doors, panels and hatches that open. All of the latches and hinges are handmade and functional or use magnets to secure them for flight. Of course, the model has retractable landing gear and detailed wheel wells.

The cockpit, too, is a work of art. It's handmade and crammed with all the details of the full-size hell, right down to the carpeting and upholstery on the seats! For his efforts, Len won the Best Cockpit award at this year's Top Gun competition, which included scale helicopters for the first time.

This 18 1/2-pound model also features complete rivet detail, working navigation lights, all outer humps and bumps and a scale 5-blade main rotor head. The fenestron shroud tail rotor is also true to scale.

To finish the model properly, Len used paint direct from Eurocopter-no problems matching colors here! Though the model is handmade, Len, like so many of us, used a computer-graphics program to generate the markings on the heli. The images on the fuselage and vertical fin are particularly interesting-very precise, yet subtle.

Len also detailed the interiors of the various bays and compartments. The nose electronics were exceptionally well done, with various "black boxes," fittings and cables.

To get his helicopter airborne, Len uses an RC230 23cc Zenoah gasoline engine with a Futaba 9Z radio for guidance. The most amazing thing about this helicopter is that Len only started building it in January of this year and had it ready in time for Top Gun-- only 640 hours of building time; quite a remarkable effort! Of all the hells at Top Gun this year, the beautifully built and detailed Eurocopter EC155B was definitely my favorite.

SPECIFICATIONS

Designer: Len Mount

Length: 80 in. (202cm)

Width: 133/4 in. (35cm)

Height: 18 in. (46cm)

Weight: 18 1/2 lb.

Engine: Zenoah RC230 23cc

Radio: Futaba 9Z with Futaba GV1 governor

Gyro: Futaba 301

Building time: 640 hours over 3 months

Comments: the model is a faithful reproduction of the full-size heli. It features retractable landing gear, a detailed cockpit, rivet detail, working navigation lights and fully detailed and functioning doors and compartments. The main and tail rotors are scale and functional. It's finished with factory paint for an exact match and completed with stunning graphics. Len placed second at the 2001 Top Gun scale heli competition and earned the Best Heli Cockpit award.