Due to the popularity of the Raptor series of RC helicopters, many companies around the world produce aftermarket upgrades for the Raptor 30-50-60-90 helicopters. ZeroG Heli Innovations, in Hawaii, manufacture an interesting CCPM (electronic cyclic collective pitch mixing) Conversion Kit to retrofit any Raptor 30 or Raptor 50 helicopter. This CCPM Conversion Kit is the brainchild of Baron Gauss. Baron has been in the RC helicopter hobby business in Hawaii for over 20 years. I remember when he had a shop in Hawaii and I ordered parts from him in the early 80's. This CCPM Conversion Kit costs $299 and comes with everything necessary to do the conversion. The finished CCPM helicopter has a very high quality look and flies smoothly.
The Conversion Kit comes in a small paper box no bigger than 15 inches long, 10 inches wide and 3 inches tall. Inside are high quality carbon sideframes, aluminum spacers, and all necessary hardware. Each carbon frame material is 2mms thick . . .

Let me begin this review with my disclosure that I'm a long time XRB Lama user. My friend, Jeff Green, at MRC/Hirobo sent me one of the tethered models last year and after just a few flights, I found myself hooked. Let me also say that prior to flying the XRB Lama, I could not see myself flying a tethered helicopter period.
I'll also admit that flight simulators only seem to keep my interest for about 10-15 minutes then, I seem to drift off to do something else. There's just something about a two-dimensional video heli that limits my interest. For the most part, I'm more interested in the amazing software and graphics than I am actually flying the helicopter.
Ok, getting back to my first Lama - right after my first few flights, I instantly created a sort of "airport" for my Lama on the coffee table in front of the TV. Gone were the mags and other "stuff" that normally occupied that area. This was serious business. The XRB now had full control of the air space around the couch and in fact, the great room. During commercials or boring movies, the Lama took to the air. I sharpened my 3G skills by doing inside, outside, tail-in, tail-out 360's, backwards "8's"as well as some pirouettes and some conventional nose-in hovering. All this, as I comfortably sat in my special position on the couch.
While this review is on the wireless XRB Lama, for those who might not be familiar with the tethered version, the first XRB was released around a year ago to compliment the fine line of Hirobo helicopters. The first XRB Lama included a 10-foot tether, transmitter controller, AC adapter, and six sets of spare rotor blades. Both Lama's old and new, are true ARF's since they are ready to fly as soon as you open the box . . .

In recent issues, we have examined many different 90-size helicopters, but all of them were converted from their 60-size siblings. The manufacturers extended the tail boom by a few centimeters and then allowed 710-720mm blades to be used instead of the 680-690mm blades employed on the 60 models. That is perfectly fine for a 3-D helicopter because the extra power-to-weight ratio dramatically improves 3-D performance. However, the engineers at Robbe Germany decided to take on a different challenge to achieve their 90-helicopter. Robbe's helicopter designer and manager, Mr. Wahl worked with a Dutch F3C pilot and set a goal to build a true 90-size helicopter that was just shy of a 1.8-meter main rotor diameter. They wanted their big helicopter for four missions: F3C competition, industrial and aerial photography work, as a scale platform, and 3-D flying. The new product is aptly named the Cuatro.

In an effort to remain on top of the 30-50 market, Thunder Tiger/Ace Hobbies, released yet another model of the popular Raptor 30-50 platform. The newest release is the "Special Edition" (SE) Raptor 50.
The R-50 SE, machine-wise, is about the same as the Raptor 50 V2 except with a few improvements, some of which could make it a worthwhile investment if you're considering a 30-50 machine in the near future.
This is now the third version of the 50-platform since the release of the first R-50 (V1) in 2002. Soon after, the V2 followed in 2003. With the recent trend towards aerobatics, the 50-market is now more popular than ever, even more popular than the 60-90-market. Keep in mind that today's generation of 50 engines put out more power than prior 60 engines, this combined with the fact the 50 machines are very light, makes them a good candidate for a 3D platform.

Model Avionics has a new devise available called an "RPM Limiter." Another name for an RPM limiter is an over speed governor. Power extraction from the engine is higher and the need for a fast servo or a fast super servo has been removed. For most modelers, the normal governor has suitable performance, but for someone wanting maximum power supplied to a rotor system and with absolutely no over-speeding - the RPM Limiter is the ticket. The electronic set-up features of the TJ RPM Limiter are pretty simple.
The limiter target rpm can be set from the radio or onboard the unit using a small resistor pot. The device has a setup mode to program your throttle mechanical stops and to tune the device to your radio system. Remember to enter the setup in the normal flight mode, and if using an AUX channel for rpm adjustment to have it set at 100%. The status light will flash green for setup and turn yellow for SS mode by raising the throttle stick fully and exiting the mode at that time.

How many times have you read on Internet billboards, in magazine articles or even heard heli pilots refer to our sophisticated r/c model helicopters as just "toys"? Probably pretty often huh? Personally, I hardly call $4000.00 USD; worth of today's most technologically advanced components all assembled in a single model a "toy". Nevertheless, yes, there are those that do. Well the purpose of this article is not to debate this notion but moreover introduce the masses to a very neat r/c model with strong helicopter traits that is a true toy.