Wespen
08-20-2008, 05:38 PM
C/P from HF, so this section is not empty
The Big Brother
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166332_879769ecff3a83735c5e4042d654ca47_standard. jpg
After a small GAUI 200 review its time for its big brother, GAUI Hurricane 550.
Big brother spins 500 or 550mm blades and you can’t call it toy no more.
Lets start with the basics, big Hurry RTF weight is around 2 kg and its using 800-1300 KV 1000 Watts brushless motor. It’s configured to run two 3S lipos in series which makes it cheap to fly. Rotor dia is 1.110mm spinning at 2000 RPM which places it in 30 size.
Its tail is belt powered and with 2200 mAh you can keep it in the air for 4 minutes, 6-8 minutes as manufacturer claim is a bit over the top. Well you can probably hoover it for 6 minutes.
Hurri is using standard sized servos and push-pull system for swash, head is pure Bell-Hiller CCPM mix. There is a short boom conversion, then 500mm blades won’t look so silly, but I suggest longer boom. It will reduce disk loading and you will get that lovely sound of „beating the air into submission“.
The big question is which kit to buy. To make the long story short take the Hurricane EP550 Carbon PRO version. Earlier versions with plastic frame flexed a bit under load and with it Hurri wasn’t a top performer. New carbon frame is much stiffer and it won’t flex. Be sure to get the metal elevator and roll control arms, a bit more on that later.
It will cost you about 1000 $ to get it in the air, depending on the electronics setup. Kit itself is a little below 400$ at Infinity (www.infinity-hobby.com (http://www.infinity-hobby.com) ) + shipping. Add quite a bit for shipping since kit is 99% RTF and its coming in a huge box.
Infinity also some has nice combos with Z-Power motors for 700$.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167262_ad0dfd17ebb2f70f77ada17767dd071a_mblog.jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167541_f6380eb0fd1d54c0ce211095984c7627_mblog.jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167597_68efc4fae9371821d1c3e9ae8f1aafa7_mblog.jpg
Assembly
Since kit is mostly assembled all that’s left is to put the tail boom and set the belt tension.
Head is already assembled but you will still need to adjust the servo link lengths. This is where the small problem starts. If you are using plastic instead of metal arms you will need to offset the holes from the center on the servo wheel. Because of the offset you can’t use standard servo arms that come with most of the servos, you are stuck with the wheel. You can cutout the template from the manual since it’s in scale and use the marks as a guide to drill the holes. This is important since Hurri uses push-pull system and if you don’t offset the holes it will bind. Another issue is the wear of the threads in the plastic arms. When the threads wear out the arms can slip and that’s not good. Most of the complaints are result of this. That’s why I said at the beginning, just get the metal arms right from the start and forget about all the problems. Thing about metal arms is that they have different offset built in so you have to do it on the servo wheel again.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166447_f728b09820d178f886f50fe3c2538732_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167182_de8435cffa93ccf855245f73ebac8203_standard. jpg
Plastic versions also have plastic anti-rotation bracket which could bend under load and cause elevator arm to rub the frame. In Carbon PRO version CNC bracket come as standard so another issue solved.
Most of the ball links were right on the spot, not too tight and not too loose. Be sure to recheck them just to be safe.
I was surprised by the all metal CNC swash which has some tight tolerances. It’s precise, with no slop and silky smooth. One big plus for GAUI.
Drivetrain?!?
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167123_00812bdf737334a0f701b63fb7e22db3_standard. jpg
Since Hurri drivetrain consists of 2 main gears motor selection is an easy task. You can go from 800 KV to 1300KV range with just the main gearing. Stock GAUI 800KV motor will give you just below 1000 Watts, it’s ok for sport flying and mild aerobatics, but a bit lacking for 3D. Next step is GAUI 1300KV version of the motor which offers better performance and can do most of the 3D maneuvers. For total mind blowing power best choice is Z-Power Z30A-1100 KV, 280 gram monster which will put out real 1300 Watts and can eat new „OK“ gears for breakfast.
Since motor mount is positioned high enough and close enough to the main shaft added weight won’t affect CG that much. Drivetrain consist of 2 gear ratios using 4 sets of gears. This arrangement, with smaller gears instead of just big one, will give you plenty power options. Getting desired headspeed with 5S and 6S lipos and wide variety of motors is not a problem. Beside, with smaller gears whole heli looks very slick and aggressive with thin silhouette like its nitro brothers. You won’t even have problems with Cobra style scale fuse. This kit comes with new „OK“ labeled gears which are much stronger than original ones. On paper they are good up to 2000 Watts, but my Z-30 striped them on full 12° pitch pump from ground.
