A few questions...

[Greig_W]

This is my first post although I have been browsing and reading on here for a few weeks now. I am a total beginner and am looking for a few pointers on completing my kit. This is what I either have or have on the way so far:

Raptor 50 Titan
O.S 50 Hyper Engine
Spektrum DX7 (RX + TX)
Futaba GY401 Gyro + S9254 tail servo, S3050 on the throttle and S9255’s on rest.

Questions:

The main area I’m not sure on is the receiver battery and charger, ideally I would to have a battery that would last a whole days flying or if not then I guess I could buy more than one and just swap them over when required. I’ve been looking at Vapextech batteries on ebay, they are 4.8v NiMH and range from 3300 to 4300mAh but I’m not sure if they would be suitable for the above setup? Also what is the best way to monitor the battery levels on the heli, I have seen these small LED indicators like the one sold be quick UK but have no idea if these are sufficient? Last question on batteries, what do I use to charge them? Ideally I want to charge up the battery(s) the night before so I don’t have to mess about with charging at the field, I have been looking at the Ripmax Pro-Peak but again I may have this all wrong and the best way to do it is at the field?

Another thing I’m not sure of is the starter, can I just get a 6mm shaft and use my Dewalt battery drill or do I need to get a proper starter?

And lastly do I need to fit a governor to the above setup? I have been reading about them but not really sure if I need it for starting off?

I have been up to my local club and although there was only one Heli pilot there he did say that there were quite a few raptors in the club and people will be more than willing to help with set-up etc. I also have phoenix sim on the way so many hours will be spent on that before I try the real thing.

Any help or advice will be very much appreciated and sorry for the rather large first post and if this has all been answered before.

[Ade_Law]

i would stay away from cheap packs they are normally cheap for a reason. stick to well known brands of cells such as sanyo or GP. sub C sized as these will hold their voltage better through the discharge than smaller cells.

also make sure you have a heavy duty switch.

as for checking the state of the battery the only way to do it reliably is to put a known load on the battery and measure the voltage. non of the on board checkers do this. futaba do a very nice one.

i use a pro peak constelation charger to charge the battery I also use it to check the battery as it has a discharge option, set it to 1amp discharge and leave it for 20secs anything under 5.0v and its worth topping it up.

whilst raptors might be popular at your club anybody worth their salt will be able to setup any heli. so save yourself some money in the short term and the long term (no need for upgrades) and take a look at the knight 50 sport.

raptors are dinosaurs :-)

Ade

[Jamez]

Vapextech packs are very good and good value. But Ade has a point about most cheap packs. I and several others I fly with use them and they have proven reliable.

[Made2Fade]

I can second that... i too have a vapextech 4300mah pack in my sceadu and they seem fine. Id say your choice of heli was a good one as raptors have been around long enough and are proven. Most people can set them up easily and id say there far easier to setup than any knight. Might not fly as good as the knights but thats another story (this doesnt mean raptors fly crap cuz they dont). The setup you've chose seems perfect for a beginner and i think you've made a good choice. The servos youve chosen for cyclics will serve you well also when doing more advanced flying. If your learning then theres no need for a governor, just make sure your throttle/pitch curves are dialled in nicely. The TX/RX you have seem to be pretty much future-proof and nearly everyones now switching to 2.4Ghz. Engine is pretty much the industry standard so not much to say about that. Good luck with it all!
Lee

[Gaza07]

Vapextech packs from ebay are very good packs i have them in all my heli`s
The raptor titan is a very good choice in heli, It would be a long time before you needed to update any thing onit to be able to do full blown 3d if thats what you want to go for, The titan come complete with silencer and wooden main rotors so you dont have to buy either of these for a start or maybe never, The knight sport comes with neither you have to buy blades and a silencer on top of the price, The knight sport had quite a few quality control problems before not sure if they still do but it had very poor bearings soft metal bolts and parts that would split or snap not to mention its friggin ugly

[Greig_W]

Thank you very much for your input.

I did consider the Knight Sport and the T-Rex Nitro before I bought the titan as I have read much discussion over these models on here. The reasons for buying the titan were purely down to the amount of information, parts and support etc available all over the net and it seems more than capable for my beginners skills to keep me going for quite some time.

I think I will just go ahead and get a couple of them Vapextech 4300mAh batteries.

Any comments on whether I can use a battery drill with hex extension to start the engine?

Thanks again, Greig

[Made2Fade]

Yeh u can use a battery drill but i think you'll need to find a fitting for the hex. If it becomes a problem just cut a cheap hex adapter down and use that in the vice on the drill. Much better to get a proper starter and adapter with a Gel Cell battery though. After all you'll have a good little setup there so it would be best to treat it with the proper starter etc.
Lee

[Ade_Law]

the drills i have seen used dont spin fast enough and can make starting tricky. better to go for a proper starter

Ade

[Gaza07]

I wouldnt use a battery drill some of them have far to much torque and if you get a hydraulic lock it could rip your engine to bits

[SlamDunK]

I use a knight 50 to start my Raptors.

lol.