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All Forums >> RC Helicopters >> Electric RC Helis >> Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter
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Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 7/30/2007 3:18:30 AM   
ksmith61


 

Posts: 12
Joined: 2/20/2004
From: Colcord, OK, USA
Status: offline 		Does anyone have one of these heli's? If so, what do you think and would you recommend it for a beginner?
       Post #: 1

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 7/31/2007 5:51:09 AM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		got mine a few days ago-build is going well,as all TT Raptors do-however,instructions are far from the best and would more than likely be a problem for a new ,or limited experience ,builder.
I got mine with the TT motor and esc along with a Thunder Power 6 cell LI-PO.

Ill be flying by the end of the week and will give a detailed report,as well as a revue,soon afterwards

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to ksmith61)
       Post #: 2

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/1/2007 2:24:21 AM   
AMA Outlaw


 

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/22/2004
From: Manaus, BRAZIL
Status: offline 		I built mine back in March and had no real problems with the instructions after reading up on it at raptortechnique.com. The thing will fly well as a beginner heli when set around 1600 rpm with the less agressive head geometry and comes alive above 1900 with carbons and lightweight paddles. I'm running 6 cell packs in it and get about 7.5 minutes of sport flying and 6.5 of hard flying on align 4200 and DN Power 4400's. I used a CC HV controller and Z30A motor, but the stock TT items are about the same. I put my E550 on a lightweight carbon diet and shaved the weight from 7.2 lbs ready to fly to 6.75 lbs and will lose another couple of ounces in the near future with a composite canopy and skids. The weight loss really perked up the handling on 6 cells, but if you're still just hovering you won't notice the difference except in the wallet. No mods were needed to have a great flying heli (other than the PV0499 tail upgrade) and I'll use the plastic head for a while more before installing the metal headblock I have lying on the bench. It really flies great now that I've put some flights on it to dial it in for my flying style.


(in reply to RoyLFlush)
       Post #: 3

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/3/2007 4:50:17 AM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Hey Outlaw,what charger and balancer are you using?

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to AMA Outlaw)
       Post #: 4

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/3/2007 1:52:52 PM   
AMA Outlaw


 

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/22/2004
From: Manaus, BRAZIL
Status: offline 		Roy, I'm using the Astroflight 109 and Blinky to charge and balance my batteries. It's not a constant voltage design so during the final charging I have to monitor the charging to keep voltage spikes from damaging the batteries. What happens is the voltage hits 25.20 and the charger stops charging until the voltages sags and drops so it gives more juice until reaching 25.20 again. If you are charging at 1C then you are hitting the battery with 4 or 5 amps and thats hard on the cells, so I keep turning the voltage down every few minutes to keep the charger from hitting 25.20 and spiking voltage as battery voltage drops. That, or when the battery is in the final phase 3 of the charging I turn the amps down to 1/5 C or so. It's a little more user interactive having to watch the charger for the first 3 minutes until the charger selects the right cell count and starts phase 2 of charging and then 45 minutes or so later monitoring the final charging as it tops off. Alternatively you could get the TP setup which IS a constant voltage design. I understand that the TP charger and balancer is a killer combo, but that means I have to use an adaptor for my batteries as none of them use the TP taps.

One of the few complaints I have regarding the E Raptors is the battery tray design. You are locked into using the LiPo "stick" packs. A123 and LiPo brick packs don't fit. I got around this by making some new aluminum lower sideplates. Slightly enlarged the hole in the frame between the skids but and now my brick packs slide in from the side instead of front to back like with the stick packs. Means I also don't have to take the canopy off to change batteries either.

(in reply to RoyLFlush)
       Post #: 5

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/4/2007 5:56:34 AM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		THanks!!
I just got a MRC Super Brain and Im using a "Common Sense RC" balancer but Im really lost when it comes to the care and feeding of Li-Po's
Do you know of any good books or dvds geared towards beginners ?
I just cant grasp the whole principal of these batery packs,chargers and balancers.
I hook my balancer,which handles up to 6 cells,to my 6S li-po pack and only 3 lights come on.Do I now just go ahead and plug the pack into the charger?Will it balance automatically?what settings should I use?Will it automatically shut off?
WILL THEY BLOW UP??
as you can see,I NEED HELP!!!
Thanks
Joe

