New Hawk Pro owner!

[JustPlaneChris]

Well, I did it! I took the plunge back into the nitro waters and made a trade for a used Hawk Pro and some spares. It came with a tired old OS 46 installed (already sold), and some Helimax 570 cf blades.

Tonight I ordered a Toki 40 + muffler, some OS #8 plugs, and a starter wand from Heli-World. Servos I already have, and are DS821 for throttle, elev and ail, and a JR ST126MG on collective. For receiver power, I have a Castle BEC and 2S 2100 lipo pack, or I also have some of the 1100 mah A123 cells that I could solder up in a 2S2P arrangement, and it would probably be a neater pack size to stash onboard compared to the lipo.

So, all that's left is ground support gear. Next payday I figure I'll pick up this combo from Tower: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL419&P=ML

So while I'm waiting for goodies to arrive, I'll be taking the Hawk completely apart, cleaning/lubing and reassembling it. I can't wait to get 'er going! It should make a fun companion for my Swift. :)

[GyroAl]

Sounds great - that should work out as a great companion for your Swift - It will give you a fun heli to fly while the Swift is charging - you will find it even autos better then the Swift!!! :thumbup:

[ghopper]

Congrats Chris!! I knew you were wanting one of these. It will be interesting to see your comparision to your swift.

Dan

[JustPlaneChris]

Thanks guys! I'm really excited to have another glow heli. It's been about 25 years since I last had one (GMP Cobra 50, for those who remember helis in the 80's).

[rvsixer]

Please don't let me succumb to the nitro :flamedevil !

[JustPlaneChris]

I make no promises, man. It could be that once you sniff the elixir of fuel and hear the angry snarl of raw Toki power, your willpower will fail and you'll run to the nearest hobby shop with credit card in hand. :smokin:

[RAV50]

I love both, my Swifts and my Nitros, they both have advantages.

[rvsixer]

...once you sniff the elixir of fuel and hear the angry snarl of raw Toki power, your willpower will fail and you'll run to the nearest hobby shop with credit card in hand. :smokin:Yes most likely. Let me know time and place :D .

[centuryman]

I like my nitro's because they remind me of how awesome my eletrics are.I just came in from flying one of my swift's after fling only nitros for the last few days, And man it seams twice as powerful as last time i flew it,funny how that works.:)

[Mutt]

A little hint the ds821 servos do not like to hold up for very long on a nitro heli. I ran them and lost two servos after about 15 flights. one was on the throttle and the other on the elevator so I removed the rest and went to different servos

[JustPlaneChris]

Mutt, what size nitro heli did you have them on? Spektrum's site advises nothing larger than 30 size. What was the failure mode?

[Mutt]

hawk pro I took the rest of the servos and i used one on a plane for the throttle same thing took a dump. I have never seen such a issue with servos in my life. Lots of others have issues with the same servo too its sad as I really like the specs of the servo.

[JustPlaneChris]

Well that SUCKS! I've got 30 flights on the DS821s in my Swift, but now I'm wondering if I'm flying on borrowed time. :( That also means more delay in getting my Hawk airborne, because now I have to budget for new servos (again) and sell off a batch of DS821s. *sigh*

[redneckteddy103]

most people that are haveing problems with the DS821's are trying to run a higher voltage packe and you cant do that with out a regulator cuz youll fry the servo . even if you are running the pack that came with it still a good idea to run a voltage regulator to control it .

[JustPlaneChris]

My Hawk Pro finally took flight, on a SUPER windy day. I wanted to do it on my birthday, but time didn't allow so it was a day late. Still, I'm happy. Now I have several more tanks of gentle flying to break in the Toki, then it's time for some real fun. :)

http://www.justplanechris.com/wordpress/?p=20

Oh, and I ended up with Futaba 3050's on ail and elev. Works great!

[DeadTom]

Very cool JPC, I have not received mine yet.
Anyways, how did it handle the wind? And how fast was the wind? If known.

[JustPlaneChris]

It handles wind like a champ! Check out the YouTube video on my page. It was steady 20, with gusts to 26+, according to the local weather station. I didn't have to work hard at all to make it behave.

[Rollingball]

Nice flight man:thumbup:

[DeadTom]

Just watched the vid, very nice and smooth even with the wind doing 25+ mph. I am now waaaay excited to receive mine.

[JustPlaneChris]

Thanks! I was very pleased with the wind-handling ability. My Swift does almost as well, but it's about a pound lighter so it does feel a bit more floaty. I can't wait to finish the engine break-in and start leaning it out for more power!