Question about a Raptor

[Felony44]

Im new to helis and have been training on a simulator for a few weeks. I am thinking of purchasing a Raptor sometime in June so i have plenty of sim time ahead. I was looking at a Raptor 30 and was wondering if i could put a OS .50 in that bird and if i did would it be too much motor for me and or the heli. Or should i just spend the extra 100 or so dollars to get a Raptor 50? What should i look at for a TX ?how many channels? are stock servos that come in a package deal ok? whats a good gyro for a Raptor? I need all the help i can get.


Thanks

[Motions]

First of all, don't get the 30, spring for the 50. It's basically the same model but the 50 will grow with you much more and the power to wieght ratio is much better. If you get a 30 and want to upgrade it to a 50, then you still have to buy several new parts including bigger gear sets so it's just easier to get the 50 to start with.

Radio, 6 channel minimum. The Futaba 7CHP or 9CHP is good for most any heli including the 50. The radio is one of the biggest and most important investments. Get the best you can get in your budget.

I'm not sure what package your looking at that includes the servos. You would have to post the model number of the servos. As for the gyro, probably 70% of Raptor owners run the GY401 and love it.

[Felony44]

I was looking at the JR 6102 PCM Air / Heli 4xS537 Digital Servos and MD2 Receiver . If i go with the 401 gyro what tail servo should i go with?

[Motions]

If you use the 401, it's best to get the 9254 that comes with it.

I'm not familiar with JR but they have very good radios. A PCM is a big plus.

[Felony44]

Ok thanks looks like the JR and Futaba are in the same price range. If the servos that come with the Futaba are good enough for use I will go that route.

[tdswan]

I use the 6102, Great radio and it's EEAAASY to program. 537 servos will do, but I'd recomment something with 50 or more oz/in of torque for a Raptor. I think the 537's are considerably lower than that. They'll work, but you'll quickly outgrow them. I'm using Futaba S3050 digitals on my cyclic, have since day one. A friend of mine went with the 537's and when you put them side by side, his response was piggish compared to mine. I progressed into sport flying very quickly and some 3D, I'd have hated to change out servos and re-check all of my settings once I outgrew them. Yep, 3050s are pricey, so you don't need to go with something that beefy, but I think the 537's are a little underpowered.

[Felony44]

Yea i will have to look into some better servos. Whats better in helis speed or torque?

[tdswan]

Ya usually want a trade-off, there's plenty of servos out there that have enough torque, I guess keep the speed less than 0.23 and you should be happy. Don't make that the deciding factor, though. Mine was the metal gears in the 3050's for durability and vibration resistance. You can find them from $50 up to $85. I did a little shopping just now and $50 seemed to be the lowest price on them, which really isn't that bad. Futaba 9202's also seem to be the common servo among the guys at my flying field. Don't know the specs on them, but I know they're a pretty high power draw also, make sure you check your battery often.

[Felony44]

Yea i guess if you go all digtal servos the draw would be less on the battery. Boy i hvae my work cut out for me i was trying to get by cheap, but racing rc cars taught me that you will spend more on cheap gear in the long run then just buying good gear to start off with.

[Motions]

Actually digital servos will draw more from the battery because they are always drawing current. Analog servos only draw current when there is an input. I switched from analog to the S3050 servos and the battery drains only a little faster, not much.

The S3050 is a great servo for the Raptor. It has great torque and the speed is better than average. For the money, I would say it's the best (Futaba) servo for the job. I got mine from HeliProz (http://www4.mailordercentral.com/heliproz/prodinfo.asp?number=175630).

[tdswan]

Yes, that's a common misconception with digitals. Digital phones draw less power, why not servos? I almost defies the logic instilled in us all throughout life. When I first started, this was my thought as well. Digital servos are always active as long as the switch is on, where analog servos actually do almost nothing until they get a signal to change position.

[Felony44]

Well thanks alot guys i have recieved some very good info, i still have til June until i buy a heli so til then it read read read along with sim time.

Thanks again

[HeliRaptor]

To add to whats already been said. I too started pretty recent. Last June. Now it is March of 2006.

I started with the Raptor .30 v2 and believe it or now I outgrew it in 3 months of flying.

Here it is now March and guess what. I got rid of my 30 and now have a Raptor .50 with the OS .50 SX-H Hyper and an MPII with many upgraded parts, all digital Futaba S9252 Servos and a GY401 Gyro with the S9254 Servo.

I too was told to start with a 50 but said that I wouldn't out grow it. Boy was I wrong and did it cost me. I bought a JR XP652 6 channel radio for that 30 with 3 point pitch curves, I replaced that as well with a Futaba 7C Radio with 5 point pitch curves.

What I am basically saying is that if you are sure this hobby is for you, go with everyones advice and go straight to the 50.

I have many pics of my new 50 at www.HeliRaptor.com, and there are many other pics and several videos as well.