Sikorsky R-4 Helicopter
Built by Les Chatfield in January 2014
The Sikorsky R-4 helicopter first flew around about 1948. It was the world’s first production helicopter and flew with the RAF as the Hoverfly 1.
My model has fully working flying controls through a spring-loaded swashplate giving both collective and cyclic pitch and the tail rotor also works as well.
The cabin has fully operating dual controls, and the whole is powered by a very small, very high-tech motor of Chinese origin.
The wheels come from the Meccano Motorcycle Kit, and possibly the most difficult part of the entire build was getting the castered rear tail wheel to work!
The helicopter is only recently finished, the underside is still yet to be plated, and hopefully the complete model will be appearing at the 2014 Brighton Modelworld.