joshiestevens

Hi there.

A couple of months ago I tried endlessly to fly the Micro electric helicopters, but had no sucess at all. When I lifted off it just flew straight to the other side of the garden. I have been advised the only real way to start is PROPERLY by going into the Nitro Helis.

I was advised by a UK champion to get a raptor 30. What do you think of this. I amd eciding whether to purchase the kit, or the ARTF veraion. How many hours would the kit take to build?

How many hours does it take to learn to hover and then fly confidently etc. Also, after you have built the heli according to the manual, do you need to fiddle about with all the pitches etc to get it to fly right or is that done when you build it.

Thanks in advance
Josh

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Get the kit. That way you will know how to take it apart when you crash it. You will also know that every bolt is properly locktited and tightened. I can build one in a day and have it ready for flight in a weekend. Setup is half the battle. It's a great beginner ship that will take you right on to 3d with little if any mods. Parts are cheap and readily available and help is easy to come by.

Don't bother with the book that comes with it, go here and follow his directions to the letter, it will take you through radio setup and even repair. http://www.raptortechnique.com

Heliproz has great raptor deals, http://www.heliproz.com

Save yourself some agrivation and get an OS engine and a gy401 with a 9254 gyro/servo

If you get a 30 get the os37, if you can afford it get a 50 with an os50 or hyper.

As far as how long to hover that depends on you. A sim is money well spent and will pay for itself many times over in repairs. So will getting your bird checked over by someone that knows what they are looking at

joshiestevens

Okay, but roughly how many hrs to hover with it setup properly. 1 or like 15!? Whats the standard Thunder Tiger 39 engine like, as this is the one I would get.

What sort of top speed can it do with that engine, and am I likely to crash it when I learn.. I really dont want to spend more money...

Should I follow the instruction manual when BUILDING the heli?

Also, can you give me some reasons why I should go into helis and not airplanes. Whats better about helis. I am still deciding?

Sorry for all the q's

Josh

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Again, hovering depends on you. I've seen people try for a year and not do it and I've seen a 12 year old do it on his first tank. A couple of flights, maybe a hour or 2 is average.

Ditch the book and use his instruction guide on that web site to build it.

Thunder Tiger engines can be hit and miss. Some people have no problems, others end up trash bin'ing them for OS's. 95 percent of OS's run fine out of the box.

There are 2 kinds of heli pilots, those that have crashed and those that will. If you can't afford to do it right, stay away from helicopters. Cheap = frustration.

On the good side, they are rewarding to fly, and you will never cease learning something new. I've never been bored with a helicopter.

joshiestevens

Thanks for your reply.

Will I require a 6ch or 5ch transmitter?

What about the Caliber30 or the Hirobo .30 or should I stick with the Raptor 30. If I do get the Raptor, would be a better idea to upgrade to and OS.32 or is that not powerful enough.

Thanks

joshiestevens

.... I was looking at the Futaba T6XH.... any good?

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

They are all about the same, parts support on the Raptor is the best of the 3. Kyosho has the annoying habit of redesigning their helis every few years then the parts disappear for the older ones. The Raptors haven't really changed much since day 1 and the changes they have made you can get upgrade parts that are compatible.

The 32 an excellent engine and will fly a Raptor just fine.

The minimum is really 6 channels these days, and that radio would work, consider the 7C if you can afford it.

Aileron
Elevator
Throttle
Collective Pitch
Rudder
Gyro (optional) but needed if you get a gyro like the 401

Sawdust48.5

Get the most radio you can afford. The jr8103 is VERY popular. An 8 channel.

carlyle

Raptors are great... BUT DO NOT GET A THUNDER TIGER ENGINE. Every single TT engine I've seen overheats and eventually kills itself. As far as hovering goes, it will take between 1 minute and 1 decade. Some people can, some simply can't do it. Don't let me put you off, you probably will be able to.

Carlyle

joshiestevens

Why do I need a gyro, and whats a good one/price?

joshiestevens

Can anyone tell me what the gyro's for, and whats a decent one/price to spend...

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

A gyro dampens tail movement. Any time power to the main rotor changes the torque changes, this requires input to keep the tail still, same if your flying sideways or the wind is blowing and the fuselage wants to weather vane. Most everyone flies with a gyro these days and mostly with what we now call heading hold or tail lock.

There's a few popular choices but the best all around deal is the Futaba GY401 with a 9254 servo. It can be had from Ricks or Heliproz for around 180 with the servo. There's some cheaper and more expensive choices but its probably the best bang for the buck on the market.

Ricks http://www.ronlund.com

Heliproz http://www.heliproz.com

You won't see the price they charge on their web site cuz of supplier rules but give them a call or an email before you order Futaba or OS stuff to find out the real price.