42145 - Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter

[nerdsforprez]

DId some research as well, and have to say I am pretty excited for this model.  H175 is a fairly large helicopter, larger than I previously thought....

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Let's speculate on the functions! 

I think this model will have 4 multi-directional switches like the 42113. The first function will be motorized rotors, obviously, and this function can be only switched in one direction. The description mentions two winches, so I think they will be the next two functions.

That leaves one motorized function undetermined. I can think of three things that can be motorized:

- Landing wheels. According to the clips on YouTube, this aircraft can fold its wheels slightly
- Rear ramp. I'm not sure if this function exists in the real aircraft, but it would be unusual if it doesn't.
- Cyclic pitch.

I think the cyclic pitch will be motorized so that this set can be an improvement over the previous aircrafts. The other two functions can be manual.

[Maaboo the Witch]

7 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

- Rear ramp. I'm not sure if this function exists in the real aircraft, but it would be unusual if it doesn't.

The H175 does not have a ramp.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

8 minutes ago, Maaboo35 said:

The H175 does not have a ramp.

Then it can have motorized landing gear or motorized cyclic pitch.

[Kaanere]

6 hours ago, R0Sch said:

According to Promobricks, this set will be an Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter with 2001 pieces costing 200$ with a red and yellow color scheme with manual motorization (probably Control+ dumb battery box), 5 large rotor blades that can be tilted.

Hopefully this means collective and cyclic control to improve on 9396.

The year is looking good!

3 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I think the cyclic pitch will be motorized so that this set can be an improvement over the previous aircrafts. The other two functions can be manual.

Cyclic pitch works on two axis so it can't be motorized with just one function. And I don't feel like it and collective would work as a motorized function since they only have a few degrees of movement and would be hard to control precisely.

Rotors, two whinches and landing gear would be the four functions I'd expect. Sliding door could also be a function if only one whinch is included.

[R0Sch]

Motorized landing gear makes more sense, side door could also open with linear actuators similar to Osprey ramp. There are 2 winches, so at least one of them should be motorized. Also the individual rotor tilting is another function which could be motorized as well if space allows.

[allanp]

Why would you motorise the cyclic or collective functions? Surely they would just be a manual lever? It may only be motorised rotors without any gearbox. Or more likely it will be a four function gearbox with rotors, winch 1m winch 2 and landing gear, with manual sliding door and manual blade pitch controls. I think that would make the most sense. I do hope they managed to pull of both cyclic and collective main rotor controls.

[howitzer]

If the information is correct, this looks like a sure buy for me, unless it's is seriously badly executed. That 5-blade rotor with pitch control is especially exciting. Other than that, I'm expecting the usual helicopter stuff, like retractable landing gear, winch and some sort of door and maybe a ramp.

If there's motorization, I hope for the dumb hub. Remote control would be pretty pointless anyway.

[dhc6twinotter]

I'm a sucker for aviation related sets, so I'm cautiously optimistic about this.  The comment about the tilted blades is interesting.  That could mean one of several things: The entire rotor hub tilts, like some of the older Technic helicopters, all blades change angle together (ie collective), or we get varying blade angles depending on the blades position around the hub (ie cyclic).  Tilting the entire hub isn't realistic, so I would hope we have a combination of cyclic and collective along with a proper working tail rotor that changes blade pitch.  I doubt we will see any of that though. 

Realistically speaking, I think we will see the following:

-Manual collective 
-Manual side door
-Motorized blades
-Motorized landing gear
-Motorized side winch
-Motorized belly winch

Personally, I would've preffered the helicopter be based off something with a working ramp, but it seems that's not the case.  The five blade rotor is fascinating though, so it'll be interesting to see how LEGO pulls that off.

[Nobricksleft]

Sometimes it's a good thing to be proven wrong! It is very interesting that Airbus is sponsoring the set and it makes me wonder if they have other models in mind.

On a side note the very same helicopter is produced under licence by AVIC. It has been alleged that the PLA intends to order a large quantity in the next decade. Good thing that one is called the AC352. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Nobricksleft

[Brickthus]

8 hours ago, Nobricksleft said:

Sometimes it's a good thing to be proven wrong! It is very interesting that Airbus is sponsoring the set and it makes me wonder if they have other models in mind.

If Airbus are sponsoring a set then it's a shame their CityAirbus was only a demonstrator. I ploughed the Osprey frustration into making one.

In the model, a single PF L-Motor powers 4 twin rotors.
It has 2 gear shifters for:
- Take-off and landing, supported by trans-clear beams.
- Forward and backward 'flight' on small wheels at the feet of the trans-clear beams.

232 votes was not bad.  I just wanted to do something to promote good civil aircraft models.

CityAirbus video

Mark

[derekthetree]

So not currently used by the military, but could be in the future?? A lot of these type of model may run into the "Osprey problem"

https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-pushes-new-h175m-for-uk-puma-replacement/#:~:text=The H175M is a new,the coast of the U.K.

[R4ph]

I don't think Lego will make the same mistake twice.

