I've been planning on getting a new Caliber 30. Actually it's ordered but it's not in my hands yet so it's not set in stone that I get one. I've been reading and comparing the 30's to the 50's. I'd consider the R50, the Falcon 50 or a few others rather than the Caliber. My question, is there that big of a difference between the OS 46 heli engine and the new 50SXH. It seems hard to pay $189 for a 50 when I can get the 46 for $120. I have a 50SX for my planes and I'm very happy with it but then I've been happy with every OS I've owned! I'm still basically a heli beginner so a slight horsepower advantage would be minor to me but poor handling or maintenance issues would be worth the price difference.
Thanks,,,basmntdweller

I had one very good engine in a Heli likes alot of fuel but great power.
Cyber Heli is cheeper.

Having owned the Caliber 30 , a good 32 size engine is more than enough power for that light helicopter.

i smoked my 46 and i am in the process of breaking in my 50 (replacing the 46). at this point i am not yet impressed with the power, though it is a little early to tell. if you want i can give a update in a week or so, once the engine has a few gallons of fuel though it...
but at this point i wish i would have saved the $60.- and got the 46... we'll see

Clarifying,,, I'm considering going to a 50 size instead of the Caliber. One lhs carries plenty of rappy stuff which would make me lean towards the R50. If I'm going to have to depend on mailorder I don't know what I'd go with. The lhs that has ordered the Caliber for me can get most anything I'd need for it in a couple days providing GP has it and will ship it to him. If I stay with the Caliber, it will get a fresh new 32SX-H. I just keep leaning to the 46-50 size because I've had a 30 (Nexus) and a 60 size (I love my Fury!). Comparing the two I'd much rather have my new heli fly more like the Fury than the Nexus. That's why I keep leaning to the 50 size. Fuel consumption isn't a real concern to me. I frequently burn a gallon plus every trip to the field. The truck is always fully loaded and I go for the day!

Furyflyer, since you have owned a Caliber 30 and from your username I'm guessing you've hovered a Fury or two, would you go to say an R50 or stay with the caliber? From the prices I've seen I'll stay away from the Sceadu 50 and some of the others. This is going to be crash test dummy heli. I'll be using it to try things that I'm not yet willing to risk the Fury on so parts cost would be a concern hence the R50 consideration.

Thanks,,, basmntdweller

I own and 3-D a Fury 60 expert , Raptor 50 and a X-cell custom.
I really love how the Raptor 50 flys with head mod , I would go with the raptor 50 over the Caliber 30 only because of the huge power difference. But I really like how the new Voyager 50 looks , I'd choose that over any of them, It it fly's like my Vigor did it will be one sweet helicopter.

FuryFlyer,,
What head mod for R50? What's pricing and parts pricing for Voyager, comparable to R50? I don't have a good reason but I tend to stay away from Horizon-JR stuff. I may be hurting myself in the long run, avoiding JR. I would love to have a set of 8411SA's in my Fury though!
Thanks,,,basmntdweller

basmntdweller,

The OS .50 is a gem. There have been some rear main bearing failures reported over at RR but the power compared to the OS .46 is night and day different. I have never owned an OS .46 heli motor but have flown a few. I do own the OS .50.

It sounds like you have "backupitis". What I mean is that you have the typical 60/90 size heli that you love but are afraid to bury it trying to fly more agressive manuevers. So, that is why many these days are going down in size to the 30/50 plastic fantastic machines. Why risk your pride and joy dust collector when you could rip the skies with that "test dummy" machine. I am in the same boat. What it means is basically that we are all not TRULY ready for these higher dollar/bigger machines. So, we buy a "backup" and spend all our time on it instead while the dust collector sits there. At least that is what I have learned.

I have advanced 10 fold flying plastic fantastics and the like. The pucker-factor is lower and I am MUCH more agressive. To learn and advance in flight you almost have to have ZERO respect for your heli. I am not saying ZERO safety awereness. Just ZERO terra firma impact respect!!!

I would recommend that you skip the 30 all together. Just get a 50 machine and be done with it. Get something that you like the looks and repair costs of. Just don't buy a design that is woof and poof prone. Those are engineering flaws and should have never left the CAD room until it was resolved. To those machines I say fix the problem and then call me.

The Voyager is one fine ship. You can't go wrong but it is pricey. If beater machine is your goal then the Voyager is out. If money was no object I would be flying it. On the otherhand, if money is no object I wouldn't be flying a 50!

I am flying a Falcon 50 SE II and loving it. I HIGHLY recommend it.

I flipped the head and added offset balls to achieve 0 delta offset. Doing that made the helicopter feel like it's on rails.... it hovers and 3-D soo much better than before and it fly's straight and level no pitchness. I'll try to post some pics tonight.

Basmntdweller,

I would seriously consider a 46/50 size. Specifically the new Century Falcon SE/V2 or if you prefer electronic CCPM, the Century Raven 50, both cost less then $400.00 and have loads of featrures that would be extra on others or are not available on others. Because they are so light, they are little powerhouses even when used with the far less expensive OS46FXH. This combination with the OS46FXH, a CN3033A or B muffler would not cost you much more then many 30 size heli's out there. This baby has:
1- they have a great rotor head (a lighter version of the X-Cell unit) that has never had any flutter issues.
2- they have oilite bushings in the center of the washout hub (where it slides up and down the mainshaft). Just be sure to secure them by wicking some thin CA between them and the hub).
3- they come with a fully metal swashplate
4- they have bearings on everything
5- they have a clutch system that need no alignment and that lasts for a long long time.
6- they have a start shaft that does not turn when the engine is running so it will not contribute any high frequency vibrations.
7- they come with a slipper clutch to drive the tail during autos and a CDT (constantly driven tail) option is available.
8- they come with a carbon fiber torque tube drive system.
9- they come with a tail rotor system that has two radial bearings and one thrust bearing in each blade grip.
10- they come with 600mm fiberglas/carbon fiber composite blades

etc.etc.etc.