Electronics
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166402_f1e0a836fa8fbd222c058dec565046b2_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166478_1b5f8c5680e4bd84637f96c74cabcaf6_standard. jpg
Hurri runs standard sized servos and all dimensions fit without problems. Use relatively fast metal geared digitals with at least 3 kg/cm of torque for swash, to get the best performance. Rest of the electronics can be placed wherever you want, space is not a problem. It is a big heli, I can fit small GAUI 200 inside the frames.
You will need at least 50Amp ESC if you run 6S, even a bit more if you plan to use 5S.
I was using 80 Amp Phoenix from Castle which has a nice governor built in (which got even better with 2.0 firmware). There is a neat place for ESC in standard kit. It’s a small vertical plate on the side of the battery trays. To bad its optional extra in PRO version (12$). No worries, there is space between the battery trays where even big CC80 fits. You will have to use your screwdriver to get in there, but it’s a perfect fit.
For tail use fastest standard size tail servo you can find. I’m using Futaba 9254 which traverse 60° in just 0.06 seconds. Tail servo can be mounted in the frames or on the boom. I tried both. It’s easier to set up the gyro using boom mount since you can slide the servo to get the tail right. With servo in the frame you will have to adjust the control rod length, but it’s not a hassle. Both ways work, it’s your preference.
As for gyro, I tried a few starting with Futabas trusty old 401 and JRs G500. They represent some middle class and they hold ok. They both have some problems with fast backward flight, is it a long boom or just big heli I don’t know.
On a heli this size more expensive gyros really shine (Futaba 611, JR 770, Spartan, CSM 720 and alike). I tried JR 770 and CSM 720 and they perform flawless, no problems holding the tail in most demanding maneuvers.
As for the rest of the electronics you will need standalone BEC and 7.4 Volt lipo to power all up. You won’t need more than 1000 mAh 2S lipo for a whole day of flying. Space for wire routing is plenty; you can tuck it all in nice and tidy on the bottom frame shelf.
Juice
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166505_0386571cd8a25c20a1693afb100056b6_standard. jpg
Hurri is designed to use two 3S lipo in series. Although GAUI suggests 2200 mAh lipos don’t even think about anything below 2500 mAh. Even 3300mAh is enough for just 5 min of hard flying. Battery tray is designed to accommodate two lipos, one on top and one on the bottom shelf, all tied up by long velcro strips trough holes designed just for that. Another option is larger 5S lipo which you can jam between the frames and secure on bottom shelf, but it can slide out a bit on mad piros. I tried both and ether one works, but motor performs better on 6S Volts. Just take care what pinion you are using since you can’t just swap 5S and 6S packs.
And how does it fly?
Long story short, it’s awesome. It can do all but most demanding 3D. I really don’t know what people expect from a 400$ heli. No, it’s not F3C, no it’s not 90 size nitro and it doesn’t perform like one, but that’s not what the Hurri is for. It’s one of the best and one of the cheapest helis to learn 3D and advanced aerobatics. It fly’s like a bigger bird, very similar to a 600 and with 550 blades performs like it should. I don’t see a need for short tail boom and 490mm blades at insane speeds, its inefficient and wont get you much. Longer blades make it precise and stable. Running 550mm fiber blades at 2200 RPM on 5S 4000mAh with Z30 will consume about 700 mA per minute, good for 6 minutes of aggressive flying. On 6S it goes down to 600-620 mA per min, after all Z30 is a 6S motor. Servos will take about 100 mA per flight so with 1000 mAh pack you are good for a whole day.
Even with long boom Hurri is fast and nimble, no need for more headspeed. Tail has enough authority for fast and precise stops even on 2200 rpm, but stock tail blades flex a lot. Just get the carbon ones.
Hurri with 12° of pitch really pops, without breaking a sweat. Z30 is so powerful it will strip the gears if you overdo pich pumps.
In FFF it picks up a fair amount of speed and really sounds great in close fly-bys. Total difference from 450 sized buzzers.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166393_e8c4c036066f0e8c6ecc5077d7e54425_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166398_e478146132ba2d30ae951861e359254a_standard. jpg
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166403_2c365d4b36deb870155ac12dfcca57be_standard. jpg
Is it crashworthy?
During this review Hurri was crashed 3 times. Two small ones and one totaled.
