
This is Mick's Sceadu 50, pretty musch the newest 50 size heli on the market (Ok, the Raptor 50 was out at about the same time, but the Rapotr 30-50 conversion kit has been out for ages) and its very good.
With the OS 50 and Zimmerman pipe fitted, there is plenty of oomph, remember, its basically a 30-size heli with a 50 motor. It is fully 3D capable, and very very quick. It's power to weight ratio (I guess) is about the same as my Raptor 60, as it accelerates like a rocket when you push the collective up. And doing circuits, it stays up most of the time too.
But how does this new challenger compare to the Raptor 50 (the kit, as opposed to a converted 30).Well, its better looking for a start. I make no secret of the fact that I think the standard Raptor 30/50 canopy is ugly. Urrggh. Whereas the Sceadu canopy is a bit Kalt Baron 30, and an awful lot of Hirobo Eagle Freya.
Secondly, I have heard some stories about certain parts of Raptor 50's letting go when pushed to the limits. The Sceadu is less likely to fall apart.
Thirdly, the Raptor 50 is basically a 30 with bigger bits on the outside and a bigger metal lump of power inside, but other than that, it feels very much like a Raptor 30. Which is getting on a bit. But, and this is a big one. The Sceadu is actually one of the Shuttle range so again has been done many times before. But wait, there has never been a 50 upgrade kit for a Shuttle, so the Sceadu is another point up. I make that 3-nil.
But I havent finished yet. The Sceadu is more expensive. 3-1, nuff said!!
But I think any remaining Sceadu doubters should take note...the Raptor has pink stickers (good on ya Stephen Mauger for not putting the stickers on yours!),and the Sceadu does not. Obviously this is where the extra expense comes in, because well...pink.
So, thats it. One of the first review/comparison articles on this website, and I hope it useful to anyone considering buying either of these machines. Obviously, the Graupner Starlet 50 is another, but is so different from the other 2, that to include it in this would cause many problems. The idea was to determine which was better, the Sceadu, or the machine made to compete with it.
Below, a few new pictures taken on a rainy saturday morning at the end of November. See the kind of conditions we go through to get you latest from the modelling world in Guernsey.