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Antiques or Out of Business > Kalt Mercury 50

kovar
Senior Heliman
Location: West Chester, Ohio

Any you guys flying this ship? If so, how do you like? I'm new to helicopters and am still researching which would be the best buy for a 50 class. Thanks for the info! Happy flying!

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Darkstar
Senior Heliman
Location: USA

Its a very good heli, but I'd stay away from it since parts are hard to come by since HPI bought out Kalt. Hopefully this will change in the future.

Tim.

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Countach
Heliman
Location: Bismarck,North Dakota

Darkstar -How can you talk out of your ass in regards to the Merc 50.Parts are not at all hard to find,Heliproz has every part to build many machines,the Merc 60 on the other hand has a scarce parts supply.The 50 is the best built,best flying and has the highest quality parts out of the box.I am not biased,I also own a Sceadu 50 and have owned a Raptor 50,Neither of them compare to the Merc.Jason Kalbfleisch

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Darkstar
Senior Heliman
Location: USA

Jason,

As I said, the Mercury .50 is a great ship, and I stand by my statement that parts are hard to come by. If I need parts for my Raptor or Falcon, I just drive a few miles to my LHS. How long is Heliproz going to be able to suppl parts? Support for the Kalt line is suspect, I I think that most will agree.

As for your rude statement, I'll just give you the benefit of the doubt that you must talk that way all the time--just a personality quirk.

Tim.

03-28-2002 Over year old.

kovar
Senior Heliman
Location: West Chester, Ohio

I actually don't have any hobbie shops in my area. The nearest one is about 50 miles from my house and they don't sell Helicopters or parts for any of the brands. No matter what ship I end up with, I'll probably be buying all my parts online. I checked out Heliproz. I plan to give them a call to see how they feel about parts and availability and how they feel about it being a good choice for a beginner. I have about 70 hours in on G2, but know that I will have crashes and being able to get parts in a week or so is important to me. I've looked on the web and only found one web site for the kalt 50 so far. It's

http://thecrip.tripod.com/_Hobbies/..._mercury_m.html

Are there any other sites out there where I can find info about this? Any other suppliers other than Heliproz that stock parts? If I could find a few dealers that stock the parts then I would feel more comfortable. Also any links would be appreciated! Thanks for the info! Happy flying!

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

I own a Mercury 50 and it beats many of the kits out there. The part quality is high-Many Al parts are stock. A joy to fly. The head has the lowest slop I have ever seen in a stock kit. I have not seen the Sceadu up close, but have heard that it is also a nice heli.

As far as part availiblity is concerned, I converse with the staff at Heliproz ca. 3 times/month. Yes the Merc 60 (Zeus?) is officially discontinued and its difficult to get parts. The Merc 50 and the Baron while not currently in production (in part do to the transfer of fabrication facilities) have not been declared dead and parts production is slated to restart in the next quarter. Parts are available at Heliproz and a maybe few at Rick's. The Merc 50 uses 97% of the same parts as the Baron making their production numbers naturally high. The 50 size machine is the new "hot rod" on the block so when production is started, it is a no-brainer to include it with the now highly successful Baron model.

The guy who purchased Kalt/Sanwa dropped well in excess of a million dollars on the transaction. That speaks highly to commitment for proliferating the line. Couple this with good rep of the Kalt kits (the baron was once the 30 size king) and you get a fairly strong forcast for the future of the Kalt/HPI line. Yes racing HPI has transferred the distribution operation to another branch but it is effectively owned by the same company and the warehouses where parts are stored remain identical. The current delay appears to be in changing production/fabrication facilities. This is a problem whenever strict quality control and product reliability is required. Were they HAVE dropped the ball is in the "PR" department. If any HPI employee is viewing this thread, For the love of God, put up a new web-site and take out adds and keep your loyal clientel informed.

-Gi

03-28-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Darkstar
Senior Heliman
Location: USA

Another thing to consider, is if a particular model is not popular, online support will be scant. I'd rather go with a popular model esp. if I'm just starting out, so I'd have the benefit of having a large contingincy of experienced pilots to help.

My 2 cents worth,

Tim.

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

Kudos to Darkstar's last point!

