Hammerfly

Well, that should actually say hovering. I got to try it out about three weeks ago very briefly before getting called to go to California for their storms they had at the beginning of Jan. I just got back two days ago and got to take my Raptor out in the backyard to try it again. I had a blast hovering about three tanks full out. I mainly practiced doing a box pattern keeping the tail to me most of the time, but did do a couple of boxes pointing the nose left then right. This is my first nitro helicopter and have really enjoyed it. I was very fortunate enough to get a very good used one that the previous owner had set up and trimmed out perfectly. I've been flying planks for almost 30 years now and while I was working in Florida after Hurricane Ivan I bought one of those micro's that everyone is selling now. I just had to have something to do in the evenings after all my paperwork was done. It was pretty neat to learn to hover in the living room. I was smart enough to get Real Flight's G2 sim to learn on first. I couldn't believe how much this helped out teaching my left thumb to actually do something. I never thought I would get hooked on helis like this, but I gotta tell you, my airplanes may be sitting a while now.

WhtBronco

Yeap funny how that happens to some folks. I am still flying planes, but will say that everytime I go to the field the heli comes with me along with 1 of my planes. Helis are a blast to fly.

Hammerfly

Well, I just got through with a couple more flights with my Raptor and did pretty good I think. I practiced hovering nose-in some and managed to not break anything doing it. It did get dicey a couple of times and thankfully the training "wheels" saved me, but all in all it was pretty good. I sure have to admit, this is more fun than anything I"ve ever done with my clothes on. As soon as I get a little more comfortable with the nose-in hovering, I'll start flying. Right now I'll stick with the hovering practice until it gets to be second nature. I think the RF flight sim has made a big difference in my learning when I get the real thing cranked up. I think I'm up to about nine tankfuls now and pretty happy with my progress.

While I"m thinking about it, the woodies that came on my Raptor have some of the clear covering peeling off of one end of one blade. I have a set of Maverikk CF blades that came with a crash kit that I could change to if needed, but I'm not sure how, if at all, the covering coming off of the end will effect the balance or flight. Should I change them, or just wait until I have the inevitable happen and have to change them?

rusirius

You really have two options... Probably the best is to strip the blades down and re-cover them with monokote... It's not difficult to do and will prevent the next thing from happening... The next thing you can do is just "Wait"... It won't "hurt" anything if the covering rips off mid flight... However it CAN make you drop a load in your drawers... It makes one HECK of a racket and for a brief instance you'll think your heli just got hit by a heat seeking missle... If you don't panic and just bring it back down to land you'll have no problems... But if you panic and lose it, well....

Hammerfly

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I"ll just have to strip it and recover them with some Monokote. I think I have a roll or two of yellow from my last sailplane that I can use. Now, all I have to do is find my Monokote iron, or, wait until the wife isn't looking and get her iron out.

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

Put on the maverikk blades. Even if you crash they are only $50 for a new set. Just got finished flying a bunch of tanks with my new patriot 550s for my shuttle, they are awsome and smooth.

Sean

Hammerfly

Putting the CF blades on brings up a question. I noticed that the end of the blades at the attachment point are as thick as the woodies with the blade "washers" are. Do I not put the washer plates on the CF's and just go with what looks like a bushing in the blade alone? I've noticed on some pictures that it looks like you don't use them, but I'm not sure.

WhtBronco

The carbon blades that come with the Raptor kit should just bolt right on without anything being added. Mine did for R50 V2. All I had to do was check the balance and bolt them on.

If you recover the woodies you're gonna need your heat gun as well to make sure you the covering adhered well and tight.

Hammerfly

Well, I went ahead and put the CF blades on and take off the training wheels. Ran one tank through like that and really enjoyed it. Now if we could just get a day without rain and wind I could really have some fun.

enrico74

My Feedback: (6)

Hi, I also have started flying heli, specifically an R 50 V2. The bird is beautiful. I got it hovering right from the start (I must mention that I have 17 years flying airplanes and about 1 month flying the Aerofly Pro Deluxe sim with the R 50 V2 loaded in it) But anyway, I had 5 hovers before Sundown. There is also an excellent page that I have being following its courses and its pretty good, heres the link: www.rchelicopterweb.com. the only sad part was that after the 5th flight, one of the tail rotor blades broke off!! I didn`t crash but had a very quite scare! I think maybe they could improbe the screw and lock nut system to get them grips safer! Anyway, I also did enjoy much better flying my heli that day at the field than any of my pattern planes! Yipi, hope I get better soon so I can try those CF blades that look pretty nice. Just my two cents worth. Regards Enrico