Shortman
04-22-2006, 01:54 AM
I recently had the chance to put together and fly a NIDACH raptor 50 carbon frame. You can visit their website at www.helinnovations.com
I received the frame a couple months back and was hesitant to mess with my Raptor 50V2 as I had it perfectly dialed in. Well, a botched auto fixed that and I decided to put together the carbon frame while I was fixing the damage.
The carbon frame came preassembled from Henry but required disassembly to put all my equipment in. I went ahead with my OS 50 Hyper and JK Hatori muffler power plant as well as Fromeco Peerless 2400 lithium ions for juice. I ran a GY 611 for tail and Futaba 9252s on all other surfaces. First off, what is nice and unique about this carbon frame version NIDACH offers is that it retains the raptor mccpm (or whatever you wish to call it :D ) linkage geometry and servo placement. So in building it required all Thunder Tiger pushrods and linkages along with the plastic servo tray that comes from the Raptor 50 kit. For those who do not prefer ccpm, this was a nice welcome. Along with the build, you also needed a fan shroud, I used a JR fan shroud cut and fitted to fit in the frames and the Hyper. With all equipment mounted and in place and picking up the ship, I noticed two things. 1) the weight savings, 2) not only did it look nicer with all the carbon, but the frame was much stiffer. No more cheap screws into the sides of the frame or having to worry about them possibly stripping out on the plastic side frame joiners. This kit came included with all screws, nuts and washers to put the frame together. Another nice feature was the fuel tank mounting. With the raptor 50 standard frames the fuel tank would rub and cut the mounting tabs and cause fuel leakage. With the NIDACH frame, the fuel tank (stock from the raptor 50 kit) slides nicely into the frames and is held securely by four grommets. Another option on the NIDACH frame is to get a carbon fiber collective pitch cradle. We all know the trouble some have with the carbon fiber plate underneath being a pain to line up the landing gear screws or when dropping your motor at the field. With the NIDACH frame, no more worries. The NIDACH carbon frame uses a metal rail to mount the landing gear allowing for a proper nut and bolt to secure the gear. No more worries about stripping and losing the landing gear screws with the stock raptor kit. You also have the option of mounting the rudder servo in the back, this offers you an easier shot to the tail for better alignment.
After getting it all set up and taking it out to the field for some flying I immediately noticed the difference in flight from the lighter frame. Stops were more abrupt. Doing tic tocs the helicopter accelerated faster from the start and stopped on a dime. Rolls seemed to have a little more kick in them as it didn't have any trouble rolling consecutively, along with flips. The only thing that may be a downside to some is that with its light weight, doing large aerobatic loops or Curtis Loops as I like to call them requires more momentum on the bottom as the weight required to carry the raptor 50 through it is not all there. Going from the stock frame to the carbon frame also made my helicopter slightly tail heavy, but I also installed a 2400 peerless li ion pack with the install so I lost a couple ounces up front too. I have yet to crash test the frame yet so I cannot comment on how well it will hold up :D .
With that, I would say overall this frame is really cool and for those looking to lose a little weight and add that "bling" factor this frame does it. My digital camera's display has finally failed so I need to go buy another. For now here is a picture from the NIDACH website.
I received the frame a couple months back and was hesitant to mess with my Raptor 50V2 as I had it perfectly dialed in. Well, a botched auto fixed that and I decided to put together the carbon frame while I was fixing the damage.
The carbon frame came preassembled from Henry but required disassembly to put all my equipment in. I went ahead with my OS 50 Hyper and JK Hatori muffler power plant as well as Fromeco Peerless 2400 lithium ions for juice. I ran a GY 611 for tail and Futaba 9252s on all other surfaces. First off, what is nice and unique about this carbon frame version NIDACH offers is that it retains the raptor mccpm (or whatever you wish to call it :D ) linkage geometry and servo placement. So in building it required all Thunder Tiger pushrods and linkages along with the plastic servo tray that comes from the Raptor 50 kit. For those who do not prefer ccpm, this was a nice welcome. Along with the build, you also needed a fan shroud, I used a JR fan shroud cut and fitted to fit in the frames and the Hyper. With all equipment mounted and in place and picking up the ship, I noticed two things. 1) the weight savings, 2) not only did it look nicer with all the carbon, but the frame was much stiffer. No more cheap screws into the sides of the frame or having to worry about them possibly stripping out on the plastic side frame joiners. This kit came included with all screws, nuts and washers to put the frame together. Another nice feature was the fuel tank mounting. With the raptor 50 standard frames the fuel tank would rub and cut the mounting tabs and cause fuel leakage. With the NIDACH frame, the fuel tank (stock from the raptor 50 kit) slides nicely into the frames and is held securely by four grommets. Another option on the NIDACH frame is to get a carbon fiber collective pitch cradle. We all know the trouble some have with the carbon fiber plate underneath being a pain to line up the landing gear screws or when dropping your motor at the field. With the NIDACH frame, no more worries. The NIDACH carbon frame uses a metal rail to mount the landing gear allowing for a proper nut and bolt to secure the gear. No more worries about stripping and losing the landing gear screws with the stock raptor kit. You also have the option of mounting the rudder servo in the back, this offers you an easier shot to the tail for better alignment.
After getting it all set up and taking it out to the field for some flying I immediately noticed the difference in flight from the lighter frame. Stops were more abrupt. Doing tic tocs the helicopter accelerated faster from the start and stopped on a dime. Rolls seemed to have a little more kick in them as it didn't have any trouble rolling consecutively, along with flips. The only thing that may be a downside to some is that with its light weight, doing large aerobatic loops or Curtis Loops as I like to call them requires more momentum on the bottom as the weight required to carry the raptor 50 through it is not all there. Going from the stock frame to the carbon frame also made my helicopter slightly tail heavy, but I also installed a 2400 peerless li ion pack with the install so I lost a couple ounces up front too. I have yet to crash test the frame yet so I cannot comment on how well it will hold up :D .
With that, I would say overall this frame is really cool and for those looking to lose a little weight and add that "bling" factor this frame does it. My digital camera's display has finally failed so I need to go buy another. For now here is a picture from the NIDACH website.