Eury
rrProfessor
Location: Ankeny, IA, USA.
| I don't know if I can answer that without being jumped on. Leaving the company that is behind the product out of it, the Raptor has some shortcomings, here's a couple:
Weak stock head block. If you get into hard 3d flight, you are going to have to buy a metal headblock. The stock plastic one has proven to be unreliable. Many people feel the need to replace the entire head with one like the Kasama to get better flying characteristics out of it.
Weak stock tail. Change out that stock tail hub for their upgraded one when you build it. If not, there is a chance of it failing, the upgraded one has been pretty bulletproof. Luckily, that part is cheap (less than $20 if I recall).
Captured bearings on the frame. When it comes time to do bearing maintenance, you'll be pulling the frames apart. And bearings do need to be replaced, a good crash will take out mainshaft bearings. It's a 2 second job on just about every design out there, except for the Rpator, and it's clone, the Gohbee.
And finally, value for the dollar. Aside from the Airskipper, Hurican, and MA's new Razor (whenever it is released), the Raptor is the most expensive 50 on the market, and the worst equipped. $420 will buy you an Evo or a Titan. The Evo comes with carbon main and tail blades, metal headblock, thrust bearings in the tail, and has no parts that have to be upgraded. It has things that are nice to upgrade, but the only one that really does anything beyond cosmetics is the radius block, which is $27. Many consider the Evo to be a better flying heli as well, there are a ton of threads where guys are dropping hundreds of dollars on Kasama heads for their Raptors, and you won't find many (if any) where Evo heads are being changed out. Crash costs on both are the same, within a few bucks, and Jeff Green at MRC is a HUGE asset behind the Evo.
That's assuming you want a mechanical mix heli like the Raptor. If you want an ECCPM heli, with the simple linkages like the T-Rex, the Audacity Pantera is $370, and also has the metal headbock, triple bearing tail, cool airfilter system, 4mm flybar, and needs no upgrades. Crash costs are a little hgher than the Raptor, but not by a huge amount, and flying wise, it has much more lively cyclics, and a smoother hover.
None of that's to say that the Raptor isn't a good heli. It is, it's a great heli. There isn't a heli on the market today that doesn't fly well, the difference is in the details. The Raptor design is older than dirt and has proven itself to be tough, good flying, and easy to own. If you are going to go out and crash today and want to be flying again tomorrow, there isn't a heli in the world that you'd rather be flying than a Raptor 50. Parts are everywhere, cheap, and there are a ton of cloned parts out there by people like Gohbee and Heliproz that can save you big money. With other helis, it's best to keep a couple of the common spares if you want to get back in the air fast. Beyond that, everyone has had a Raptor at some point, so when you need help, it's always available, plus the design is pretty simple. I help people all the time with them, and when something is wrong, it's always simple to diagnose, since they have been around for so long the trouble areas are well known.
That's about it, there are other issues, but mentioning them will cause all the reps to freak out and start trying to shout me down. In all, they are all good helis, pick the one that you like best. For plenty of people, that's the Raptor. It's got a cool name, and everyone recognizes it. No beginner has ever said, I want an Evo! They have to be talked into one, or they decide they want one when they get more experience, they always initially want a Raptor. Nothing wrong with that, it's a simple, available, and good flying machine. But there are better, and in many cases, they are less money.
Nick Crego
Back off man, I'm a scientist. |