Damage is standard; blades, main shaft, plastic blade holders, canopy and a few broken links. Rest of the stuff is almost always intact, unless you happen to find concrete patch in the middle of the grass field. Weak spot are skids, which are a bit small and you can crack them by just going full negative on the ground. You can easily solve this by using Raptor 50 or Trex 600 skids. They fit with slight modification. With bigger spacing heli is more stable on the ground and there is no way it will flip on the side after a bad auto. Of course bigger skids are also more durable and wont break on harder landings. If that’s not enough, just look at it, looks a ton better with them.
The other thing I don’t like is stock canopy which comes with the kit. I was expecting fiberglass, not some cheap PEG plastic. Canopy is very soft and flexible. It flexes so much that on hard turn it will rub on the motor. Yes it gets melted so it’s sort of self-fixable, you don’t have to cut it out. If it bothers you, fiberglass canopy is 40$.
Now we come to the biggie, CNC hop-ups are really expensive, don’t even compare them to Aligns upgrades. For example, complete metal head is incredible 280$, more than half of the heli. Do you need the bling? To tell you the truth, no. Heli flies just fine without it. Good thing with plastic blade holders, they break saving your blades and head rebuilds and they cost much less than new set of blades. All spare parts are cheap, in price range with Trex500, thumbs up for GAUI there.
The big crash my friend had was at FAI freestyle competition; hit a concrete runway, dead on doing 50 km/h. All that could separate from the frame did. Here is a pic.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3239254_279b5f9877c107261a6e06859d6348bd_standard. jpg
Looks like not worth repairing. Guess what, it’s a 70$ crash.
To sum it up, Hurri is a great „cheap to fly“ heli. Nice step up from your Blade and 450 toward expensive 600 and nitro birds. Great everyday flyer and solid performer.
Full rez picture gallery http://www.23hq.com/RCReviews/album/3165964
Upgrades list:
CNC Elevator Lever (204614)
CNC Pitch & Roll Arm Set (204612)
Skids – Raptor E550 or Trex600
CNC Stop Plate (204675) – optional, if you don’t mind waiting for blades to stop spinning
20T 8mm Steel One Way Gear (204583) – nice upgrade if you strip gears a lot
Wesp
The Big Brother
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166332_879769ecff3a83735c5e4042d654ca47_standard. jpg
After a small GAUI 200 review its time for its big brother, GAUI Hurricane 550.
Big brother spins 500 or 550mm blades and you can’t call it toy no more.
Lets start with the basics, big Hurry RTF weight is around 2 kg and its using 800-1300 KV 1000 Watts brushless motor. It’s configured to run two 3S lipos in series which makes it cheap to fly. Rotor dia is 1.110mm spinning at 2000 RPM which places it in 30 size.
Its tail is belt powered and with 2200 mAh you can keep it in the air for 4 minutes, 6-8 minutes as manufacturer claim is a bit over the top. Well you can probably hoover it for 6 minutes.
Hurri is using standard sized servos and push-pull system for swash, head is pure Bell-Hiller CCPM mix. There is a short boom conversion, then 500mm blades won’t look so silly, but I suggest longer boom. It will reduce disk loading and you will get that lovely sound of „beating the air into submission“.
The big question is which kit to buy. To make the long story short take the Hurricane EP550 Carbon PRO version. Earlier versions with plastic frame flexed a bit under load and with it Hurri wasn’t a top performer. New carbon frame is much stiffer and it won’t flex. Be sure to get the metal elevator and roll control arms, a bit more on that later.
It will cost you about 1000 $ to get it in the air, depending on the electronics setup. Kit itself is a little below 400$ at Infinity (www.infinity-hobby.com (http://www.infinity-hobby.com) ) + shipping. Add quite a bit for shipping since kit is 99% RTF and its coming in a huge box.
Infinity also some has nice combos with Z-Power motors for 700$.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167262_ad0dfd17ebb2f70f77ada17767dd071a_mblog.jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167541_f6380eb0fd1d54c0ce211095984c7627_mblog.jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167597_68efc4fae9371821d1c3e9ae8f1aafa7_mblog.jpg
Assembly
Since kit is mostly assembled all that’s left is to put the tail boom and set the belt tension.
