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Any particular engineering reason the hole spacing for the ballast weight mount to the weldment in the tailboom have different edge clearances?

I'm building an A600 from parts gathered hither and yonder.   Most Brand new parts, some previously installed but none ever completed.  This is the case with this mount.   It was previously drilled and the hole placement by the previous person was 5/16 on both edges.   The drawing show a different edge clearance on the forward hole?     I'm thinking a 16th of an inch in this application is not critical as it still falls within normal edge clearance limits.

Good afternoon everyone, 

I've attempted for a few weeks now to get in contact with the owner of the Rotorway Owner's Group forum (ROG) via email and private message without any success. While it'd be great if we could upload the archives here for a larger source of information available to all users (and the public), it seems unlikely. If anyone is able to get in contact with Ron to see if he'd be willing to let us migrate the archives onto this forum, that'd be great!

We have had a T/R belt failure just after coming in to land in the hover 2 up confined area, total destruction of the RW.
Just wondering if the Vee belt could be upgraded as there has been a lot of improvements in belt technology.
this came up in a google search as maybe a better belt for our application.optibelt SUPER XE-POWER PROHigh performance wedge belts - raw edge, moulded cogged

I have a long standing intermittent but consistently occurring issue with my MGL RPM-2 engine tachometer display.  Using the dual arc setup once I reach operating RPM, the engine RPM intermittently drops off and then recovers.

I run a Fuel Tech computer on a Joe Huff turbo.  Engine RPM on the Fuel Tech display is steady.  Rotor RPM display is steady. 

I have done all the standard troubleshooting including purchasing a new unit, adjusting the sensitivity, swapping the display sides, changing the increments, etc.  On some flights it only occurs once, and on other flights it is consistent.  I have yet to have a flight where it did not occur.

I am to the point now where I think I am going to have to chase the signal wire all the way back to the origination which will require removing about every cowl and wire bundle.  That will have to wait until next annual.  

In the meantime, do any of you MGL experts have any ideas I might try?

I'm ready to install the Ballast Weight Weldment on my A600 kit.  Seems pretty straightforward, however I'd like some perspective and suggestions on a concern I have.    The weldment fits well longitudinally, doesn't look like I will need any shims where it bolts to the Tailboom bulkheads.   However, the attachment plate sits over 3/16 inches above the tail boom skin.   That's a stack of several pieces of aluminum for a pretty dang thick shim.    Looking at why it sits so high,  I see, and these pictures show, the weldment bracket at the forward bulkhead is interfered with by rivets.    The unusual thing, is of all the rivets on that bulkhead, only these two protrude that high (mandrel head).   These two rivets are at the point where the small panel on the bottom of the tail boom overlaps the primary skin and the stringer, so there are four layers being held by those two rivets.   The panel skin the primary skin, the stringer, and the bulkhead.   

I'm not a sheetmetal expert, not professionally trained on sheetmetal work.   Cherrylock,  CherryMax, all exceed my level of training.  I'm pretty good with traditional aluminum solid shank rivets and Rotorway level pop rivets.   I'm looking for thoughts.
Seems like I can mount it as it sits, and stack about 7/32" of aluminum shims between the mounting plate and the tailboom skin, possibly remove some material from the weldment bracket to give clearance/space for the rivet mandrel, or ?

Hopefully these pictures will illustrate the question.   The tube portion of the weldment is resting on the rivet mandrel.


  
 

Update 05/17/2026: I've been informed that James no longer works for the company that acquired RotorX's assets and will no longer be selling any parts. If this is an error, please send me a message. Otherwise, this thread is closed until further notice and it's recommended that you do not contact him for rotorway-related matters.

 

While digging through my old pile of notes i made when researching a potential rotorway kit purchase I came across this.    I don't know where I saw it, or who wrote it.
I'm going to quote what I wrote down, and I'm specifically asking what your thought are on nutplates across the the top and bottom of the windscreen.

"Now ,I’m all in favor of items to improve safety or maintenance. You should build the machine like you were going to take it apart next week. Anything attached to the seats should be very easy to remove or disconnect. Seats should be very easy to remove from the rest of the body panels to make easy access to the front of the engine and the lower main shaft area. This means nutplates across the top of the windscreen and I also put them on the bottom of the windscreen , too. bolts can be used on the door posts, they can come out with the windscreen. Hardly ever any need to separate them again.
Also , make holes in seats big enough so belts can go thru them without removing frame attachments."

Good Day Rotorway Community-  I'm happy to be on this forum and hope it grows.  Retired a few years ago from a 42 year career flying helicopters in the Army and then Civil EMS.   I'm a long time looker of Rotorways since the scorpion days, but never really had the stars to line up until -  Unfortunately for me and many many others, RotorX resurrected kit sales.   I hemmed and hawed and swallowed their hook as their get in early sale ended.  Lost my shirt like many others.   After licking my wounds for a couple years, cashed out my kids inheritance and bought an engine from Joe Huff and found enough A600 parts on the open market to complete my project.

I no longer have a facebook account and know that many others in this community also refrain from using large commercial social media apps, so if you are on any of the rotorway facebook groups and see something interesting, I hope you will copy into this forum for those of us not on that platform.

This forum will be my platform for tapping into the knowledge base of current Rotorway owners/operators/maintainers for guidance and assistance as I get back on my RotorX Frankenkit project as I refer to is as.

Please feel free to comment on my progress or lack of it on my thread in the Rotorway Builders section.