tower hobby combo

[phil m]

beware of tower hobby's raptor50 rtf combo.received it for xmas present and on first start up and spooll up clutch and fan assembly blew up.with a little investigation with my heli members of rcrcc we found clutch and fan drive nut barely on and no signs of loc tite.starter chuck set screws very lose also.thankfully this happened on the ground.if you have this [rtf combo] you might want to strip it down and rebuild it.if it comes apart in the air good luck trying to explain it to tower. merry xmas to tower hobby's

[Airworks]

well , haha , always go through preassembled parts , thats normal.
if i didnt turn the screw , how do i know its tight?
not tower hobbies fault....

[propxprt]

If they call it READY TO FLY and a beginner buys it expecting it to be ready to fly, how is this not towers fault? Lesson learned for the OP though, always a good idea to to go through an RTF.

[ahahn]

Originally Posted by phil m

beware of tower hobby's raptor50 rtf combo.received it for xmas present and on first start up and spooll up clutch and fan assembly blew up.with a little investigation with my heli members of rcrcc we found clutch and fan drive nut barely on and no signs of loc tite.starter chuck set screws very lose also.thankfully this happened on the ground.if you have this [rtf combo] you might want to strip it down and rebuild it.if it comes apart in the air good luck trying to explain it to tower. merry xmas to tower hobby's

I am not sure how good locktite is on an engine shaft that gets hot. Is there room for a lockwasher?

[Gx470]

Never trust preassembled parts ever. That is just common
Sense. And no way it's towers fault more like the builder
Operator. Not being mean but as u progress this is pretty
Much common knowledge. . Did u even check before
Pre flight ? Def noob mistake .lesson learned

[Rudy]

First off why are you blaming Tower Hobbys, they did not build the kit. Tower just sold a product that was made by Thundertiger. So if you want to cry to someone you should be crying to Thundertiger not Towerhobbys.

Now Thundertiger has been building ARF raptors for about 10 years and for about 10 years people have been told to check the builds on these ARFs.

[satgod]

if I get a helicopter that is assembled in anyway
first thing I do is lay out a work towel and start taking it apart
then I re-assembly using loctite and grease where needed

there are just to many moving parts in the heli not to double check
everything. Not only can you damage the machine but these things have the
potential to do some serious harm or worse. I've actually had a wodden blade seperate and go zipping past me no more than 10 feet to my right.
that was back in the late 80's but it makes you think. From that day on if I used wodden blades I built them myself so I knew for sure they where safe

[eRaptor]

I agree that blaming Tower is not right.

However, we have new people coming into the hobby all the time, and when they see an RTF label, they would expect it to be true. Everyone does not read these forums before spooling up their heli.

What we really need is to hold the manufacturer's feet to the fire when events like this occur. It is bad for their reputation, and really, it reflects poorly on their quality control. After all, no one expects to take a real bike apart and recheck every nut and bolt before going for a ride.

[dannylightning]

RTF = Ready To Fix sad but that is how it often is..

[ronm3313]

RTF should mean ready to fly. What it often means is assembled but you better check everything over to make sure we did it right!

I've bought a couple of RTF helis: an mCPx, and mSR. They were indead RTF. I also bought a CopterX 450. The swash wasn't level! eHirobo said I need to go through the 'final' setup.

[Airworks]

the way i see , it , go work at an assembly plant , turn 1000000 screws day , your bound to miss one........
its very common knowledge to check everything BEFORE you fly , thats just plain common sence.
i find it amazing "afterwards" is when you checked it over......and that you had people around that know something about helis but didn't prewarn you.

ive never owned anything RTF that came out of the package at 100%, not 1 thing. little eflites, RTF , yeh right , you have to tinker. thats part of the game. just cause it flies doesnt mean its setup right.

you have heli members , at a club????? and not one person said anything? is this your first helicopter?????

[Bradsd]

Im not gonna say this is Towers fault but I will say this. I used to only buy from Tower Hobbies but in the last couple years their product quality has gone south. I have moved on to Horrizon Hobbies. I plan to give them a try for awhile.

[Leftyatm]

Man can you guys give the op some slack? It is a noob mistake. However, it is disappointing especially when you buy something RTF when in fact it is more "buy and rebuild it RTF" I mean how was he supposed to know. Like many of you I am sure, I started on a Blade 400 RTF and would not have known to go over for lock tite. It is just disappointing for that guy to say the least. It isn't Tower hobbies fault more the builder. But it is sour when you label something RTF when it clearly is not.

[satgod]

I have seen a rtf that was truely Ready To Fly
I diassembled it all and it all was just like I would have done it
they are far and in between but sometimes you do get lucky

[755 robert]

Originally Posted by Leftyatm

It isn't Tower hobbies fault more the builder. But it is sour when you label something RTF when it clearly is not.

Tower and any other store selling "RTF kits should add a statement to these kits,warning the user to check these parts over..

[Airworks]

dont forget , everyone was a noob at one time. its up to the person/ "noob" to use proper judgement when dealing with something of "danger". NEVER overlook the obvious , and never assume.
for every 1 "noob" that doesn't check things over , there are 10 "noobs" that do.

if this were something that was a toy , and couldn't hurt a soul , then it would be ok to pat on the head and say "im so sorry this happened to you", but its not , its a flying lawnmower that will take your head off. Take it like a man, and don't make the mistake , very well could have been prevented. glad nothing "bad" happened.

and yeh , the whole "RTF" thing should be changed to RTFAYCIO"ready to fly after you check it over". but as i said , that should be common sence too.

im not attacking him , jsut saying i cant believe hes at a club , with other heli guys (obviously not all are "new to the hobby with their first helicopters", and not 1 person said "did you check all the screws, and lets checkout the setup and make sure alls in good working order".

[phil m]

yes guys its my fault. i saw ready to fly and assumed wrong.it was early in the year and i got the bug to fly.moved on to x50 got the help i should have in the first place.