Pantera Purchase

[Hovergirl01]

I'm considering purchasing a Pantera....I emailed John at Audacity about the missing PayPal option on the order page and have not heard anything back. Is he still unavailable.

It looks like a nice tough bird. My be just what I'm looking for.

Kandace

[z_man_95]

Go for it! It's a great helicopter.
Have you tried calling?

[Yooper42]

I believe he is still busy with his wife recovering from heart surgery...

[jbeech]

Kandace,

I received your question at 9:47AM and responded at 2:09PM with . . .

We'll place the order and email you a pdf receipt.

You log into your PayPal account and pay it to: info@genesishobby.com

I need your details (name, address, phone number) and we'll send you the invoice.

Cheers,
John

. . . this was back on November 24th. Perhaps it's in your junk folder? In any case, you may call me directly as well. As for the PayPal issue, we're working on an update to the back end of the website to allow this directly but for now this is delayed so the above manual-method (where we place the order for you and email you the invoice) is the alternative.

[Hovergirl01]

Curious.....I never got it. I checked my junk mail and everything.

Kandace

[Hovergirl01]

I finally purchased my Pantera, I'm really looking forward to the build.

John is wonderful to deal with and I can't wait to get it done and see how it flies.

Kandace

[Yooper42]

Congrats!...,what equipment going in? Nitro/electric?

[Hovergirl01]

Hi Yooper, It is going to be a nitro bird, I have an OS .55 I'm going to put in it. There is just something about that smell of Nitro! Have not decided on servos yet, and the radio is Spektrum.

Kandace

[Yooper42]

I agree on the noise and smell of nitro! Have a os 55 in mine as well. Youll like that combo.

[jbeech]

Well heck, if you've not decided on servos Kandace, consider ours!

ProModeler servos - http://tinyurl.com/q8puv5r

[Yooper42]

Yes, do consider promodlers for servos (and gyro) i have a set of 160's in my pantera and a promodler gyro....all work great. I have a set of the 215's going in a 30% airplane shortly too.

[jiminator]

+1 on the servos. And +1 on John's service.

[jbeech]

Within the Pantera page there's a tab labeled Avionics?

P6 - http://www.audacitymodels.com/Produc...2/Default.aspx

This is what I have to say about selecting your servos and gyro for it . . .

Picking Pantera servos pretty much depends on how much money you want to spend to fly your model helicopter. Seems obvious, doesn't it? However, it's true because as a rule, a model helicopter equipped with a flybar does not require gyros and servos as costly as those for the equivalent FBL-version (since we offer both it's no skin off our nose either way). So for pretty much the same performance, a pilot can fly for less money with a flybar equipped model . . . but we sell more FBL versions of our Pantera!

In terms of servos; whether you fly a Pantera P6n Sport or P6n Pro (the flybarless version) you'll need three cyclic/collective servos. Also a tail rotor servo, plus depending on whether it's nitro or electric, a throttle servo or an ESC. Rounding out the avionics package are the gyroscope, a receiver, plus a battery and switch. We offer servos, batteries and a nice single-axis gyro for the P6 Sport but because FBL gyros evince emotions akin to religion, we send you elsewhere for them. Here's how costs pencil in.

Pantera P6n Sport - servo package
This model performs great with three PDRS160DLHV cyclic servos ($39x3). Add one more for throttle ($39), plus a PDRS120BLHV tail rotor servo ($79), and a G720 gyro ($99). The avionics add up to about $340. Cyclic servo upgrades would be to either the PDRS215 ($59x3) or PDRS245 ($99x3) and really depends on what kind of pilot you are. Unsurprisingly, faster more powerful servos cost more money.

Pantera P6n Pro - servo package
FBL gyros require faster servos for their inputs so cyclic servo for a model with an FBL head includes either our coreless PDRS215CLHV ($59x3) or brushless PDRS245BLHV ($79x3). Regardless of the head, the tail rotor servo is the same in both model; the PDRS120BLHV ($79). Moreover, it's my experience folks opting for faster cyclic servos also want a faster throttle servo. How fast is fast enough for the throttle servo? If you think you'll be fine with the $39 servo on throttle, you'll probably be fine with the $59 cyclic servos (versus the $99 cyclic servos). You can easily spend a few hundred more on just servos! If you can't feel it now, buy better servos later because a year from now there will be better servos available - guaranteed!

FBL Gyroscopes
This brings us to the gyroscope for an FBL model, which in general costs between 2X to 4X as much as for a single axis gyro. This makes sense because instead of one sensor like the GY720, it has three. These begin at $200 (something like a BeastX) and they go up from there . . . reaching $300-400 is easy! So between better servo and a way more expensive gyro you can nearly double the price of your model by the time it's in the air.

