270win

My Feedback: (14)

I hadn't even heard of the Vario line. I'll have to take a look at them. Are parts easy to find? It seems like everyone carries Raptor parts. But you're not the first person to mention the size of the raptor and how it's dificult to make it fit inside a fuse... Do you know who sells Vario? I want to get something that I can get parts for without having to wait for UPS to deliver it if that;s possible.

Thanks for all the info.

270win

Christopher J

Check out www.eastcoastvario.com

Joe at East Coast Scale Helicopters is the importer for the Vario line into the US. Vario is out of Germany. The machines like the Benzin or Extreme and beautiful in thier design and flight performance.

There is a lot I could say on the line, but I feel that if you check out the site and ask some questions on the helicopter forums about Vario you'll get the answers you're looking for.

For myself I chose the line because parts are easy to get, Joe and Nichole at ECSH are easy to deal with and there has never been a sour deal with them (even before I was a rep) If you get in a bind in building or just have some general questions they can offer tons of assistance. Joe is the kind of guy where he can be in the middle of a scale build for another customer but still take your call and give you an answer personally. If you email him you will get a responce within reasonable time as well.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Vario = very nice but expensive.

270win

My Feedback: (14)

They do carry a premium price... But as much as I spend on this hobby anyway.... I don't know, I am somewhat hesitant to drop big money on my first one... I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of buying one very nice bird to learn on and then convert to scale vs. buying something less expensive, learn on it and then get into scale helis... ? The problem is that I usually have a pretty short learning curve with anything related to R/C. (Not so in every area of life) I want to avoid buying something then getting bored with it in 2-3 months and wishing I'd have started with something else...

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RevGadget

RAPTOR 50 MECHANIC'S, FUNKEY BELL 222. AWESOME COMBO

burt gummers

for the raptor to be a good scale heli you just need to move the elevator arm, not that hard to do.

burt

270win

My Feedback: (14)

My LHS has a Hirobo Sceadu .30 that is RTF for $600.00. It has an OS .32 w/pull start, 401 Gyro w/Futaba servo. It comes with a Futaba PCM receiver, battery pack... everything but a TX. Not sure but it sounds like a pretty good deal.... It's probably not a good scale platform, but if I can avoid totally destroying it I should be able to learn on it as I'm building the scale bird. I keep hearing that .30 size is a good size for training...

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0_CoooL

I am looking to build a Scale Bird in the next week or so... I have been looking into the Century Machines for the last several days now. Which Scale kit is a good one, I have been thinking about the 222 w/retracts, Although I am looking to purchase it as a KIT instead of a ARF w/Painted Fuse! Is this a bad move on my part? Does the 222 come with all the Mechanics I`ll need to put her in the air? I know I`ll have to have the Gyro,Radio & Engine..... But my thing is what I am trying to say, Is the Mechanics that come in these Scale Helis from Century Okay? Are they even as good as the 200 dollar Hawk Pro, Or is it basically just settling for the Looks of the Chopper instead of what makes it tick!

It just seems very inexspensive around 400.00 for a scale chopper when the 3D's are way over this price, Am I missing it here or should I purchase a Century Scale Kit....

Another thing, I was thinking of buying a Hawk Pro from tower, Then I wanted to buy the Fuselage Seperate, But I really dont want to buy any additional parts to get the fuse to fit on the frame of the hawk. Does anyone know if the Hawk can carry one of these cool looking Fuselage's without buying more parts........? Please HELP!

RevGadget

I put together the 30 Airwolf (unpainted) with Hawk Sport mechanics and an OS37, which I had from my R30 days. I got the whole kit from Century. The sport mechanics have less bearings and a wire driven tail in contrast to the Hawk Pro, which uses a Torque Tube driven tail.

Having experience with Raptors and Micros, the Hawk was different breed. At first I didn’t like the way the starter shaft engaged the clutch. But I got over that once I realized it was me and not the mechanics. I believe for the money the Century 222 is a great entry level scale kit. I recommend you purchase skids, a rotor head button and anti-rotation bracket. I already had boom supports, which I zip tied to the boom. This was to set up the mechanics before I put it in the fuse. This is a must!

There were two problems I had with the build. One, getting the retracts to lock properly and two, eliminating tail wag. You must read the instructions carefully and follow the advise of others who have had success with retracts. I ended up using three servo’s instead of two, and I had to enlarge the servo mounting area because I used the HS75 retract servos. I also found a tip for beefing up where the Bell Cranks mounted. All three mounts eventually broke on my build due to binding. I believe that the wire driven tail rotor saved me twice there, because when the retract mount broke on a landing, it allowed the TR to strike the ground. There was enough flex in the drive to allow the wire to slip (spin inside TR input shaft) and not cause any other damage. I just applied lock-tite and retightened it. The tail wag was eliminated by adjusting engine mixture and the Throttle and pitch curves.

Overall I am very satisfied with the build and the performance of this kit. I also installed the 9 LED Curtek lighting system ($65) “Awesome�. Overall this project cost me $978 to get it air worthy, including paint, primer, and sand paper. Compared to the $815 painted kit without RX, servos, battery, etc. I plan to upgrade the bearing and install some CF blades to complete this project.

0_CoooL

What is the deal with the Hose Clamp Locked Down to the Tail Boom Gear Box? This is alittle scary looking in my book! I just don't know what this is for, However in every photo I see of these Century's, The Hose Clamp is on them all! Anyone know what the clamp is for and can it be replaced for something that looks alittle better?


Thanx for sharing the information guys,,,,

[:-]

mkranitz

My Feedback: (60)

Hey Gents,

I'll weigh in here. I started flying scale as soon as I could control my helicopter! Here is where I see things stacking up:

1. Once you've had your first scale heli, you'll want another one. Therefore, buying a Raptor with the hope of converting it is NOT the way to go in my view. Their mechanics are not really set up for long term scale flying in my view. I like mechs that were built with scale in mind, not something that can be adapted. It's hard enough; why make it harder?

