Does anyone notice it is always the same reps and etc getting pinked? Mark's policy on reps has been around for a few millennia now. He ain't going to budge on it and if he did this site would be worthless.

I like Shawn want to hear someone besides a rep fly one. Non adjustable gear mesh just screams rookie mistake. Yes, I said it. If Bobby thinks the mesh is fine with the motors we have now and next month making way over 10hp+, he needs to quit sniffing so much nitro.

There is no special main gear made from unobtainium that is impervious to heat. They used CNC cut delrin. It expands with heat and shrinks with cold. Did he ever consider people in Canada or Europe or northern US will buy one? If the mesh is right at 90+F is AIN'T at 40F and down. PERIOD. END of story. Delrin is not new stuff. It is simply DuPont's patent on nylon. Been around a long time.

Any experienced heli pilot knows this. How can a 700N get away with this? A stinking nitro doesn't have 12+HP bursts to strip anything with!!!!!

It makes a whopping 3.5hp or so according to the manuals they come with.

Bobby wanted to make it simple and after the last couple of MA helps we all know why. Furion excluded. He took it to far. Slotted frames wouldn't had made this a overcomplicated heli. Would have made the gear mesh bulletproof though.

Futura SE,

I think we need to sit back and wait for a range of 'real-world' pilots (sport to 3D) to report back on this heli. Right now it's very difficult, maybe impossible, to have any meaningful discussions about the Whiplash imho.

Trust me, there are lots of design features on the Whiplash that concern me as well. The main ones are (in no real order) are;

- lack of gear mesh adjustment (same as your concerns)
- very limited electric gear ratios (max = 9.53). Higher ones (maybe up to 12:1 would have future proofed it for +14s setups and/or more efficient 12s sport setups)

- non-standard 9mm spindle (why not 10mm?)

- yet, retained 10mm main shaft (why not 12mm to help future-proof it for 750-800mm blades?
)
- no metal TT gears (why not have just one or two, easily replaceable, sacrificial plastic gear(s)?)

- very rigid landing gear (why not softer, more forgiving ones?)

- 19mm servo arm lengths for FBL (maybe not the best for resolution on many fbl systems?)

- pretty ordinary fly bar design (for the non-fbl version). Does not even come close to looking as good as the Stratus Head (which won a few 3D events in the not too distant past btw).

- no CF tail boom option (maybe just me, but I like a lighter/stronger quality CF boom)

- non-standard one-way on the motor-side. I kind of understand that this bearing will get less torque loadings but I also think that since it's spinning ~10x faster it's also going to throw off a lot more lube earlier as well (and run dry). I've heard Bobby's explanation about how a direct-drive mainshaft mounted one-way can lead to differential wear on the one-way bearing, but I had never seen or heard of this actually happening with a current MA sprag one-way bearing mounted on the mainshaft.

- use of the same framesets for all versions (electric/nitro/gasser) sounds great but I think that a lower weight Electric frameset could have been designed/produced.

I've got a few more concerns but I think this is enough for now, lol!

I still have a couple of flying MA Ion-x's (double-staged and single staged). I've flown them both on 10-15s and flybarred and FBL and they all fly great.

For those that don't know, the Ion-x was designed by Tim Schoonard (one of MA's main founders, and yes, a nitro guy) and Chris Stephenson (MA's first electric guy). In 2004, this heli was well before it's time. It was only limited by the batteries and escs available at this time imho.

After the Ion-x, MA proceeded to design a 50e heli and came up with the Razor. I do not believe that Chris S. was too happy with this design and it all seemed to be driven by Tim S. and his MA nitro flyer mates. This proved to be a very portly heli and did not sell well. I'm pretty sure that the Razor was in fact, a nitro-designed heli, and it's interesting to see that it never actually went into nitro production.

The like-wise Ion-x2 (mainly MA nitro flyer input) then came out and did not set the world on fire either. During this period Chris S. left MA (I think he just gave up trying to electrify MA) and they have not had a real electric guy since imho.

Anyway, a bit of history, maybe not too important, but I think you can see the trend here. I might also add that up this point in time MA did not have any fbl heli's or even any fbl pilot experience.

Now we have a bunch of new MA guys (new, much younger owners) and a few older MA nitro/gasser guys. Don't get me wrong, all these guys are committed to provide the best product and service, second to none. Also, they are committed to make a decent profit as well!

