Which 50-sized for a beginner? Plse vote now!

[ChrisB]

Luckily my local model shop carries Knight stuff,failing that Skyline have been faultless in getting anything to me so dont let spares availability put you off

[rapt50]

On a differrant subject for a second ,Were is the best place to sell some raptor 50,s if got 4 of them sitting there looking at me .Any idears

[kevinh]

on here or BMFA website, or even ebay

how much you looking at selling 1 for with or without electronics, have they got engines fitted


kevh

[robgt]

Classifieds on here or BMFA website.
http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/classifieds/
http://www.bmfaclassifieds.co.uk/

Wherever you aim to sell them, do a very specific write up going into detail about every aspect of the helis - cover all bases so people simply don't need to ask any questions... you'll probably sell them easier this way.

Cheers,
Rob

[Ashley Davis]

deleted post

[rapt50]

cheers lads ive got club meeting tonight so i cant do it now. But tomorrow ill post them all on here to start with i tried the bmfa a while ago and got so many messers,( ill meet you here, Ill meet you there, and loads of no shows.)You know the type?????

[stuartetheridge]

I Got mine yesterday

Well, I went and got a raptor 50 with an OS hyper, I love it...

As a newbie I don't really have an opinion tho

LOL



RAPTORS FOREVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Mikey

Well after a whole lot of reading and taking peoples opinions on board I finally did the dead - parted with a whole load of cash and bought home (due largely to peoples help from this forum together with the top lads at pegasus models in norwich - so thanks guys) -

Raptor 50 Titan
OS 50 Hyper
Gy401
Futaba FF7

The build starts tonight!!

Stu

Ps I'm a newbie too so please don't listen to anything I say!!

[ChrisB]

Can you add the T Rex 600 to this poll and be prepared for the Raptors to be in second place

[Tripler]

Do'nt think it would!!

[Ade_Law]

chris are you trying to get sponsored by align? sure sounds like it :-)

Ade

[ChrisB]

chris are you trying to get sponsored by align? sure sounds like it :-)

Ade

He He,maybe Bob will let me play with a Nitro 600

[moyesboy]

Having for some strange reason read through this post I think there is one point that has not been raised.
The one thing that grounds perfectly good RC helis is when you can no longer get spares for them. At that point the heli becomes pretty much worthless. It also means you can't fly it adventurously because once its broke that might be the end of it.
The long life of the raptor from this point of view is a good thing. You can still keep the first version of raptor flying and buy all you need to fix it after whatever crash.
I know we all look for the latest greatest newest and most improved develpments, but that means waiting also for the new spares to be avaiable too.

[Philimon]

Well after a whole lot of reading and taking peoples opinions on board I finally did the dead - parted with a whole load of cash and bought home (due largely to peoples help from this forum together with the top lads at pegasus models in norwich - so thanks guys) -

Raptor 50 Titan
OS 50 Hyper
Gy401
Futaba FF7

The build starts tonight!!

Stu

Ps I'm a newbie too so please don't listen to anything I say!!

Hey Stu

Thats the same setup I got! Well, apart from the futaba TX, that is.

Nothing special to report about the build process. But us both being newbies, mind if I pass on a few lessons I learnt? Forgive me if I'm saying things you already know.

1. Every sub-assembly is individually wrapped and relatively clear instructions. Open one packet at a time and find some clear plastic boxes (ferera rocho boxes work well) to keep the bits and bobs in. The box that your GY401 came is would do, too.

2. There are no 'spares' in any of the packets until you get to the final servo assembly stages on page 19. I was left with a few ball links, some small circlips and a couple of screws.

3. Of course, do check to see where you're supposed to add locktite to the nuts - I'm sure you know its locktite for every metal-to-metal contact. In a few instances, they say that you need to add CA to some of the screw-to-plastic contacts. Thick Ca worked well for me there. Keep a tissue nearby to clear off the CA and locktite off any bearings and ball links. In some assemblies, its easier to add the locktite into the hole, rather than on the bolt.

4. The stickers that go on the canopy needs to go around some compound curves, which makes it impossible to get a nice flat take without doing some heat shrinking. I applied soapy water to the canopy before putting the stickers on. It allowed me to slide them around until I was happy with the position. The nose will not stick down properly at all, so I left things for a day to allow the soapy water to dry off. Then I took a heat gun and gently helped things along. I did get some sticker shrinkage, but not as much as with plank-flyers covering material.

5. User the rubber grommets with the servos, inserting the brass eyelets from the bottom.

6. One needs the smallest of amounts of one-way bearing grease. Its so little its not worth buying for yourself - see if you can borrow some form someone - I'm sure pegasus will spare a bit for you, if you ask nicely.

7. Get a pitch gauge to help you setup the main blades. Page 28 of the manual gives you throttle and pitch curves, as well as a pitch degree table. I could not get the requires degrees with the required pitch curve settings, so I went with the pitch degrees as opposed to the % settings.

