Art-Tech MD500 Crash and Rebuild

To most seasoned RC flyers this will be no big deal, but for me it is the first time I tried anything like this.

It started when I was too eager to fly my Art-Tech MD500 outdoors and make my first little movie with an attached camera. When I got to the field it was far too windy, but being inexperienced I thought I would go ahead and try it anyways. Obviously a bad idea as you can see in the video below, the wind immediately took control away from me and pretty soon flipped the MD500 over, causing it to thump into the ground and smash it to bits. Further more part of the PCB (circuit board) melted from the strain of trying to turn the remaining rotors that were stuck in the grass and cause the lower rotor to be permanently switched on full speed as soon as you attached the battery.

This is my Art-Tech MD500 before the crash:

And this was the remains of my Art-Tech MD500 back at home when I'm preparing to fix it:

Usually, or in the past, me being me, I would have thrown it in the bin and bought a new one. I do like this heli a lot, the shape and the way it flies, and it was totally my fault that it was destroyed... however, instead of buying a new one I decided I would order spare parts online and set it aside for a while then have a go at rebuilding it.

I ordered new blades, a new body and a new PCB, which was all I needed. Just to be quirky I ordered the army-coloured so it would look a bit different, yet retaining the white skids.

Anyway I started by replacing the PCB, which was a bit of a worry because I wasn't 100% sure it was this causing the full speed, always on motor - but I need not have worried because it was, after a bit of fiddling with getting the wires the right way around everything worked as it should. All that was left was to fit the new body and attach new blades, which I did and was very pleased to see one of my favourite helicopters flying again. This is such a great feeling of achievment for me, getting it to work again and saving loads of money at the same time.

Here is how she looks now, with army body and quirky white skids (the old PCB lies on the table under the tail):