They lost enough moeny & time with the Osprey.

I'm sure they've checked that it's not going to be an issue before starting to work on this project

 

[Maaboo the Witch]

14 minutes ago, derekthetree said:

So not currently used by the military, but could be in the future?? A lot of these type of model may run into the "Osprey problem"

https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-pushes-new-h175m-for-uk-puma-replacement/#:~:text=The H175M is a new,the coast of the U.K.

That's the H175M variant. The set under discussion is based on the H175, which is the civilian version.

[Stuartn]

46 minutes ago, derekthetree said:

So not currently used by the military, but could be in the future?? A lot of these type of model may run into the "Osprey problem"

https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-pushes-new-h175m-for-uk-puma-replacement/#:~:text=The H175M is a new,the coast of the U.K.

It is used by CHC helicopters, who provide military SAR services for the Australian army and RAAF, though not using this helicopter. If the PLA variant emerges, that could be way more problematic than even the solely military Osprey helicopter.

[Kaanere]

As another function/detail, what would you think of fake turboshafts connected to the rotor? If we can have fake piston engines, we can have fake turbines.

[Stuartn]

1 hour ago, Kaanere said:

As another function/detail, what would you think of fake turboshafts connected to the rotor? If we can have fake piston engines, we can have fake turbines.

It would certainly be feasible, and probably quite simple to do.

[dhc6twinotter]

2 hours ago, Kaanere said:

As another function/detail, what would you think of fake turboshafts connected to the rotor? If we can have fake piston engines, we can have fake turbines.

I did that on some MOCs I built when I was a kid.  It's super easy, so I'm sure LEGO could do that if they wanted.  It would be a neat feature.

[Caveton]

So H175 then... Well, not bad at all. Even after all the ranting about military mid-lifts I think it's cool, a proper flying workhorse seen in oilrig and SAR duties. Lets hope we get that flashy yellow livery. It doesn't matter though, I'll buy just because it's a chopper ☺️

[steph77]

First of all, TLG did never released a proper rotor on any helicopter they released.

The main reason for it, i think, is that these fonctions are propely ununderstandable for the not aware peoples. 

This thing is so complex to build and the functionals aspects are so trikky that most of the 'global people' will probably build it without understanding anything at it.

On a side note,

The one and only way to acheive a proper collective and cyclic restitution is to produce new parts.

- New rotor mast

- New swashplate

- New rotor head supports.

Without these parts it will be impossible to assure the toy's safety.

All my own helicopter are based on a simple axle as mast and the rotorhead's fixation may be dangerous if not used proprely.

TLG will never accept this situation, and they are right.

So, reading the iconic 5 blades rotor will be translate int the model, i have some (little) hope that they will invest in new parts.

But more likely, the only comprehensive function will be translated into the model -> simple collective lever has previous model has.

S.

 

[MinusAndy]

What he said^^^
 

A five blade rotor head will hopefully mean a studless way of splitting a circumpherence into five equal segments. This excites me greatly and will likely mean new parts.

I’m also curious to see how they might implement motorised landing gear using a gearbox as the motion will come to a hard stop at the open and retracted positions so it needs a way of disconnecting the drive when this happens. I’ve been struggling with getting this to work reliably in a compact way for over a year now.

[howitzer]

32 minutes ago, MinusAndy said:

I’m also curious to see how they might implement motorised landing gear using a gearbox as the motion will come to a hard stop at the open and retracted positions so it needs a way of disconnecting the drive when this happens. I’ve been struggling with getting this to work reliably in a compact way for over a year now.

Umm, aren't clutches made for that? Either the new linear one or the traditional white 24T gear, depending on how strongly it has to resist before slipping.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

1 hour ago, MinusAndy said:

This excites me greatly and will likely mean new parts.

I'm looking forward to a pentagon (108 degrees) connector. As far as I know there aren't any compact way to build a regular pentagon with Technic parts.

[HydroWorld Outlook]

On 1/21/2022 at 11:10 AM, Ngoc Nguyen said:

This part got me curious the most. Technic aircrafts so far have had 3, 4, or 6 blades only. 5 blades is a new thing. This probably means there will be a new pentagon connector of some sort, as I'm not aware of how a pentagon connection can be achieved with current pieces.

Actually, an adjustable five-bladed rotor can easily be achieved by using the existing No. 5 LEGO Technic Axle Connectors along with some steering links. And its already been done, too. See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb8WcolGNzA

On 1/21/2022 at 1:39 PM, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Then it can have motorized landing gear or motorized cyclic pitch.

That would be cool, but that could require a remote control system, which LEGO Powered UP currently does not provide outside of the Control+ System.

Edited January 25, 2022 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Ngoc Nguyen]

10 minutes ago, HydroWorld Outlook said:

Actually, an adjustable five-bladed rotor can easily be achieved by using the existing No. 5 LEGO Technic Axle Connectors along with some steering links. And its already been done, too. See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb8WcolGNzA

The connections in the video should bend the axles between them right? That should make them illegal techniques.