Resident Dawg

I have been flying my B400 for awhile now and my biggest complaint is the lack of flying time. At my LHS there are two nitro Helis for sale one is a Raptor 50 the other is the 30. How much of a jump is it to a nitro Heli and which one would you recommend? Thanks

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

If you are going nitro, and want something that will grow with you, there is no replacement for a 50 sized helicopter.

The real difference between a 30 and a 50 is about 2 inches in tail boom length in overall size. Of course there will be some internal differences like gears, and engine. But the real difference will be the power. It will be there when you need it and when you are ready for it. On a 30, you have to squeeze the last ounce of power out of the engine when you are ready for aerobatics.

Discard ALL of this message if you are not interested in 3D flying and only interested in sport / scale flying.

Rafael

Kinsey03

Got a Rap 30 v2 around christmas used. Was flying the cheap RTF and they do not even compare. Love the flight time on the 30 also. I guess when it gets trashed, I will upgrade to a 50 but for now a 30 is fine for me..........

badazzbusa

My Feedback: (1)

Get the 50. You will never out grow having a 50 around, a 30 is fine but it will lack power and you will spend money down the road to convert it or replace it. Spend a little extra now or alot later....

newto3D

My Feedback: (6)

Crash cost between the two is the same, anywhere from under $100 to almost $300 depending on what breaks and what kind of main blades you are using.(my typical crash costs on my 50 run around $150 due to running $80 carbon main blades, my highest crash cost so far for a 50 has been a total kit replacement+blades.)

As stated in the above posts, the 30 feels very lacking in power when compared to a 50 when doing hard to extreme aerobatics. But that being said, a 30 size is VERY much capable of mild aerobatics, a lot of 3D style flying (collective management is key), scale flying and just all around fun flying. A 30 size is also an excellent choice if you aren't really sure that this is something you will enjoy. That being said, if you are sure about wanting to fly helis and know you are going to enjoy it, go for the 50. Even if you aren't going to be doing extreme aerobatics or 3D flying, there is no substitute for power.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Save yourself upgrading in the near future and get the 50, it will be cheaper to buy it up front than to mess around replacing gears, pipe, blades, tail boom, belt, and motor.

[]TEX[]

I'll second what BCH said and add to get the Titan 50.

Read the reviews here that BCH did on the Titan 50.

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

Even if you are not sure about the hobby, a 50 will probably sell much easier than a 30 with all of us giving this kind of advice. So the 50 is the way to go.

Rafael

elecfly

I have a 30 and am going to learn with it until I outfly it and then buy a 50.
You can almost fly twice as long on the same amount of fuel and flight time is most critical when learning to fly.
30's can loop and roll with ease and do other aerobatics and some 3d to.

But if money is not a issue get the 50. Initial cost and Fuel will cost more.

ArtW

What is the difference between a Titan 50 and a 50 SE? I can hover, nose in, forward flight, circle, figure eight. On the simulator I can do much more like 3D. I have a used Raptor 30 V1 and am thinking of building a heli. i am trying to figure out which to put together. Titan 50? 50 SE? What is the difference?

tippy

Going from the B400 to either 30 or 50 is going to be about the same leap.

If your asking 30 vs 50 and 50 is a do-able option then go with the 50. I bought my 30 in 1999 and wasn't presented with the option of 30 vs 50 so never had to answer the question

Big feet

Hi,
Check out the link below, the SE and Titan are both listed with the key features of both,
http://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk/ac...nderTiger.html

Hope this helps.

ArtW

I see the list of mechanical differences. My question is a simpler one. Is there some fundamental difference in how they fly? Like the SE is better at 3D and the Titan is more a beginner version? The tail on the SE has cut outs which my guess is to reduce the effects of cross wind. the titan has the non cut out tail. Does this make the SE better for 3D but more difficult to fly in normal flight? Does the SE have $150 of bling? or is the Titan just as good as the SE? After my first crash will I find myself upgrading to SE level hardware? Which is the right one to buy?

Lins

The bigger they are, the better they fly. As well, the larger the blades, the better the auto due to more inertia in the bigger blades. I have a 50SE, and I'd like to get a couple upgrades to make it a Titan. The titan is the more expensive 50 isnt it? The Titan has 620 mm blades vs. 600 for the 50 SE, longer boom and belt obviously.

Personally, I would choose the 50 over the 30 if you can afford it. The 50 has more than enough power for sport flying compared to the 30. If you can't afford it, you can always upgrade to the larger engine, boom, blades, etc. later on. You'll always want to go bigger, trust me! The 50 sounds wayyy nicer too [8D]. Crash cost is virtually the same as others have said, as most parts are interchangeable between the 30 and 50.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Yes the SE is more oriented towards 3d with its metal upgrades.

I personally prefer the titan, and upgrade the parts when you need to.

Resident Dawg

I DID IT! Go the 30, it came with alot of Extra parts, that made the final decesion easy over the 50. As well, I viewed the thread about how to tell between a V1 and V2 Raptor. This one was a V1, so I was able to cut a good deal on it. She was damn near ready to fly, the main rotor blades needed balancing, a quick once over, and Lift off. I love how it flyes Smooooooth, Not twitchy at all.

I got a good lesson in setting up a heli. I bought a Reciever so I could fly both Helis on the same radio, the DX6I that came with my 400. I had trouble setting up the mixing between the Pitch and the throttle until I realized I had the Throttle plugged in to the wrong treminal on the RX.DUHHHHHHHH!

Seems like a good bird so far, all Futaba servos, and futaba GY401 Gyro.

Going to paint the Canopy tonight, and do a lil tweaking on the gyro, the tail in "hunting", and that is IT.

matador_24

I have a 30 v2, I really like it. It helped me a lot to learn about engines and well, as stated above, it gives you about 10-12mins for 1 tank!!! that is really cool, it will help you to master your skills and after a while that you want extra power, you can upgrade it to a 50 or even better, keep it and get a 50 !!!!!! hehe, that is what I am planning to do