Tiger 50

[darkfa8]

anyone around here have one? thoughts? flight experience?

[Fasrc]

We tested the Tiger 50 in our second issue.....

[darkfa8]

is the second issue to market yet?

i looked through the site and only see information on the #1 issue.

I have signed up to receive a copy of the magazine and might very well subscribe.

[Fasrc]

The 2nd issue should hit stores soon........

I am tempted to talk about the tiger 50 but I don't want to spoil it for the readers..... :D

[weiner69]

this issue should be in stores now...

[darkfa8]

well, maybe the people who aren't on the magazine staff can talk about this helicopter.

[gamedog53]

I have a Tiger 50 and I love it. As a beginner it seems to be very forgiving and fun to fly. Customer service is awesome and the replacement parts are very reasonable. John Beech is very helpful when you call and speak to him.
I am sure that someone will have something different to say but I am very happy with my Tiger. :cool:

[darkfa8]

hey gamedog53, great to hear that you're happy with your Tiger. I've been very satisfied with mine and have likewise had a great experience with the machine and also with John and the other fellow owners.

Fortunately, I was able to get my local hobby shop to sign on as a dealer for Audacity so I don't have to always mail order for parts. Works out very good.

Here's a picture of mine, though I've since sold off the V-Blade 620s and the NHP 95 tails started cracking so I now have the RotorTech/Fun-Key 95 tail blades, the rest of the heli is a bit modificated ;)

http://www.g-body.org/temp/t50.jpg

[weiner69]

very nice heli...i was thinking of getting one...

[darkfa8]

thanks weiner69

Mine has several mods that deviate from stock:

Century Tuf-Gear landing gear
positive-delta mod
QuickUK R50 CF tail boom supports
Custom tail stinger (am making another in CF now)
JR Vigor CS triple-bb tail grip/hub assembly (Century Raven/Falcon/Predator 60 grips/hub will also fit)
inverted tail servo
CF tube stiffened stock tail pushrod
Slimline Excell Fueler port
Audacity ProMuffler
FMA Direct Co-Pilot with custom made sensor mount
Prototype/custom Callie's Graphix canopy vinyl
KSJ paddles
3D 400mm fly bar
Audacity yellow 3D dampers
Polydyn treated engine internals (crank and back plate have oil shedding coating, piston crown and cylinder head chamber have heat reflective coating, Frank Bowman ring, chamfered oil holes on the connecting rod)
Ceramic BB compositie retainer engine front/rear bearings
Fromeco Arizona Dual Output Regulator

It flies great, is very stable, can hover hands off for several seconds, no perceivable vibration problems (I did balance the fan/hub assembly and got my runout to .00025"), and it's very easy to work on.

I originally bought mine from one of the first Audacity Models Field Reps who was moving and decided to sell it. So it had some upgrades that him and a friend of his who was a JR rep did (Vigor tail and JR o-ring dampers). I changed some things, added some stuff and had some new things made specifically for this heli. So far it's worked out very well.

John has been very responsive to upgrades and addressing any and all potential issues with the heli. Though out of the box, stock with good collective management this heli can 3D exceptionally well for it's price-point. He's already got an upgrade kit with beefier grips, 6mm spindle and triple ball-bearings and a new heavier duty tail grip/hub section is on its way along with a bunch of other goodies :)

I wish every heli manufacturer was this quick to address concerns, make upgraded parts available and be a stand-up guy about all of it.

[gamedog53]

darkfa8
Sweet looking Tiger. Did you get your copy of the magazine yet? I am still waiting for my first issue to arrive.
Jan

[darkfa8]

thanks Jan. No, I haven't received my copy ofthe magazine just yet. I will likely pick up the latest issue, #2 at Barnes & Noble after work tomorrow since the review on the Tiger is in it.

[Colin Bell]

Nice lookin heli! Bright colours :)

No one picked up on the backward blade? :p

Colin

[MikeV]

darkfa8
Sweet looking Tiger. Did you get your copy of the magazine yet? I am still waiting for my first issue to arrive.
Jan

Issue 1's been mailed out for a while. The first mailing of Issue 2 was about 3 weeks ago. We have a suplemental mailing going out tomorrow, that's for people that signed up in the last month, after the first mailing.

Email me directly and I'll help you figure out what happen if you subscribed a long time ago and didn't receive Issue 1.

Thanks,
Mike

mikev@rchelimag.com

[MikeV]

Nice lookin heli! Bright colours :)

No one picked up on the backward blade? :p

Colin


You just scared the crap out of me. I thought you were saying that a blade was backward in our magazine. I just scrambled to find a copy and ours are okay. Sometimes our studio photographer will remove items and put things back without letting anyone else know.

[gamedog53]

My issue arrived yesterday in perfect shape. Thanks

[darkfa8]

I stopped by B&N and read through the magazine. Particularly, the Tiger 50 article. Unfortunately it wasn't noted that harder durometer dampers and other "3D" accessories are available from Audacity, along with a version 2.0 abdendum that supercedes several areas of the original manual with improved instructions and tips.

