RC David

Well, it''s soon going to be time for a bigger heli and based on what I''ve read I have narrowed my preference to these 2 models.

- Thunder Tiger E550 Raptor
or
- GAUI Hurricane 550

I''m hoping to find opinions from guys that have flown both of these and can give me some opinions on how they fly individually and comparatively to each other. I have read a couple reviews on the Gaui but I''m still looking for more input on:

- How well each one handles for a beginner.
- Ease of build & repair
- Quality of parts, fit and finish
- Cost to repair
- Parts compatability with other heli''s
- Parts availability in the USA
- Any other important info. that could steer me one way or the other.

I understand the Hurricane 550 is not available with BOTH a CF frame AND metal head so I''d probably go with the plastic frame/metal head combination.

I am a new heli pilot and have been flying (mostly hovering) a Thunder Tiger E325 mini-Titan for about 2 months and REALLY LIKE IT!!!. I don''t want to invest in new, expensive 6S packs so I plan on using (2) 3S packs for each flight on this heli.

As a last contender I was looking at the HDX550 from HeliDirect but I think I like the above two better.

Any and all thoughts/opinions are welcome.

THANKS!!!

Dave D.

redvtr1000

David,

Based on reviews I have read (magazine and electronic) of the hdx, I would skip it in light of the other two choices.

I''m surprised nobody has chimed in here with an answer to your question for comparison data.

Personally, I think I am going to snag a hurricane pretty soon.

bigairlife

Ya, i think i'm either getting a hurricane or t-rex 600 in a few months. I'd say from your 2 choices, go for the hurricane...

redbaron9898

My Feedback: (2)

hurricane for sure

Druss

I've never flown the TT 550 but I like my hurricanes and they are hard to beat for the price. Flying-hobby.com offers tons of different choices in terms of packages including ones with both the CF frame and CNC head. They are in Hong Kong though.

Kaelan

yeah.. but from I've seen in other threads on other sites.. he only wants to buy in the USA.. to bad.. he'll miss out on a lot of deals by not buying out of the country.... I can understand wanting to spend the money in country.. but it all ends up going back to china anyways...and you can't beat the prices...

Druss

true enough kaelon, since the importer paid like 10% less than he's paying only that 10% is staying in country. That said he can always upgrade the frame to cf if he crashes the plastic frame.

RC David

Thanks redbaron, Druss, Kaelan.

I actually ended up going with the Thunder Tiger E550 Raptor. The main reasons were design simpicity, local parts availability, and size. All I need to do is swap the tail, belt and blades and I have an E620 Raptor As it stands the E550 is much larger than the Hurry.

I really do like the Hurry though. Maybe next time.

As for ordering out of the country, I'd do it if I had to but would rather not. I had enough problems with a small online hobby shop (Druss knows this one) where I was going to get a Honey Bee King II. The deal went bad (but I got my $900.00 back) and swore I'd never do business with a small shop/guy again.

My E550 is about 50% completed. I'm still waiting on my batteries, charger, and motor which should be here this week.

Dave D.

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

Really? The E550 is bigger than a Hurrican 550?
I'm thinking of gettn the E550..I wanted a Trex 600 but a E550 is more practical for me..I wonder how much smaller a E550 is compared to a Trex 600..I wonder if it's a night and day difference in appearance look.. I love large Helis. I wonder if i can do Mod to make it look like a full size 50 size Heli.

Reggie

RC David

Reggie,

When I first compared the Hurricane to the E550 Raptor I didn't realize there was such a huge size difference. I saw a picture from one of the online hobby stores showing them side-by-side and it's considerable.

The only difference between an E550 Raptor and E620 Raptor (or T-Rex 600) is about 2" in boom/belt length and about 5cm in blade length. Thunder Tiger also sells a "stretch kit" so any time I want to I can make my E550 into an E620 pretty easily.

The reasons I went with the E550 are that it runs ok on 6s packs where as an E620 (or T-Rex 600) would require 8s-10s and, replacing 550 size blades is a little less expensive than 600 size.

My LHS carries most parts for the Raptors too.



Dave D.

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

I do agree with you..I just picked up the E550 2 days ago and i love it..i had the E620 and Sold it on RC groups cause of that DAMM 10s packs.....ha ha.....It just wasnt practical for me...Just sold my Esmart 600 and now my Only Heli is the E550. Blades are like $19 from Heli direct and i can use the Carbon Fiber and spend only like $59...I'm actually using a 5s on my E550 and it Flies Fine..I'm sure a 6s would be much better..The Heli is really no different than the E620...Like u said just a longer boom, Longer Belt, Bigger blades..But the way it is right now is really no noticeable different. In Fact Dave, i put my E550 next to a Trex 600 and it's a little BIGGER,,,that's right,, it isssss a little bigger,,,the Canopy is more meatier and the frame and tail boom is more thicker.. So as it stands a Raptor Electric E550 is basically the same size if not a tab bigger than a Trex 600..Check out my Photo below,,,the way i have it standing,,My E550 is now the same size comparable to a Raptor 60 or 90....well, not quite 90 but sure damm near close....lol


Reggie

Kaelan

I have to ask... but what's the purpose of the pool noodles on the skids?

Druss

probably floats for taking off and landing in water.

Kaelan

not so sure I'd want my heli anywhere near water...

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

lol,,,u guys are funny,,,,no i just have them on their to help me with hard landing..Sort of like Traning gear, but these look a little better...It absorbs the hard landing...It really does help. I'll probably put smaller ones on there and not so bulky looking..Doesnt affect Flight tho...And no i am in no way gonna put my Heli near water either....

