iT’s anoTheR great month to enjoy RC (Radio Control)
helicopters! By the time you receive this issue, most Northerners
will be getting back into the swing of things, with a full season of
RC helicopter fun getting underway.
i need to apologize for missing last month (April 2001). Between
changes with the magazine staff and E-mail addresses, and my own
wild holiday season moving our store and office to a new location, it
just didn’t get handled as it should have. I’ll try not to do that again.
I’m not the only one who has had some missed deadlines. Many
items that were expected to be on your dealer’s shelves by
Christmas didn’t make it. A few did make it out in January though,
and I’ll discuss some of the big new items.
Probably the most hotly awaited new .60-size helicopter hit the
stores the last week of December. Thunder Tiger’s new Raptor 60
was months late to arrive, and it flew off the dealer’s shelves in
droves when it finally became available.
If you have followed the sport at all in the last two years, you
know that the Raptor 30 took a dominant position in the .30-size
market, because of a winning combination of low pricing of the
helicopter and its parts—and a good-flying design.
The Raptor 60 has some issues that need attention (such as a fairly high
rate of clutch failure and a stock swash that has a lot of variance in fit), but
is generally a good helicopter. Since mid-2000, the parts support from Ace
Hobby (the US importer and distributor) has been second-to-none.
With so many pilots flying the .30-size Raptor, it was no surprise that
there was a large amount of interest when Thunder Tiger announced plans
to sell a .60-size version with a “street price” of less than $500. After many
delays, the company has brought such a helicopter to the market.
As I write this, the Raptor 60 has only been in the US for a few
weeks, so any long-term maintenance issues are yet to surface. But I
can tell you a few things about the Raptor 60 that may be of interest
to anyone considering buying one.
There are three versions imported into the US: a basic kit (no
engine or muffler, but including a workable set of prefinished wood
main blades); a 90% assembled ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) version
(the only ARF .60 readily available); and an ARF that includes the
new Thunder Tiger .70 Pro helicopter engine and a nice muffler.
All have a new canopy shape and decals that have received a
much more positive reaction than those on the 30.
The production models have a finished flying weight of
approximately 10 pounds. This is a little heavier than originally
announced, but certainly not “heavy.”
Blades are limited to 680mm length, and the 16mm grips have 5mm
Eric Hawkinson, 319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings MT 59101; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
After many months of waiting, Thunder Tiger’s .60-size Raptors
have arrived. Available in basic kit or ARF versions.
The KSJ689 tail lever installed on JR optional metal tailcase. A
high-quality upgrade for belt-driven Vigors or Ergos.
The KSJ689 tail lever and linkage ball that connects to tail-rotor
pushrod. Pivoting parts are ball-bearing equipped.
blade bolts. You can use the JR shim washers with blades that have 12mm
roots if you prefer to run a more “standard” blade root and bolt size.
(Vic Campbell intends to have a set of his famous V-Blades
available by press time that will fit the stock grips without needing
aftermarket shims or bolts.)
The Raptor 60 frame uses four machined-aluminum plates along
with the molded parts, to achieve a nice and rigid frame set at a
reasonable cost and weight. The integrated fan/flywheel threads
onto the engine crankshaft, as it did on the 30, and is sized for either
the O.S. or Thunder Tiger .70 crank.
The tailboom on the Raptor 60 is large in diameter at 25.5mm,
but is pretty thin—most likely to minimize cost and weight. The
tailboom supports are great; they are a huge improvement over those
found on the 30. They have molded ends, and are stiff enough to
offer a good degree of support.
Unfortunately, the supports are installed at a very shallow
May 2001 115
angle to the tailboom; you’ll probably
want to move the forward support attach
points downward to get better support.
Tail control is the same as the Raptor
30’s, even using the same pitch yoke.
The biggest mechanical “advantage” on the
Raptor 60 (compared to other helicopters in
this price range) is the split gear transmission
and constant drive to the tail, via a bearingsupported
aluminum torque tube.
This system is technically superior to the
belt drives and slipper clutches found on most
low-priced .60s (and the Raptor 30), and
offers the most power for advanced 3-D
(three-dimensional) Aerobatics.
It is likely that you will break more
parts when you crash than with a belt
drive, but that’s the price you pay for this
type of transmission.
I expect the Raptor 60 will be a very
popular machine. It is not likely to take as big a
share of the market as the 30 did, because there
are more options available for roughly the
same total price in this segment of the market
(such as the X-Cell 60 Sport Trainer, the JR
Ergo 60, Hirobo’s Freya 60, etc.).
If Ace and Thunder Tiger can get the parts
support in place quickly and keep the repair
and upgrade parts pricing low, you can expect
to see the Raptor 60s proliferate.
Another helicopter that has been very
popular for a while is the JR Vigor. Although a
new version is long overdue, there is some
great news for those flying or considering the
current (non-CCPM [Collective and Cyclic
Pitch Mixing]) version.
The Vigor Shaft Drive Conversion Set
(JR part #998002) is now available. With a
price of approximately $349 it’s not cheap,
but it’s much more than just a tube and some
transmission parts.
The set includes a new tailboom, a carbonfiber
3-D-style fin set, CNC fin mounts, a metal
driveshaft with dual ball-bearing supports, nicely
machined end fittings and transmission parts,
new split-gear assembly for a constant drivetail,
and a wonderful new tailcase.
Besides allowing the shaft drive to
function, the case also has what has long been
needed on the JR line—a pitch slider with a
dual “over-and-under” style yoke. This type
of yoke is not new, but has been missing from
the more-affordable helicopters. Miniature
Aircraft USA has had an optional upgrade for
its line of .60s for this “Pro Style” tail system,
but JR has not—until now!
It’s a well-designed and manufactured
system, and by itself is worth a good chunk of
what the conversion set costs.
If you own a Vigor, or if you just prefer
the current mixers rather than the “soonavailable”
CCPM version of the Vigor, look
at this upgrade to maximize performance and
accuracy of your tail system.
(The Vigor CS, whenever it becomes
available, is expected to contain all the parts
in the above conversion set, plus carbon frame
components in the stock kit).
JR didn’t leave out those who prefer to
keep the simplicity of their belt-driven tails.
The new KSJ689 High-Grade Tail Pitch
Lever is available for any helicopter that can
use the upgraded metal tail gearbox
(including the Ergo and the belt-drive
Vigor), giving you a superbly engineered
and beautifully machined “pro-style” tail
pitch lever with zero slop.
If you don’t already have the #960325
gearbox, the two parts will cost
approximately $210. The pitch lever alone
will be $105 to $115. It’s not cheap, but
these are some well-designed and machined
parts that will offer a usable increase in the
precision of your tail system.
I have two Vigors of my own (and two
Ergo 60s), and I installed the torque tube
conversion in one Vigor and the KSJ tail lever
in the other. The KSJ tail lever works so well
that now I’ll want them on my Ergos too. I
hate when that happens!
i have yet to receive much in the mail that I
can use for this column. I know that this
magazine doesn’t have a large helicopter pilot
readership, but the fixed-wing guys are the best
“target” group for new helicopter pilots.
Why? Because they already have much of
the equipment they need, and they already
demonstrate a love of RC flying. I know the
more they look at this challenging and
rewarding part of the hobby, the more likely
they will be to give it a try.
In order to get them to look, I need those
photos (actual prints, not jpegs) to catch their
attention! Please get out your camera and send
me those RC helicopter pictures!
until next time, happy rotoring! MA
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