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to AMA Outlaw)
       Post #: 6

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/4/2007 10:18:16 PM   
AMA Outlaw


 

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/22/2004
From: Manaus, BRAZIL
Status: offline 		I'm not familiar with the operation of the Super Brain so I'd have to refer you to the battery and charger forum at the top of the main forum page. That balancer looks exactly like my Astroflight "Blinky" balancer. On my balancer when I plug it into the balance tap it will go through a 3 second cell voltage check. If a cell is above 3.2V then the light comes on, if not then you know that you have a cell that is below minimum voltage and likely have damage to the cell. In the case of a new and never charged battery, they come all out of balance and with very low voltages per cell. Most folks claim that even a new battery should never have less than 3.2V per cell and should be returned, I say charge it initially at a low rate (.5-.75 Amp ) and it should be okay. Leave the balancer hooked up during the whole charge. On a new battery it might take all night for that balancer to drain off the high individual cell voltages to match the low cell/cells. When the lights blink erratically you are close to balanced, but on all of my batteries they blinked all night long in a random pattern and then were fine from then on. Also try to take it easy on the LiPos for the first flight or two to break them in (low amp draw and short flights). Or you could do this on your charger. Never charge at a rate higher than the packs rated capacity (4200 mAh battery=4.2 Amp max charge rate) and don't drain more than 80% of the battery capacity (80% of 4200 mA = 3360 mAh or less should go back into the battery after a flight). You need to be timing your flights to see how long your flight style and setup can safely fly on your batteries. I would sart out with a 3 minute run and then charge to see what you put back in and calculate it from there to see how long you can fly to reach that 75-80% of battery capacity. Don't rely on the LVC in the ESC to time your battery life- by then it's too late and you've damaged your battery.

(in reply to RoyLFlush)
       Post #: 7

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/5/2007 12:23:10 AM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		THanks again-I traded the MRC charger for a Thunder Power TP1010c Super Charger and now Im waiting for the TP 210 balancer to come in.
I finally got everything together today and started the chopper.Everything was cool till I powered up and the tail went nuts-Im using a JR 500t gyro and I think I need to go over the settings cuz I had ZERO tail control.
Ive been flying helis on and off since 1990 but this electric setup has me feeling like I know NOTHING!

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to AMA Outlaw)
       Post #: 8

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/6/2007 4:07:48 AM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Last post here-Dumped the Thunder Power for a Bantam E-Station BC 6-works flawlessly,easy instructions,very user friendly
Turned down the gain on the JR 500t,reset con-rod lengths-adjusted gyro gain at the radio(Spektrum DX7),set head speed at about 1700,set blade tracking and just like that,Im locked in to a hands free hover.
I think I could learn to love this bird!

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to RoyLFlush)
       Post #: 9

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/17/2007 9:07:38 AM   
nz reg


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 3/26/2007
From: , NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		Being new to electic helis could someone let me know the spacing between the side frames on the e550 raptor ie the battery compartment. Thanks

(in reply to RoyLFlush)
       Post #: 10

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/19/2007 12:23:11 AM   
AMA Outlaw


 

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/22/2004
From: Manaus, BRAZIL
Status: offline 		The battery tray is 50mm wide, and 65mm high at the front (the tightest area, it opens up to the rear). The entire tray is almost 14 inches long.

TPPacks.com has some C/F sideframe setups for you if you are wanting to run the A123 Brick Packs, they might work with other LiPo brick packs as well.

(in reply to nz reg)
       Post #: 11

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/21/2007 6:50:28 AM   
nz reg


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 3/26/2007
From: , NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		Thanks for the info re batteries. I had in mind to put in a123 cells and it looks as if they may just fit.

(in reply to AMA Outlaw)
       Post #: 12

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/21/2007 1:39:00 PM   
RoyLFlush


 

Posts: 302
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Id be interested in how they work out for you-Please keep us posted?

_____________________________

Sig Mini Rascal BRUSHLESS,E-Flite Taylorcraft BRUSHLESS,Thunder Tiger Raptor 550E,Thunder Tiger Mini-Titan,E-Flite CX

(in reply to nz reg)
       Post #: 13

RE: Thunder Tiger Raptor E550 Electric Helicopter - 8/21/2007 7:20:58 PM   
AMA Outlaw