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East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/26/2004 9:12 PM   
BuzzBomber



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From: Newton, NJ, USA
Status: offline 		Hey guys,

I've been looking for a while to expand into rotorcraft, but due to a pending wedding and home purchase, have been unable to commit funds to that purpose. If all goes smoothly, I will be able to afford to make the necessary purchases in small chunks over the next few months. I've more or less got everything narrowed down now, thanks to research on this site, runryder, and local flyers. I'm still undecided which ship to start with though. So far, I've got it narrowed to Hawk sport, Sceadu Evo 30, or Raptor 30. I'd like the Hawk for cost considerations, but I was warned by a local flyer to avoid Century. He cited poor quality parts, difficulty tuning for flight, and poor parts availability from Century in CA. However, I *think* he had one of the earliest hawks (pre-hawk sport), and was suspicious of the new hawk due to its price. So, for those of you on the East coast flying Century, tell me your experience. Have you been satisfied with parts quality and availability and with flying performance? Any specific problems or warnings?

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/26/2004 9:33 PM   
DustOffUH1



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Status: offline 		Well, I'm in the central part of the US. I have 2 Century helicopters and am very happy with them. Century delivers quickly. I usually get my stuff within a week, 2 at the very most. I think their sevice is very good as well. The parts are not "cheap". Century simply offers a great heli at a great price (Hawk Sport). As far as parts availability, Century allways has what I need. LHS's around here do not stock ANY types of heli's or parts. There is a hobby shop that sells Raptors, and other heli parts, but they are an hour away from me. So online is they way I go for heli's & heli parts.
Joe

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/26/2004 10:01 PM   
BuzzBomber



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Status: offline 		Sounds like you're in the same boat as me. No real support for helis around here. I've got two shops, each an hour away, with a few odds and ends for raptors, but almost any heli stuff would have to come off the 'net. However, Hirobo's US distributor is only about 30 miles away, so I'm covered if I buy the Sceadu. Others, like Century, I'm still looking into. Thanks for your input.

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/26/2004 11:50 PM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		Anyone who says Century heli's aren't any good, are not high quality or have poor parts availability, flat out don't know what they're talking about! I have a Century Hawk Sport which I bought last July to replace my badly damaged Hawk II. I would recommend it to anyone. Any time I've needed parts it's never been a problem. I also have a Hummingbird micr which I've been very happy with. From what I hear the Raptor or the Sceadu would also be a good choice. The Hawk has the advantage of being about a hundred dollars cheaper which could be put towards a better radio or gyro.

Bottom line, if you go with the Hawk Sport you won't be disappointed!

Regards,

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 9:43 AM   
wnacrsh


 

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Status: offline 		I got a few. And are a very good quality. I tend to prefer the SE versions though. And they fit in a wide variety of fuselages. Now that the Predator is out alot of people will be changing their views on Century. At the price of the sport buy two of them and have lots of spare parts. The only thing that upset me though is I bought a Hummingbird thinking the quality would be somewhat of the other helis they sell, and it was not. The Hummingbirds are pretty cheaply made. But as long as you stay 30 size and up you will be fine.

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 2:53 PM   
ChopperMike


 

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From: Mosinee, WI, USA
Status: offline 		I agree with everything you said up to the comment about the Hummingbird. I have a HB and I don't see that it's any different than any other micro and it's about 10 times more stable than my MS Hornet. The Hornet I have is all but unflyable it's so unstable and unpredictable. Quality wise it's not different than my HB and the manual for the Hornet is a joke.

I would recommend a HB to anyone getting into micro heli's.

Mike

< Message edited by ChopperMike -- 2/27/2004 11:55:12 AM >

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 3:32 PM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		Hmmmmm, we had a falcon SE V.2 (latset falcon) and worked on many hawk's.....I have never flown a hawk but the control system on them is not very nice, the parts on the falcon were quality...but that means nothing, it didn't fly as nice, I had to test it for a magazine that my dad was doing a review on it. If I were you I'd stay away from 30-50 sized century birds if you are looking at 3D...they don't have the best customer service either. My dad used to threaten to take my raptor away if I didn't fly it (of course it was a joke). I would get a seadeu or a raptor, they will take a lot further then a hawk ever will, in the long run you'll end up spending more time, money and effort to get it to fly right than the raptor or seadeu. But if money is an issue go for the hawk, it will teach you hovering, FF and will be good for scale.....but the raptor or seadeu would teach you a lot more. Bottom like is, the only century machine that I have seen do good 3D is the 90 sized pred! I have seen the seadeu and raptor 30's both do good 3D for their size...definately better then a hawk or falcon.

Colin

< Message edited by raptor_dude -- 2/27/2004 7:41:17 PM >


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 4:35 PM   
bdphil



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Status: offline 		I don't have any Century mechanics, but I do have one of their Hughes 500 fuselages. I think it took about a week to get here. The packaging was exceptional, nothing was missing or damaged. The parts all fit really well and it went together in a few days. I've ordered a few other small things from them with no problems either.

