melandsurveys

I have been getting conflicting information locally as to which chopper should be my first. The Hawk Sport is much cheaper(about 1/2 price), but the Raptor, as I'm told "is much better built"? What should be my first heli? Is there that large of a difference? Will the Raptor be twice as good as the Hawk Sport? Please direct me, I am almost ready to make the purchase!

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

You will get conflicting results here too.

The question is probably better answered with a question. What do you want? If you want a good heli for cheap, and you have modest expectaions for aerobatics, (rolls, loops, basic flying around) the Hawk might be the very best for you.

Personally, i like the Raptor, especially the 50. Its a real hot rod and reasonably cheap to run and fix so long as you stay with wood blades for your first few months. It is by far the best choice for me because i have always tended tward the hot rod stuff.

One of the things to consider is to find out what helis are are well supported in your town. Having local parts availability, and folks who know a lot about them and can help when you are stuck is a big deal.

So long as you pick the one that meets you needs, you picked the right one.

melandsurveys

Well, the dilemna really is, that there are 2 shops here. 1 supports the Hawk Sport, and the other supports the Raptor V2. Both have parts on hand, and both think that their heli is the best for a beginner. Like you, I tend to go towards hot rodding, however, thus far has only been on the G2 simulator. This is why I need the direction!

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

My own experience: (keep in mind i have only been flying for a year, and i have only flown a few helis, raptor 39, raptor 50's, Jr Venture 32, corona)

I started with a TT39 powered raptor V2 it was already built which was nice. A lot of folks swear by the TT39, but i found i mostly swore at it. (carb settings, overheating, your mileage may vary). After about 3 months i was doing simple aerobatics. loops, rolls, some very nervous inverted hovering. it did it just fine but occasionally if i was pushing it, the engine temp would go up, and/or the head speed would go down at bad times, and i found myself wishing i had more and more reliable power (again your mileage may vary, 110 degree heat and 2700 foot altitude are contributing factors).

So i decided to get a 50 with OS 50. This engine was a gem! in about 9 months of flying hundreds of flights it has never gotten over 180 degrees, never drifted settings, never bogged down, and never flamed out (knock on my head). It does drink quite a bit more fuel, but the hassle free enjoyment and confidence i have in this engine, makes it worth every cent. it takes most of the same low cost parts as the 30, and really delivers in the performance department. I really wish i had bought the OS 50 to start with.

Very recently i helped someone out with a JR venture with OS 32, not much time on it, but so far i like it quite well for just hovering and flying around, runs smooth and steady. i have heard a lot of others say about the same about the OS 32. Not the strongest, but very user friendly, reliable and steady.

syclic

Both are good for training and will take you well into 3D. But there is more to your initial heli purchase then just the helicopter. So you must look at your whole budget. The lower price of the Hawk Sport will leave you with a lot more money to spend on a better radio (minimum of 5 point throttle and pitch curves) and/or gyros (minimum heading hold).

As an example: A combination of Hawk Sport with an OS32 engine and a Futaba 7CH radio with the Futaba 401/9253 would be about the same cost as the Raptor 30V2 Pro with the TT39H engine and the Futaba 6XH readio and the Futaba 240 gyro. IMHO, there would be no hesitation, I would take the Hawk/OS/7CH/401 combo.

On the other hand if you can afford the Raptor 30V2Pro with the Futaba 7CH radio, 401/9253 gyro/servo combination, then you will be in a different price catagory. So to compare apples to apples in price, you could now include such a radio package with the higher priced Century Raven 30 in lieu of the higher priced Raptor 30. And here again I would not hesitate to go with the Raven 30 as it has the torque tube drive, triple bearing tail rotor, fully metal swashplate, SE rotor head, eCCPM etc. etc.

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

Another thing to consider is getting the GY 401 gyro but forgo the 9253 digital servo they often sell with it. That gyro is so good you can actually use standard servos that you get with most radio systems. Works fine even in reverse flight and saves you about 100$.

ChopperMike

Being that you have parts support for both, go with the Hawk Sport. I've been flying Century helicopters for 4 years, the Hawk Sport since July of last year. You can't go wrong with the Hawk. Don't be fooled by the low cost of the Hawk Sport. It's a very high quality kit and performs very well. As syclic said, the lower price of the Hawk will allow you to spend extra on other things.

Regards,

Mike

melandsurveys

OK, I appreciate the input from all aspects, now let me throw a curve ball. I have sold many r/c cars on ebay to support getting into the helis and I have made 1 decision already. I am going to start(and hopefully finish) with the JR 8103 w/ the digital servos as my remote. Now that I know I am spending extra there does it change anyone's opinion of the preferred starter heli? I figure that if I am going to get into this for the long haul, I want a remote that can last the duration!

FHHuber

The raio choice doesn't change my opinion of which starter heli.

You want to use a good quality but inexpensive machine for training. The heli itself is what gets torn up if you do the "funky chicken dance) by dragging the main rotor while learning hover... or right as you take of the training gear. The radio equip and gyro should survive that type low speed impact that can demolish the whole heli.

Thus, getting a $1000 heli kit and a $500 engine isn't really going to be a good bet for the first model.

It will take several months... maybe a couple of years... before you want a better heli to match aquired flying skills.

You may want to do the torque tube upgrade to the Hawk.. and a couple of other hop-ups... but only after you start getting into 3D (except maybe the CNC fan... for a bit of a cooling improvement. A $50 investment in engine longevity.)

rotordoc

If you have a bigger budget, I would go with the 50 size. I would suggest the Century Raven 50 with the OS50 and the CN3033B Century Muffler. But for training I would purchase some woody Aerotech 600mm blades and save the great composite blades it comes with for later after you have gotten into FFF and aerobatics. This heli flies a lot like my 90's and autos like them too. But it costs a lot less for fuel and only costs a fraction more then the Hawk for the replacement parts when you have an incedent (politically correct term for crash )