Radio Control Helicopters - 2006/01

THIS MONTH WE get to take a look at
the new Tiger 50 from Audacity Models.
My flying buddy Chad Middlebrook is
always ready to take on a new project; stick
around as he shares his thoughts with us on
this new helicopter. Chad was even nice
enough to let me be the first guy to crash
the model!
According to John Beech of Audacity
Models, I have the distinct honor of being
the first person to break the frames in a
crash. Hey, it’s always nice to be the first
at something!
In the Tiger’s defense, I did make it hit
the ground at full throttle. I am amazed by
how well it survived the accident and
equally impressed with the support that
Audacity Models provides for the customer.At the IRCHA (International Radio
Controlled Helicopter Association)
petesrc.com). He provides a set of plastic
collars that slide over the gear, cover the pin
holes, and prevent the pins from coming out.
It’s a great idea and gives me peace of
mind knowing that the drive pin can no
longer slide out. Give Pete a call at (616)
245-3106 or check out his Web site.
Let’s take a look at Chad’s impressions of
the Tiger 50!
“Over the past year we have taken a look
at a number of different helicopters. Entrylevel
helicopters have grown up. The days
of starting with an underpowered,
overpriced, beginner 30 are gone. It seems
like there are many new pilots starting on 50
sized helicopters. [Ray recommends starting
out with a 50-size machine; it will easily
have the power to grow with your skills.]
“Audacity Models (www.audacity
models.com) has a great model for just these
folks. Not only is the Tiger 50 an affordable
beginner RC helicopter, but it is also easily
convertible to an aggressive 3-D machine.
With a few extra parts, the beginners can
gradually move into the most extreme
maneuvers with the same helicopter they
learned to hover on.
“My Tiger 50 came as an ARF. There is
a kit available if you wish to do the entire
assembly. The low parts count should make
the kit easy to build (or rebuild if you decide
to rekit your own). The controls are CCPM,
and it has ball bearings everywhere there is
a pivot point. The stock helicopter includes
an autorotation clutch, but not a driven tail.
“Upon opening the box, I found all the
parts neatly sorted. Related parts were
packaged together. Tail parts in one bag,
engine parts in another, and so on. The
paperwork was in a big bag with the
stickers required to make the helicopter
look just like the one on the box. Why do
they put shark’s teeth on a Tiger? Oh well;
it does look good on the box!
“First, I read the entire manual. If you
want a look at it, check out www.audacity
models.com. The manual is online and
available for download. I have built and set
up many helicopters. The instruction manual
for the Tiger 50 is the best I have ever seen.
“With most ARF manuals there are
instructions to build the ARF. All they have
to assist with your rebuild (should you
crash) is the parts breakdown. The Tiger 50
manual is set up for the kit version. This
makes repairs very easy, as the directions
are there for you. It is easy to build the ARF
from the kit instructions. Just skip over the
parts the factory already built for you.
“A few more thoughts about the manual.
It is all in English! I mean all of it. Parts,
instructions, everything! Not only is the
manual in English, but there are big, clear
pictures if I forget how to read!
“Also, they have added a lot of good
information for a beginner, like where not
to use Loctite and to use good foam and
rubber bands to mount the electronics. A
12-page section on the why and how of
setting up a beginner and 3-D helicopter is
January 2006 121
The first flight! The Tiger 50 can be set up to have exceedingly stable flying
characteristics or it can be configured to be a 3-D-flying maniac.
included. It is the clearest explanation of RC
helicopter setup I have seen in a long time.
“The Tiger 50 manual covers mechanical
and electronic setup in an easy to
understand way that does not cater to a
specific radio brand. Everything from radio
curves to servo arm and linkage geometry is
explained. Take a look at it on the Web if
you would like a better understanding of
how to set up most any helicopter.
“Included with the manual is an
addendum in the form of a bright yellow
sheet. You can’t miss it! The extra sheet
explains the one bag of extra parts and a few
other small changes in the manual. The
sheet covers some different servo mounting
for US-style servos, a new seesaw, and
different swashplate balls (included with the
helicopter) for aerobatic flying. Also
included is a discussion on how to beef up
the canopy mount in case you crash.
told you how to make an extended battery
tray. The CG on this helicopter is a little far
aft if you don’t use a big battery. Audacity
Models offers a longer battery tray to fix
this, but they also tell you how to build
your own. It makes you feel like they care
about flying, not spending extra money on
additional parts.
“If you want to add some extras to the
Tiger 50, Audacity Models added a sheet of
cool stuff you can order. They have
everything including carbon 3-D fins,
aluminum engine fans, composite blades,
training gears, and helicopter tools. If you
register your Tiger 50 by mail, they will
send you a free set of 3-D paddles and a
flybar for just $3.95 shipping and handling.
“Starting the assembly, I found all the
correct parts for a beginner were already
installed. It had big, heavy paddles, and the
linkages and swashplate were set up for
stability. I decided to build it just as a
beginner would, and then convert it to
aerobatic, and then 3-D after a few test
flights.