8. I needed a 3600 mah 4.8V sub-C pack to get the balance right. People here recommended that I stay clear of the usual AA packs, as they do not handle the current as well, apparently. Pegasus don't stock what I bought, but this is pretty close.

9. The futaba 9245 , specially designed for the GY401 and is the most common tail servo used with the GY401, is 4.8V only. It will run off 6V, but will burn out quickly. If you search through this place, you'll find a few threads of people complaining of servo burn-out. Almost all of them were using 6V.

10. For less than £3, buy yourself one of these ball link wrench. They'll save your thumbs from some real hurt. Also, a ball link pliers will not go unused. While you're at it, a blade caddy for a few pounds is a 'must'.

11 All the required allen keys are supplied with the kit in an individually-wrapped plastic bag. I used my own though, as the quality is probably as one would expect.

12. A small set of jewellery screw-drivers are needed - esp the medium and large Phillips screw drivers in the pack.

13. The engine mount needed a small amount of material removed in order to get the hyper to sit smoothly. A dremel did short work of that, but I'm sure a small file would work just fine. One could probably just force it in place, but everyone tells me thats a really, really bad idea.

14. Don't forget to balance your blades. There is a nice post here about how to do it.

Please don't be timid to ask if this forum if you're unclear about something. I hope this message helps.

Regards
Andrew

[stuartetheridge]

Hey Stu

Thats the same setup I got! Well, apart from the futaba TX, that is.

Nothing special to report about the build process. But us both being newbies, mind if I pass on a few lessons I learnt? Forgive me if I'm saying things you already know.

1. Every sub-assembly is individually wrapped and relatively clear instructions. Open one packet at a time and find some clear plastic boxes (ferera rocho boxes work well) to keep the bits and bobs in. The box that your GY401 came is would do, too.

2. There are no 'spares' in any of the packets until you get to the final servo assembly stages on page 19. I was left with a few ball links, some small circlips and a couple of screws.

3. Of course, do check to see where you're supposed to add locktite to the nuts - I'm sure you know its locktite for every metal-to-metal contact. In a few instances, they say that you need to add CA to some of the screw-to-plastic contacts. Thick Ca worked well for me there. Keep a tissue nearby to clear off the CA and locktite off any bearings and ball links. In some assemblies, its easier to add the locktite into the hole, rather than on the bolt.

4. The stickers that go on the canopy needs to go around some compound curves, which makes it impossible to get a nice flat take without doing some heat shrinking. I applied soapy water to the canopy before putting the stickers on. It allowed me to slide them around until I was happy with the position. The nose will not stick down properly at all, so I left things for a day to allow the soapy water to dry off. Then I took a heat gun and gently helped things along. I did get some sticker shrinkage, but not as much as with plank-flyers covering material.

5. User the rubber grommets with the servos, inserting the brass eyelets from the bottom.

6. One needs the smallest of amounts of one-way bearing grease. Its so little its not worth buying for yourself - see if you can borrow some form someone - I'm sure pegasus will spare a bit for you, if you ask nicely.

7. Get a pitch gauge to help you setup the main blades. Page 28 of the manual gives you throttle and pitch curves, as well as a pitch degree table. I could not get the requires degrees with the required pitch curve settings, so I went with the pitch degrees as opposed to the % settings.

8. I needed a 3600 mah 4.8V sub-C pack to get the balance right. People here recommended that I stay clear of the usual AA packs, as they do not handle the current as well, apparently. Pegasus don't stock what I bought, but this is pretty close.

9. The futaba 9245 , specially designed for the GY401 and is the most common tail servo used with the GY401, is 4.8V only. It will run off 6V, but will burn out quickly. If you search through this place, you'll find a few threads of people complaining of servo burn-out. Almost all of them were using 6V.

10. For less than £3, buy yourself one of these ball link wrench. They'll save your thumbs from some real hurt. Also, a ball link pliers will not go unused. While you're at it, a blade caddy for a few pounds is a 'must'.

11 All the required allen keys are supplied with the kit in an individually-wrapped plastic bag. I used my own though, as the quality is probably as one would expect.

12. A small set of jewellery screw-drivers are needed - esp the medium and large Phillips screw drivers in the pack.

13. The engine mount needed a small amount of material removed in order to get the hyper to sit smoothly. A dremel did short work of that, but I'm sure a small file would work just fine. One could probably just force it in place, but everyone tells me thats a really, really bad idea.

14. Don't forget to balance your blades. There is a nice post here about how to do it.

Please don't be timid to ask if this forum if you're unclear about something. I hope this message helps.

Regards
Andrew

Thanks a lot for that Andrew. Some good tips there. I managed to get as far as starting on the tail last night (well early this morning actually).
I was quite worried about the build and very nearly bought ARF but glad I didn't now as I have to say I actually quite enjoyed what I have done so far.

Can't wait to get home from work to continue. Probably have it completed by the weekend and destroyed by Monday - lol

Stu