From Electric to Nitro......................................

[vette747]

I bought an Hirobo lama 3 weeks ago. I really liked it. So, two weeks ago I bought the Hirobo Lepton ex.

Today, thanks to the guys on this forum, I found the appropriate setup and I was able to fly and drain two batteries.

This is where my problem starts. I find it frustrating that after 10 minutes of fun I need to stop of more than one hour.

This is why I have two dozen of batteries for my Tamiya TXT-1 truck, the Ferrari 360 modena and the 4x4 buggy.

Anyway, instead of buying a ton of battery for the Lepton, I was thinking of buying the sceadu. They have it on the shelf on local hobby shop………..

I’m pretty good at mechanic. See my web site and you will see what I’m talking about.

http://pages.videotron.com/vette747/

Will I run in all sort of problem. I refer to my Losi lst truck. I break gears, and most of the problem I have been having is with one-way bearing for the starter. Each time I go to the track, I have problem with that one way bearing. My friend has a nitro buggy and this is the same thing. I also read someone having one way bearing problem with his helis.

Now here is my question: What problem I can expect of a nitro engine setup. I do not want to go out there an no be able to fly for issues other than engine tuning such as minor mechanical problem.

Before I buy it, I need to know what pit fall I can run into.

I already have the glow plug, a few gallon of nitro 25, and a couple of battery pack for the receiver. I do, however, think I will need an new gyro, receiver and cervos.

Input from all is appreciated.

Pics of the family.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e63/lesfichier/LeptonSalonEtRC5.jpg

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

Your family members are just beautiful!!! Seriously I would stick with electric. Here are a few reasons why I would stay away from glow on a heli.

1. Messy, messy , messy!!! Very hard to clean all the little nooks and corners on a heli. Then even if you think you got it clean when you go to work on it you get greasy and then it gets on your favorite shirt!!! :(

2. Electrics are loud but not as much as a nitro. What if you want to spool it up for a few minutes in the backyard to test something late at night? It's so easy when your sitting on the couch to jump up grab your heli, radio & pack and run outside for a quick bed-time thrill.

3. You will spend more time working on and tuning the glow engine than you will setting up an ESC and plugging in a Lipo pack

4. Just think about how much more equipment you have to carry to the field with you to run a glow engine. I want to gringe at the thought of carrying that gallon of fuel with me. And two gallons gets heavy fast. :arggg:

5. The vibration of a glow engine on a heli wears out parts.

6. Electric makes tons more power if it's setup right. :glasses2:

I will let you know if I think of anything else. :wink:

[SteveL]

Is your 25% car fuel. I would not run it in a heli if it is. The sceadu EVO is a great heli that wont offer any problems. The hyper 50 is not sensative to mixture changes. I just put fuel in it and fly.
Hard to clean... Spray it down with some alcohol and blow it off or wipe it down.

[vette747]

Thanks a lot litiumstatic. It sounds as my nitro Losi LST truck. Tuning, messy, a lot to carry to the track, etc, etc, I have not thought about vibration wearing parts. You kind of convinced me to stay with electric.

But yesterday I went to model show and a guy offered me his ready to fly Kyosho Calliper quite cheap. Let’s say for the price of an extra battery for my electric. He burned only four gallons of fuel. He wants a bigger one.

So I think I will give it a try, but I will keep your recommendation into account.

Is your 25% car fuel. I would not run it in a heli if it is.

Thanks I will not use the fuel I have in stock.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

It's going to be a bit easier for you because you know glow engines and how to tune them than the average joe. I wish the best of luck to you and your new heli. I'm sure your going to have a ball with it. :D

[t-rexn8]

Electric is Great. I fly nothing but electric and I have several nitro cars that are gathering dust. Anyone want to buy one?
I dont care who you are nitro gets old after a while.
Dont be lyin. :lol:

[xircom]

I certainly agree with all disadvantages with nitro, I have a Lepton too, but now bought an EVO50, because I can have 10 full 12min flights in one weekend morning or afternoon, and during the flight, the bird gets not weaker, but rather stronger (weight less). But of course the Lepton is still much better and cleaner for quick flights after work, I really like both - there is no better or worse overall.

