AP heli logo10/e550 raptor, Swift

[snaggle213]

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding different helis for AP use. I am considering a Swift, a Logo10, or an e550 Raptor as a dedicated AP platform. Has anyone flown all three of these helis, and could determine if any one of them would be a better choice for AP use? I would like to use an Askman mount, downlink, an AP2000i, and digital still photograph camera. Price is always a consideration, but safety/reliability would be the main consideration. Also does anyone know which of these three helis would be the best for AP use without alot of upgrades? And possibly what upgrades would you suggest.

Thanks for the input.

[MLaBoyteaux]

Well, I've flown a E-Raptor, DJ's flown a Logo and a Raptor.

LoopBack has a Swift and just got an E-Raptor.

From what I've seen and my own experience, the Logo and the Raptor I think would be the better choices.

Since Askman is fine tuning mounts for them, the Logo might be the best choice, all things considered.

Have you seen the photos DJ's getting with his Logo and a Canon A640? :D

[dreslism]

Wow, not sure how I missed this thread.

I have owned all three and used them all for AP. I don't own the swift anymore, but use the logo and the raptor still.

The swift was in its infancy when I got it, too many issues with it, maybe its better now.

Logo and raptor are almost 2 different class of heli's.

You don't mention what kind of camera you're going to lift.
Stock logo will lift any point and shoot, with raptor you *could* lift a DSLR, with 620 blades or larger, but you will get into upgrades at that point.

Logo is single pack heli, raptor is dual pack heli, so price is more to run a raptor.

Logo is good value for the money. I bought a logo 10 3D (check with Gary and see if he has any more). It comes with some good upgrades over standard logo10. Bearings vs. bushings, metal swash vs plastic, carbon blades vs. woodies, tail boom supports vs. none.

I would consider both logo and raptor safe and reliable.

[AZ ChopperCam]

if it helps you decide you may wish to know that I love my Logo so much I just ordered another today. :lol:

I'm now shooting over half of my video work with the Logo and 100% still work with it. I've made a new mount for the Logo for video and it's doing equally as well as the Raptors. Very smooth.

Go with a Logo 10 and keep it stock if you plan to use light point and shoot cams, or stretch it to 550's if you wanna play with larger cameras or video.

[GGoodrum]

I totally agree with Scott, they are both great AP platforms, but are a bit different. The Logo 10 is smooth a silk, and is still one of my favorite sizes. With 500-515 blades and a good power setup it will lift 9 pounds without a problem. If you plan on flying in relatively tight quarters, like a neighborhood, this size is perfect. It is big enough to see well, is stable like the bigger ships and still not to big that you feel uncomfortable flying it in a neighborhood.

There is an option also to do the e550 and leave it as a ".30" size, with 550 blades. You could still run this with basically the same power setup as the Logo 10, with a "single pack". The reason this might be good is that later, if you decide you can easily "grow" this into full-size, 620-bladed Raptor, or even the super-stretched version DJ and others have done, with 680-710 blades.

-- Gary

[LoopBaCK]

I'll chime in for the Swift - even though I sold mine for a Raptor :oops:. The Swift I flew had an Asman front mount with pan and tilt (although I never used the pan function) as well as an AP2000i stabilizer. It worked extremely well for me with the point-and-shoot camera I lifted, Panasonic DMC-LX1. Because it was small and quiet I was able to shoot in some tight places as well as locations needing as little noise as possible.

For general shooting it was great. However the small size meant less flexibility in wind and a limit on the camera payload - no DSLR's. This last point is why I upgraded to the Raptor. I really needed to carry a DSLR and wanted to be able to lift a video cam so the Raptor was necessary.

Personally I think the Swift is an excellent AP platform for general "neighborhood" type shooting. It's light and quiet and cheap! But - if you plan on using your rig for business the Swift may fall short with long term options. If that's the case for you a larger ship may be a better choice.

[snaggle213]

Thanks for the advice. I think I will go with the Raptor e550 mainly because my local hobby shop sells parts for Thunder Tiger products and not the others. At this point I am using a small point and shoot camera (Casio EX-Z850) lifting capacity isn't a concern now but maybe in the future. I will probably use the a123 packs for the heli to keep the cost of packs down so once I have practiced enough with G3.5 and my Blade CP I'll get in touch with Gary at tppacks and buy some electronics motor, and mods for the a123 packs. If anyone has any good setups for an e550 ie. motor, pinion, esc, servos, etc, maybe let me know what would work for an AP e550.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Have a good day.