-Gi

03-28-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

kovar
Senior Heliman
Location: West Chester, Ohio

Thanks for the info guys. I have to admit, I'm kinda worried about this. With me being a newbie, parts availability is a big deal. Well I'm sure its a big deal to everyone but more so for someone who will be going through the crashing curve.

Although the Mercury .50 is the newest out and parts may become abundant, I can't bank on it. The .60 is a new helicopter too, from what I've heard and no one can get parts for it.

Raptor seems to be popular but I was really wanting something better. Maybe the Sceado is my best bet. It's only $50 more than the Mercury .50.

What I really liked about the Mercury was the high quality parts. I wanted to stay away from plastic but maybe that's best for a beginner.

Thanks again guys.

03-28-2002 Over year old.

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

See previous 50 size surveys (>2) in the "main" forum for all the possible choices.

PS: Everyone, yes everyone eventually crashes their Heli if they fly it!

--Gi

03-28-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Alan Szabo Sr
Key Veteran
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

giheli

You mentioned (Yes the Merc 60 (Zeus?) , two different helicopters. The Zeus / grand prix is probably going to be discontinued. As for the Merc 60 and the 50 called Mercury M are two of the finest helicopters ever produced, but sadly as everyone tells it promotion has been slim to none. Yes heliproz has lots of part for both and know that the fuel tank for the mercury 60 is no longer around. My mercury (not 50 only a 46) and my 60 both are 3 years old and each have close to a hundred gallons of fuel thru them. Besides blade dampers on the 60 and the tail pitch slider on both are the only parts that have ever been replaced. Same original bearings, clutches, clutch liners etc. and yes blades too. If this helicopter isn’t one of the best longevity products produced, (unless you crash it) I don’t know what is. Yes I started to fly for Airtronics / kalt when I was 12 years old, and still fly for Airtronics and HPI. I have been asked to fly for other companies but turned them down do to the reliability of the mercury, and its flying characteristics. Yes it lacks a drive tail, but the slipper works good enough. The same helicopter that I won the class II in the Nats last year is used for 3D. I hope HPI works out there PR problems and get the ball rolling again.
My 2 cents worth.

03-29-2002 Over year old.

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

A,

I agree with you 100% ! I forgot about the reliabilty issue. It is one of the best designs and values. I hope and expect it to be continued. I am glad to hear there are a few reps out there. Living here in Grand Forks there is only one local field rep from I believe Hirobo. As you hear things please post it. all the best

--Gi

03-29-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

X-Treme50
Senior Heliman
Location: Mequon ,WI

kalt merc -50

Hi all

for 369.00 bucks the merc-50 ccpm is the best helo period.
you cant beat this bird, its a now brainier.all take merc 50
first ,I have two merc 50 ccpm there smooth as glass . ask eric
the kalt merc 50 is the best 3D helo in its size and quality starts
when you open the box.I would go with rapter 30 first to
learn on .HI ALAN HOWS THE FLYING.

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU .ITS AN EXCELLENT HELICOPTER.

GREG

Greg / Vibe 50

03-29-2002 Over year old.

cripskillz
Senior Heliman
Location: Paso Robles CA

I really Like my Mercury 50 , and Ill really like it more after i get my parts, I crashed it last month but heliproz has all the parts in stock so no problems there It is a verry smooth heli and I really like thje all metal setup so much nicer than Plastic.

Peace

Copyright © 2001 - 2007 CripSkillz. All rights reserved.

03-29-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

Hey Jason,

I was wondering if you were around. Notice my location and you will know who I am. Glad to hear your on top of the repair.

--Gi (Brian)

Hey everyone--- Look you can get parts! Check out jason's site the only private website I am aware of on the Merc 50.

03-30-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

cripskillz
Senior Heliman
Location: Paso Robles CA

Hey Giheli

You must be the teacher Hydro dynamical mastermind, or somethin like that. Well any ways I just re formated my computer and lost all my E mail stuff, didnt back it up right, well mail me again so Ill have your Email Addy.

Later

Copyright © 2001 - 2007 CripSkillz. All rights reserved.

03-30-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

Yup that be me.

Incidently cool crash pics!

--Gi

03-30-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Brian Bennett
Key Veteran
Location: Dugway/Tooele UT, USA

HEY jASON,

You could also let the fellow Northerner you mentioned in my email that I am listed on teh RCheli website.

--Gi

03-31-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

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