[t-rexn8]

Yeah sometimes I watch the nitro guys fly for about 15 minutes, while I fly for 5 minutes 3 seperate times. That is the biggest problem for me. Still worth it though.

[vette747]

Thanks you guys. The lama is good to fly in the living room. The lepton is good to fly in the backyard without disturbing the neighbors. But when I want a great flying day, I think I need a fuel engine.

I like electric. Just turn the switch to ON and fly. But this is kind bad we have to wait 30 minutes or more for the battery to cool down and 1.5 hours to recharge.

Unless we have a ton of battery as I have with my RC cars, trucks and buggy, I can fly only a few minutes every couple hours. And the lipo batteries are not cheep. And we also need to wait for the speed control and motor to cool down.

I like my Losi LST .26 truck because I can burn a gallon of fuel in one afternoon.

Anyway, I made the jump and bought the Hirobo Sceadu Evo last Monday. I have the OS 50 Hyper with digital servo, G401 kit gyro. I hope I bought a good kit.

I have not started assembling it yet.

Do you thing there is a big difference between flying the Lepton and the Sceadu?

[Ivan]

Personally I have had more trouble with electrics than with nitro powered helis.

1. Messy is hardly a complaint and not enough of one to keep you away from one. Nothing 30 seconds and a paper towel won't take care of.

2. A decent muffler on a nitro heli makes it comparable noise wise to an electric. I have had complaints from the neighbors over a 400 size electric heli but not a .90 size vigor, and that included all the smoke from the vigor. The shrill whine of the electric motor is much more noticeable than an I.C. engine.

3. If you stay away from OS 90 size engines, you don't have to do all that much tuning. Setting throttle curves is a snap after the second time you do it, and is a critical skill that everyone should probably have, even if you only run a governor or a governed esc. It helps you understand the relationship between power and pitch, and can help you figure out a lot of problems.

4. I have a fuel jug a starter and a glow plug clip for my nitro heli. No portable generators, multiple charging and balancing gizmos, I don't have to set a timer in my transmitter, I can charge once a day and fly as often as I like.

5. Glow engine or not, helis wear out. spinning an electric motor at 45,000 rpm probably puts out a bit of vibration on its own. and the power plant is NOT the only source of vibration or wear on a heli.

6. people claim that electric helis have more power, but the truth is the airframe is generally built to fit the power available, and vice versa. You could stuff a .61 in a EVO 50 if you wanted more power, but then you would have to put a longer boom on it, some .680 blades and a Freya sticker. The truth is darn near every heli on the market has more power than it can handle.

I have already thought of something else. If you were to get a trex 600 and two batteries at $350 (approximately) each so you don't have to wait for them to charge at the field, you will be far worse off than buying $700 worth of fuel ($17 a gallon). 42 gallons of fuel is a good two to three flying seasons in a .90 and maybe even four with a .50. The price can be spread out over time, and lithium batteries have a limit on the number of times you can charge them, they also degrade over time regardless of charge cycles. Also, glow fuel will burn in a catastrophic event, but only about 1500º cooler than lithium. Heavy metal fires are hard to put out, you need the yellow extinguisher, where as alcohol fires can be put out with dirt if need be.

Now here is the kicker. The heli crowd is enamored with "the latest gizmo" and right now that is electrics. I remember when the Vigor standard was going to be the "wave of the future" and they would supposedly have never made a better heli, then came the CS, and I would hate to compare it with the Stratus or the Synergy. I remember when CCPM started becoming mainstream, and they all said conventional mixing would go by the wayside, but it seems that raptors (not ccpm) seems to be the most popular heli I see.

If you truly want to get the most bang for your buck, get a Raptor or a Sceadu, stay away from all the expensive upgrades that look nice but don't really help, buy lots of fuel and thrash the crap out of them. Not saying that a good electric heli is no fun, becaus I think they can be tremendously fun, but I just don't agree they have the advantage over nitor powered helis, not to mention you don't get the smell of heli fuel form them, which is terribly addicting. :mrgreen: