RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS - 2003/03

IT’S ANOTHER GREAT month to be enjoying the sport of Radio
Control (RC) helicopters! If all is well in the world, this issue will
come out at roughly the time many of you have just started on new
projects that you received from Santa, some of which will be firsttime
helicopter projects for experienced airplane fliers. I’ll have
some info for that group shortly. First I have some updates on
products I mentioned in the last column.
My new Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 V2 (short for Version 2) I wrote
about last month now has much more time on it, with me as pilot
and my flying pal and co-worker Kurt Kreiger. The more we fly it,
the more we like it. The helicopter is trouble-free to date and, for
reasons we are not sure of, actually flies better and smoother than
the original version. Not hugely so, but noticeably better. Our guess
is that the smoother handling is caused by the larger bearing and
spindle. Whatever the cause, it flies very nicely.
The other part of the “new helicopter” equation that is turning
out to be a pleasant surprise is the new engine. As you’ll recall, I
installed the new Thunder Tiger .39 Pro helicopter engine in the
Raptor and promised to report on it as we got some fuel burned.
After almost two cases of Cool Power 30% helicopter fuel, the
engine has shown good handling and good power. You won’t
mistake the power for an O.S. .50, but you certainly will see a
marked increase in power compared to the venerable O.S. .32 SX-H.
The TT39 starts easily and runs smooth throughout the range. It
is a ringed engine and is pretty tight during break-in. I was very
glad that I had installed the Venom onboard thermometer prior to
flying because even after a gallon of fuel, it was easy to see overly
hot temperatures even when the engine was producing plenty of
smoke.
I ended up leaving the needle at least as rich as the
recommended break-in settings long after a normal break-in period.
Be cautious with the needle for at least the first case of fuel with
this engine.
The muffler supplied with the Raptor 30 V2 (if you buy the
engine and helicopter as a package) is a new-style cast-aluminum
part that runs fairly well. I replaced mine with the Mavrikk muffler
after the first gallon and saw only a small improvement in running. I
mostly just changed it because my past experiences with cast
mufflers have been mixed. Beginners should just go ahead and run
the stock one.
Eric Hawkinson, 319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings MT 59101; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Heli-Max Pitch Gauge on Eric’s Raptor 30 V2’s main blades. Throttle
stick is centered; pitch reads 0°—what he wants at midstick. This is full stick; pitch gauge shows roughly 10° positive.
While writing this column I received the official announcement
from Ace Hobby Distributors (the US importer and distributor) that
the Raptor 50 had been discontinued. Strangely enough, there was
no concurrent word on the release of the new Raptor 50 V2, which
is no doubt due out soon. I expect that the Raptor 50 V2 will be
much the same as the 30 V2 except for the upgrades and changes
that are required for the 50-class engines. I’ll give more details
when I have the new kit in my hands.
As promised, I have some notes for the airplane pilot who is
starting (or planning to start) on a helicopter project. We talk to a
fair number of these people at the shop where I work, and it is
usually about how much added equipment they will need for the
helicopters. Not all airplane pilots have the same flight-support
equipment and tools, but they usually have a pretty good chunk of
the things they would need to buy if they had no prior involvement
in the hobby.
All of the propeller wrenches, glow-plug wrenches, glow-plug
lighters, fueling equipment, and electric starters are equally
applicable to helicopter use. The same metric hex drivers that many
of you have for working on engines will suffice for helicopter use,
although you will want something better than the cheap “L”
wrenches if you are going to be involved with helicopters for any
length of time.
However, even the better-equipped airplane pilot will need a few
tools that will be new to their arsenal. They are as follows.
• Ball-link pliers: These are available in several brands, with
various differences. All of the good ones look like a pair of needlenose
pliers with a strange tip. You need these to install and remove
the plastic links from the metal link balls that make up dozens of the
connections on your helicopter’s control system. Prices range from
$13 to $30.
• Starter adapter: Most helicopters now use a 6mm hex receiver
cup that you insert a starting probe into. These starting probes come
in many versions, and you need to order the type that fits into the
system on your model. Some helicopters omit a one-way bearing on
the clutch, in which case you want a start shaft that includes a oneway
bearing.
Depending on brand and whether you need a bearing, cost will
be $9-$39. For 30-size helicopters, most airplane electric starters
will do fine to drive the start shaft.
• Pitch gauge: As the name implies, this is a gauge you use to
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check the main blade pitch angle at the
various throttle/collective stick positions. Yes,
you need one. Price ranges from $26 to $40.
I prefer the Heli-Max unit. It’s not
perfectly accurate at high angles, but it is the
easiest to read with a bright-red body and
white markings. See the photo. I generally
dislike the types of gauges that use bubble
levels; they are far more complicated to use
and are harder to read accurately.
• Blade balancer: You can cobble up various
ways to balance your blades spanwise and
blade to blade, but it’s far quicker and easier
to use a blade balancer. KSJ sells a good
working unit for roughly $40 that is simple to
use. The “deluxe” balancer is the Koll Rotor
Pro. It’s more accurate and can also do
chordwise balancing checks. The Koll sells
for approximately $80.
• Hardened hex drivers: As I mentioned, the
cheap L wrenches will do in a pinch, but you
will want a good set of metric hex drivers for
all of the metric bolts on your helicopter. You
should be able to get a good basic set for $20-
$30.
• JIS screwdrivers: Most of the non-hex
fasteners you’ll find on helicopters are what
appear to be Phillips-head screws, but they
are not usually Phillips; they are Japanese
Industrial Standard. You should be able to get
a set of high-quality JIS screwdrivers for
roughly $20.
• Foam blade holder: Here’s one that won’t
break the bank! For $3-$5, this simple item
allows you to fold the main blades back over
the boom and stow them for storage and
transport.
With the KSJ Paddle Alignment Gauges installed, you can easily
see that these flybar paddles need a bit more tweaking!
A simple foam blade holder is the nearly universal solution for
stowing the main blades for storage and transport.
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There are a few other items you
probably should have but don’t absolutely
have to have. They include the following.
• High point balancer: You may already
have one for balancing propellers. On
helicopters there are many things that
really should be checked and fixed for
balance: clutches, flywheels, tail-rotor
assembly, main grip assembly, and so on.
• Thermometer: You can’t run up a
helicopter engine and pinch the fuel line to
see if the needle is set right because the
main blades will whack you in the head.
The only way to accurately assess the
needle setting is to check the engine
temperature. The two best methods are the
Raytek infrared thermometer (a handheld
tool for $79-$99) and an onboard
thermometer that has a high-temperature
recall.
I use both of those. The Raytek is handy
for tons of other jobs and is an accurate
device. The Venom onboard thermometer
is accurate enough and is easy to use; you
just read the LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display). These are available for $28-32.
With either, you simply richen the needle
if the temperature is too high and lean it if
the temperature is low.
• Remote glow-plug adapter: On many
helicopters, you’ll need to remove the
canopy every time you want to start the
engine if you don’t use a remote glow-plug
adapter. For $5-$9 each, there are many
versions of remote adapters available that
make life easier.
• Paddle-alignment gauges: For $7-15 you
can make the difficult job of getting the
flybar paddles aligned much easier! As
with the pitch gauge, you visually align the
straight lines. See the photo.
I’m stretching my space allotment, so that
will have to do it for now. Until next time,
fly safely and happy rotoring! MA
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