Venom Night Ranger 3D VS. Blade CP Pro Heli

This is no joke, there's no comparison, the Venom Night Ranger Blows it away period. What a sweet smooth and stable flyer. WOW great head speed but has kind of a soft feeling to it, hard to describe unless you've flown a hornet 2, It does not pitch up in forward flight like my blades do. In fact I was expecting it to and when doing some forward flight I flew like my blade and almost put it in the ground. Just fly it. What an awesome RTF heli. I had some minor problems with one but Venom got me squared away, This thing is sweet. I need more batteries......




Check it out if your LHS has em, or order one up You will not be disappointed at all. Very well made, much beefier than a blade and responsive and rock solid tail. not even a wiggle out of mine and I did not touch anything except balance and track the blades. Checked and set the main and tail gear mesh, Charged the battery, did the pre-flight check and fired it up, once the head speed was up it was soooooo smooth........
Nice in the hover, very stable. Forward flight was way better than my best dialed in blade CP.




I have lots of different main blades to try on this bad boy, and hope to try a brushless upgrade & lipo in it. I'l report back on that stuff....



The only thing I need to figure out is when landing there is a sudden drop in pitch and the heli kinda drops a bit like a "notch" in the pitch curve....I have not played with the two provided controls for pitch and throttle. Whats make it strange is on take off there is no "Jump" up through the pitch range.... I'll fly it some more and play with the PLT, and PZT settings.



Way nice RTF heli...... I like it alot. Puts my blade to shame.

Venom Aircorps Brand Night Ranger 3D CP Micro-Helicopter RTF

Introduction

The Night Ranger 3D is an interesting addition to the micro heli market -- a 400g micro heli, capable of indoor and no-wind outdoor flight; collective pitch; fully ready to fly package complete with a 6 channel FM transmitter, and a perfectly acceptable stock power setup. Also available is the hopped up brushless/lipo package, so that you can do like I did, start with the stock set up and upgrade to the brushless with ease.

As I looked through the instruction manual, I was more and more interested in the model. The manual is REALLY detailed and complete, with lots of great info for pilots of just about every skill level. It doesn't assume anything, and covers things clearly, from trimming to blade tracking, from switch settings to the hovering pitch and throttle dials. Even includes an exploded view diagram, parts list with part #s, and more! A company that's put together this nice of a manual, with this attention to detail, is likely going to provide the same level of attention and quality in the entire heli. Let's see!

Kit Contents

Includes:

• 6Ch FM Radio w/3 Micro Servos
• 4-in-1 Gyro, Mixer, Receiver & ESC
• 9 Cell 10.8v 650 mah NiMH Rechargeable Battery
• AC Wall Charger
• (8) Venom Power AA Alkalines
• wonderfully complete and detailed instruction and flight manual

Features:

• Bell-Hiller Style CCPM Head Assembly
• Alloy Headblock, Chassis, Tailboom & Skids
• LiPO Battery Ready
• 5-8 minute flight time, roughly, on stock power system
• Easy Upgrade To Venom's Brushless System!

Requires:

• NOTHING! Even batteries are included!

The only thing I considered lacking, or "missing", in the items included in the stock package was the lack of a heading hold gyro. I did not realize how sloppy a flyer I have become without the HH gryo.

Setup:

Assembly? What assembly! Even the main blades are attached at the factory! The battery pack arrives with a partial charge, intended to be sufficient for the initial trimming flights.

Steps required:

• Remove heli and radio from box and prepare transmitter to fly.
• Read instructions, and be sure to understand the curves and set up as described.
• Extend main blades and confirm they are tight but will spin out properly.
• Install flight battery.
• Check blade tracking.
• Check CG (mine was fine).

The only adjustment I needed to make on this out of the box was the blade tracking. It was only out a half turn. Just a quick adjustment and it was set.

Flight Performance

The Night Ranger 3D did NOT disappoint me. It offered the level of quality and performance that the manual alluded to.

Lift off:

When trying to lift the night ranger off the ground slow and gentle the ground effect made the helicopter slide around a bit. When I just let the helicopter lift off and get a foot or two of altitude it locked right in and sat there.

Hover:

Hovering a foot off the ground the night ranger is very solid. Hovering it under a foot and ground effect starts to move it around and made me feel like I was chasing it a bit.

Forward flight:

Slow forward flight was rock solid. Fast forward flight the showed a little bit of a pitch up tendency.

Inverted:

Either looping or rolling into inverted flight was easy if not really quick. The pitch and throttle curves were a nice match for inverted flight.

Backward flight:

This taught me how much I really rely on the heading hold gyros. For a couple of years I have been telling myself I fly pretty well in backwards flight. Then I try to do it with this and find that I need to fly the tail? I am good at this! So, why cant I do it with the Night Ranger. Well it took me a little while to start flying the tail again while going backwards and found that I could do it. The tail had plenty of authority if I just used it like it should be used. After spending a fair amount of time relearning how to fly backwards....guess what? I've since found that my backwards flight with my glow helicopters is better than it ever was.

Landing:

Within a foot of the ground I started to chase the night ranger a little bit. I found the best way to land was to just let it settle to the ground. Yea yea, I know letting the helicopter do the flying is the best way to fly.