I just purchased a set of CF 550mm TT blades....WOW,, what a difference from the woodies..So much better,,,Even for simple Hovering around...

Reggie

Kaelan

ok.. I was hoping it wasn't for water landings....it seems that it would have an effect on flight though..

RC David

Reggie,

I didn't know the E550 was actually BIGGER than a T-Rex 600

For training gear on my mini-Titan I've been using CF rods and super small, lightweight balls. I've been told that I'm past the "training gear stage" now from some experienced pilots. Still, I'd rather leave them on too long than take them off too soon.

The landing gear on my E550 is so large, I'm thinking about flying it without training gear.

For blades, I went with TT woodies (just for the initial flights) and also picked up some MS CF blades (white) to try. Next time I'm going to try SAB 550's or Maverick G4 550 CF's I really want white blades though because they are much easier to see.


Dave D.

ps, I like the noodle landing struts ;-) Just MAKE SURE they are attached well!!!!!!!!!

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

When i bought my E550 used,,i bought it from a guy who owned like 6 Trex 600's...We put them next to each other and the Raptor E550 was Tab Bigger..No much,,if anything, the Same Size...I noticed the Canopy was more Meatier and more bulky than the Trex 600,,,,The frame, the Boom was a little thicker.....It's not a lot different tho but i saw no need for me to get the Raptor E620 cause the E550 was just as big...Boom was an Inch longer,,<THATS IT...So in my opinion they were the same size...If course the more powerful motor and longer blades and Boom is what most people will say which seperates the 30sz from the 50sz

I have the 550mm TT CF blades and it ROCKS..I took my Noodles of to see what it would look like NORMAL!!! ha ha.....lol
and i think i'm going to leave it like this for a while...Now it looks like a normal E550...I'm still using 5s and it still has enough power...I know if i were to switch to 6s i would get more power but the 5s works good enough for me..Head speed is decent,,,Nothing special but it's decent enough to Fly pattern and Mild 3d..
so Below is my photo of my now back to normal Heli..



Hey let me ask u all something..i'm trying to get a constant head spead without having to go dive into my Castle Creations Phoenix 60 speed control..I have the Futaba 6EXHP transmitter and i start off in normal mode..Then right about Mid Stick while i'm still on ground,i switch to Idle up mode....Now i have my constant head speed and now i can lift off,,,,,,,,,,Thing is,, i have my throttle curve in Idle up at 60% which is pretty Low,,,but i can still switch to Idle up without it jerking in air,,,but now i want to bump my Idle up to 90%,,so if i adjusted to 90% and then while in normal mode,,,,still on ground @ Mid stick,,,then i switched to Idle up, will the Heli Jerk in the air? or is that not enough to make it jerk...were talkin a 30% more head speed.
....so any feedback on this?


Reggie


Reggie

Druss

switch to idle up in mid air around 3/4 stick and it won't jerk... does your tx have just the 1 idle up setting?

ea01bg

I was tinking of getting the T-Rex 600 but now that Ive read the posts on the E550 raptor I may go that way. I like the idea that I could go longer later and run the 620 blades.
Damn one more option to consider

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

Get the E550,,,u will like it much better..Flies sooooo smoothie....Like a Float on a Bubblelishish Cloud...ha ha...
Parts are easy to get and yes u can extend the boom and put longer blades and the best part of this heli is that the Cage is soo long you can easy put a 10s or two 5s's...i'm still using a 5s...Head speed is ok for me so i'm not gonna bother with 6s for now..

I only have 1 Idle up on my Futaba Radio...I'm a little afraid to Switch to Idle up while in the air since i'm still a beginner. What i might do is lower my pitch curve at mid stick on the Idle up a little less than my normal pitch @ Idle up,, that way if the head speed jumps high at least when i switch the pitch at mid stick will be maybe 5 to 7% less than my normal pitch....I hope that works..Havent tried it but will tomorrow..

I just finished touching up my Heli and doing my Fine tune...Here's a photo of my Finished product..

Reggie

Kaelan

set mid stick to 0* pitch in normal and idle up.. no pitch change when you flip the switch.. that means no jumping

rhampton

My Feedback: (66)

Are U serious? "0" @ mid stick on both Normal and Idle up? so what happens when i do that and now i'm in Idle up and i start Flying around,,,then the minute i come back down on the throttle at mid stick,,,i have "0" while i'm Flying and that Heli is gonna come down sreaming..
I never heard of that before...I have a 5 point curve system. I have 0-25-50-75-100
so basically what your saying is to set my Mid stick which is 50% @ 0%,,,,,,,i would like to hear your opinion on how that's how that's going to work when i start Flying around...Evenutally i will move the throttle down below Mid stick and u know what's gonna happen right?

I only have 1 Idle up not 2...If i have 2 switches then that would be ok then on my Idle up 2 is where my real Flying will be..



Reggie

Druss

I'm not sure why you're having a problem here. I don't personally put my normal pitch curve at 0 at mid stick but there's nothing wrong with it.

My pitch curves are 30-45-60-80-100 and 0-25-50-75-100 so I switch over to idle up in mid air at around just over mid stick, this is also where i hover.

Kaelan

mine is very similar.. 30-45-50-80-100 for normal and 0-25-50-75-100 for idle 1 and idle 2.. being at 50 I have 0 degrees of pitch in all modes. that's mid stick.. and that is normal settings.. the heli won't fall out of the air at 0 degrees.. and it allows me to switch to idle up with no change in pitch.. no jumping up or down.. the only changes noticed between modes in in my throttle curves..

I think that the OP might be confusing 0 degrees with 0% on a pitch curve..