New to RC Heli's

[heli-fan]

I'm new to this hobby and this discussion board, but just wanted people to know I finally got my Raptor 50 in the air last weekend. It was great, I've had alot of time on the G3 sim, but was afraid to fly my 50, I would have been heart broken if I crashed. The flight ( hover) was so much easier than I thought it was going to be, now I wonder what I was waiting for. I'm away from home right now and can't to get back so I can fly again.

I do have one question has anyone ever tried to use Rit dye to change the color of your canopy or other parts? I tried it and it kinda worked the tail fin turned out great but the canopy
only came out a very light blue, and then faded into a light purple. Any sugestions.

[tdswan]

It's always scary flying the real thing. When the dollar values are in play, things definately change. A mechanical failure is always in the back of your mind as well.

As far as the Rit dye, never heard of anyone who's used it. The canopy will likely not absorb a dye too readily.

Sand the crap out of everything, then prime & paint it. Clear coat it after with automotive clear coat to resist the fuel. :)

http://image.rcuniverse.com/gallery/galleryimages/lg-43619.jpg

[kiwipilot]

Is that yours? Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[tdswan]

Thanks!
It's the second paint job for this one. There's pics of the old paint job in the photos section in this forum. http://www.rchelimag.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107

I like this one much better than the old one. :cool:

[heli-fan]

Nice paint job.
Its hard to tell by my pics but the tail was dyed and turned out good. The reason I didn't paint
is because the retailer told me the paint would'nt stick, and I have used the trick of dye on RC cars, plastic parts such as the wheels, and it works great. I know you can paint but the time and money spent seemed a little much for auto grade clear coat. I was just trying to save a few steps. I know the make a new canopy for 50 size raptor FRP ( fiberglass reinforced plastic???)
http://www4.mailordercentral.com/heliproz/prodinfo.asp?number=133885
I'll try that after I'm better at flying .
Thanx for the suggestion.

[tdswan]

Yeah, paint doesn't stick to it very well unless you completely sand all of the "milk jug" texture off from it and rough the whole thing up real well. If you paint, plan on doing it each year to keep it looking good. As for the automotive clear coat, you can get it in spray can form, but I thought about getting to know a body man and leave the canopy with him. They always have some clear coat left from finishing a car. It would only be 10 minutes of his time if you have it all prepped and ready for clear coat. They may do it for $20 or something. I'm still considering doing it with mine because I did skimp a little on the clear coat, but it's still auto grade. I guess only time will tell if the clear will hold.

[sgtmike74]

Thats a nice looking heli!!

[tdswan]

Thanks, I've got a lot of off time in the winter to paint.