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Scale Model RC Helicopters > Question about scale..........
 
 
Clint
Heliman
Location: Sunshine State....

Im thinking about going to scale. My question
is, Im I better off getting lets say.... a Raptor 60 V2 and getting a body, or Im I better off getting one of those helis that Century is offering? From the cost point of view its cheaper to go with the century, but you know how the old saying goes *You get what you pay for* Any help would be GREAT!!!!
Thanks in advance
04-24-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Phil Cole
Veteran
Location: Redwood City CA

Clint,

It's probably better to start with mechanics and body from the same manufacturer designed to work together.

Century, Hirobo, Vario, and Graupner all have such things.

A 30-size from Century or Hirobo is a way to get started without too much commitment of time and money.
04-24-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Dougg
Heliman
Location: Westminster, Colo

Personaly, I would sugjest a Vario. I haven't tried a Graupner. I would like to. I hear that there great. My first was the A-star. It was a very eash kit to build. I tried the rossy 11.5 in that one. I hated it. I put in a "wc" then It flew great. I stuck with the fly bar head on the first. On the second chopper I was doing a Airwolf. I started to cut out the windows. I realized that I wish I had my A-star back. I sold the airwolf. Acouple of months went buy. I had the bug to build another A-star. So I ordered one. Taking all the lessons that I learned from the first one, and applyed them to the second one. Buy the way. I read Sandy's web site about building choppers. If I didn't have that tool to go by. I wouldn't have had the succsess that I had. I haven't read up on Peter Wales site yet. I would like to. I'm sure I could find more usefull info there. My second chopper I desited to try the Rossy again. This time I put it on a test stand. I put 4 gallons threw it. At 3 1/2 hours per gallon. It was a very long couple of days. Lets just say. This motor is as easy to tune as my OS's. I love the way this engine runs. And power!!!!!! Damn, This thing will out climb my roomates freya, with an 80 in his chopper. One thing that I learned, above all. Test fit the mechanics, a hundred times if you have to. Just make sure that the wood is perfect. I would not hesitate to sugest trying a Vario A-star for youre first.

Doug
http://photos.yahoo.com/degilreath
04-24-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Jet_Waynger
Senior Heliman
Location: Henderson, NV

This IS the way to go!!!

Check out: www.therotorbreak.com

The Funkey (.46 size) fuselage with the Raptor .50 mechanics IS the best way to enter the scale relm!
It is a very economical and could lead to a highly detailable machine. With a little ingenuity and some attention to detail you could have a scale machine to be proud of.
The Raptor .50 slips right into the .46 size Ranger, and with the power and performance of the R50 you will be hard pressed to wipe the grin off your face when your done flying.
You will find all the info needed to make a beautiful machine for yourself at: www.therotorbreak.com

Good Luck,

Jet_Waynger
04-24-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Heli-Driver
Elite Veteran
Location: Arlington, TX

Raptor 60 and scale.

I have a Raptor 60 and a Raptor 46 and I wanted to do a scale heli. I thought about it and decided to make the 60 the scale bird because they handle the weight better and IMO look better because they are bigger and will fly more scale like.

I chose the Century Hughes 500E and did a custom paint scheme on it, it turned out quite nice. I have an OS 61 SXWC engine and I'm running 680mm FAI blades and it flies well. The bird is about 14.5lb ready to fly.

The Raptor 60 mechanics fit quite well in the body and I can take the mechs out in under an hour and have my 60 pod and boom version to fly 3D if I choose.

I don't know how well any of the other bodies will fit on the Raptor 60 mechanics but the 60 size Century 500 is not a problem. It isn't the best "scale kit" made but with some work it builds into a very presentable heli.

You can go to my gallery or my website and see pics of it.

Thunder Tiger is coming out with some scale bodies for the Raptors sometime this year, I've already seen pics of them at some of the shows recently held. If you want a Raptor, you may ought to wait to see what they offer. I don't have any idea what their prices will be but you can bet they will be competitive and will certainly fit the Raptor if you want that particular heli.

Good luck,



Raymond

Predator Gasser SE/231 X 2
Century Helicopters
04-24-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
The_Dave
Veteran
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Wrong URL

Jet.... edit your post; the correct URL is www.rotorbreak.com.


As to the root question, I HIGHLY recommend doing a project that has either been done by another modeler and is well documented or going with an engineered system like those offered by Hirobo. Vario makes great scale stuff but unless you some experience with scale the lack of instructions and drawings will work against you.

Mark McAlpine - 2005 - We will never forget.
04-24-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Dougg
Heliman
Location: Westminster, Colo

Maybe I was willing to accept a bigger challange for my first chopper. I don't think the Vario choppers are that difficult. If your smart enough to build a pod and boom. You should be smart enough to build a Vario. The information that I used was on Sandy's site. I studyed the building of the carbon Airwolf. Then I took what applyed to my A-Star. e.g. the wood work..... The tools are out there to build a great looking chopper, At no charge even. Vario's are gel coated. I like that very much. The century fiberglass seem to thin to me. This is just my opinion.

http://photos.yahoo.com/degilreath

Doug
04-24-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Jet_Waynger
Senior Heliman
Location: Henderson, NV

You're right Dave

Sorry about the wrong URL guys. If it's not one thing it's another!!

Quote 
Maybe I was willing to accept a bigger challange for my first chopper. I don't think the Vario choppers are that difficult. If your smart enough to build a pod and boom. You should be smart enough to build a Vario.


I guess anybody can SLAP a Vario together then. My question is can they do it right?

Jet
04-25-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Dougg
Heliman
Location: Westminster, Colo

Yes, some can do it right and do it light.
04-25-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Dr.Tim
Key Veteran
Location: Mojave Desert

Light!!

