RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS - 2003/02

IT’S ANOTHER GREAT month to be
enjoying the sport of Radio Control (RC)
helicopters! If my schedule is correct, you
will be reading this in the early part of the
2002 holiday season, so I wish you all the
best and most enjoyable of times.
A new kit has arrived in time to be
available, in at least a limited fashion, for
your Christmas shopping lists. It’s not a
new design, but rather a replacement for
one of the most successful 30-size
helicopters to hit the market in recent
years: the Thunder Tiger Raptor 30. As
such, it is generating a great deal of
interest.
There are no reliable sources for finding
the number of Raptor 30s that have been
sold in the US, but all you have to do is go
to most any helicopter field and look in the
pits and on the flightline to see how
popular the Raptor 30 is.
The low price at which the Raptor 30
was originally offered (and relatively low
parts pricing) made it an easy choice for
the tentative first-time buyers, but at least
that many more Raptors belong to
experienced pilots who like the low risk
factor (in terms of price) and fairly simple
rebuild in the event of a sudden gust of
gravity while practicing new maneuvers
and 3-D flying.
Later, the Raptor became available in a
50 version that was simply an extendedboom
configuration with a larger tank and
gearing, fan and mount for the 50-size
engines, and the much more robust and
reliable Raptor 60-style tail-rotor hub. This
50 model is still offered and is popular with
the 3-D crowd because of the large increase
in power; the 30 is marginal for 3-D, as are
all 30-size helicopters.
The new Raptor 30 V2 (short for
Version 2) is an evolution of the original
Raptor 30 rather than a new design, but
there are quite a few changes. The main
Eric Hawkinson, 319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings MT 59101; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
97 MODEL AVIATION
Looking at the Raptor 30 V2 on the right and the original Raptor
Thunder Tiger’s Raptor 30 V2 has the new TT39 engine installed. 30, you can see the more pleasant lines of the new canopy.
The new Muscle Pipe 2 from Curtis Youngblood fits the big-block O.S. .91 and YS 80
engines, and it can be installed on the right or left side.
frame is new, with a better cooling shroud.
Radio space is still scarce, and in fact there
is not much significant visible difference
between the old and new frames. The new
frames do allow the use of a new and
larger fuel tank that is shorter in length for
a more consistent center of gravity.
A new clutch with elongated relief
holes and a new mating clutch bell are used
along with a new pinion. The start shaft
system looks the same but is much
improved, using a larger shaft with another
bearing. There is still a one-way bearing in
the clutch so your start shaft extension
doesn’t need one.
The tail-rotor hub is the same one as is
used on the Raptor 50 and the Raptor 60.
The tailboom and belt are the same, but the
dual boom supports are hugely improved
and now include molded ends.
All the major systems and controls are
the same as on the original Raptor, but
there is a big change in the head. The
spindle is bigger and beefier, which means
that the blade grips, bearings, thrust
bearings, and head block are different parts
now too. The manual shows that new
dampeners are to be available for a firmer
response if desired. The ball links and the
flybar control rods are improved, with a bit
of added material.
The most immediately obvious change
is the canopy and decals. The old canopy
shape was generally not popular, and many
aftermarket canopies have been hot sellers
because of that. The new canopy is
certainly recognizable as a Raptor, but it
has more pleasing, flowing lines and more
of the profile is the smoked windshield.
The overall impression is almost of a
shrunken Raptor 60 style.
The decals, as is the new packaging,
are orange with blue and silver accents,
and are very nicely done. The canopy is
still an extremely rugged blow-molded
plastic, and the simple three-point
mounting system is still used.
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The manual is basically the same as for
prior versions, except that it has the new
parts. The manual is not that great, but the
line drawings are excellent; if you are
patient enough, you will be able to build
the Raptor V2 just fine.
What may turn out to be the best selling
point for the V2 is the new engine that
Thunder Tiger offers in packages with the
kit or the Almost Ready-to-Fly (ARF)
version. The Raptor has always had a good
control system, and the expectations are
that the new Thunder Tiger Pro 39H engine
will have enough power to make the 3-D
pilots happy and be a good choice for the
beginner.
The original Raptor 30 was available
with the old TT36 engine, but that turned
out to be a poor-selling version because of
the engine’s poor consistency. However,
the TT engines that have come out recently
are a completely different story; the TT50
and 70 helicopter engines are gaining
reputations as decent engines with almost
the power and consistency of their O.S.
counterparts, at slightly lower prices.
Like those engines, the new TT39 is a
ringed design with a new carburetor. Early
reports have been mostly favorable. I
expect to have much more experience with
this engine to report in the next issue.
Overall, the V2 looks like a solid
upgrade to the popular Raptor 30. Street
prices for the kits will be in the same range
as those for the new ARFs such as the JR
Venture CP and the Kyosho Caliber 30,
and much higher than the newest Hirobo
Shuttle (the Shuttle Plus), which was one
of the helicopters that the original Raptor
30 blew out of the market with a much
lower price. It will be interesting to see
how the new V2 sells, but there is little
doubt that it will be a popular choice.
Your favorite helicopter shop should
have the V2 in stock by the time you read
this. Which versions it may have is harder
to say because there are many choices
there. The V2 is packaged in a Sport
version and a Pro version; the difference is
whether it has 29 (Sport) or a full 49 ball
bearings.
Both versions are available with or
without the TT39 engine. Those packages
with the engine also include a cast muffler,
which is larger and looks a bit more rugged
than the original cast 36 muffler. The
welded “upgrade” muffler fits the .39 and
should run well on it.
I intend to fly the stock muffler briefly,
then install the Mavrikk muffler. Of
course, those intentions may be affected by
the weather. Here in Montana fall is
sometimes hard to tell from summer, but
more often it can include some winterish
weather! I will do my best to get some
serious flight time on the new Raptor and
engine, and I will report what I find as
soon as possible.
Another new product which has just hit
dealers’ shelves is for the helicopters on
the other end of the size spectrum. Current
World Champion, National Champion, and
generally PDG (pretty darn good) pilot
Curtis Youngblood has released his newest
version of the Muscle Pipe tuned-pipe
system. The Muscle Pipe 2 is designed and
tuned for the new large engines including
the YS 80 and the O.S. .91.
Curtis has done quite a bit of work
designing the pipe and has given the pipe a
broad range, which makes it very
nonpeaky. It is also pretty quiet—another
big plus in my book. The tuning is so broad
that several people are reporting that it runs
great on the slightly higher-revving O.S.
.70.
Mounting is ingenious. The pipe set
includes a mounting flange and hardware
that not only allows mounting on the very
different YS and O.S. crankcases, but also
allows use on mechanics that have the
exhaust on the right or the left side!
After assembling the pipe body, the
angled extension, and the stub header, the
pipe is in effect a one-piece style of
exhaust. The “potato masher” shape of the
pipe is different but agreeable, and it
allows mounting on most mechanics with
minimum trimming of the canopy.
I think Horizon will eventually be
distributing the Muscle Pipe 2 along with
the other products from Curtis Youngblood
Enterprises, which would mean that almost
any hobby shop should be able to get you
one. Pricing should be roughly $110 for the
complete package.
Until next time, fly safely and happy
rotoring! MA
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