Purchasing a used Raptor 50 V2

[sfonelson]

Hello All!

Like the title says, I have the opportunity to purchase a used Raptor 50. Supposedly it hasn't been crashed and the only reason that it's on sale is for personal family reasons, whatever that means.

I have seen it, it looks very clean, and actually looked like it hasn't been flown much. Skids still look very nice as well. Just a little bit of wear on the bottom.

This will be my first Nitro. I have only electric now from a MCPX, MCPX BL, 250 pro dfc, 450 pro dfc, and 550 pro dfc. So I am very confident with the electric stuff from assembly to flight.

Is there any advice that can be given regarding this potential purchase? Maybe things to look for, or look out for? Questions to ask?

Thanks in advance!

[mr96walrus]

I would go for it. The Raptor 50 will be a great heli for you. You can still get parts for these and they're simple and straight forward to work on and set up.

If I bought a used Raptor, I would disassemble it and put it back together (thorough cleaning) and replace any worn bearings, replace the head dampers, grease the auto hub and check the belt carefully along with all of the linkages and pushrods.

Some may disagree and say "just fly it." The reason for all of this is you would have a fresh start with all of the wear parts and essentially have a rebuilt model. These models tend to get dirty from all of the exhaust smoke and fuel. Many of the used Raptors I have seen for sale are dirty and corroded from lack of care. It sounds like you found a nice one, so definitely go for it.

If this is your first nitro model, a bit of reading on tuning helicopter engines may benefit you.

Good luck with your Raptor, let us know how it turns out.

[sfonelson]

Originally Posted by mr96walrus

I would go for it. The Raptor 50 will be a great heli for you. You can still get parts for these and they're simple and straight forward to work on and set up.

If I bought a used Raptor, I would disassemble it and put it back together (thorough cleaning) and replace any worn bearings, replace the head dampers, grease the auto hub and check the belt carefully along with all of the linkages and pushrods.

Some may disagree and say "just fly it." The reason for all of this is you would have a fresh start with all of the wear parts and essentially have a rebuilt model. These models tend to get dirty from all of the exhaust smoke and fuel. Many of the used Raptors I have seen for sale are dirty and corroded from lack of care. It sounds like you found a nice one, so definitely go for it.

If this is your first nitro model, a bit of reading on tuning helicopter engines may benefit you.

Good luck with your Raptor, let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for the advice!

Yeah, I'll probably tinker with it for a while before flying it. I'll have to purchase a receiver and bind/program it to my TX anyways.

The cool thing about this, is I know the guy. So he offered to have me over and show me how well it flies and offered to let me fly it too before purchasing. I'll post pics if I get it...

[VortechZ230]

I have a Raptor 50 Titan with a O.S 55 Hyper, and a Multigov Pro, this thing flies like you won't beleive!, very powerful and stable!... You will love yours!!!...would love to see your pictures!, I also have a Raptor 30V1, from 2000. That is still going strong!...

[shredman]

Hey guys,

last weekend, I also purchased a used Raptor 50 V2 like sfonelson. The Raptor itself looks also very clean and like it hasn't been flown much. It is my first glow engine helicopter and I have some questions about the settings itself.

I plan to fly it with my DX8 and will use a AR7100R DSM2 receiver with satellite that I've got together with my older DX7. I read about a Rev Sensor (SPM6823) that gives the AR7100R the ability to act as a governor. Did I get a good governor with this to peaces of hardware?

How about the programming of the DX8 in conjunction with a glow engine helicopter? Do I need both, a normal throttle Flat curve for Governor mode and a V-Gas throttle curve for backup reasons if Governor mode fails ?

I'm confortable with my Trex 450 FBL and all the settings like Pitch Curve, Throttle curve, Throttle hold but I belive a glow engline model needs some special settings. How can give me some advice to have a sucessful maiden flight

Regards,
Frank

[minatrix]

www.raptortechnique.com

Great site for the new raptor owner.

[neverland]

i was also seriosly thinking of getting one of these big raptors, secondhand; not sure which model but i 'fly' the raptor 50 on phoenix and its my favorite, for what that is worth, so im looking at the 50 nitro most seriously. raptors are cool and seem like the robust workhorses of the rc heli world. i already have 2 mini titans and like their clever and thoughtful design so i assume the bigger ones are similar. but what is the current situation with them. are parts even still being made and for how long? i dont have trouble with my MT's but there seems to be some talk of the end of thunder tiger helis going around and general negativity. but i have no idea what is happening as i havnt really looked into it much.

[flycatch]

I came across a Raptor 50 Titan advertised on Craigslist. I called the seller and he explained it was a "Raptor 50 2.4GHZ Super Combo" that had never been flown. I researched it on the internet and found it listed by "Thunder Tiger Corporation" After reading the information it did not list the retail price. I did further research and found two retailers that listed this item. One wanted $1250 and the other $950 dollars. The seller wanted $360 dollars and I though this was a fair price since he said it was NIB.
I called the seller back and set up a; date, time and place to view what he was actually selling.
Upon seeing what he was offering compared to what should have been in the combo package it was all there including four gallons or RotorRage 20/23 fuel. The 2.4 GHZ radio was a SkyTech TS6i and extremely low tech. The helicopter was all there and everything worked including the TT RedLine .53.
I offered the seller $300 dollars and we ended up at $320. Both myself and the seller were happy. The moral of the story is good deals are still there if your willing to be patient.