2. Check out http://www.v-eastonline.com. This is Graupner. Their ships are great. My first scale ship was their Agusta A109 but with electric power!! It was a beautiful, nice flying ship. (check out my gallery)

3. Check out Hirobo's stuff. Great kits and nice looking scale features. I fly their Super Cobra. (check gallery)

4. I recently tried a huge Vario Bell 230 (built by someone else). With 825mm blades, this thing was a monster. Vario makes great products, but get used to the cash sucking sound. Everything is extra, optional, additional. Nonetheless, the Vario rep in the US (http://www.eastcoastvario.com) is the best around, making the prices worth it.

5. Century has some nice looking fuselage setups for an inexpensive price. I reviewed the Twinstar http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=316) but did have difficulty with several aspects of the desgn. Erick Royer of our staff reviewed the Bell (http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=259).

If you decide to get crazy and go Vario your first time out, I happen to have a completed set of mechanics with electronic and motor all finished and ready to go!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=148441

Good luck!!

Michael

270win

My Feedback: (14)

mkranitz-I like the input. I have been talking with the Vario east coast field rep. I really like their stuff. And the turbine heli in their video files is SWEEEET!!

I'm just wanting to make sure I'll like helis. So far I'm finding that while the Raptor isn't very great for building a scale heli, it is a cheap way to learn to fly helis in general and get a feel for this aspect of the hobby. I'm sure you're right. If it's like my airplane collection is I'll have 7-8 flyable models at one time.... I'm having a hard time justifying a $3,000 heli on the first go around.

That said, this thread is about getting into scale helis, not getting into helis period.

I looked at the Graupner Agusta 109 at my local hobby shop. Nice equipment!! Maybe someday soon.
Good flying!

270

mkranitz

My Feedback: (60)

I couldn't agree more on training. The Raptor is an excellent trainer. I would say that either that, the Venture 3D or one of the Hirobo pod and booms is fine to begin with. Then, when you are confident, just sell it and move on or keep it for practice (I sold my last podder a few months ago).

MK

ngbninja

Hey, how about a Hirobo Schweizer 300 or Lama???? they are both 30 size, scale and can be upgraded with scale extras like a 3-bladed head!!! They fly very stabily to i'd say they are the best basic scale model.

Type in Hirobo schweizer in google images for some photos.

270win

My Feedback: (14)

Will do!

Thanks!270

ngbninja

anytime ! like them?? not that expensive either even with a nice setup. you get what you pay for in this case

270win

My Feedback: (14)

They look very good. Are the Hirobos a good quailty heli? I know it's not a Vario but is it comparable to a Raptor?

270

ngbninja

its the next best thing to vario i guess,
hirobo do 60 - 90 size scale birds as well!! building one myself at the moment.
Hirobo are good quality, not compariable to raptor and especially when it gets to the instruction manual and the small details thats when hirobo kick ass!
If you want more power there is a 50 size conversion for the schweizer and lama

270win

My Feedback: (14)

I'm finding that parts are not as readily available for the Hirobo as they are for the Raptor. At least in the hobby shops around here...

270

ngbninja

Well over here it takes about a week for out of stock spares to arrive which is pretty good and should be even quicker to get to america, but the hirobo schweizer and lama are ideal for a first scale. With the schweizer a crash wont be the end up the world because its closer to a pod and boom but still a scale heli. but if you had a raptor with a fuzz then the fuzz would be doomed, so a crash might be better in the schweizer.

I am currently waiting for my schweizer to arrive Couldn't resist it
Hirobo also have a 30 size 222 fuselage for their shuttle, which is of impressive scale for its size. lol almost bought one of them too.

270win

My Feedback: (14)

Hey Cool! Will you take some pics of the assembly process in the Schweitzer? I know the feeling, it's hard to resist the temptation to buy everything you see. I'm like that with airplanes right now. I'm sure that once I "break the ice" on helis I'll have the same problem with them as well....

Here the hobby shops have so much Raptor stuff that you could basically build any Raptor you want with parts off the shelf. But the Hirobos are about a 7 day order for the odd stuff. I think the crash kist are readily available.

Good point on the Schweitzer, I may decide to go that route for my first scale project.

I saw a video on the Vario site of a turbine heli..... Oh my!!! I've GOT to have one of those..... eventually! I've got a friend here that's into turbine helis so I have some help. I'd have to be extremely proficient to spend that kind of money on one.... But the sound of a turbine and rotor blades.....[8D]

270

ngbninja

yep u gotta love turbine helis! and i will post pics of the heli whilst assembling, i enjoy building as much as flying. wat kind of aeros do u fly ?

270win

My Feedback: (14)

I have-
.90 size GSP Hellcat
1/6th Pica Cessna 182
TF .60 Corsair
.60 WM P51 Mustang
.40 GP Mustang (under construction)
.40 Sig. Rascal
Q500 Scat Cat.

So far.... I love scale airplanes! Except for the Q500, that's just for adrenaline rush!

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ngbninja

isn't the hellcat enough for ya!

I've always wanted a hellcat they are so magnificent but speedy buggers.
I am currently building the TT rare bear its quite nice for the price.
I can't fly anything at the moment due to bad weather except for some helis

Back on topic, you could get the Century R22 its a .50 size but still scale and exciting but on the spare parts side i have no idea.

270win

My Feedback: (14)

The Hellcat is my favorite right now. It's big enough that it's not too fast... And no, one is never enough!!

I'll look at the Century, I think parts are about the same with it as the Hirobo....

270