“Four hours was all it took from
opening the box to firing up the engine! A
beginner may take an extra hour or so, but
not much longer. Almost instant
gratification!
“I had only two problems with the build.
In step 1.3 the mold lines on the elevator
linkage were not where the manual said.
This part came installed correctly as part of
the ARF. Someone building the kit will
need to make sure the molding marks
(which are in different places than in the
manual) are inside, or aft, when they build
the helicopter.
“The other problem came when I
installed the engine. The manual has the
wrong length for the engine mount bolts.
You need to swap the bolts that go between
the engine and mount with the ones that go
between the mount and frame. Audacity
Models knows about both of these issues
and is correcting them.
“Here are some things I noticed during
assembly that really impress me about the
helicopter. Molded in the frame is a fuel
line pinch slot and servo wire holders. This
makes for clean-looking radio and engine
setups. The pinch slot makes it easy to clear
your engine of raw fuel. Just slide your fuel
line to the narrow section of the slot to
starve the engine of fuel.
“The servo wire holders work great and
make the helicopter look good up close.
There are lock washers supplied for
mounting the engine to the mount. That
way, if your Loctite gets hot your bolts will
stay in.
“The tail belt came mounted in the
boom with the correct twist. (It takes me
awhile of thinking ‘torque pushes this way,
the tail rotor needs to spin forward into the
main rotor, the engine spins the clutch this
direction, thus spinning the main gear … ’)
It was nice to have this all figured out for
me from the get-go.
“Everywhere a nut is required, there is a
molded recess for the nut. Assembly is onehanded.
The linkage from the tail servo to
the tail control arm is very straight and
smooth. I am impressed with the simplicity
of the Tiger 50 and its beginner orientation.
A person with no experience would have an
easy time putting the Tiger 50 ARF
together correctly.
“A few things are required to finish the
helicopter. You need a drive washer for
your engine, or the extended clutch hub,
sold by Audacity Models. A remote glow is
required if you don’t want to remove the
canopy to start the engine. Two 3-inch
servo extensions are required for the aileron
for the trashing it would get when
converted to 3-D mode and flown by my 3-
D expert.
“The first flights were done with the
suggested beginner setup. Slow, stable, and
predictable describe the Tiger 50 with this
setup. The supplied wood blades took a
little tape to balance but worked fine. With
some work, the Tiger 50 looped and rolled
in this configuration, but it was a very slow
roll, and a big loop. It made a great
platform for a beginner.
“I greatly enjoyed the relaxed flying I
did with the Tiger 50 in the beginner mode.
I get enough excitement flying a Falcon
900 EX business jet around the world,
skirting thunderstorms, over large bodies of
water, with the boss in the back drinking
expensive wine, eating $300 seafood
platters while smoking a cigar asking,
‘How long till we get there?’ I fly models
to relax! The beginner setup was a great
way to relax and just fly.
“With the supplied swash ball
extensions, and the weights removed from
the paddles, I took her up for some
precision maneuvers. The Tiger 50 tracked
almost as well as my Bergen gasser—a
machine that costs four times as much!
“(No, it didn’t have the simplicity of
pull start, the cool sound of a gas engine,
and the feel of a great big helicopter, but it
felt much better than any 30 I have flown
and almost as nice as a 90.) I did some
Loops, Rolls, and Stall Turns. It flew
beautifully but the cyclic was a little slow.
“The conversion to 3-D mode took
about an hour. All the parts are available
through Audacity Models. 3-D swash ball
extensions (longer than the included
aerobatic ones) increased the throw to the
bell input. Hard dampeners stiffened the
head. Light thin paddles screwed in the aft
hole, on a different flybar, reduce stability.
“The seesaw was replaced with the
supplied in the ARF kit extra one, listed in
the manual addendum. This allowed the
seesaw arms to be moved to increase bell
mixing and decrease stability.
“Finally, I installed the limited slip drive
for a little tail authority during
autorotations. Subsequent flights showed
that the Tiger 50 can be set up to be a
respectable 3-D helicopter capable of
performing crisp, snappy maneuvers.
“If you are looking for a solid helicopter
that is adaptable to your flying style, check
out the Tiger 50. It is a well-designed, wellbuilt
machine that will give you many
hours of satisfaction. If you do require
support, it is only a phone call away.
fix the problem, I moved the balls
on the two other swashplate servos
(aileron and pitch) in one hole on the
heavy-duty JR servo arms. Now the
swashplate stays level with collective
movement. The CCPM mixing was
adjusted to give maximum throw with no
Audacity Models: (407) 302-3361.”
and pitch servos, and of course all the
building tools, radio, and field equipment.
“Another very cool thing was that they
Jamboree I found a neat new product from
Pete Schmitt of Pete’s Hobbies (www.
Before we get to the Tiger 50, I want to