want feedback, might buy two 50's..

[WayneBrown]

The 50's have been out awhile, now I'm thinking of getting a pair for myself and Mike, the century stuff just ain't getting it, and I don't wanna bust up the Fury learning new stuff..
Please give me the dirty, positive, and questionable about these fine machines..
Will run Hypers and MPII's no governers...

[Gohbee]

Wayne,

Of course I'm a little biased but the Stinger is a great flying machine at a very affordable price. I'll try and send a link to this thread to a couple of field reps. They can share their experiences.

Thanks,
David

[VTHELINUT]

I have a Stinger 50 with OS 50 Hyper, Futaba 401 / 9254, JR 9303 TJ pro Gov. I am still in my first gallon with new motor, BUT I allredy find this heli smoother than My Raptor 50 V2 (all metal upgrades)The Stinger is a good value with metal upgrades stock. I like the clutch with solid top start. I have had meny one way bearings fail in my Raptor trying to start it. I was comparing the Stinger clutch with start shaft to a X-Cell Clutch with start shaft , they look the same but different mounting hole spacing. I am working on piro flips and will get back to you with flip rate. I want to get more time on the motor befor going nuts. I have red that if you run OS Hypers with MP2s you will want to get a Gov. It will over speed 600s. I find the stock muffler works fine. If you have a MP2 then I would try it ,but don't spend the money until you try the stock one first
I helped setup 3 Stingers 50 with carbon 600, and they tracked perfect out of the box I did not touch one link on the head, and hardly had to touch the trims.
OK I can brag all night but lets get to The Dirty or Questionable Stuff !! # 1 The plastic canopy is thin and flimsy compare to a Raptors. And so is the Fiberglas one. But thay work just fine and cost 50% less to replace than the Raptor ones. I have my Arizona Heli Canopy for the shows and I practice with my stock plastic smashed crashed 10 times one.
#2 I cracked the plastic 3D tail fin doing autos . But we all change to carbon after that and they offer a nice Aluminum set .
#3 And The gear mesh on mine was not as good as you find on your $1100, X-Cell , I found it tight but after a tank or two running 1900 it is fine.
#4 I shortened the fan hub about 1mm to make the motor mount bolt holes line up better. Dave is addressing this and all kits that go out will have been corrected.
I find its imperfection's acceptable for a New heli in its price range.
Bang for buck it is the best heli in its size and cost effective for 3D practice
I had a X-Cell 60 & Hirobo Eagle 60, I'm not rich so I didn't push myself to do hard stunts like a piro flip( scard to crash ) I sold all my helis and got two Raptor 50s and stocked up on parts. I practice on my Reflex sim at night and fly the s*** out of them without thinking about cost. I am progressing much faster with my 3D. When I can do a piro flip and keep it smooth then I might get a X-Cell.
I will convert my two raptors to Stinger heads and practice,practice, practice. No Sim will get the adrenaline runing like flying 3D in the real world!
If you have a question just ask

Mike C

[WayneBrown]

Mike,
thats the kind of real world info I was looking to get.
Overspeeding with 600's is not a problem, I can deal with that, I'd rather have the power.. ;)
I'd noticed the thinness of the canopies, that is a tradeoff for weight, I can live with that.
Thanks for the info!

[flyinfool]

Wayne,
I have to agree with Mike on most points.
I have the Stinger 30 converted to a Stinger 50 with OS 50 Hyper.
I am running Futaba 9252 servos, a TJ pro w / 9253 on throttle, and a 401 / 9254 for the tail, all powered by a Futaba 14MZ.
I am running the stock muffler and Sig 30%, and still needed a TJ pro gov to prevent over speeding.
In a speed run the Stinger 50 is the fasted heli that I have flown, including .60s, .90s, and gassers, with no bad pitch tendencies.
The Stinger is very smooth through maneuvers.
I had all of the same issues as Mike.
Mine was one of the early kits and there were some quality issues, David at Gohbee in a very timely and satisfactory manor addressed them all. This was long before I became a Gohbee field rep. None of the quality issues caused any person or the model to be at risk.