Head is already assembled but you will still need to adjust the servo link lengths. This is where the small problem starts. If you are using plastic instead of metal arms you will need to offset the holes from the center on the servo wheel. Because of the offset you can’t use standard servo arms that come with most of the servos, you are stuck with the wheel. You can cutout the template from the manual since it’s in scale and use the marks as a guide to drill the holes. This is important since Hurri uses push-pull system and if you don’t offset the holes it will bind. Another issue is the wear of the threads in the plastic arms. When the threads wear out the arms can slip and that’s not good. Most of the complaints are result of this. That’s why I said at the beginning, just get the metal arms right from the start and forget about all the problems. Thing about metal arms is that they have different offset built in so you have to do it on the servo wheel again.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166447_f728b09820d178f886f50fe3c2538732_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167182_de8435cffa93ccf855245f73ebac8203_standard. jpg
Plastic versions also have plastic anti-rotation bracket which could bend under load and cause elevator arm to rub the frame. In Carbon PRO version CNC bracket come as standard so another issue solved.
Most of the ball links were right on the spot, not too tight and not too loose. Be sure to recheck them just to be safe.
I was surprised by the all metal CNC swash which has some tight tolerances. It’s precise, with no slop and silky smooth. One big plus for GAUI.
Drivetrain?!?
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3167123_00812bdf737334a0f701b63fb7e22db3_standard. jpg
Since Hurri drivetrain consists of 2 main gears motor selection is an easy task. You can go from 800 KV to 1300KV range with just the main gearing. Stock GAUI 800KV motor will give you just below 1000 Watts, it’s ok for sport flying and mild aerobatics, but a bit lacking for 3D. Next step is GAUI 1300KV version of the motor which offers better performance and can do most of the 3D maneuvers. For total mind blowing power best choice is Z-Power Z30A-1100 KV, 280 gram monster which will put out real 1300 Watts and can eat new „OK“ gears for breakfast.
Since motor mount is positioned high enough and close enough to the main shaft added weight won’t affect CG that much. Drivetrain consist of 2 gear ratios using 4 sets of gears. This arrangement, with smaller gears instead of just big one, will give you plenty power options. Getting desired headspeed with 5S and 6S lipos and wide variety of motors is not a problem. Beside, with smaller gears whole heli looks very slick and aggressive with thin silhouette like its nitro brothers. You won’t even have problems with Cobra style scale fuse. This kit comes with new „OK“ labeled gears which are much stronger than original ones. On paper they are good up to 2000 Watts, but my Z-30 striped them on full 12° pitch pump from ground.
Electronics
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166402_f1e0a836fa8fbd222c058dec565046b2_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166478_1b5f8c5680e4bd84637f96c74cabcaf6_standard. jpg
Hurri runs standard sized servos and all dimensions fit without problems. Use relatively fast metal geared digitals with at least 3 kg/cm of torque for swash, to get the best performance. Rest of the electronics can be placed wherever you want, space is not a problem. It is a big heli, I can fit small GAUI 200 inside the frames.
You will need at least 50Amp ESC if you run 6S, even a bit more if you plan to use 5S.
I was using 80 Amp Phoenix from Castle which has a nice governor built in (which got even better with 2.0 firmware). There is a neat place for ESC in standard kit. It’s a small vertical plate on the side of the battery trays. To bad its optional extra in PRO version (12$). No worries, there is space between the battery trays where even big CC80 fits. You will have to use your screwdriver to get in there, but it’s a perfect fit.
For tail use fastest standard size tail servo you can find. I’m using Futaba 9254 which traverse 60° in just 0.06 seconds. Tail servo can be mounted in the frames or on the boom. I tried both. It’s easier to set up the gyro using boom mount since you can slide the servo to get the tail right. With servo in the frame you will have to adjust the control rod length, but it’s not a hassle. Both ways work, it’s your preference.
As for gyro, I tried a few starting with Futabas trusty old 401 and JRs G500. They represent some middle class and they hold ok. They both have some problems with fast backward flight, is it a long boom or just big heli I don’t know.
On a heli this size more expensive gyros really shine (Futaba 611, JR 770, Spartan, CSM 720 and alike). I tried JR 770 and CSM 720 and they perform flawless, no problems holding the tail in most demanding maneuvers.
As for the rest of the electronics you will need standalone BEC and 7.4 Volt lipo to power all up. You won’t need more than 1000 mAh 2S lipo for a whole day of flying. Space for wire routing is plenty; you can tuck it all in nice and tidy on the bottom frame shelf.
