Kamov Ka-50 Build
My Journey: From Kits to Kamov’s
The Building Bug
I’ve been fascinated by aviation, and helicopters in particular, since I was a kid. Like many of us, it started with the classic Airfix and Revell kits. However, the real building bug was fed by years of LEGO—I spent countless hours building and experimenting, which sparked that drive to create things from scratch long before I ever touched a CAD program.
Entering the RC World
I jumped into the RC hobby about 12 years ago, right when RTF foamies and LiPo batteries were becoming accessible. After a while, I graduated to ARTF kits and "pod-and-boom" helis. I’ve always preferred scale and sport flying, but for a long time, the lack of a proper workshop and heavy tools kept me from diving into serious scale builds.
The 3D Printing Evolution
That changed dramatically when consumer 3D printers hit the scene. I started out with an Anycubic Photon and a Mega One before moving to a Prusa MK3S. As I got deeper into the "maker" side of things, I took the plunge into the Voron ecosystem, building my own high-performance machines from the ground up. Today, my workshop has shifted toward high-end reliability and automation; I’ve moved to BambuLab for FDM work and HeyGears for resin, which provides a level of precision that’s a world away from where I started.
The Jump into CAD
My design journey followed a similar path of "leveling up." I started by designing small scale parts in Fusion 360, but quickly moved on to more ambitious projects like cockpits, weapons, and fuselage segments. Eventually, I decided to jump into the deep end and began designing entire fuselages. To handle that level of complexity, I moved away from Fusion and transitioned to SolidWorks for Makers, which is now my primary tool for full-scale scratch building.
A Bit About Me
In the middle of all this, I finally bit the bullet and earned my PPL(H) license on the Schweizer 300.
Outside of the hobby, I’m a senior software engineer at an investment bank, building high-throughput distributed systems for financial simulations. To keep things balanced, I spend my time hiking, skiing, and doing competitive dance.
The Current Project: The Kamov
The Kamov is my first true scratch-build and my second detailed scale project. I’m throwing every modern technique I know at this one:
Pure CAD: Every single component is designed in SolidWorks.
Technical Materials: The fuselage is printed in Glass-fibre-enhanced ABS — it’s light, tough, and heat-resistant.
Scale Details: I’m using flexible resins for the fine details and 3D-printed Aluminium for the undercarriage. This allowed me to get the complex scale shapes right without the limitations of a CNC machine.
Custom Code: I designed the electronics and software for the landing gear, lights, and sound FX from scratch. I even used Agentic AI tools to help streamline the microcontroller firmware.
More information coming soon!