Advice on entering the nitro market as a begginner

[pjbrazendale]

Hi,

New to these forums and really looking for some advice. I have over the years dabbled in RC cars and planes both nitro and electric and had great fun but as time got on life got busy and i stopped for a while. Now last year a friend of mine gave me his old 4CH electric helicopter which i have had many many hours of fun with and as such i have developed some sort of addiction for RC Heli's which is what brings me to this forum.

I am looking ideally to now venture into the Nitro market, I have looked over an array of different kits and looked at many a review online however i still cannot make up my mind. I have however sort of settled on getting a Thunder Tiger Raptor 50 V3 with the 50 engine supplied kit, now this is where i need some advice, would you recommend this to someone new to nitro? Also is the step from 4CH to 6/7 CH to big? And if i am to go down this path what recommendations would you have for Radio gear, gyro and required servos?

Thanks in advance

Pete

[Mark_T]

I'd probably suggest going about this slightly differently.

If you are interested in nitro, first thing I'd do is find your local club and talk to them about how to get started.

You will need a club with a proper flying field if you are going for this size of heli and they will certainly be able to tell you which models they are familiar with and how to go about getting started. You may also find that someone there has an ideal model to get started with that they are willing to sell on.

What I wouldn't do is start psending money until you've got the club end sorted.

That said the Raptors are a great first nitro model, but do take a look at the Raptor 30 as well, it is a little smaller but will give you a lot more flying time per tank which is what matters when you are learning.

[cjcj1949]

It depends on what sort of flying you can do with the 4 channel heli and what it is. Bigger helis are easier to fly in theory and on the sim, but you will generate a lot more adrenalin and it could cost you a lot of money before you can fly without shaking. There is a lot to learn with all helis and you will need a big field with noone about and someone else to watch if its a public area. Dog walkers and kids do appear without warning. A heli club with a helpful person is one way. If not then I'd consider proffessional lessons. In heli terms they are cheap. You can use their model. Anyone who feels able to teach you should allow you to use their model. I think you will probably have to pay for this. Even teaching someone with an mcx is difficult. With a plane its not so bad even without a buddy box, but helis are difficult enough to fly and to regain control when someone does the opposite of what you've said needs special skill.

Lots of people can check out your heli for you and trim it and tell you what to do.

[del19_82]

I personally feel that your better with a 50 size over a 30 because you will very quickly want to move up to one anyway. I started with a raptor 30 and within a 3 month period i wanted to go up to a 50 size. A 50 size can be made to be very docile until such times as you feel that you want more from it, a 30 will just cost money to do that to upgrade to a 50 size.

As mark said, go to a club locally and find out what the popular models are (most likely Align) and then make you decision from there.

[pjbrazendale]

Many thanks for the replies, I have made a few enquiries regarding clubs in my local area I have also just ordered the Phoenix V3 sim as I have heard good things about that. In regard to the
Heli I have chosen I went with the raptor 50 as I have heard it can be tuned to be very docile
Which is what I want initially.

[bigbas]

HI and welcome to the forum a wise decision in choice i have all nitro raptors and you will find not much better to fly the 30 i have is fitted with os 37 and is more than powerfull enough to have fun with and economical to run but the 50s are really good in the power stakes as it carries larger blades and longer tail boom and different gearing but still docile if you set correctly for beginner if you have any questions on set up just drop me a pm be glad to help have fun i know i do with them!!!!!!!!

[pjbrazendale]

Ok, well i have just placed an order for a Raptor Titan 50 Kit along with Thunder Tiger Redmax Engine and Muffler. In terms of radio equipment what would you guys recommend? I have heard great things about the Spektrum DX6 and DX7 also what would you suggest for servos and gyro?

Many thanks.

[del19_82]

I personally would recommend a DX7 for Nitro or if you want to go Futaba the 8FG is the radio to go for. Gyro I would use a Spartan (either Quark or DS760), The Align 750 Gyro is fairly reasonable or a CSM 720 is a good gyro as well. Servo wise I use Align DS610's on the head & a DS620 on the tail which fit my needs perfectly. There are other options and i'm sure guys with different gear will pitch in

[scuba steve]

i agree with Del. to get the best out of your nitro you'll need to run a governor. to do this you'll need 7 channels on your Tx. i can recommend the new DX7s, it has a specific governor function which makes it super easy to set up your HS.....literally takes a few mins. the align servos are also more than good enough and i use both the Spartan DS760 and Quark gyros....both will servo you well and can be picked up 2nd hand for a deal now FBL is all the rage.

[pjbrazendale]

Hi,Thanks for the replies, I will definitely look into getting the Quark gyro as production has now stopped on the Spartan ones. In terms of a governor is it really needed? And in terms of a transmitter I think the Specktrum DX7 is the way forward. Been doing a lot of reading and things are a lot more clearer now, just looking forward to the build now!