The MIA MD500E - Blade 120SR Kit and Installation is very similar to the MIA MD500E for the Blade mSR. We have included photos of the mSR install along with illustrations for the 120SR for additional reference.

Note the slots are perforated with an overlap to allow better grip on to the struts.

Do not completely make the slots smooth, this is reason why we don't CNC machine the slots

clean, in the first place.

 

Note: The O-rings attachment of the skids to the struts provide, not only a fastener that allows easy install and  removal of skids, but also a natural grip for slippery floors. No worry about landing sideways on the skids as the way this is shown and done still provides positive landing support. Look carefully to make sure that the skids rest parallel with the strut "t" end strut support when fastening them with the O-rings.

Very similar to the mSR, but the boom for the 120SR is done in 2 sections, part of the fuselage with an additional section, separate,  to ease installation

The Fuselage

wraps from the front around the 120SR, very similar as for the mSR, the rear of the fuselage under belly can be held with invisible Scotch brand tape.

The MIA 500E molded tail section for the Blade mSR is very similar, also, but for the 120SR it is made from G10 thin, but firm, fiberglass plate, this needs to be assembled with CA glue, all the parts are tongue and groove.

 The vertical fin is press fit over the tail motor cage. You will need to disconnect the tail motor and pass the connector wires through the vertical fin then reconnect around it, when the fin is in place.

Battery Installation and CG Adjustment

Sale bodies, in general, regardless of make or manufacturer, depending on
the particular shape, will require repositioning of the CG (Center of Gravity) .
This is simply done by relocating the battery forward or rearward on the
belly of the helicopter so that the helicopter balances directly beneath the rotor head center (Ideally but is not critical).

The battery simply rests in it original 120SR battery cage. In order to get the proper Center of Gravity (CG) with the full scale fuselage, it is required that the battery be installed from the front of battery cage. A 25 Cent USA coin or similar weight, may be required at the nose to balance the helicopter CG directly under the rotor mast. This also makes the 120SR fly more in scale.
 

Various CG Balancing options can be incorporated:

a) Use an additional 25 cent US coin taped to the base of the cabin to provide the extra leverage
to balance the helicopter directly below the rotor head.

When we think of adding weight, it is natural to think that the heli may not be flyable or that flight times will suffer. Frankly, there is a tradeoff in doing scale or custom setups, but on the Blade 120 SR, this is not as critical as it is on the smaller helicopters, this is partially because the motor on the 120 can handle the extra punch of a larger capacity and heavier single Lipol. In fact some people in RC Groups' threads are flying the Blade 120SRs with option b), so the extra weight of the 2 cells is not a problem.

b) An option to using a 25 cent coin as balancing ballast, is to use (2) 500mah E-Flite batteries in PARALLEL to double the current, while maintaining same operating voltage of 3.7 volts (not in series, caution! as this doubles the voltage and this is not what you want!). When placing two batteries in parallel, make sure they are of the same brand and capacity ( do not mix brands or different capacities), this provides greater power punch to the helicopter but also allows for a more balanced helicopter as mentioned above. When doing this setup you will need to use a small "Y" cable and place one of the batteries as far as possible near the front of the fuselage. Double sided tape works.

c) Another Option. Instead of using 2 batteries in parallel, a larger capacity battery, say 800mah or 1000, single cell 3.7V can be used. However we have not found one of the dimensions to fit the stock battery cage, we can offer it, so we are leaving this option up to the user to decide.

Caution! when working with Li-Pol batteries,  be sure to read all instructions from the product OEM, and when making custom connections, make sure you know what you are doing.  If in doubt please seek qualified personnel to assist you. 

 

Blade 120 SR with the MIA Photon skids

 

When using the MIA MD500E body on the Blade 120 SR with the MIA Photon skids, this adds already the required balancing weight at the nose, hence the lights and battery for them are all self-contained at the tips of the skids and the skids shifted forward to balance the helicopter with the stock battery placed all the way at the nose of the cabin.

Note that none of the above nor all my videos of the Blade 120SR retrofitted with a MIA MD500E scale body, is done with additional "bling", aftermarket aluminum parts like rotor heads, frames, swashplate, or even BL motors. USE ONLY WITH STOCK parts, however if you do have a BL motor setup, even better!.

 

Misconceptions when people do not have the right information

This may seem a bit of a long explanation, but I wanted to cover all the basis so there is no misconception.

 

One of the things that is misleading is when people in forums start to talk without having the correct information or understanding how things work. Some talk without even having the product at hand or seen it in real life.
 

Flight Characteristics Pod and Boom vs. Full Scale Body

One cannot expect the same flight characteristics, when going from a light pod and boom setup, as the stock product, to a custom full scale body. The scale bodies are supposed to make the helicopter fly more in scale. What does this mean? is that the helicopter will fly a little
heavier, obviously due to the full fuselage instead of a simple pod and boom, and by
this, the helicopter may fly a little bit slower (in scale).

 

Most people who are die hard on scale, will sacrifice a bit of pod and boom performance with
more in scale performance when they put a scale body on their helis. It is an acceptable trade-off.

Please watch my videos carefully and see if this is what you are expecting from your 120SR.

The last thing we would want is our customers to buy something on the misconception that it will do something we do not claim it will do.

All my videos are true to the descriptions that accompany them and what I am saying here.

Granted I don't spend, near, the time I use to, in tweaking the model setups, due to busy work schedules, I think my videos give a good idea of what can be reasonably expected if you follow

a similar setup.

Having said all, this, let me add that it is also very irritating, when people generalize by saying that helicopter bodies have air friction that affect them. Depends on the body design, shape. Consider this, the shape of the MD500E, in particular, is actually like and egg, very smooth from the sides, top and bottom, and so with the understanding of how airfoils work, one can see that the body has very little friction from all sides as compared to more square bodies like a Bell Huey. Now stabilizing control surfaces, in general, provide some friction, technical term is "drag", but it is not as critical as some make it sound.

 

Once again, Scale helicopters are not done to fly them like pod and boom hot rod helis. Logically with an open mind and a bit of understanding of flight dynamics, one can form and educated opinion.

I wrote this to answer a customer's enquiry and reference that some people were making, in disfavor of scale bodies, in an RC forum,  but also to keep it on our site, for other readers and customers to consider the pros and cons with any setup.
 

Flying with the Scale Fuselage

We recommend you start off with the transmitter set to " low rates" and or the swashplate up links set to the inner arms. This provides the smoothest and more in scale control, You can adjust these to your comfort and skill level afterwards.

Do not make abrupt stick control inputs so that the flybar on the 120SR is maintained level, once again if you want to fly your 120SR as a hot rod do not install a scale body and keep it Pod and boom.

I'll be happy to answer any additional questions via our E-mail. If this has been informative please give me feedback.

Thanks and Happy Flying!
 

MIA