Ben

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 6:24 PM   
BuzzBomber



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Status: offline 		Thanks for all the input, the good and the bad. Just as an aside, does anyone know whether the hawk sport mechanics work in any of the scale fuselages other than the schweizer/hughes 300? I ask because at this time, I am more interested in getting into scale than 3D flying ('course, that may change). As fate would have it, my fiance clobbered Bambi with her car last night, so it looks like the heli purchasing will have to wait until we get the repair bill and pay the insurance company deductible. Luckily, she's ok. Sadly, a 50 mph hit was kind to neither doe nor toyota. BTW, choppermike, funny you mention the comparision between the hummingbird and the hornet. My friend Phil has had a hornet for about two years, upgraded to CP, and he's never been happy with it. Another friend bought a hummingbird, which Phil set up for him and was amazed how much better than the hornet it was. Of course I've got ne expereince with either, so I'm just relying on his word.

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 11:27 PM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		If you are looking at scale the hawk would be a good choice since it will fit in the century bodies, but don't get it if you are leaning towards 3D.

Colin


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/27/2004 11:45 PM   
DustOffUH1



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Status: offline 		Scale is the way I'm going too. I bought the Hawk Sport to practice on so I don't screrw up all my hard work Anyway, on this web page Century has 2 links for fuse compatability charts. Just click on the size you need and you'll get a chart showing how each fuse fits what,,, includes raptors etc... Hope this helps.
Joe
http://centuryheli.com/products/fuselages/fuselage.html

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 2:04 AM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		All I can say is any magazine review I read on the Hawk was favorable. The majority of comments in these forums are favorable to the Hawk. And, you're not me so I'm not going to stay away from Century! Where do you get off saying the Hawk doesn't fly well (especially since you've never flown one) or the control system is no good. My Hawk flies better than any of the previous heli's I've had or others I've flown (never flown a Raptor). And it did not require ANY effort to get it there. Also, you must be oblivious to the fact that TT's lack of customer support is well documented in these forums. What's that saying my grandmother used to say, "the kettle calling the pot black" You've got a lot of nerve!

Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about!


Mike

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 2:53 AM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		Chopper Mike,

Even the century factory reps admit to handling problems with the falcon/hawk/shuttle type swashplate control system. This is one reason it has been abandoned in newer designs requiring wide collective range with accurate cyclic control. Some try to mix it out and some make the machine nose heavy to fix it up in forward flight (which hurts backwards). It is a fore/aft pitch coupling noticed mostly during rolls and inverted/upright trim. However if you do not have the flying skills to appreciate what control crosscouple means then it really does not matter in your case. If however you are at the level where interaction causes issue then you might look elsewhere. I suggest you take a look at RR using the search engine to better educate yourself on the issues. I think you'll find that the Raven does not exhibit the same crosscouple properties because it does not use the same control geometry or system and you'll find exceptional and accurate help there. I think before you tell someone that they don't know what they are talking about that you first educate yourself better with the model helicopter in question. The hawk/falcon is a good machine type for starting out and general hacking but it will not take you as far in 3-D....and at that point a fair to good 3-D flyer will find early limitations. The century line will take you further in scale because the raptor accuracy comes at a scale cost, the collective arm interferes with scale bodies. I think before you tell someone that they don't know what they are talking about, I politely ask that you might first educate yourself better with the model helicopters in question. If you look in real world 3-D flying you'll see that certain machines are not used in public. Best 3-D machines use 3 point 120eCCPM or four point 90 conventional mCCPM.


cheers,
stephen

< Message edited by raptor_dude -- 2/27/2004 7:02:11 PM >


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 3:21 AM   
DustOffUH1



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Status: offline 		All I know is. I've never had a bad experience with Century. And I've had a great deal of experience with them. As far as their Helicopters. I have a Hawk Sport, and am working on a Century Bell 222 with Hawk III mechanics. I've been flying the Hawk Sport and am VERY happy with it. I've tested the Hawk III mechanics, all I can say is sweet. Also, if you paid attention to the starter of this thread. He's not interested in 3D. He want's to go scale, so why you brought that up??? Personally I've never flown a Raptor, BUT, what I've read about them, I recommend them for starting out, because I've heard good things about them, along with the Hawk Sport.
Joe

< Message edited by DustOffUH1 -- 2/27/2004 6:22:02 PM >

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 5:28 AM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		Another thing I just noticed, raptor_dude's original post to me said "If I were you I'd stay away from Century". Now (after being edited) says "If I were you I'd stay away from 30-50 sized century birds if you are looking at 3D...". I also notice he took out the "POS" reference to the Falcon's flight performance. Cleaned it up quite a bit, huh? What, did daddy get mad at you for the nasty post?


