Pixel 2000

more and more modelers are challenging me with their own micro helicopter developments. I simply wanted to stay ahead. 48 grams or 1.7 ounces with the 5 cell battery on board.

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Pixels keep on shrinking. This one has a 30 cm rotor, one DC5 motor and no gyro. Without the gyro, I must admit that you have to be good at the thumbs to correct the tail. But the gyro alone is 'worth' 3 grams. I have continued my research on a light mechanical gyro, but have not had any significant success. I continue to believe that I can make one for about 1 gram extra .  One of the biggest problems is that friction starts playing a very big role at these small sizes.

Servo's are the eternal WES  'Classics': 2.4 gram a piece.   Receiver is a spectacular new 1.5 gram device called SHR-RX72. See below for further details.

If you want to start building your own Pixel, I would recommend not to start at this size. It does not make life easier. I feel that the next step in shrinking down will need the injection of a new concept. I however have no clue yet what it could be...
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You may recognize the scene from the Pixel IV pages.  This is actually taken in my garden. The blossoming waterflower indicates that Pixel 2000 came about one year after Pixel IV smalltransp.gif (70 bytes) Pixel 2000 can have different clothes on. This one is the Hughes 300 dressing. Canopy was vacuum formed from .5 mm ABS. I have never been more intimate with the vacuum cleaner than the last couple of months.
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The little creature is really having fun. Some people asked me  how I made this picture up. The answer is that I didn't. It took me 100 shots or so to get the chicken and the Pixel 2000 together. I used PhotoShop to take away some 'dirt' that was showing on the surface. The 'dirt' was of the kind you could expect from a chicken. Sugar and milk give another perspective to the size of the Pixel.This may be very personal, but I continue to prefer the simple shapes of a (non scale) Pixel 2000.

I am working since a year on a scale Huey Cobra fuse, still need some extra time (and ambition) to finish that.
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This spectacular piece of hardware is the fully proportional 5 channel FM receiver I purchased from Sky Hooks and Rigging from Canada. It is the SRH-RX72. Weight is 1.5 gram after I replaced the standard antenna with a carbon rod. When I ordered from SHR, I thought two things. First that it was one of these mysterious internet products that never  seem to ship. Second that, if it shipped, it would show not to be a professional product. I was wrong twice!
shr2.jpg (14531 bytes) I got it only a couple of days after my order, and it looks very well made.

The one on the left has still the original antenna on. This version is about 2 grams. You can have it with connectors on.