Hawk or Raptor

[newheliguy]

Hello All,

I was wondering what everyone's opinion about choosing a heli for a beginner. I have a Century Hawk Sport, but have heard that a Raptor v2 would have been a better choice. What do you all think

[tdswan]

I learned on the Raptor, if you set it up right, on a calm day it'll almost hover itself if you set it up right. can't speak much for the Hawk.

[rcfan]

There's nothing wrong with the Hawk Sport; great heli for beginner/intermediate flying and cheap parts galore.

[newheliguy]

There's nothing wrong with the Hawk Sport; great heli for beginner/intermediate flying and cheap parts galore.


The only problem so far, is the setup instructions aren't good in fact they bite, and you have to purchase parts from Century, as there are no hobby shops close that carry Hawk parts, and Century charges alot for shipping. I bought and antena tube that cost 1.95 but was charged 7.00 shiping and handling. I feel the instructions are geared more for an experienced builder/pilot. Anyone have any information that would help me with setup I would like to hear from you. I am going to a hobby shop about 30 miles from home, to have the shop heli pro setup my bird, for a small fee. I have read and re-read the instructions and still can't figure it out. Spring time is creeping up and since I am a full time nursing student I don't have alot of time to fiddle around trying to figure out the ball link set up and pitches. I am not trying to bash Century, and have not looked at any other instructions for any other heli, I guess I am just a little frustrated, I have been working on this heli for about 2 months trying to get the pitch and linkages setup right.

[tdswan]

Almost any heli's setup instructions are vague to say the least. If I would've gone by the manual to set up my Raptor, I'd have been lost, too. I've built 3 since then on my own and set up 2 for other pilots. There's just no substitute for having an experienced pilot help you set it up. Heli's is a hobby that's nearly impossible to get into without a mentor or teacher of some sort. Setup is just too technical to do from a manual.

[Fasrc]

LOL...welcome to the helicopter world.... We all went through what you’re going through but once you get it it’s a breeze. It takes me about 10 mins to setup my pitch and throttle curves once my heli is mechanically setup properly. See if you can find an experienced pilot in your area that can help you. Try this site: http://pilotlocator.net. If you can’t find someone local than drive out to meet someone, it really is worth it to have a experienced pilot assist you when starting out.

[newheliguy]

Thanks tdswan, it is nice to know that most likely everyone struggles with the set up. But how did you get the upperhand on setting up your heli's, just watching and helping, and getting the niche for it? I would like to get my hands on a Raptor, do your or anyone else that is reading on the forums know of anyone selling a Raptor for a decent price. I would just like to have another heli handy incase I have a bad accident. I think my email address and messenger information is available for anyone to send me a message if anyone should be able to help me out. Keep posting here, the good information is valuable! Thanks Everyone!

[tdswan]

I was taught by an experienced pilot. He was truly interested in my doing well in this hobby. He didn't lift a wrench to my heli, but he walked me through the setup while I made the adjustments. That's the only way to learn. Pilots like him are hard to come by. That's what RC Clubs are all about. Sharing knowledge and furthering the hobby. If you can't find a local pilot on your own, Join a club that has a heli guy or two in it.

[newheliguy]

Thanks tdswan,

I have found a Hobby Shop and Hour away from my home who has a heli pro come and teach setup and tuning for free, he is a sponsor for that particular Shop. He is there on Saturday's so hopefully he will teach me alot. The other place I was going to go to was closer but they wanted 50.00/hr if they touch the heli, and they wouldn't "teach" you without charging the labor. This other hobby shop having the heli pro was very convient, I happen to work @ the local hospital, which is seven minutes away from the hobby shop. I have read alot of threads mentioning the use of a P/C Sim. I have the Real Flight Simulator, I read that the current add-ons are not compatable with the version I have. Do you or anyone else have a suggestion or have the older version of the add-ons they are not using anymore :cool: Oh, and I have a pic of my heli, I will upload the next time I post I don't have the pic on this lap-top.

Look Foward from hearing from everyone Soon!

Adam

[newheliguy]

Hello everyone,

Me again, I tried to start the heli today, for those of you that like Century, I started it couple of weeks ago, and ran for about a minute and died. I couldn't get it to fire up again. I tried again today it popped off but never ran, I changed the glo-plug thinking that might help, I am also running 30% Wildcat Curtis Youngblood fuel. Anyone have any suggestions? :mad: On top of all this the starter shaft and hex adapter stripped out. I used a drill with a 5mm hex bit to start it(well at least attempt to) but it was a DeWalt drill with the settings on the chuck that you can change the torq settings, I don't think that drill is the way to go. I was getting ready to order 130.00 in parts and a starter and BB upgrade, and pipe for the .32, but I will hold off until I go see the heli pro, if we have any problems with the Hawk, A Raptor will be on the UPS Truck with a shipping label with my name on it! :cool: at this point it is very tempting! I am going to wait until I go to the heli pro to see what he says about the heli, if we have problems with it I am going to sell it. Guess I will get some more practice reading and intrepreting Assembly instruction for helicoptors! LOL
Thanks for listening to me!

[rcfan]

You really should have waited for someone with experience to give your heli a once-over before attempting to start it. Get a one-way start wand, will prevent some of the problem you had with the hex adapter. Regarding the engine, if it's new, make sure you follow the vendor instructions for adjusting needles AND follow proper break-in procedures.

As an FYI, replacing the Hawk with a Raptor will NOT help fix the problems you've had thus far ... they're not related to the heli brand, but rather your inexperience and impatience.

You probably should go check-out some of the larger heli forums where you'll find a lot more expertise than you will get here. Try RCuniverse.com, helifreak.com and runryder.com.