Raven or TREX 600
 

Hi.
need advice. novice flyer just got into swift16 3 months ago.
I fly the swift 16 but want longer flight time and bigger machine. basically the swift is for a quick fly around the neighbourhood. looking for nitro i can fly a lot longer. i am looking at the raven 50 or trex 600. any recommendations. Some say the raven is outdated. plan to do some basic training, flying and enjoy myself for the next 6 months.

thanks

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

Yes, the Raven is older then some of the newer and far more expensive helis on the market (e.g. T600N, Vibe 50 and RJX 50) but it has a number of features and systems that these are in some ways tying to emulate in design.

for example:

The Vibe and RJX are using the same head design.

The T600N is very expensive in the torque tube Pro configuration and seems to need a good deal of "upgrades" to last in hard 3D so you may want to look at the new blinged version.

The Raven does not need upgrades because it already has the flight systems from the larger 90 sized Predator rather then those from the smaller Hawk Pro or Swift 550 series.

You will have to buy blades for the other 3, the Raven comes with some pretty fine composite 600mm blades.

The Raven has the same top notch swashplate as the big Predator

It uses the 4mm flybar system from the big Predator - the T600N is still using a 3mm system like those found on 30 size nitros.

It has the best type of torque tube tail drive system - the same one found in the Predator, except shorter, that uses a dog-bone connection system at the front and the rear.

It has the best tail rotor system of the three, that uses a machined steel hub that includes the feathering shafts machined as part of the hub - bulletproof - never throw a tail blade.

The best tail rotor blade grip system - each grip uses TWO radial bearings and a thrust bearing - not "sway" delay when reversing pitch direction.

The same heavy duty, wide stance landing gear struts that are found in the Predator

It has a smaller version of the Predator main rotor hub, that is CNC machined with a clamping system on its' base - never get any rocking issues with it...others still do not have this.

The other three have some of these great features but not all of them.

I personally like the direct to swahplate eCCPM system, but it is unforgiving in a crash and will usually take out some of the servo gears when one uses servos with plastic gears. Fortunately they are relatively inexpensive.

The two stage main drive system means the clutch, clutch bell and fan all attach directly to the engine's crankshaft - so there are no criticval alignment or dial indicating requred to insure low vibes from the power system.

This system also means that once the clutch engages the clutch support bearings no longer have to turn seperatelu so they last forever.

The start shaft in this system totally disengages from the system aftre the engine starts so it also stops turning so its' support bearings also last forever.

All of the above makes for a great flying heli that is very low maintenance.

It is amazing that it has sold at such a low price for so long!

Check on RR, there is a fellow that did a direct comparison to the T600N Pro. To make it fair he added the all metal bling head to the Raven etc. just to bring them into a similar price range. The Raven came out looking pretty hot.

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

I have 2 hawk pros. Similar and it is awesome for everyday flying w/o much maintenance. I like it better that my raptors.

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

kraffty

If you love your Hawk Pro's you will love the Raven if/when you step into the 50 size class - Some describe it as a smaller Predator rather then a biger Hawk, and I have to agree. I has all the "timex" dependabilty of the Hawk, along with its low cost of operation and repair, with the super precision flyability of the big 90 sized Predator....probaly because of all the predator systems it uses.

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

Thanks for the info...I considered the raven or kinetic...both look like they are upgraded hawk pro. The thing I like about the hawk pro is you can fly the heck out of it and bring it home with no maint. And it is so easy to fly.

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

krafty

Take some time and read all the points that Syclic made relating to the Raven 50...you will see there is a big difference between the Raven and what the Hawk 50 would be (if there was such an animal from Century) which is basically what the Kinetic 50 is.

The Raven is much more of a smaller Predator (their 90 size heli) then a bigger Hawk.

RE: Raven or TREX 600
 

Just bought a Raven kit,O.S. Hyper, and muffler for 469.00 shipped. Cant beat that...even includes carbon blades.Thanks for the info guys.