Syclic Senior Heliman Location: Northern Hemisphere
| First heliHere we go again! Here is an edited copy of a previous post of mine comparing the heli's concerned.
Entry level Helicopter
May I suggest that you take a serious look at the Century Hawk Sport (you can see the review of it in the Century forum here on RunRyder, accessible from the menu at the lower right corner of the mainpage). It is only $160..00 US (someone was on forum here saying his local shop in Canada had it for $280.00 Canadian) and with the inexpensive BB upgrade system it remains smooth and precise with no slop developing for a long long time.
I have a lot of time on Shuttles, Raptors, Hawks and a bit on the Venture. And IMHO the Hawk Sport is by far the better of them all. Refering to the main systems in these heli's here is how I would rate them:
Main Rotor:
Hawk - 3 points, Venture 2 pts, Raptor, Shuttle Z-ts or Plus - 1 pt.
Clutch/power system:
Hawk - 3, Shuttle, Raptor and Venture - 1
Motor mount:
Hawk, Raptor and Shuttle (machined aluminum) - 2 Venture (plastic) -1
Servo tray rigidity:
Hawk, Raptor and Venture - 3, Shuttle - 1
Mainframe rigidity:
Venture - 3, Hawk -2, Shuttle and Raptor - 1
Swashplate:
Hawk & Shuttle - 3 Venture and Raptor - 1
Washout:
Hawk - 2, Shuttle, Raptor & Venture 1
Mainshaft:
Hawk, Raptor & Venture - 2, Shuttle 1
Cost of Kit
Hawk - 3, Shuttle - 2, Venture & Raptor 1
Light Weight:
Hawk - 3, Shuttle & Raptor - 2, Venture - 1
Durability for 3D
Hawk - 3, Venture & Raptor - 2, Shuttle - 1
Tail rotor drive system:
Venture - 3, Hawk and Raptor -2, Shuttle - 1
Tail rotor system:
Raptor & Venture - 2, Hawk & Shuttle 1
Muffler:
Hawk: - 3, Shuttle - 1, Venture & Raptor - 0
Totals:
First place: Hawk with 34 points
Second: Venture with 25 points
Third: Raptor with 21 points
Forth: Shuttle with 19 points
May I suggest that you troll the various user forums for each different brand/model and note the issues that owners have experienced with the various units. You will find that the Hawk IV and now the Sport (a "quick-build" version of the Hawk IV with a better looking canopy and a painted muffler instead of the CNC polished aluminum unit supplied with the Hawk IV) has the least "issues" (meaning most reliable) and builds easily, can easily take you from hover training to 3D aerobatics, is inexpensive to repair, looks great etc.etc. |