Assembling Heli's

[Whitegrass]

I may have missed some sort of uber post/sticky, but I can't find much on building your Gas/Nitro heli's. If I were to buy, say, a Raven, how much assembly is required, how long would it take and what parts would I need to buy seperate?

And what's Nitro? I keep hearing these horrible things how it cost $30 to mix one gallon of Nitro fuel....

[heavymetal92]

Hi,

This is what I understand about nitro fuel I don't think you have to add anything to it just pour it into the tank and go some of thie engines will also use unleaded gasoline but thats for 2 cycle engines and you have to add 2 cycle engine oil to it, but nitro is different it has nitromethane in it and another ingredient, but it comes premixed and you can get it in mixes of 5% up to 44 % Hobby shops sell it as well as internet hobby shops. Did I get it right guy's or am I wrong?


JD

[hawkman]

Nitro engines range from tiny little things right up to 2 cubic inches or so...the differences?

Nitro engines can be either 2 cycle or 4 cycle
Nitro engines usually use a 'glo plug' which is first energised using a small battery...about 1.5 volt...once the engine starts the glo plug stays hot...or glows...the battery is then removed....and the engine keeps running.

Petrol or 'gasser' engines can be either 2 cycle or 4 cycle....depends on what heli you have/what you want it to do.

Gasser engines have a spark plug and are sometimes started with a pull cord....the engines can look like weedwacker engines...or strimmer engines.

I have a gasser type helicopter....the engine is 23 cc.

Nitro is more expensive than petrol...4 ltrs of nitro for me costs £16 sterling....4 ltrs of petrol? about £2.40 so its cheaper.....my engine is 2 cycle and the petrol has to be mixed with 2 cycle oil...or 'premixed'....the oil provides lubrication within the engine.

Petrol can vary in 'octane' rating

Nitro can vary in its nitro content....the higher percentages will provide a higher octane....but this depends on what you want to do...and the weather/temperature you operate in.

Rob

[Whitegrass]

OK.... so now I know what the fuel is. But how difficult/time consuming is assembling a Raven or Raptor? I decided to probably get a Raptor package (Has the Tx, engine etc.) for $800, but I'd like to know what I'm getting into.

[heavymetal92]

My knowledge of helicopter kits is pretty limited, but I think it would depend on what kind of package your getting. Is it a full kit where you have to assemble everything or a package where it is 95 percent complete or 100% complete? If it is a kit where you have to assemble everything I would expect to have at least 3-7 days building time. If it is 95 Percent complete you can have it in the air in a few hours. 100% percent complete depends on how fast you can gas it up and install the batteries and start the engine. So basically it depends on what kind of package your getting.




JD

[Whitegrass]

It's just a Raptor that comes with the engine, Tx and other stuff. So 0%.... I'm really bad with this kind of stuff. Would I be able to get anybody on Helifever.com or in my area to assemble it for $100-150? I could break in the engine myself, but I'd need them to instal the engine, set up the Tx and other uber technical things.

[heavymetal92]

This is just a suggestion you might want to look into a heli package that is either 95 or 100 percent complete there a lots of good heli's out there that don't take much assembly time at or around a 800 dollar price range are you really wanting to get into nitro or gas heli's or would you be interested in electric?



JD

[Whitegrass]

I already own a Blade CX2. I was thinking of a CP Pro next, but after a lot of frustration with wind outside, I decided a micro heli wasn't going to cut it. The Raptor supposedly is a good, cheap Nitro heli. I thought I could learn some basics with it, and not have to buy a new heli later. (I have basics for Electrics down, but they can;t do much outside, except for a few special ones.)

And sorry that this is in the Century section. I meant for it to be about the raven, but it got changed so a mod can move it to Thunder Tiger. And I don't see any ARF or RTF Nitro's.