This brings us to how a flybar-model using a $99 gyro handles compared to the FBL-model with pricey gyro. To be frank, it basically flies the same. This makes sense if you consider it's essentially the same model and when equipped with the same blades at the same RPM, then 8 degrees of cyclic pitch whether commanded by an FBL gyro or ameliorated by a flybar the model is basically going to respond about the same. And FWIW, any additional quickness associated with an FBL-model is principally due to using quicker servos (required for that kind of gyro). However, if you use the same quicker servos with the flybar model, then huess what? Yup, the performance is very similar. Sure, there are tuning advantages with an FBL-gyro but to be honest they can get very complicated and most require a laptop computer and thus, for most folks, I think it's a waste of both time and money to opt for a FBL model as compared to just using a reliable and well understood flybar-type head. And remember, we offer both so it's down to how much you want to spend to fly a model helicopter because we can sort you out either way you go!

Handling
Equipped with inexpensive S160 servos, a Pantera Sport is just fine for all maneuvers I can think of, e.g. to include hovering, aerobatic maneuvers like loops, rolls, stall turns (the classic maneuver is the 180 degree change of direction when vertical momentum is exhausted so that the model exits nose down and then recovers with a smooth pull out to level flight but there are 540, or 1-1/2 rotations and even 720 degree variations). Point rolls, backward flight all are great fun. So basically it's all about what kind of maneuvers you want to perform because that is what dictates the level of equipment you need to purchase.

For example, a guy who tells me he is performing 3D maneuvers is easy because I simply guide him toward coreless servos ($60 each). A real hard core 3D-guy doesn't need my advice and usually buys the $99 brushless servos (if you need to ask you don't need them). What's really tricky is advising a beginner because he's not even hovering yet, much less has a clue about what he'll want to be doing a year from now.

Take me, for example. I know I'll be sport flying my helicopter next year (and 10 years from now) because I'd sooner watch paint dry that fly 3D. I like a model which flies like a real helicopter and that means a lot of hovering maneuvers too. Me? After watching folks do chaos-maneuvers over and over again, after a while, I'm bored. Anyway, since sport flying is what I like to do, and since I designed the Pantera, that's why the Pantera is so well suited for this kind of flying. It's optimized for relaxed flying and fun!

However, another guy does nothing but hover and maybe a few race track patters. Some guy think that's boring but if it's what he likes to do, who am I to say it's boring? Then there's some young guy with more money (and time) than sense. What sets his heart to beating is learning to perform piro-flips a mere 3' off the ground (and God Bless him because he orders spare parts like crazy since he crashes a lot until he learns). So basically, it takes all kinds and a Pantera can do those maneuvers too (heck, there's a video on our website of young Kyle Stacy pounding on a Pantera when he was a little kid) and that was with a flybar-model and guess what? It still handles the same today. By the way, what's a 3D maneuver? I've seen people refer to a loop as a 3D maneuver. They're not wrong. Thing is, another pilot will refer to a hurricane as a 3D maneuver, but all that is are circuits done low and fast right in front of you.

Ultimately, proper servos for a Pantera depend more on what you see yourself doing with the model a year from now if you're a beginner. And if you're going to learn to hover and don't know if 3D interests you, opt for the less expensive servos and call it done! If you see yourself flying pretty aggressive 3D after learning to hover, then you're likely going to want the flybarless version of our model and equip it with our better servo, the S215 or f you have deep pockets, opt for our best servo, the S245.

[Hovergirl01]

Thanks for the advice John, I'm a sport flyer, I too think watching 3D is boring. Same out of control looking stuff.....IMO. If that is your thing....have at it.

The helicopter I learned to fly was a Shuttle ZX. I had 2....so when I crashed, I could get right back in the air!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a set of the $39 servos from you. I have a gyro and a T/R servo I can use. I will be flying a flybar.

Again thanks for the tips.

Kandace

[Garland]

Hello Hovergirl

I too flew a old shuttle years ago, and now I have two Panteras. Audacity likes to keep their customers like family with great service. I've been happy since 2009.

http://www.rchelispot.com/album_pic.php?pic_id=9018

[Rv6guy]

I was just curious if you finished your Pantera build? How did it go, do you like it and have you flown it yet?

I am seriously considering buying one and your input would be appreciated.

[olhippie]

I'm going for a pantera. I have had raptors and many aligns and they seem just another cookie cutter heli to me. With the pantera I will have a great all around platform for sport and scale. The price is outstanding and support is the best. I don't need 3d so it just makes sense to go with this bird. I have never heard a bad word or unsatisfied customer with this heli. I see it as a nobrainer. Just my opinion but it's a simple choice.

[Yooper42]

+1

[Hovergirl01]

I am building it now, I'm very much liking the kit and as soon as I get it finished and flown I will be happy to post my thoughts. Kandace

Originally Posted by Rv6guy

I was just curious if you finished your Pantera build? How did it go, do you like it and have you flown it yet?

I am seriously considering buying one and your input would be appreciated.

[Rv6guy]

Thanks Hovergirl for replying.

I am very impressed with John and I am sold on the Pantera. Now I just need to pull the trigger.

I'm looking forward to your flight report.