[petes66]

I just picked up a Kyosho concept 30 helicopter. I have not started it yet due to the fact I am new to nitro heli and I don't want to cut my head off. What are the safety procedures in starting a nitro heli?

I am not planing on flying this heli a lot, just want to make sure it runs.

Also is it hard to find parts for this heli?

[rotormonkey13]

As I recall that heli doesn't use a wand, just a bump start with the starter cone yeah?

Anyway, make sure you throttle linkage is set up correctly, and moving in the right directions. At low stick the carb needs to be closed, not open. If it's backwards you'll get a big surprise!

Beyond that, fill 'er up with fuel, turn on your receiver (the pack is charged right?), do the usual preflight stuff. Check directions, range, etc. Then apply the glow igniter, grab a firm hold of the head of the helicopter in one hand, starter in the other. Blip the starter and you oughta be off to the races.

While doing all that make sure you have your radio accessible especially on the first go. Just in case the idle is high you want to be able to drop the trim/throttle stick in a hurry.

In the event of a hot start (motor going full bore right on startup) for the love of god hold on to that head. Keep your wits about you and either plug the exhaust system with your finger. That'll flood the system due to too much back pressure. That's the quickest way to kill it. If you're on the other side, then pull the line from the tank to the carb to starve it.

If you do a hot start then chances are you'll have some messed up linkages or a chewed up clutch along with some dirty undies, so check things out before trying to start again.

Of course this all assumes that you have the right glow plug, and the tuning is good to start with.

As for finding parts, I don't really know. I'm not real familiar with this model, but I'm not sure it's still in production. Come to think of it, I think RCCanuck here has one of those, so you might want to drop him a line for further info on parts sources, etc.

[Max]

C-30 parts are almost impossible to find.
I have a C-30 that I still fly, it is a pretty smooth flier.

I have some spares here. Other than Friends or Ebay, once you trash it, consider a Raptor30 as a replacement. It will be cheaper.

If you need a hand let me know. I am in Aurora.

[AJCoholic]

I flew (and started with) a DX C30 in the early 90's and flew it for 12 years. I thought it was a great little heli, and at one time byfar one of the most common seen.

Parts now are scarce. Best if you can find a whole spare machine and strip it for parts. I have given away all my parts, but I just yesterday found a bunch of decals for the original SR. Who wants them, just ask?

For learning, the original DX aluminum paddles were great. Later, a set of Kalt 30 size or similar plastic paddles were the way to go.

I was flying an OS 32 with a tuned pipe and extended length boom and blades. Even learned to auto on it, and NHP 3D blades - so its not a bad little machine

If you crash though it will be a PITA for sourcing replacement parts.

AJC

[petes66]

Thanks for all the info. Is there any other heli's out there that parts will interchange with the concept (example kyosho caliber)?

As far as flying it, will it be easier or harder than my trex 450? I am more the tail in, hover type pilot.

[Max]

Originally Posted by petes66

Thanks for all the info. Is there any other heli's out there that parts will interchange with the concept (example kyosho caliber)?

Oh- I also forgot to mention a few things for you.

First of all, the CENTURY HAWK has a lot of interchangeable parts, like tail components. If you have an LHS that carries HAWK parts, you can go and do a comparison, that is how I found most of my recent spares.

The clutch on the C-30 is also very weak. If (WHEN) it fails, order a CENTURY HAWK clutch bell and clutch. It is A LOT beefier and I still havent worn out the Hawk clutch to date. Just be forewarned that the clutch bell is just a tad bigger than the C-30 bell. The shroud will rub on the new bell, but it is a one-minute fix, just take your x-acto knife and trim the little lip from around the shroud and the clearance will be perfect.


Finally, like Andrew says, boom strikes are common if you thump it down.
The C-30 has a hard to find 20mm tail boom. Again, Century to the rescue, the CENTURY RAVEN is a .50 size heli but it uses the same 20mm boom. You just have to trim the length, but it fits perfectly.

[Phil Noel]

Originally Posted by Max

Oh- I also forgot to mention a few things for you.

First of all, the CENTURY HAWK has a lot of interchangeable parts, like tail components. If you have an LHS that carries HAWK parts, you can go and do a comparison, that is how I found most of my recent spares.

The clutch on the C-30 is also very weak. If (WHEN) it fails, order a CENTURY HAWK clutch bell and clutch. It is A LOT beefier and I still havent worn out the Hawk clutch to date. Just be forewarned that the clutch bell is just a tad bigger than the C-30 bell. The shroud will rub on the new bell, but it is a one-minute fix, just take your x-acto knife and trim the little lip from around the shroud and the clearance will be perfect.


Finally, like Andrew says, boom strikes are common if you thump it down.
The C-30 has a hard to find 20mm tail boom. Again, Century to the rescue, the CENTURY RAVEN is a .50 size heli but it uses the same 20mm boom. You just have to trim the length, but it fits perfectly.

And the final mode, can be to remove the engine, radio gear and gyro and install them all in a new Hawk Pro. Then all parts will be readily available....oops my bias is showing

Yes, the C-30 certainly does bring back some great memories - it and the Enforcer where the helis that proved to me the great value of a two stage power system.

[Max]

I would say its probably going to be easier than the Trex, as long as it is set up correctly.

The C-30 does not have a through-shaft for the feathering spindle, instead it has a separate feathering spindle on each blade grip. There are rubber dampers that fit over the spindle, and they govern the stiffness of the head.

There were 2 types of dampers back then, "Black" soft rubber and "Red" hard rubber.
These dampers dictated how much coning you got on the head. Even with the hard dampers, there is still quite a bit of coning on the head. TRANSLATION: The coning means the heli flies quite stable. Coning is like dihedral on an airplane. The more the coning, the more the stability.

You shouldn't have a problem flying it

[AJCoholic]

it also means that boom strikes are MUCH easier to have happen (even with hard landings) that with a through-spindle head.

The later model concepts even eliminated the dampers and the blades were free to sit down at a pronounced angle just sitting idle.

But it could handle a lot of wind and gusts and just sit there

AJC

PS pretty sure the red ones were soft - they came with the dx model which was the entry level bird.

[Max]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

it also means that boom strikes are MUCH easier to have happen (even with hard landings) that with a through-spindle head.

The later model concepts even eliminated the dampers and the blades were free to sit down at a pronounced angle just sitting idle.

But it could handle a lot of wind and gusts and just sit there

AJC

PS pretty sure the red ones were soft - they came with the dx model which was the entry level bird.

Oh yeah..I forgot about the propensity for boom strikes...LOL.

I am pretty sure it was red= hard?? Now I cant remember... I guess I'd better break out the durometer tester...