RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS - 2003/04

Eric Hawkinson, 319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings MT 59101; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
IT’S ANOTHER GREAT month to be
enjoying the sport of Radio Control (RC)
helicopters! Last month I spent some time
discussing accessories that the average
fixed-wing pilot will need to acquire when
a helicopter is added to the hangar. This
month I’ll continue with a few more “new
things” that you will be dealing with
during your introduction to helicopters, but
first I have a few product notes.
Last month I wrote that Thunder Tiger’s
US distributor—Ace Hobby Distributors—
had announced that the Raptor 50 was
discontinued. I knew that a V2 was on the
way, completing the transition of all
Raptors to V2 (Version 2) status, but I had
no confirmation from Ace. That changed
in mid-December; the new Raptor 50 V2
kits are due to arrive long before you read
this.
The major differences will be the same
as on the Raptor 30 V2. New frames, rotor
hub and head, start shaft system, and
canopy will be incorporated into the
Raptor 50. As with the 30-size kits, the
pricing has gone up fairly aggressively. I’ll
be flying a 50 V2 in the spring, but don’t
expect any surprises since I have plenty of
time on the 30 V2. The 50 V2 should be a
good choice for 3-D performance at a
lower price than the 60-size machines.
Another helicopter has seen an
improvement and a major price
adjustment—but this time the price change
is in a favorable direction! The Vigor CS
from JR, distributed by Horizon Hobby,
has been one of my all-time favorite
helicopters since it was released.
The Vigor has a responsive and precise
CCPM (Cyclic Collective Pitch Mixing)
control system, a bulletproof and
lightweight frame set, constant-drive
torque tube tail, and the ability to easily
accommodate engines up to 91 size and
blades up to 720 millimeters. Add a
locked-in feel and rolls like a Pattern
model, and what’s not to like?
There were two things I didn’t like.
One was the molded fiberglass canopy.
Raw fiberglass is unpopular with
helicopter pilots, many of whom do not
have the time, equipment, or facilities for
priming and painting. The other thing that
many people were displeased with was the
price. At a street price of barely less than
$1,100, CS was pushing the envelope a bit
past the comfort level.
Horizon has responded by making two
changes. First, the Vigor CS now includes
a prepainted fiberglass canopy! It is close
to the same design as before, but now
when you open the box, all of the priming,
patching, sanding, and painting are done
for you. Finish is all-white with the
windshield portion painted in black.
Len Sabato, Horizon’s helicopter guru
(and member of the FAI World
Championships team—congratulations,
Len), says that it is actually painted and
clearcoated. This means you can simply
apply decals and fly or mask and spray
final color trim. Either way, you save a
great deal of time and money by having the
base color painted for you.
The second change is a big price drop.
The Vigor CS now has a price of $949. It’s
still not “cheap,” but it’s pretty much in
line with the other top-of-the line 60-90
machines.
The last new product I have to write
about is a major upgrade to an already
popular helicopter. The Eagle Freya from
Hirobo was its replacement for the Tsurugi
model, intended to be the low-cost Hirobo
60 machine for sport and 3-D flying. The
Freya has been a good-selling helicopter
and is a solid performer.
Although it doesn’t fly like a
particularly heavy aircraft because of the
large rotor disc, the Freya has always been
roughly 8-16 ounces weightier than its
peers. The stock model also has a few parts
that seem to wear a bit faster than desired:
the metal slide block and the radius block.
Upgrades totaling $60 solved that problem
but pushed the price up. Altech has
announced two big changes for the Freya
60, both of which are available at your
dealer.
The standard Freya 60 is unchanged
except for a big price drop; now it’s selling
in the $550-$600 range. It’s a lot of
helicopter for that price.
For approximately $300 more you can
get the new Freya X-Spec. The basic
layout is the same, but there are many
differences. The metal radius block and
slide block are standard, along with a
metal head block, push-pull collective,
metal auto hub, EX washout, Delrin gears,
and gear ratios for 60/70 and 80/90
engines. Topping it off is a new carbonfiber
lower frame set which shaves—
according to Altech—nearly a full pound
off the helicopter’s weight. That’s an
amazing amount of weight savings, and
there is no loss of strength or rigidity.
Back to the discussion for fixed-wing
pilots heading into helicopters for the first
time. Having gathered all the new and
different tools and gadgets required, there
are still the remaining small tasks of
building, setting up, then flying the model.
And for many of you, there is the added
challenge of ignoring the little voice in
your head (and the louder comments from
some of your less-enlightened fixed-wing
flying buddies) wondering if you are crazy
for even trying helicopters.
I’ll sidestep the issue of your mental
health since I don’t know you very well,
but I am comfortable in asserting that not
only can you master the new aircraft type,
but also that you will find it to be an
enjoyable process. I can even help you
understand your flying pals’ misgivings.
Most of the negative feelings at the
airplane field stem back to the good, old
days. There was a time when the kits,
engines, radios, and (maybe) gyros were
less than desirable, and the combination of
all those “not ready for prime time”
components meant that few people who
attempted to fly helicopters achieved any
success.
There are also some natural difficulties
in trying to mix operation of helicopters
and airplanes at the typical busy RC club
site; very few clubs work this out. And
since the usual scenario is that the airplane
pilots were there first, naturally the
helicopter-flying “newcomers” are labeled
as “problems.” Since the helicopter pilot is
often not an existing member of the
airplane group, thus doesn’t understand the
amount of work and expense that the club
has invested in its flying site, he or she
often decides that the airplane pilots are a
bunch of snobs.
AMA members tend to be a cut above
average, and many of you reading this will
already have some airplane experience, so
… not only can you
master the new
aircraft type, but
also that you will
find it to be an
enjoyable process.
April 2003 131
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hopefully the whole name-calling thing
can be avoided. But you do need to
understand that there are big differences
in the way that helicopters and airplanes
operate, and it will take some diplomacy
and effort to keep things going smoothly
at the airplane field.
In particular, you should not expect to
be welcome if you plan to take your new
helicopter out to the airplane field on a
busy weekend and fly your first five tanks
of fuel trying to hover in the middle of the
runway. Blocking the runway (effectively
closing it to use for all the airplanes) to
practice with the only type of aircraft that
doesn’t have the slightest need for a
runway—not a great way to make
helicopters welcome.
Nor will most clubs be happy about
your model flying around behind their
backs. If you are a member of a fixedwing
club that has working policies for
helicopters, make sure to understand and
follow them. Otherwise, you will want to
get started early to see if your club wants
to work on setting up some guidelines to
keep everyone happy. (Smaller clubs will
have fewer problems; busy club fields are
where the issues get heated.)
Since you don’t need a prepared
runway to fly a helicopter, you may fly
somewhere other than the local airplane
field. That’s a great idea, but there are
many pitfalls to be avoided there as well.
Next time I’ll write about some things to
watch for when choosing a flying site. For
now I’ll just tell you that your yard is not
big enough unless it is measured in acres,
and most city parks and school yards are
poor choices for safety reasons.
Until next time, fly safely and happy
rotoring! MA