Well my Vario AirWolf came out at 22lbs. , My Benzin was 13 lbs. and my Huey is 16 lbs. --- I find the bigger the heli -- the bigger the blades -- the heavier she gets!! (Sound alot like my Ex-Wife!!) But, with the proper set-up these Big Heavy Heli's fly like a pussy cat!!!!!

Dr.Tim








Yep!!! ALL VARIO GASSERS !!!!!

From Simple minds come simple ideas! Starwood Models, Approach Engineering
04-25-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Dougg
Heliman
Location: Westminster, Colo

My first A-star was 13 pounds. My second is 10 1/2 pounds. Swings 3-765's. With the rossy engine. With the tail being so long. I had to add 1 1/2 pounds to the nose. I got smarter on the second. Built it lighter "without sacraficing strenth". How are you guys putting your pictures up on the post?

http://photos.yahoo.com/degilreath
04-25-2002 Over year old.
 
 
sykochin
Senior Heliman
Location: GoWest

I agree with Phil Cole. Since this is going to be your first scale, I would suggest Century or Hirobo 30 size scale.
The Century ARF are excellent. I saw many of them and they fly so well, plus they are quick build version, so you can enjoy it quicker.
I’m very impressed by the Century products now. Their quality is much better than a couple years ago. The Hawk IV mechanic is really improved.
There is site below; he was flying Century Bell222 at his front house. Beautiful!
http://www.homanns.com/handihomann/video/.
Don't get me wrong. Vario is an excellent product, but they are so over priced and has many hidden costs. What you see in the catalog is not what you got. The mechanic...... etc, it took so much to get it as they show on the catalog.
I have built myself the EC-135 and UH-1B. The EC-135 is finally done (Only took me three months) and flew so well, but I put almost $2000.00 easily. The UH-1b still sitting on my table, I test flew it already, primed and ready to be painted. Now I just realized that I had to buy the slider door hinges. Those cost me $40.00. Boy...
People say Vario fits so nice…etc. But they did not mention that you must use Vario mechanic. Try to use some other mechanics, you will get headache for sure.
Now Graupner/Heim is another good product. I think this statement is too strong. It should be “It was a good product”. I just finished building their Uni-Expert System. Uhhhh Grrrrr….It was good product in 20 years ago. This company did not invest any new tools. So the plastic molding is really bad, it’s kind like you get something is made in Russia. The bottom mainframe sets is so weak and flimsy. The screws… they use self tapping screw in 90% of the heli, plus they ARE NOT Phillip head screws. They are the cheap slotted one.

Good luck
04-27-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Clint
Heliman
Location: Sunshine State....

Thanks to all that helped me out....

I think I will be going with the Century Airwolf or the Bell 222. Thank you guys for the advice!
Again,
MANY THANKS!!!
04-27-2002 Over year old.
 
 
edg
Senior Heliman
Location: San Francisco, CA

The Century 47G looks like it will be a nice one.

I agree about matching the mechs with the fuse. All around easier. I just finished putting together a Hirobo Lama .30 sized kit and could highly recommend it as a 1st (semi) scale.

There's another consideration you may want to take into account on the type of scale ship you're considering -- ease of maitenance. The fully enclosed fiberglass fuse types can be a real pain to work on. After doing a Vario BK-117, Funkey Twinstar (raptor mechs) and BO105 for Eco8, I've found that access to things is very problematic and can require a lot more disassembly.

I now tend to favor scales that are more pod&boom like. This would include the Bell 47, Lama and 300C. My Vario Bell 47 went together very quickly and is very easy to work on. Same for the Hirobo Lama.

-edg-
05-01-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
HeliCool
Senior Heliman
Location: Florida

Has anyone tried the AH-6 Ultimate soldier retrofit

I have one of those ultimate soldiers AH-6 Little Bird models and would love to put either my Raptor 30 or Hawk II in it. What are your thoughts on this. Is it too heavy? Is there someway to make a mold of that body and make it out of CF or FG? Would a latex mold somehow work? I have the ability to do either. Just dont know where to start.

Rich Macys
richmacys@gmail.com
05-01-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Phil Cole
Veteran
Location: Redwood City CA

Rich,

It's been done before, and it works. It comes out heavy, but not too heavy.

I saw a website that showed the steps one person took to do it. Most of the interior was gutted to make room for the mechanics, and there was a bit of juggling to do to get the boom and mast to roughly line up with where they had to be.

Sorry, I can't remember the URL.

Phil
05-01-2002 Over year old.
 
 
HeliCool
Senior Heliman
Location: Florida

Ive got that website URL

I just figured I would throw that out there. What sort of motor and blade combo do you think I will need? I was thinking about an MDS motor. Are they any good? They are cheap, thats the reason Im asking. Ive only used OS motors. I just like to mix it up a bit because I dont want my heli to be the same as everyone elses. Cant stand to be in a "CLASS".

Thanks

Rich Macys
richmacys@gmail.com
05-02-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Christian
Senior Heliman
Location: Boston, MA

Raptor 50 ranger

.
05-03-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Jet_Waynger
Senior Heliman
Location: Henderson, NV

I think you'd agree!

These three Raptor Rangers are kind to the old eyes!

From left: Dave Bottita, Mark McAlpine and Wayne Kyker.








A special thanks to Dave Bottita for everything that he did to bring my Raptor Ranger into existence! Thanks Dave
05-08-2002 Over year old.
 
 
The_Dave
Veteran
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Ain't no thing!

Jet,

As chief test pilot for CareFlight 5 the pleasure is all mine!

Man....I sure could go for 20 wings about now......



Mark McAlpine - 2005 - We will never forget.
05-08-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
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