RAPTOR NEWSLETTER #3 Hello Raptor owners: Here is our Raptor newsletter number 3. This is published by Thunder Tiger/Ace. The purpose is to keep the Raptor owners updated on what's happening. We will be sending this out by email to everyone who is on our tthelihotline email list. Please pass it along to your Raptor friends. (1) Due to the blazing sales of the Raptor, we were caught short on kits and parts. But we have just received a shipment in our warehouse and your favorite hobby shop should have the kits and parts you need for the summer now. Happy flying. (2) The flight staff here have been busy testing two new main rotor carbon graphite main rotor blade designs. One is a carbon graphite main blade custom made by Vic Cambell of the famous V-blade Manufacturing. These 550 mm carbon blades for the Raptor will be distributed exclusively by Ace. They weigh around 105 to 110 grams each and are designed solely for the Raptor. They give incredible high speed flight stability and smoothness. Now you can hang at the end of the autorotation. They have wider chord and a thinner airfoil than stock wood blades. The blade will have a price slightly over $100, but they are worth it. Each set comes perfectly balanced. You just have to bolt it on and go fly. They are designed as the ultimate 3-D blades for the Raptor. Plus, you will get that beautiful black graphite cloth look on the blades. If you prefer a glossy white finish on the carbon blades, we also have another design for you. This design provides excellent hover stability and forward flight smoothness. The cyclic response is softer than our black carbon blades. This white carbon blade is ideal for practicing smooth and fast FAI manuevers and for people who want a very pleasant hover. These blades will be available in approximately two months. (3) We recommend Raptor owners reheat the clear blade cover every few months or when they are not drum tight. Any shrink covering for rotor blades will loosen up after a while. Remove the blades from the helicopter and then hold them over the hot steam coming out of a hot tea kettle. The hot steam will shrink the covering tight again. You need to be patient when doing this. Hold the blade about ten inches away from the heat. You will first see the covering start to sag, then after two or three minutes over the steam, it will start to shrink. Do not hold the blade too close to the heat, because the heat can instantly burn a hole through the covering. How do you know when the shrink covering needs to be re-shrunk? Just twist the wood blade gently, if you can see the covering lift up easily, then the covering is too loose. (4) Many of you probably have already learned that we now have a diagram on our web page (www.acehobby.com) showing the pushrod lengths for doing 3-D. The pushrod lengths are also valid for beginners. Use these rod length as a suggestive start, and then fine tune them for your particular Raptor. The two long pushrods that are labeled as 105 mm can range from 98 mm all the way to 105 mm in length. The length depends on the desired flying rpm and what main rotor blades are used. As a start, try 100 mm, instead of 105 mm. We have found 100 mm will give about 1500 rpm and 6 degrees pitch in hover for the stock wood blades. (5) On our web site, we have also included a drawing of how to remove the plastic blade root end attachment so the wood portion can be soaked with thin CA glue. This is particularly recommended for 3-D fliers. (6) The plastic tail rotor pitch fork BK0025 is now available by itself. The price is around one dollar. (7) There are two bearings that are not listed in the replacement parts section in the manual. They are PV0093 and PV0094. PV0093 contains two HMV6800 ball bearings for the 10 mm main rotor shaft (retail price $12.95). PV0094 contains two HMV1650 bearings for the starting shaft. (8) Many people have requested scale fuselage for the Raptor. We have received requests for Apache, Hind, Hughes 500, Jet Ranger, Twin Star, etc. The good news is the message has been forwarded to the headquarters and we will have a fiberglass fuselage for the Raptor soon. (9) We have also received many inquiries on the Raptor 60. The Raptor 60 is undergoing testing. We may get one to show at the Chicago Show in October. The Raptor 60 will not be here until Spring or Summer 2000. (10) We have demonstrated the Imperio 60 at the 1998 IRCHA Jamboree. The Imperio was very well received. People were very impressed by its smoothness. The main rotor is of metal construction with individual flapping blades. The cooling fan is a squirrel cage design manufactured using the latest CNC machine. The frame, landing struts, tail boom, and fins are of carbon graphite construction. Collective and cyclic control use push-pull to eliminate freeplay. The Imperio 60 is also designed by Mr. Taya. Every Imperio comes 90% built by Mr. Taya's staff in Japan. The canopy is a beautiful fiberglass unit with a white gel coat finish and requires no painting. Due to the exceptional quality and labor involved, the cost is relatively high (street price over $2500). We will be bringing in a limited quantity for the hard-core enthusiasts. Have a great summer tthelihotline@yahoo.com Anyone who desires to stop receiving the Raptor newsletter please email us, and we will remove you from our list. === Thank you for contacting us at Thunder Tiger Helicopter Hotline. Our goal is make sure that you enjoy your Raptor RC helicopter at anytime, all the time. Dr. Rap tthelihotline@yahoo.com _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com