Additional issues that are not really a “problem” but are still issues to me.
#1 You still need to put a screw thru the lower body clip into the landing gear to be sure that the canopy will not flip up during fast backwards flight. The Gohbee clip holds much better than the Raptor clip, but still not strong enough.
#2 the cyclic rates are not as fast as I would like them to be. I should be getting a set of 3d paddles in the mail today to try out. The stock paddles are very heavy.

The bottom line,
Are there less expensive helies out there? Sure, but they do not compare with the quality, features and performance you get in a Stinger.
Are there better helies out there? Again sure, but not at anywhere near the Stingers price point.
Are there brands with better customer service? Not that I have found.
Will I buy another one? Yes.

If you want cheap repair cost while learning that latest wiz-bang 3D manuvor, use the link below to check out the price of replacement parts.

Of course this is all my opinion.
Yes I am a Gohbee Field rep (for just 2 ½ weeks now).
I have had my Stinger since IRCHA 04 and would not have pursued the field rep position if I did not feel it was worth it.

[bobc1]

I just sent the following message to Gohbee:

I just purchased a Stinger 50 from you a few days ago. I installed an OS50 with Futaba gear & flew several tanks through it today. I set up +/- 10 on collective, +/- 6 on cyclic. Flew OK, very stable, but very slow on roll & flip rate. I am going to try some lighter, more agressive paddles. I am running a TJ Rev Max @ 1860 headspeed. Weight is 7lbs 13 oz. without a header tank with the MAH CF 600's. Auto's pretty well.

Problems: (1)The mainshaft belt pulley runs out about .150" even though the main gear is fairly true. (2) The clutch will not release, even with a slow idle. The head must be held forcefully while carrying the heli with the engine idling. As soon as you let go, the head is spooling up, even with a very slow idle.

I dial indicated the clutch shaft and hub, prior to installation and reduced runout to less than .002", which was the best I could get it. I also had to enlarge and elongate the frame motor mount holes to prevent the clutch bell from being forced into the clutch shoe assembly & binding. My installation allows about .005" vertical movement in the clutch bell which seems to be as good as I could get it. I am not sure if the clutch shoes are just too tight on the lining that is causing the drag @ idle. I have tried several times to intentionally raise throttle while holding the head to create some wear on the lining. It seems about the same after several attempts. I am wondering if there is some other reason that the clutch is dragging such as a bad bearing. Although, this doesn't seem to be the case because the drag increases with RPM.

The heli actually flies very smooth, feels like a heavy, sluggish Evo, but the lighter paddles may liven it up some.

Any thoughts on correcting the clutch & pulley situation?

Thanks,
Bob

[VTHELINUT]

My clutch draged atfirst. But I had a hot start and since it seemed to have worn in and works perfect. It will get better.
I havent tryed a EVO but I can hover my stinger and filp it on it's back to hover inverted very fast stock. I wanted to try a set of X-cell 3D white paddles.
This is a good paddle choice I run for my Raptor 50

[bobc1]

Tried the white TT paddles & increased headspeed to 1940. A lot better. The flip rate is pretty good but the roll rate could be faster. Still very stable in 15 gusting to 25 mph winds. No pitchiness (sp?) in FFF.

Cannot increase cyclic without binding. I am going to try the TT snot green paddles. They seem to work pretty well on some Raptors that I fly with.

One new problem. In less than six tanks, the FG canopy wore through the installed grommets & began wearing through the mounting standoffs. I installed the extra grommets & glued them in, moving them to the rearward position in the canopy. The standoffs had elongated the holes in the canopy. Seems like the holes should have been further back in the canopy.

So far, the clutch binding is worst problem.

[VTHELINUT]

I ripped my stock grommets the first time I fit the canopy and replaced them with new one's I got from the a local Hardware store. The stock grommets dont last in fiberglass but will work with the plastick one.

