Written by Yama Ianomand for RC Heli Magazine | Re-printed with Permission
Introduction
Many of us have gone out at one time or another and bought ourselves a Raptor. The Raptor 30/50 fl ies great but it lacks bling. Maybe you have the SE model with a metal head, but overall it's still a low-cost plastic bird. So you want more bling! What can you do to your plastic bird to make it more rigid and durable? You have already bought a full metal head, but the heli is still mostly plastic. What can you do to improve the looks and performance of this ship to resemble and feel like a luxury heli instead of a plastic Raptor? Well that's where the Carbon XeroG Rush upgrade from XeroG Heli Innovations in Hawaii comes in. Their carbon frames and CCPM conversion are superb upgrades for your Raptor.
I opened the shipping box and found my new kit nicely packed, and all hardware was contained in different size Ziploc bags. The instruction manual is in color with three-dimensional CAD graphics. All components are clearly visible, and all connection points are laid out nicely. The kit itself comes with four 2mm thick carbon fi ber plates that stack to create the main frame. The frames are cut for a perfect fi t and alignment. Black anodized, aircraft-quality machined parts are used to join the frames together, no plastic here. All of the frame joints are smooth and refi ned, and they fi t onto the frames perfectly. All of the nuts and bolts are stainless steel. The kit also comes with its own machined and anodized swash plate in a 120 degree CCPM layout. With all the machined parts as well as the carbon frame, there is a 6 oz. weight savings over the stock Raptor kit. Also, the CG of the heli has been raised. This has been done by moving the gas tank This has been done by moving the gas tank higher to be more in line with the engine. By doing this it allows the heli to roll much quicker on its axis by distributing the weight more towards the center of the heli.
Building/Setup
The instructions seemed straightforward until I began the build process. What I until I began the build process. What I didn't like was that the hardware bags were not labeled with the size of the screws and nuts they contained. I had to take my calipers and measure each screw to know exactly what size they were. Once I had done this, the parts fi t together perfectly. After a few hours of building, the entire frame structure was complete. Now it was time to insert the engine. Oh wait, it doesn't fi t, so I proceeded to loosen one of the side frames and removed the carb to get the engine in the heli. The instructions fail to mention this part, so watch out for it. Once the engine was in, all other components went together very nicely without a glitch. The fi nal step is to set up the heli mechanically. This was a bit of a struggle, as it's all trial and error to get the swash at zero pitch at mid stick, and +11/-11 at the top and bottom stick positions as the manual recommends. I would have really liked it if a starting point for rod lengths would have been provided in the manual. This would have saved me considerable time fi ddling with the linkage rods to achieve the above pitch range. Except for what I have mentioned above, everything else went together very nicely without any issues. together very nicely without any issues.
Hovering
I started the heli and walked it out to the fl ying area. The blades started spinning and the heli got light on its skid as I reached 2/3rd stick position. The heli lifted into a very stable hover, and it hovered like any other Raptor: very solid and predictable. I did not notice any sort and predictable. I did not notice any sort of unusual vibrations from any component on this heli. I really did not feel any major changes in the hovering characteristics except for some collective response changes which I will discuss later.
Rating: 5
Forward Flight
Flying this heli forward proved to be just as predictable as its hovering tendency. The heli fl ew nicely. I started by fl ying it slowly, and as I increased the forward speed I did not sense any pitchiness in its fl ight path. The forward fl ight characteristic did not change much from the way it used to be before the upgrade. I gave forward fl ight 5 out of 5 also, as Raptors fl y nicely out of the box.
Rating: 5
Cyclic Pitch Response
After doing some nice forward circuits, I took her up and did some smooth continuous rolls. The heli rolled much quicker than it did before the upgrades. Moving the CG higher and having more throws on the cyclics proved to be a nice, added feature to an already nice fl ying ship. The CCPM head helped the servos pull The CCPM head helped the servos pull the heli to the desired direction without much diffi culty. The heli rolled quickly and smoothly. The loops were great as well, the heli was able to do stationary fl ips much quicker than previously, and the diameter was much smaller than before. I did not have to give too much collective to compensate for a larger loop or roll disk. I gave it 5 stars out of 5 here as well, since the there was noticeable increase in cyclical performance after the XeroG upgrade.
Rating: 5
Collective Pitch Response
The most noticeable improvement to this upgrade was the collective pitch response. The CCPM head conversion proved to be the ideal upgrade for my Raptor. I noticed the response as soon as I lifted the heli off the ground. There was no hesitation or servo stress since all three servos were working together, rather than just one. After doing my normal circuits and some basic 3D, it was time to really put some stress on this CCPM head. I started doing some nice, large rainbows and the heli responded quickly. I started tightening the rainbows into some nice, short tic-tocs and the transition was smooth and effortless on the rotor head. So now came time for the ultimate test. I took the heli up high and began descending very quickly, with a very descending very quickly, with a very fast forward fl ight towards the ground. I leveled off the heli maintaining my forward speed, quickly pulling the cyclic all the way down while applying positive collective at the same time, and easing the collective back to mid stick. I heard a woof sound and the heli had just hit the invisible "Wall." No problems doing this maneuver; the head reacted fast, bringing the heli to a full stop from its fast momentum. Overall, the head seemed solid and precise during all hard maneuvers. I had no complaints with the performance of this upgrade.
Rating: 4.5
Conclusion
In conclusion, the XeroG Rush upgrade kit is an awesome upgrade for your Raptor. The parts fit together nicely, the finish is top notch, and the improvements in flight are what makes this kit a must-have for you diehard bling fanatics who need the best for your bling fanatics who need the best for your Raptor. I know I was pretty liberal with the 5's during my testing. Some will knock magazines for being too glowing about a product. I've been flying with the Raptor for many years and know its performance characteristics very well. I'm confident that any experienced pilot that goes with this upgrade will be as equally impressed as I am. | 