The potential problem I see right now is that MA does not have a real electric guy, nor do they have a fbl specialist. Their design process continues to be run by nitro/gasser design guys, nitro flyers, and bottom line financial guys. I think that the current version of the Whiplash E-FBL is a good example of this.

For me right now it's pretty easy to know what to do. I've got a couple of Ion-x's that I still love to fly and lots of spares (and MA has always been very good at providing spares for older models in any case). So I will continue to fly these as long as possible.

Since the new Whiplash heli shares very few common parts with the older MA heli's (like Stratus, Ion-x, Sprectra) it makes it a bit easier to decide which new 90e heli I might buy next since parts compatibility is not in the equation.

At the end of the day, I hope that all of my concerns with the new MA Whiplash are unfounded, and/or resolved. I also hope that MA continues to be one of the best-in-the-market heli's out there for many years to come!

Cheers,
TomC

Mcpx-BL,300x,450x,500x,550x(HC3sx)
Ion-x, 10s ,SS
TT X50E 10s, HC3-Sx
Logo14, 550 blades

I was looking at the manual and it looks like it would not be that difficult to mod the frames and motor mount to give you some gear mesh adjustability. If you elongate the frame holes and motor mount holes (mount to bearing block) and add washers to the mount screws to provide more grip on the frame.

TomC,
Don't you mean 2004 not 1994?

Clarence L. Creer III
Team Miniature Aircraft
Team RotorRage YS Engines
Team Scorpion

Ya, sorry 2004! Seems so long ago now, lol!

Hams, you might be right about being able to mod this. Just got to wait until it's in other's hands to see what is possible.

Cheers
TomC

Mcpx-BL,300x,450x,500x,550x(HC3sx)
Ion-x, 10s ,SS
TT X50E 10s, HC3-Sx
Logo14, 550 blades

Tom, Futura,

We really do appreciate your concerns, we understand they are real and come from your experiences. We do have a reason for every aspect of the design, whether it be weight, performance, or cost, all of which are important factors when desiging a new model. Throughout our testing we have found the design to work very well for it's intended purpose. The Whiplash is a new "platform" and we expect it to evolve as needs arise much like the first 1001 evolved through many iterations. We'd be happy to discuss anything further with you or anyone else via phone, our number is (406)245-4883, and of course you would obviously be free to relay anything we spoke about here to the RR forum.

Miniature Aircraft USA

Also, the 700E weights in around 12lbs and we certainly haven't seen any disadvantages with that model.

Just had to say that my 700E weighs 10.5lbs with Hyperion 4200's. It floats quite well with 713's.

When will it be available? I asked Amainhobbies and they said no ETA on the kit.

My kit is on the way

Ditto.

Furion 450 electric
Mikado Logo 600
MA Whiplash E
SAB Goblin
Logo Xxtreme 800

whiplash

I just like to thank MA and Bobby for a great heli. Its a easy build that is just well put togther. I recived it yesterday and it will be ready to fly tomorrow. no issues at all. the only issue i had was with my batterys. They are Turnigy 30c 40c 5000mah and i had to use a shoe horn to get them in. If they were puffed at all they would not have fit. so if you are going to run more than one set you will have a hard time. I have ordered some volts to take their place.
PHOTO]/fastphoto/80874/DSC03579.jpg[/PHOTO]

Team HeliProz
Put the woman and children to bed it's time to go fly!

It's kind of tight fit for the TP G6 5000. And I can only slide the batteries in from behind. It would have been alot easier if the frame is wider.

Would it be a big job to install some frame spacers (washers)?

Cheers,
TomC

Mcpx-BL,300x,450x,500x,550x(HC3sx)
Ion-x, 10s ,SS
TT X50E 10s, HC3-Sx
Logo14, 550 blades

We haven't had any issues fitting the TP packs in. They actually fit very well.

Just make sure to sand all the frame edges around your batterie and any other wires.

Check out www.Mike-3D.com
EPIC Helicopters

It's the joiner wire that's catching the frame. Maybe I will solder them together.

After soldering the joiner wires on the TP the battery slides in much easier.

Are we going to be able to purchase a whiplash bladeholder in the future?