[flyinfool]

Part of the grommet problem is because the fiberglass is so thin, it's like a knife on the grommet.
I had the same problem with every brand of glass canopy that I have ever owned.
What I do now is to add a small "donut" of 1/32 plywood over the inside of the hole and make sure that there are no frayed or sharp edges in the hole. Then I coat the hole with a thin film of 5 minute epoxy to be sure that the hole is smooth and fuelproof.
My grommets now last till I do somthing unwise :oops: to damage them. :arggg:

I am looking into your clutch issue.
This was an issue 6 months ago but changes were made to correct the problem.

[WillJames]

The clutch issue is normal IMHO. I have 2 raptor 50's and they both did that for about the first gallon or sometime a good bit more. The complete fix was to convert one to electric and get rid of the clutch. ;) :lol:

Don't worry the dragging will stop.

The snot green paddles are faster than any other paddles I have tried. Kinda pitchy in the wind though, as you know there are tradeoffs for everyting...

David, it was a pleasure to see you at Chatti, nad looked like you were supporting your helis very well there!! You ROCK!!

[bobc1]

I installed the TT snot green lightweight paddles & kept the headspeed @ 1940. Much more responsive on cyclic. Not super fast, but about like an Evo. Still flies very well, no pitchiness in FFF, just a small loss of stability. Continues to be easy to hover and auto.

Overall, I like the model a lot. Clutch is slightly better but still drags at an idle.

David offered to send me a new clutch which is like the Raptor (two piece, the clutch remains in the frames when engine is removed) but I will try another gallon through this one to see if it improves. David is sending me another auto hub/main belt pulley to solve the runout/wobble on the original one. Great customer service.

So far, my changes to the canopy grommets seem to be working.

My suggestions for assembling a new one:

1) Dial indicate the clutch shaft after attaching to the engine.
2) Enlarge the motor mount bolt holes in the frames & carefully adjust shaft alignment and end play on the clutch bell.
3) Other than for a beginner, install the TT snot green paddles.
4) The instructions are not accurate for drilling servo arms. Collective needs to be further out, cyclic less. Try various distances prior to drilling.
5) If using FG canopy, relocate the grommets if necessary & glue in with Welder (Goop).

One last item ***IMPORTANT***:
After reading another post in which a Gohbee Stinger 30 ARF had the feathering spindle bolts back out & sent the blades flying like spears, I disassembled the feathering spindle on my GB 50.

I had previously checked the bolts for tightness when assembling the model but had not disassembled & used loctite. After about a dozen flights, I read the post on the 30 and removed the bolts. I discovered that one of the feathering spindle bolts was just slightly tighter than finger tight.

I disassembled & discovered that loctite had not been used on these bolts. PRIOR TO FLIGHT, REMOVE FEATHERING SPINDLE BOLTS, CLEAN, AND REASSEMBLE WITH LOCTITE.

[WayneBrown]

that's a pretty good tip!
I'll be ordering this month as I complete this Florida job...if I have any hair left.. ;)

[bobc1]

After running about another gallon through the Gohbee, I like the way it flies. Very stable (for a 50) in hover & FFF but good (comparable to a Raptor 50) response on cyclic (with TT green paddles & 1940 headspeed).

With 401/9254/stock plastic TR blades, the tail will blow out (like a Raptor 50 will) in backward flight if the headspeed is bogged through poor collective/cyclic management. The Evo's don't suffer from this problem. I understand that this is because the Evo has a higher TR speed.

It was flown by several other persons, including Raptor & Evo owners, who all agree with the above description of flight characteristics.

The dragging clutch remains an issue but David offered to replace it. It could probably be corrected by removing a small amount of material off the liner with sand paper. David also sent a new auto hub pulley.

Good customer service & parts are very inexpensive. The quality seems comparable to a Raptor. Longevity is an unknown, at this point.