3D printed G-scale helipad with Arduino

My recently completed Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter was meant for the garden layout display right from the start. As I was thinking about a good area to place it, I came up with an idea of building a real helipad just for that purpose. But can you buy a G-scale heliport model? You probably can't. But you can always build or... 3D print one!

The shape of a helipad is not really that complex. It's just a round stand after all. The design of a 3D model didn't take long to complete and very soon I was printing the main part.

I wanted to make my helipad somehow special. And I also wanted to finally try the Arduino boards I had lying around for quite some time. Flashing positional lights is what I came up with. I quickly wired the Arduino with six blue LEDs and made them blink.

The connections are very easy. I simply used one output port of the board per each single LED. This way I do not need any power relays and the entire setup consists of only:

• Arduino Nano
• Six blue LEDs
• Six 1kOhm resistors
• 8V power supply

The program to manage the LEDs is not complex either. Actually it's so short that I can easily share it here. This is the complete Arduino code:

int LED_1_1 = 2;
int LED_1_2 = 3;
int LED_1_3 = 4;
int LED_2_1 = 5;
int LED_2_2 = 6;
int LED_2_3 = 7;

void setup() {
  pinMode(LED_1_1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_1_2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_1_3, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_2_1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_2_2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(LED_2_3, OUTPUT);
 
  digitalWrite(LED_1_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_3, LOW); 
}

void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_1_1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_2, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_3, HIGH);
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_3, LOW);
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_2, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_3, HIGH);
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_1_3, LOW);
  delay(300);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_2, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_3, HIGH); 
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_3, LOW);
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_2, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_3, HIGH); 
  delay(150);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(LED_2_3, LOW);
  delay(300);
}

I have installed the LEDs on the top of the helipad base. With small holes in the surface created with a hot needle I pushed the pins through.

The Arduino board and the wiring are hidden inside. I only hope this setup can survive outdoor conditions...

I have also 3D printed a bottom part which will seal the model and provide some level of weather resistance.

There are two extra elements I have printed in 3D:

• a white, flat H letter
• six transparent caps to protect the LEDs

Those were just glued to the base with a regular plastic cement.

Once powered up, it is blinking indeed!

And then I thought - what if it breaks? And I quickly realized I needed a way to easily remove and install again the helipad on my layout. That's when I recalled I had an empty filament spool lying around.

The solution: my helipad will be attached non-permanently to a permanent base.

I have 3D printed a plastic anchor and glued it to the bottom of the helipad. The anchor fits the hole in the spool perfectly. I can now just stick the helipad into the base and it holds well enough. No glue needed, and it can be easily lifted whenever I need.

OK, but if the helipad is elevated - how do the people enter the helicopter? They obviously need some stairs. And so I 3D printed those, too. Actually they came up so nice, I have decided to share them online: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2909311

The helipad is installed. It does not look bad at all. The lights blink at night. The only thing still missing is the helicopter...

I need to find a way to attach my Huey securely to the pad without making any permanent modifications to the model and I'm all set!