Predator Gasser

[hawkman]

Hi Seaking, you jammy jammy Git!!!!!

I would love to get a Predator one of these days, going to get mine direct from Century USA. the Kit is $1.000 with engine so thats around £600 ?

The UK price is £1.000 with engine...so the obvious bargain is to get direct via DHL.
I am fed up beacuse getting nitro fuel where I am is such a procedure (Falklands) petrol is far cheaper and plentiful....its going to be a sad day to retire the nitro heli I have but needs must.

I have heard some good comments on the predator, it can lift a fair payload like cameras etc.

Cant comment on the fuel/oil ratio....90:1 seems a bit fine I would have guessed 50:1 or 40:1 ......the 32:1 seems sensible enough.

I have often wondered about petrol engines for helis.....I thought about it a lot while strimming my garden with my 2 stroke strimmer....which runs on 40:1....the endurance is something else...bearing in mind its running at full revs most of the time....getting around 40 minutes or so to one tank.

To really sort the fuel/oil issue...I would phone CenturyUK and find out.

I realise of course that the comparison between strimmer and heli is small but the principle really stuck in my mind.

Seems like the Predator is good value for money, the other helis on petrol are more expensive......Hirobo make a nice gasser...Eagle GS? I think which is around the £1:200 mark.
Century make some good helis, the Hawk Sport I have has been great though its little comparison to something like a Predator. I wanted to get a Falcon 50 but the nitro issue has really hacked me off.....I fly a lot but Nitro is like £18 per gallon and I have to import a years supply or more to justify the handling charges....Now petrol.....couple of 25 ltr containers...hmmmm....should keep me airborne for ages and ages

When I get some spare cash I will definately head down the Predator route.....now...how do I 'persuade' my Lady to give me some cash? LOL

Rob

hawkman for sure a gasser is a good way to go concidering the cost of nitro,,by the way ..when I fired up my predator condor..the torque it had with the 810mm main rotors MAN!!! STAND BACK !!! if this thing got crazy on me ..I definitely would drop the controls and run for the hills..these main rotor blades are very heavy for a model helo ..with the main rotor wing span of 6 foot I not going to do any thing crazy ..like you said .."Ill treat this guy like a scale copter". plus It seems that with all the upgrades and
camera mounting system ,plus state of the art gyro and governor..along with FMA stablizer system and all the gadges I can put on this beast..I think its going to run me about 4000 US dollars before its all said anf done

gerry

as they say "If you cant fly yet dont quit trying"

[tecmic]

SO! this is where you hide, Roger.

I just found this site by accident and joined to offer some Reflex XTR suggestions.

I would suggest AMS oil, too and at around 50 - 65:1, depending on the engine (ahem! cough!)

Actually, the BK's (G230) is now running fine on 65:1, slight vibes on tail still but I reckon a tweak or two on the low needle will find the 'sweet spot'. When the weather let's me fly it!!!

Mike.

[Seaking]

Damn you caught me Mike LOL

Roger

tecmic...as the manufacture suggested 32:1 ratio...they must know some thing we dont

[tecmic]

Hi Gerr,

Mmm, I hear what you're saying but I spent a lot of time researching this issue, as this was my first gasser.

The concensus, from various 'expert sources', seems to be, begin at around 25-30:1 then after a couple of gallons, go to around 50-60:1. My 230 started to run much better when I began using 65:1 with AMSOIL. Having said that, I'm just about to make up another mix and I'm going to try 50:1, just to see what happens!

Mike.

tecmic well cool ..I just dont want to burn this puppy up ...and hey if I can get pistons and new rings for this gasser from your advice for cheap then I would go for it.
till I get the pistons and rings for quick repairs I wont do it...but that sounds better than the 101 octane I want to use for better acceration

[tecmic]

Hi Gerr,

I got a lot of help from peeps on the SRCH forum!

go here select Engine Questions and info topic, then first thread G230 Tuning

billme (Bill Meador) is a recognised expert on gassers.

Mike.