Mike

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 5:55 AM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		No, I just thought I would be a little more polite for various reasons, I have flown a falcon which has the exact same control system as the hawk. The pred looks like a good 3D machine, but it is a 90, I can't comment because I have never flown one, this is why I edited it to 30-50. The falcon did nice circuits and was very stable, but for 3D it was not good, I never wanted to fly it, but had to help my dad out with an article, the control system had interaction and the tail was very weak. "daddy" had nothing to do with how I changed my post. I for one don't lie about how good my helicopter is like some of you century fellas do....the hawk is not the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it does not have a great control system like you think, the raptor also isn't the best heli out there, I don't think it to be! But it has a better control system the the hawk making it fly a fair bit better. IMO the falcon is a "POS" for 3D, but I realized that that was kind of rude...so I took it out. It would be great for scale or normal FF and loops, but 3D is not where it should be classed, my point being a raptor will take your further.
quote:

My Hawk flies better than any of the previous heli's I've had or others I've flown

Guess you new to the hobby then, maybe only into hovering and FF?....one day you'll be able to really push the machines and see what the difference really is!

Colin

< Message edited by raptor_dude -- 2/27/2004 9:57:08 PM >


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 5:55 AM   
wnacrsh


 

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Status: offline 		This argument can go on and on and on. and on. My advice is to go buy a simulator . Then save your pennies and do some homework to find what heli is best for what you want to do. There is thousands of pages on the web on each and every helicopter. Every heli has the good and the ugly. I had a Raptor, I liked the Century helis myself and sold the Raptor. The Ergo is another heli that I like due to its weight I have 2. Everyone has their preference because every one is different. When Century first came out it was hard to get service from them, but they have came a long way in that department. There is a few stores in eastern PA that might not be to far from you that do sell Century helis. On Century's web site they have a store locator so you can find the one closest to you. Good Luck on your heli search!!!

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 7:05 AM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		You're missing the point. Why didn't you say that in the first place? I don't fly 3D, have no desire to, no desire to be re-building all the time. I wouldn't argue with someone about whether a Hawk is a good 3D machine, although magazine reports say it will do decent 3D. But that's not what you said. You said, flat out, Hawks are no good and to stay away from Century. Then you changed your story. Incidently, my first heli was a GMP Cricket (yuck!) in 1987. I've had a total of 9 birds to date.

Enough said.


Mike

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 8:24 AM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		No actually I didn't......not nice to put words in other peoples mouth, I said the falcon or hawk was not good for 3D, and if you read above you'll notice I said it was good for scale, it would also be good for learning on and doing FF and a few loops, I just said the raptor will take you further which is true, this part of my first post was not edited! Read my posts carefully. "You said, flat out, Hawks are no good " please find that and quote me, because I never said that they are not good for anything!! The only part of any posts I edited was the POS part and the 30-50 for 3D.

Colin


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 4:42 PM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		I'm not putting words in other peoples mouth. Your original post said "If I were you I'd stay away from Century". Now it says "If I were you I'd stay away from 30-50 sized century birds if you are looking at 3D..." In all fairness you did say at the end of the post that the Hawk would teach you hovering, FF and be good for scale. But your first comment was to stay away from them. And you admitted you'd never flown a Hawk. I don't tell people that Raptors are no good. First of all, the only Raptor I've ever heard anything bad about is the 60, but since I haven't flown a Raptor I wouldn't comment on it.

Mike

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 7:17 PM   
raptor_dude


 

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Status: offline 		Do you know what a falcon is? it is a 50 sized hawk, exact same control system, just with a better rotor head. So the hawk and the falcon are very much comparable. I edited my post because I was wrong...I forgot about the pred, if I was going into a 30 or 50 class I wouldm't go near century...but if I were looking for a 90 sized ship, I might look at the pred. So I made a mastake, so what...drop it, I don't think that everyone should never have a century heli, I just said that the 30-50 class wont do very good 3D. But in this case he wants to get into scale, so a century bird would be a good choice.

Colin

< Message edited by raptor_dude -- 2/28/2004 12:07:04 PM >


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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 7:32 PM   
wnacrsh


 

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Status: offline 		Maybe it's just the Canadians???????????

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 8:00 PM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		Whoa! Let's not get into a border war here. Besides, I can't dump on the Canadians too much. I'm part French.

Mike

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 9:11 PM   
wnacrsh


 

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Status: offline 		I knew that would get someones attention. LOL!!!
You guys have been arguing like two kids for the last couple of days. I think you two need to hug and make up!! Helis are supposed to be fun no matter what you fly. Everyone has their preference.

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RE: East Coast User Feedback on Century - 2/28/2004 10:33 PM   
ChopperMike


 

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Status: offline 		You're right. Enough of this. To each his own.

Mike

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