JR Airskipper .50 - some general questions about this model

[Espeefan]

Hello guys, I'm hoping there are at least a few JR heli pilots out there who can help answer some of my questions.

I've been considering the purchase of an Airskipper .50. My local hobby shop is a Horizon dealer, so I'm thinking about the parts support for this heli and ease of availability/ordering.

I'm wondering how good the Airskipper .50 is. I have read about a few little issues with blade tracking, supposedly fixed by using a harder damper. Another one I read about was flexing problems with the stock swashplate - I assume it's plastic? I heard that JR makes a replacement metal upgrade for this and so does a company called KS, which Horizon seems to stock a few of on their website, but none that I can see for the Airskipper.

Are there any other issues with the Airskipper that I should be aware of? If so, what possible fixes are there for them?

How is parts availability? Is everything available online easy to get through a hobby shop that works with Horizon?

Finally, I was just wondering about the aftermarket upgrades available for the Airskipper. KS makes a lot of neat, aluminum stuff, but is there any compatability between the upgrade parts for the Airskipper and other JR helis? In other words, would the nice alum. bits for another JR heli work just as well on the Airskipper?

I'm just trying to weigh the good with the bad. I really want to buy a .50 heli and I just thought the Airskipper looked pretty nice, but for the money I also want to consider Miniature Aircraft's X-Cell MXR500. I know everyone likes Raptors, but I kind of wanted something one step up from that.

Thanks.

[Ivan]

KSJ is the manufacturer that makes lots of JR upgrades as well as for other helis.

They can be seen at www.rchelisplus.com.

Not too sure about the Airskipper, I have never seen one. If that is what your local distributor can get you, and they will keep parts on hand, that is one big plus. Nothing around here has any heli stuff to speak of. Mail order is only 2 days away, and rick's is great for prices and support.

MA is top notch on the quality, and I would say, per dollar, you get better value out of MA than out of JR. I would definately no rule out the Sceau 50, or the raptor 50, althoutgh I think Hirobo has the plastic model market in the quality department. Hirobos quality is great. Raptors have come along way in the past few years and I wouldn't be afraid to fly one, like I was at one time. :mrgreen:

[Espeefan]

Thanks for the reply! I was beginning to think nobody here knew anything about the JR helis. They must not be to popular.

I love MA's helis, but the more I look at their MXR500's air frame design, the more I feel like having a conventional heli with a better way to mount the rx battery pack, gyro, governor, ect. In other words, I like the designs that keep the radio gear mounting plates up front, rather then hanging stuff on the side of the frame with double sided tape.

I was also thinking about the Hirobo Sceau Evo 50, but reading about problems with the tail drives, motors over heating, and spindles bending kind of worries me.

Before I buy a Raptor, I think I will give the new Pantara 50, that Audicty Models will be releasing soon, a good hard look.

Lots of choices! Hmmm :mrgreen: Thanks for link! Looks like rchelisplus has a great selection of parts!

[Ivan]

I haven't had any trouble with the Sceadu I have. The spindle hasn't bent, and no cooling troubles.

I don't think JR is keeping the Heli end of thingsgoing too well in teh states. The Vibe was overly delayed, and they seemed to have lost intrest in quality. (Voyager compared to Venture)

I am not terribly familiar with teh Audacity models. they look OK, from what I can see.

I can say that the sceadu and the raptor are probably goiing to be a lot less expensive to erpair compared to a JR or an MA.

[Paul Hinz]

I have a Airskipper. The fit of the parts is very good as with all the JR helis I have excluding the Ventures. I agree with Ivan on the Ventures they have quality issues with them.

I have not flown it yet I am waiting for better weather.

I agree with Ivan about JR dropping the ball in the states they just delay things to much. They always had to change the kits for the states which would delay them and then rewrite the instuctions to delay them even more. On the Airskipper they did not do that the heli is the same as the rest of the world and the instructions are the english translation. By doing so they got it out in the states shortly after they announced it.

Paul

[Espeefan]

Thanks for the info! Paul, let me know what you think of your Airskipper when you fly it. The weather where I'm at in WI is great. A little windy, but nice. In the evening it's perfect, as there is barely any wind. Sure gives me the itch to buy a heli and fly.

[Paul Hinz]

Nathan I flew the Airskipper today so far I like it. I did 4 flights on it mostly hovering breaking in the motor, getting it trimmed out and the gyro set. The last flight I did some forward flight. Right now it is hovering and flying very smooth even when the wind can up in the afternoon. I cannot comment on it's 3D flight characteristics yet.

Paul

[Espeefan]

Cool. Thanks for remembering. I'm curious about the 3D capabilities, but I won't be trying any of that for a long while. I'm just a beginner. Actuallty, I bought a Pantara 50 from Aduacity Models, so I'm pretty excited about that. It seems like a great ship, from all that I've read. I think it'll be a good heli for me.

[helibrite]

The AS 50 is a good heli, I own one, But I also have a Hurrican 50. If you like JR style of helis then you should check out the Hurrican 50.
The Hurrican is one heck of a heli and has all the up- grades on it when it comes out of the box.
see @ rjxofusacom

[armsmaster]

Espeefan,
I am getting a new AS50 on Wednesday. I ordered a bunch of upgrades from helibirte today. I got a copy of the assembly manual last night so that I could study up on the kit. The other forum has a bunch of info and a video on one flying. Just go to the JR forum page and check out the stuff on the AS50. I know that the one thing that breaks every crash on this type of heli is the plastic seesaw arms. The KSJ arms are on backorder with Horizon untill 10/27. I checked. We are a JR dealer in Spokane, WA. There are some benefits to working in a hobby store for a living. You can find the post on the manual on the other forum under the page "instruction manual for airskipper" Good luck!
Perry