Juice
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166505_0386571cd8a25c20a1693afb100056b6_standard. jpg
Hurri is designed to use two 3S lipo in series. Although GAUI suggests 2200 mAh lipos don’t even think about anything below 2500 mAh. Even 3300mAh is enough for just 5 min of hard flying. Battery tray is designed to accommodate two lipos, one on top and one on the bottom shelf, all tied up by long velcro strips trough holes designed just for that. Another option is larger 5S lipo which you can jam between the frames and secure on bottom shelf, but it can slide out a bit on mad piros. I tried both and ether one works, but motor performs better on 6S Volts. Just take care what pinion you are using since you can’t just swap 5S and 6S packs.
And how does it fly?
Long story short, it’s awesome. It can do all but most demanding 3D. I really don’t know what people expect from a 400$ heli. No, it’s not F3C, no it’s not 90 size nitro and it doesn’t perform like one, but that’s not what the Hurri is for. It’s one of the best and one of the cheapest helis to learn 3D and advanced aerobatics. It fly’s like a bigger bird, very similar to a 600 and with 550 blades performs like it should. I don’t see a need for short tail boom and 490mm blades at insane speeds, its inefficient and wont get you much. Longer blades make it precise and stable. Running 550mm fiber blades at 2200 RPM on 5S 4000mAh with Z30 will consume about 700 mA per minute, good for 6 minutes of aggressive flying. On 6S it goes down to 600-620 mA per min, after all Z30 is a 6S motor. Servos will take about 100 mA per flight so with 1000 mAh pack you are good for a whole day.
Even with long boom Hurri is fast and nimble, no need for more headspeed. Tail has enough authority for fast and precise stops even on 2200 rpm, but stock tail blades flex a lot. Just get the carbon ones.
Hurri with 12° of pitch really pops, without breaking a sweat. Z30 is so powerful it will strip the gears if you overdo pich pumps.
In FFF it picks up a fair amount of speed and really sounds great in close fly-bys. Total difference from 450 sized buzzers.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166393_e8c4c036066f0e8c6ecc5077d7e54425_standard. jpg http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166398_e478146132ba2d30ae951861e359254a_standard. jpg
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3166403_2c365d4b36deb870155ac12dfcca57be_standard. jpg
Is it crashworthy?
During this review Hurri was crashed 3 times. Two small ones and one totaled.
Damage is standard; blades, main shaft, plastic blade holders, canopy and a few broken links. Rest of the stuff is almost always intact, unless you happen to find concrete patch in the middle of the grass field. Weak spot are skids, which are a bit small and you can crack them by just going full negative on the ground. You can easily solve this by using Raptor 50 or Trex 600 skids. They fit with slight modification. With bigger spacing heli is more stable on the ground and there is no way it will flip on the side after a bad auto. Of course bigger skids are also more durable and wont break on harder landings. If that’s not enough, just look at it, looks a ton better with them.
The other thing I don’t like is stock canopy which comes with the kit. I was expecting fiberglass, not some cheap PEG plastic. Canopy is very soft and flexible. It flexes so much that on hard turn it will rub on the motor. Yes it gets melted so it’s sort of self-fixable, you don’t have to cut it out. If it bothers you, fiberglass canopy is 40$.
Now we come to the biggie, CNC hop-ups are really expensive, don’t even compare them to Aligns upgrades. For example, complete metal head is incredible 280$, more than half of the heli. Do you need the bling? To tell you the truth, no. Heli flies just fine without it. Good thing with plastic blade holders, they break saving your blades and head rebuilds and they cost much less than new set of blades. All spare parts are cheap, in price range with Trex500, thumbs up for GAUI there.
The big crash my friend had was at FAI freestyle competition; hit a concrete runway, dead on doing 50 km/h. All that could separate from the frame did. Here is a pic.
http://www.23hq.com/23666/3239254_279b5f9877c107261a6e06859d6348bd_standard. jpg
Looks like not worth repairing. Guess what, it’s a 70$ crash.
To sum it up, Hurri is a great „cheap to fly“ heli. Nice step up from your Blade and 450 toward expensive 600 and nitro birds. Great everyday flyer and solid performer.
Full rez picture gallery http://www.23hq.com/RCReviews/album/3165964
Upgrades list:
CNC Elevator Lever (204614)
CNC Pitch & Roll Arm Set (204612)
Skids – Raptor E550 or Trex600
CNC Stop Plate (204675) – optional, if you don’t mind waiting for blades to stop spinning
20T 8mm Steel One Way Gear (204583) – nice upgrade if you strip gears a lot
Wesp