Raptor resurection

[xygax]

Try one of these Servo Shop you need one for the pitch in the first place teh 148 isnt up to the job then when you get get a bit better change the cyclic servos as well...Steve

[w3bbo]

Managed to get a Futaba 6EX 2.4GHz for £75 = brand new off the bay. Gotta be happy with that .

[Steve]

Replace the battery with a 3000 mAh (or bigger) sub-c NiMh pack. Throw that one out - no way of knowing what it's been through in its life. For what a new one costs, it ain't worth a heli.

[w3bbo]

Yeah I thought that. Just bought a 3700 NiMh kit. What does sub-c mean? Looks quite a lot larger than the 1700 sanyo set however the nose did feel a little light compared to the tail so this might help counter balance things a little.

[Si Goodchild]

Okay, here's my 2p worth:

Switching radio to 2.4GHz is priority. Keep the servos, they'll do for now at the hovering stage on a raptor. Get new main blades, ideally carbon, but glass will do. Avoid woodies. Search for Pro 3d blades: they are carbon and work great while costing little. You need 520-550mm blades. The tail gyro an servo are good: keep them. Take the back plate off the engine and check for rust, strip further if you don't like what you see. Change all the fuel pipe lines including the one in the tank. Make sure the one in the tank is very flexible before you go inverted! Check the belt hasn't perished. Remove all the bolts and refit them with blue thread lock. Change tail blades if damaged: I've got some carbon 85mm ones you can have for nowt: happy Christmas! Check all the bearings are running smooth. Check the clutch isn't sprung or grabbing. Google the manual as a pdf and read it! Check the head geometry is correct. Now check it again.

Above all, remember the £200 is an allowance, not a target. You may need more cash later. You'll also need a glow plug igniter, some spare glow plugs, a starter with batteries and some fuel. 20% nitro should be plenty. And a fuel pump. Get some training legs too with crappy looking balls on the end. They'll make the heli fly nasty, but may save you a few quid on the first few tentative hovers. Get rid of them as soon as you realistically can.

Keep us all posted, most of us here like to hear how these projects pan out.

Si

[Si Goodchild]

Yeah I thought that. Just bought a 3700 NiMh kit. What does sub-c mean? Looks quite a lot larger than the 1700 sanyo set however the nose did feel a little light compared to the tail so this might help counter balance things a little.

Sub c is slightly smaller than the old c size batteries.

[Steve]

What does sub-c mean?

It's the size of the cells. Your original pack is made up of 4 AA size cells. You should be familiar with C size batteries like Duracells etc that go in children's toys and torches. Sub-C cells are somewhere in-between AAs and Cs. Each cell is 1.2V nominal voltage, so a 4 cell pack is rated at 4.8V, a 5 cell pack at 6V etc.

3700mAh will keep you hovering about for a good afternoon's flying.

[w3bbo]

Okay, here's my 2p worth:

Switching radio to 2.4GHz is priority. Keep the servos, they'll do for now at the hovering stage on a raptor. Get new main blades, ideally carbon, but glass will do. Avoid woodies. Search for Pro 3d blades: they are carbon and work great while costing little. You need 520-550mm blades. The tail gyro an servo are good: keep them. Take the back plate off the engine and check for rust, strip further if you don't like what you see. Change all the fuel pipe lines including the one in the tank. Make sure the one in the tank is very flexible before you go inverted! Check the belt hasn't perished. Remove all the bolts and refit them with blue thread lock. Change tail blades if damaged: I've got some carbon 85mm ones you can have for nowt: happy Christmas! Check all the bearings are running smooth. Check the clutch isn't sprung or grabbing. Google the manual as a pdf and read it! Check the head geometry is correct. Now check it again.

Above all, remember the £200 is an allowance, not a target. You may need more cash later. You'll also need a glow plug igniter, some spare glow plugs, a starter with batteries and some fuel. 20% nitro should be plenty. And a fuel pump. Get some training legs too with crappy looking balls on the end. They'll make the heli fly nasty, but may save you a few quid on the first few tentative hovers. Get rid of them as soon as you realistically can.

Keep us all posted, most of us here like to hear how these projects pan out.

Si

Thanks for the very kind offer Si - I'd love those carbon tail blades. I'll pm my address. Let me know what your paypal address is and how much the postage was and I'll sort you out with that - top man!

I'm building up a shopping list from Midland Helicopters and fast lad performance so any further info on what to buy would be a great help. I love the look of the carbon stuff and that is deffo the direction I wish to take however, would I not be better sticking with wooden main blades to begin with/while training as the likelihood is I will crash and I don't fancy blowing £50 straight off the bat while I'm learning to hover? OR will the carbon blades a worthwhile invest for a total novice? IF carbon is the way to go I do like the look of these: Ripmax Carbon Main Blades 550mm A-RMXCB550

Btw, the color theme of the heli will be neon green/white/carbon

[Steve]

Wooden blades are ideal for the first early days of learning. Consider them to be a consumable item and expect them to get broke at some point from the start. That way, you won't get disappointed when they do. 550mm is the normal main blade size for 30 size helis.

[w3bbo]

I've ordered £160 worth of kit (mainly cosmetic!) from Midlands. Bought the Carbon main blades as recommended and Si Goodchild has kindly donated a set of tail carbons to go with the project! I've also got 3x s3152 Futaba servos (thanks Trillian).

I've still to purchase a number of items (glow plugs, fuel, starter etc) - so much for my £200 budget lol!

[soggybongo]

it's up to personal preference but i would buy a tail servo mount, i did this on mine and is so much more solid now.

[w3bbo]

Well i've not got the parts or knowledge to know what feels right or not yet so I'll leave the fine tuning until I get more experienced. Hopefully I won't have a catastrophic crash first time around and at least get enough flying time in to find out what feels right and what doesn't!

[dave j]

you should be able to get a new dx6i complete with new servos ant receiver all in one box for aroun £150 and they are 2.4

[Si Goodchild]

Wooden blades are ideal for the first early days of learning. Consider them to be a consumable item and expect them to get broke at some point from the start. That way, you won't get disappointed when they do. 550mm is the normal main blade size for 30 size helis.

Surely cheap Glass Fibre blades are better balanced, stronger and fly better. Cheaper too.

[w3bbo]

Minor update:

Futaba 6EX arrived today so hooked the rx straight up and everything worked as it should. My one concern is the rudder servo (S9253) make a sound like a PC hard drive for about 5 or 6 seconds. It calms down after than until I alter the tail pitch and of it goes again. Is this something to do with the Gyro adjusting it?

Anyway, started stripping the raptor down by removing all servos bar the rudder and aileron, so all of the s148's will be replaced with S3152's when they arrive (thanks trillian). Si is sending me some Carbon blades to replace the woody's and I bought a set of Ripmax main carbon blades along with a few other bits and pieces in prep for smartening her up a bit. The majority of the day was however spent polishing the muffler!!

Before:


After:


I could have just bought a new pipe but I'm supposed to be on a budget so elbow grease it was! Anyone know what kind of exhaust this is? It doesn't look standard from the pics I have seen?