dkshema
rrProfessor
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
| I don't think you'd want to put the OS50 in your Caliber 4. You would not be happy with the results. You'd want to turn 600 mm blades, that would require a longer boom and belt. If you want a 50 sized machine, BUY a 50 sized machine instead of making one.
Consider picking up a Caliber 5 to go with that 50 if you want to stay with Kyosho helis. The C5 is a better value than the C4, as for about $270 you get the Caliber 5 with a set of fairly decent CF main rotor blades. The kit comes with a muffler, that while not superior for a Hyper, is serviceable until you put on a Hatori or Muscle Pipe. The Caliber 4, on the other hand is about $229, and you still have to buy the main rotor blades. Since you apparently don't have a 32/37 motor, you'll have to buy THAT, as well.
If you go the C4 route, start out with the OS 37 SZ-H from the start. Don't mess with the OS 32 SX-H. You'll really want the extra power the 37 puts out. The muffler that comes in the box with the C4 again is serviceable with the 37, but not superior. You'll eventually want a better muffler, preferably one that doesn't separate into parts in flight.
The design of the stock mufflers that come with the C4 and C5 kit is identical. My stock C5 muffler stayed in one piece till I replaced it with an MP5-50. On the other hand, the stock muffler from my C4 came apart in flight twice before I found a used MP2 for sale here on RR and replaced it.
-----
Again, value-wise, and seeing that you already own a 50 -- buy the Caliber 5 instead of the 4. You'll save money in the long run. Use the cash that would have gone towards the 30 sized motor and add the EMS linkage kit to the basic C5. And buy the optional 15-tooth pinion (CA5506) instead of using the stock 14-tooth pinion on the countershaft. This changes the stock gearing from 9.65:1 to 8.97:1 more suitable for a 50.
-----
As for the Caliber 4. It's an OK helicopter. I've owned one for about a year, now. I have an OS 37 SZ-H installed in it, a Curtis Youngblood MP2 muffler on it, and the rest of the heli is pretty much stock. The stock gearing for the Caliber 4 is more suited to a 50-sized motor (8.97:1) than it is for a 30-class motor.
I've found that the stock 8.97:1 gearing just doesn't work that well with the OS37, even with a decent muffler installed. With the stock gearing, if I get above about 9 degrees collective, the heli rolls to the left and pitches nose down, a relatively bad habit for a heli. More than about -9 degrees results in a similar condition when inverted.
This past weekend, I substituted a 14-tooth pinion (freed up when I installed the optional 15-tooth pinion to change the C5's ratio) in place of the stock 15-tooth pinion that comes with the C4. This has the effect of changing the gear ratio from the stock 8.97:1 to 9.65:1, more suited to the power-band of the 37. In doing so, I found that I could now get about +/- 11 degrees of collective pitch before the helis began showing that nasty left roll/pitch down habit. The different gear ratio, in my opinion, made the C4 much more flyable. The part number for that 14-tooth pinion, by the way, is CA5110, and happens to be the stock pinion shipped with the C5.
-----
It's odd that Kyosho ships their C5, a 50-sized heli with a stock gear ratio more suited for a 30 class motor, while at the same time, they supply the C4 with a stock gear ratio that's more suited for a 50 class motor.
If you owned a C4 AND a C5, you could make BOTH fly better simply by swapping the pinion gears between the two kits. Both helis would end up with reduction ratios more suited to the powerplant that's installed.
-----
In general, though the C4 flies well, I believe that my older Caliber 30's actually perform better than the C4, which is interesting, because they are essentially the same machine.
The phase relationship of the flybar to the main rotor system is fixed due to the head and washout base design in the C4, unlike the design of the older Caliber 30 and the new Caliber 5.
This past weekend I found that I needed to add a touch of right aileron to up elevator mix (and left aileron to down elevator mix) to keep the bird tracking straight through loops.
-----
My one remaining Caliber 30 also has an OS 37 installed, and the muffler is an older KSJ 399, which is well suited to the 37. The gear ratio of the Caliber 30 is 9.65:1, which is what I am now running in my C4 with the pinion change of this past weekend.
-----
Parts support is very good, with parts being available from Chris at RC Heliworks and from Heliproz. Parts pricing is average, not a big deal.
As I've already stated, the Caliber 5 kit has more value than the Caliber 4 since it comes with decent CF main blades and the C4 comes with none. You already own the 50 motor, that's a big plus.
-----
I've found that my Caliber 4 has some undesirable flight characteristics -- I've already mentioned the tendency to roll left and pitch down with maximum throttle and about 9 degrees pitch. In addition, the Caliber 4 has a nasty tendency to want to pitch up coming out of a tight high-speed turn. My Caliber 30's are much more well-behaved.
On the other hand, when my Caliber 5 is tuned and flying well, it tracks very solidly, has no bad pitchyness or other habits, and is a smooth machine.
Buy the C5, add the few upgrades (EMS linkage and 15-tooth pinion), and you'll have a much more enjoyable experience.
-----
Frankly, I've been somewhat disappointed in the Caliber 4's performance after messing with it for about a year, I'm about ready to sell it and move on to a different heli altogether. For a 30-sized heli, I think the Caliber 30 is a better performer.
-----
As for the Caliber 4 flybar. Yes, it's big, wide, and plastic. There is a short rod about 4 or 5 inches long that goes through the main rotor hub that supports the flybar and the associated mixing levers. The paddles have space inside for brass weight rods. Unless you glue those rods down, they can slide back and forth in the slots. I didn't like that.
If I were to keep the Caliber 4, I'd replace that nasty plastic flybar monstrosity with the stock flybar and paddles from the Caliber 30. Interestingly enough, the "blinged out", more expensive version of the Caliber 4, known as the Caliber 4 FT -- dumped the plastic flybar and went back to the Caliber 30 bar and paddles. I'll bet there's a reason for that.
-----
As for the rest of my installation in the C4, I'm using JR DS811 servos (not super fast, but reliable and good), a GY401/9254 combo on the tail, and am using a JR X9303/AR7000 receiver. I'm flying 15% Sig Champion heli fuel. Perhaps goosing the nitro up to 30% would perk up this little bird, but I doubt by very much.
-----
I don't know what level of flying you're at, or what kind of performance you're looking for. This next statement may sound like a bit of blasphemy, coming from me here on the Kyosho forum...but if you are looking for a lively, well behaved 50-sized machine to go with that 50 of yours, take a second look at the Align 600 Nitro Pro. I've been flying one since early spring (thanks to a "test drive" offered to me by Wes at Modefo's), and find the 600 Nitro Pro to handle very well. It flies so well that it's also making me consider selling my Caliber 5 -- and buying a second 600N.
-----
* Making the World a Better Place -- One Helicopter at a time! *
Dave |
Tom
If your flying the YS, as I am the tank doesn't matter.