Their very light weight with these engines give them a power to weight ratio to rival the best 60's. The large 600mm blade rotor combined with this light weight make them the easiest heli to auto. Even better then my 60's.

These are great buys. I do not know how they can sell for the low price they do? Or maybe I do not know why the others cost so much more?

They have taken the 30 and 50 market by storm here.

I would love to see pics of the flipped head. I have head people talk about it, but have never seen it. Are the offset balls a necessity or just make it that much better? Where do you get them.Please email or post closeup pics of your head when you get a moment.when you get a chance.

Thankyou
David

so far the 50 does not impress me in regards to power in comparison to the 46. granted it has only two gallons of fuel through it... so i give it some more time.
don't get me wrong, it's a great engine, runs great, but has it $70.- worth more of power? not at this point, i will keep you posted as i run more fuel though it, but at this point the power difference seems to be minimal. and i have the DIRECT comparison. i had a 46 in this heli, now i have a 50, everything is exactly the same...

Today I flew a Guy's Raptor 46 and OS 50 and IMO the OS50 had allot more power. Here are some pic of my Rap 50 head. My Raptor w/ the OS 50 and stock gear Flies so well the loops I can pull are just as big as my Fury 60.

Flmgrp,
One thing that IS a given with the OS 50: IT MUST BREATH FREELY!!

I had a Century CN3033B on my Falcon SE V2 and the power with the OS 50 was slightly better than a Raptor 30 with a tuned pipe & 30% nitro. I suspected that the muffler was chocking the engine so I drilled a huge 3/8" hole in the baffle from the stinger end. HOLY COW!! It was a like someone added a nitrous oxide system to the heli. It now pulls 12 degrees and OVERSPEEDS easily. Let me say EASILY. I have my throttle curve dropped back to 90%. This on a nearly 2 gallon old OS 50 and many have told me that the OS 50 takes a long time to break in. So far my temps are only 160-180 degrees F.

So, I think the best thing you can do with the OS 50 is put a 60 size muffler or a Tuned Pipe on it. That is why I say the OS 50 has alot more power than the .46. If you are using your .46 size muffler then you are only getting about 60% of the available power.

i am using the stock raptor 50 muffler...

Ran that one this weekend with a tad better results. Although, I think it is to small as well. One of my flight buddies just loaned me a Hatori 666 2-piece for the OS/YS .61. I will be testing it later this week. I am confident that it will be a huge improvement over the TT and Century Mufflers due to the sheer volume of the muffler itself.

keep us posted...

I have the OS46 in my Sceadu and love it. I paid $99 for mine from Tower on a speacial and have no regrets. I too was torn with spending an extra $90 for a OS50 and couldn't justify the added expense. Plus I've heard the OS50 is a real fuel sucker. The 46 sips fuel.

If you get the OS46 you won't regret it.

just my opinion....

HTH,


Jeff

The TT .50 motor is said to be an excellent performer without the Jeckle and Hyde sydrome of the TT .36. I am going to give it a try on my next .50 purchase.

You can get them for $110 from HeliHut and $150 for TT .50 with muffler.

Year's ago I had the OS46 and did'nt like , now i have the OS 50 w/TT muffler and love the way it runs on 30%.

Furyflyer2,

How can a Moderator with such a georgeous heli like that not have photos in his gallery? Well?

Your just teasing us! Get some picks up bro!!

BTW, the new generation OS .46 no longer has the poor idle issue and seems to have it's issues resolved.

OK OK been lazy I will put some pic up.

I have found both engines to be very user friendly, very dependable (I have two OS46's with more then 400 tanks of fuel through each of them!) and quite powerful. The main difference has been that of power between the two. And once both are set up optimally they both will give more then enough power for even the heavier 50 size heli (of course with the 50 having a slight advantage)

1) OS-46FXH - This engine got a "bum" rap when it was released because it was released into a market that did not understand the requirements of a heli 46 engine
a) They need a different exhaust system then that of a 40 or 32 and many where trying to run them with one of these "older" generation mufflers.(Note:Some of these were even inadequate for the higher output OS-32SXH!)
b) They need an appropriate load and gear ratio to run properly. Many people installed them in helicopters that were using mainblades that were too short and with helicopters that had gear ratios designed for use with the 32 size engines.
c) They were installed in some heli's that also had the head pointed at a downward angle instead of the standard forward or back. This would cause them to load in the idle if set properly in the midrange.

Some were even installed in helis that had points a,b and c working against them! Of course, a lot of these uninformed owners were quick to spread the word that these engines were crap on the net and whenever they would talk to others.

2) OS50SXH - This was released into a market that had already learned the lessons of a,b & c above. Obviously it would not have to suffer the same fate.

I and many around me have always had great running OS-46's. Why? Because we all only fly helis that have the proper gear ratios (Mystar 46, Falcons and the odd GPH), used 600mm blades instead of shorter 30 size blades (570, 560, 550 or some 46 heli's even came with 530 blades!!!) and used appropriate mufflers (KS-468's and CN3033A's - Note: nobody here has tried the CN3033B yet so I cannot comment).

At last count there where more then 32 OS46FXH's in helis around here (mostly in Falcons) and all running very well!