Xantos

Hey Guys,
I planning to get a gas heli and am confused with the choices.
Ive shortlisted the
1) Century Predator Gasser
2) MA Spectra G
3) Vario Benzin acrobatic

Which of these would be the best choice ?

Xantos

Heli Head

Well, having had one Century heli and several MA helis (no gassers though) I would strongly recommend the Spectra G. Yup, I am a MA fan because in my opinion they are simply the best quality and value kits on the market. Yes they are a bit more expensive up front and parts are usually a bit more, but you do get what you pay for and value is much more than price alone. Value is quality, customer service that stands 100% behind their products, not wasting time and $ on upgrades or poor quality parts, resale, and parts availability for years to come. There is little doubt that MA X-cells (sorry, bad humor) in all those areas.

Now I can't comment on Vario as I have no experience with them however, I find you can usually get a good indication of the quality of product from a company by simply looking at their web site or advertisements. Both MA and Vario focus on their engineering accomplishments and quality - Century (like so many others) focus first on marketing, price, and hype.

Just my own, perhaps narrow MA biased opinion. I too am looking at getting a gasser in the next little while (just makes so much sense), so I will be interested in seeing the answers you get back from the more experienced gas powered pros out there.

Cheers,

John
www.rchelicopterfun.com

syclic

I have had a number of gassers over the years - Kalt GS, MinAir X-Cell, Hirobo, TSK, JR and now the Predator.

The best forum I have found on the net relative to gasser helis is here:

http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/f51p1/

After reading the many threads there a few years ago, I went with the Predator SE/G231 combo. I must say I was impressed. It has been very dependable ( a couple hundred flights now) and by far the best 3D one I have flown. I understand their latest NX series are even better, but I have no intentions of changing as I am so happy with the one I have.

Due to its' lower cost, specially for parts, I was surprised to find the quality to actually be better then my MinAir X-Cell GS. Maybe their newer Spectra G has improved from then, and may be as good as the Predator. I am sure you would be happy with either.

As for the Vario. It seems to be a rather robust machine. But after flying a club mate's a number of times, I was a bit let down by it's power to weight ratio, which really effects its 3D flight performance. After weighing them, I could see why. His weighed in at a whopping 17 1/4 pounds while mine at only 12 1/4 pounds!!

Michael G

My Feedback: (1)

The Predator manual calls for a minimum 8 channel radio and the Spectra manual calls for a minimum 5. What am I missing?? I currently fly electric and "gas" planes with a DX7. I have an electric Swift and considering getting a gas helo. I don't think I want another fuel and needed support junk to carry, and I really don't think I like the mess of glow.
Opinions and suggestions welcome.
Thanks, Michael

syclic

Hard to figure how any such eCCPM helis can be flown anymore with a 5 channel radio is a mystery to me, as all modern heli radios I have ever used has chanel 6 as the one hthe software automatically mixes with the throttle stick fro collective???

Actually both can be flown with any 6 channel heli radio. But an 8 channel radio woul allow more versatility:

1 - roll cyclic (aileron)
2 - fore/aft cyclic (elevator)
3 - throttle
4 - rudder
5 - gyro gain
6 - collective
7 - gyro selection (yaw or hh)
8 - governor speed selection

Michael G

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the reply. Your channel listings clears that up. If I move to gas I guess I'll need another radio as well. Damn!

syclic

The DX7 can easily fly a gas heli - but if you use a governor you may be limited to either a one gyro gain or not be able to turn governor off...many fly this way.

But you would definitely need better servos on a BIG Predator relative to a small electric.

gfyss

My Feedback: (14)

Vario heli's are designed for scale model mechanics instead of high performance 3D. The Vario Acrobat will do aerobatics better than the Benzin trainer, but don't expect to do a complicated 3D routine with it. I bought a Vario trainer to go in a fuselage because they are very well built and strong, but heavier because of it. My priorities are reliability and strength.


Good luck!

carguy1994ca

Gfyss

I intend to buy a Vario benzin trainer to put in a scale body later. I don't plan on 3D but want dependability, ease of building and enough power so it can easily haul its weight around (like in sharp turns, fast climb, ).

I would like to hear about your experience with this bird.

Carguy

i_fire

Hi all,
Here the same thing! I'm changing lanes and looking to buy a gasser, I was so confused! So I ran through this site:

http://www.airstarintl.com/

and i saw a kit called MONGOOSE and it seems to be good, because I has all parts upgraded! "CNC Alumn"
Any one know it?


Thanks,,,

rotordoc1

I have three gassers at the moment, and my Predator SE Gas (I have been flying the heck out of it for over three years!) is by far my favorite.

I do not know if they are available in Kuwait.

There are a few posts in the gasser forum that one of syclic's pasts has linked to, but I have no experience with it. I think it is made in the Philipines.

i_fire

Hi rotordoc1 ,
   one of my friends told that the Predator has a lot of vibration and may fall a part! with aerial photography in my mind, it won't do any good!

Thanks,

rotordoc1

Hmmm...how experienced with gas helicopters is your friend?

There are now 4 in our club , three with a lot of flight time on them, and we all agree that they are the smoothest and most dependable gas helis we have ever had.

They have all virtually been "start and fly" helis with very low maintenance (if any).

So that is why I have to question where the info from your friend comes from.

Of course, like any other bigger heli. It is important that they are built properly to insure smoothness.

i_fire

He tried it on AP!
by the way, in comparision between "Century Predator & ASI Mongoose"
which one will get the higher score???