The stock 70-duro dampers have been sufficient for all the box-stock fliers I've talked to and read about. Marcus Kim and Kyle Stacy put a box-stock Tiger through some hard 3D, no boom strikes there.

You can boom strike pretty much anything if your collective management isn't adept enough for hard manuevers with a soft dampened head. There are also new 3D heavy duty main grips, 6mm head axle, triple BB positive delta conversion kit out and heavy duty triple BB one-piece tail grips on the way along with a bunch of other upgraded parts.

Either way, out of the box, for a total newbie who should have experienced help to begin with, the Tiger performs excellent.

[MikeV]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the response. In most kit reviews it's not customary to list all of the available options. I noticed in your list of options on your Tiger that you're not running the stock dampers. There's definitely an advantage to the stiffer dampers. Overall I felt the Tiger 50 review to be very positive. It's a good ship, great when you factor in the cost. Despite what Marcus Kim or Kyle Stacy can do with it, out of the box it's not going to be a super 3D machine for the average pilot. However, with stiffer dampers and some carbon blades it "...will be a solid helicopter for pilots of all skill levels." I think most that have flown it would agree with that statement, as did Andy Winthrop, our reviewer of the Tiger.

So far the domestic helicopter magazine on the market has lacked objectivity when it comes to kit and product reviews. Often times it's written for the manufacturer (in some instances written by the manufacturer) rather than the consumer. I think after a while the helicopter community will see that RC Heli calls it like we see it, and really puts the consumer/reader first. It might take a little while to get used to objectivity, but as long as it's even handed and unbiased I think everyone, manufacturers especially, will appreciate it. Our car magazine has been around for 11 successful years and built a reputation among the RC car community as being the most objective and unbiased. Readers know they can trust what's said in there (Xtreme RC Cars) and we hope to accomplish the same with RC Heli.

[rcfan]

MikeV, thanks for the honest comments. I have yet to receive my 2nd issue (my subscription was "suspended due to non-payment" without ever being billed for it), but if it's anything like the first, it'll be great. I for one I'm glad you guys came around to report on the heli market. I'm subscribed to Xtreme R/C Cars and absolutely love the unbiased and accurate reviews you guys write.

One thing this community has become accustomed to is less-than-average models and craftsmanship requiring additional time/money to make them fly adequately well, tons more for true, hard 3d. It's absurd what most companies are able to get away with and we as customers are simply allowing them to continue on without bounds. Take for example the T-Rex ... it's already in it's fourth or fifth version in less than two years, yet you still must spend hundreds of dollars to make it fly as good as you possibly can. Note that I'm not referring to getting the right motor, ESC or servos, but rather the quality of the mechanics themselves. Even the newest Special Edition suffers from problems straight out of the box. THIS HAS TO END! Vendors need to start being made responsible for ensuring properly designed and fabricated parts; those that fit without modding or falling apart due to improper fabrication methods. I hope your reviews will ensure this happens.

The Tiger 50 is a great looking machine, but as darkfa8 mentioned, it requires some work to get the most out of it. For the price, it should already come with everything you need to get the most out without modification. :(

[MikeV]

Actually, for the price of the Tiger 50 it's an excellent bargin. As we stated in the article.

As for your "subscription suspended" thing. Don't worry about that. We send out the first issue without payment and then immediately suspend until we get payment. It's so that we con't end up sending 3 or 4 issues and never get paid. We've got bills to pay too you know. :)

[darkfa8]

Colin, I believe that pic was taken while the machine was the stock negative delta setup. I've since converted it to a positive delta operation.


RCFan, When you buy the Tiger if you send in your registration card Audacity will send you several 3D upgrades for free.

While the Tiger does have soft 70-duro dampers in the head, it's designed to make the machine less touchy in wind and more stable in a hover...which really benefits a newbie.

If you're going to 3D the Tiger bone-stock you have to be on the ball with collective management. Majority of novices are not. It doesn't matter what heli you have or how hard a damper you have, if you slap the collective around hard enough, have a incorrect head speed, engine bogging, you'll boom strike.

If you're going to test a "starter" heli test it like a novice would. Hover stability, response to varied wind conditions, tracking, pitching up or down in FF, large loops and rolls, maintence, etc. If you're going to test the 3D abilities, Audacity makes the parts needed to make the machine for adept at handling hardcore 3D.

When I started flying with a Hawk Sport and was ona hula-hoop, I had a nervous tendency that when it got ahead of me I'd slap the collective down to plant it on the ground. Well, needless to say, I had about 7 boom strikes, and each time I'd say to myself, "hey stupid, bring collective down slowly or you're gonna be broke". Eventually the tactic set in and I wasn't trying to bang the heli back on the ground if it got a little hairy. The Hawk Sport comes with 70-duro dampers stock.

The fact is, a good pilot can make any heli do anything. Ever see Alan Szabo Jr.'s 3D flight with his R30? He can get his 30 to do damn near everything that he does with his 90, just without as much power and snap. It can be done, but its all in the pilot's ability to tune and fly the machine.