RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Eric Hawkinson
319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings, MT 59101 E-mail: tech@heliproz.com
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.
Thunder Tiger Raptor 60
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 for 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 it is generally a good helicopter. Since mid-2000, parts support from Ace Hobby (the U.S. importer and distributor) has been second-to-none.
With so many pilots flying the .30-size Raptor, it was no surprise 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 market.
As I write this, the Raptor 60 has only been in the U.S. for a few weeks, so any long-term maintenance issues are yet to surface. Here are a few details that may interest prospective buyers:
- Three versions are imported into the U.S.:
- 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).
- An ARF that includes the new Thunder Tiger .70 Pro engine and a nice muffler.
- All versions have a new canopy shape and decals that have received a much more positive reaction than those on the 30.
- 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 680 mm length; the stock grips are 16 mm with 5 mm blade bolts. You can use JR shim washers with blades that have 12 mm roots if you prefer a more "standard" blade root and bolt size. (Vic Campbell intends to have a set of his V‑Blades available that will fit the stock grips without needing aftermarket shims or bolts.)
- The frame uses four machined-aluminum plates along with molded parts to achieve a rigid frame at 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 is large in diameter at 25.5 mm but relatively thin—likely to minimize cost and weight. The tailboom supports are a huge improvement over the 30: they have molded ends and are stiff enough to offer good support. Unfortunately, the supports are installed at a very shallow 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 bearing-supported 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 to 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 in this price segment (for example: the X-Cell 60 Sport Trainer, the JR Ergo 60, Hirobo’s Freya 60, etc.). If Ace and Thunder Tiger can get parts support in place quickly and keep repair and upgrade parts pricing low, you can expect to see Raptor 60s proliferate.
JR Vigor upgrades and shaft drive conversion
Another helicopter that has been very popular for a while is the JR Vigor. Although a new version is long overdue, there is great news for those flying or considering the current (non-CCPM) version.
The Vigor Shaft Drive Conversion Set (JR part #998002) is now available. At 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 carbon-fiber 3‑D–style fin set.
- CNC fin mounts.
- A metal driveshaft with dual ball-bearing supports and nicely machined ends and fittings.
- Transmission parts and a new split-gear assembly for a constant-drive tail.
- A wonderful new tailcase.
Besides allowing the shaft drive to function, the case also adds 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 common on higher-end models but has been missing from more affordable helicopters. Miniature Aircraft USA has offered 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 the conversion cost.
If you own a Vigor, or if you prefer the current mixers rather than the soon-available CCPM version of the Vigor, consider this upgrade to maximize performance and the 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 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 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 well-designed and machined parts that will offer a usable increase in the precision of your tail system.
I have two Vigors (and two Ergo 60s). 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.
A request for photos
I have yet to receive much in the mail that I can use for this column. I know this magazine doesn’t have a large helicopter pilot readership, but the fixed-wing guys are the 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. The more they look at this challenging and rewarding part of the hobby, the more likely they are 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!
—Eric Hawkinson
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