Comparison

Does it fly like a 50 size machine? No not really, and it isn't meant to. If you are flying outside, of course, it gets pushed around by the wind. The brushless motor really brings this bird to life; and, with the brushless motor it's power really is comparable to a 30 size machine, impressive!, and understandably not that of a 50.

Of course, where this helicopter really shines is flying indoors. Try to fly your favorite 50 sized bird in the local gym, golf dome, or your garage!

The only other ready to fly helicopter with collective pitch I've been exposed to at this time is the Blade CP from Horizon. I have only had the chance to hover a blade CP for a short time and I have watched the CP fly at several events.

Observations from my flight time with both helicopters:

• Stock: The Night Ranger 3D and the Blade CP have similar basic hovering characteristics.
• PLUS: The Night Ranger allows the adjustment of the pitch and throttle curves, allowing the pilot to fine tune the helicopter to his/her flying style. This is a BIG advantage to this transmitter.
• Upgrade: With the brushless upgrade and lipoly installed, the Night Ranger is suddenly in a whole new class, and the two helicopters really don’t compare any more. The extra power makes the night ranger a truly 3D capable micro helicopter.
• PLUS: The night ranger is easily upgradeable to brushless, without changing any radio gear. Venom came up with a neat plug and play upgrade that other companies are sure to emulate.

(via Venom Aircorps Brand Night Ranger 3D CP Micro-Helicopter RTF @ Hobby-Estore.com $)

Venom Ocean Rescue RC Helicopter

This Venom Ocean Rescue Helicoptor is a pretty good helicopter for a first time flyer. It's manily aged for anyone that is 14 and over and wants to try something new in their life or R/C life. The parts of this helicopter are very popular. It is a pretty easy helicoptor to fly when you get the hang of it. The helicopter is an excelent value for its price. It is a one box purchase, everything you need to fly the Ocean Rescue comes in the box from Venom, including 8 Venom AA Alkaline batteries for the transmitter.
(via Venom Ocean Rescue RC Helicopter @ Hobby-Estore.com $149.9)

Venom Night Ranger 3D XL 6CH RC Helicopter RTF

This is the 6ch RTF Night Ranger 3D XL. This helicopter is great for intermediate to advanced pilots. It includes an all new V-Series 20L Brushless Motor, V-Series 20amp Brushless ESC, 4 Micro Servos, Belt Driven Tail Rotor, 3S 1500mah 10C LiPO Battery, 2-3 Cell LiPO Balance Charger and (8) Venom Power AA Alkalines. The charge time on the 1500mah battery should be about 2 hours and 34 minutes. During the charge time, the Voltage should reach about 13.3 and the temp should be about 106¡ã. The flight time on a full charge is about 12-18 minnutes depending on how often you are using full throttle. The gyro indicator light is not green, it is red. When the gyro is initializing, the light will blink rapidly for 5-10 seconds. Once initialized the indicator light will be a slowly flashing red light. If the light does not blink after the battery is connected, please check that you have switched on the transmitter and that the battery has been fully charged.
(via Venom Night Ranger 3D XL 6CH RC Helicopter RTF @ Hobby-Estore.com $469.9)

Venom Night Ranger II RC Helicopter

This is the 4ch RTF Night Ranger II. This helicopter is great for intermediate to advanced pilots. It includes an all new 4-in-1 Electronics Unit, A High Powered Venom Micro Fireball Motor, 2 Micro Servos, Carbon Reinforced Main Blades, an 8.4v NiMH 7 cell battery, AC wall charger and is LiPO battery compatible. The charge time on the 800mah battery should be about 2 hours and 17 minutes. The flight time on a full charge is about 10-15 minnutes depending on how often you are using full throttle. The gyro indicator light is not green, it is red. When the gyro is initializing, the light will blink rapidly for 5-10 seconds. Once initialized the indicator light will be a slowly flashing red light. If the light does not blink after the battery is connected, please check that you have switched on the transmitter and that the battery has been fully charged.
(via Venom Night Ranger II RC Helicopter @ Hobby-Estore.com $149.9)

Venom Micro Rescue Helicopter Ready to Fly

With it's compact size, the Micro Rescue is perfect for flying indoors or in tight spaces. It's supplied completely ready to fly and you can lean how to take-off, hover, descend, turn left and right with a fixed forward motion.Made from durable plastic, the realistic body design has two main rotors and a tail rotor for steady indoor flight.
With the integral Lithium Polymer battery the helicopter has a flight time of up to 6 minutes and can be charged in 20-30 minutes.
(via Venom, Micro, Rescue, Helicopter, Ready to Fly @ Hobby-Estore.com $27.9)

Venom Night Ranger 3D RC Helicopter

The Night Ranger 3D is a high-performance ready-to-fly collective pitch aerobatic electric helicopter for indoor flying and outdoors on calm days. At about 400 grams, the Night Ranger 3D will fly for 5-8 minutes on the 9-Cell 650mAh NiMH battery, depending on the the type of flight. Although the 3D is not difficult to operate, it does take more skill and practice to master than a fixed pitch heli.
(via Venom, Night Ranger, 3D, RC Helicopter @ Hobby-Estore.com $199.9)

Venom Night Ranger 3D MICRO RC Helicopter RTF

The Venom Night Ranger 3D Micro Helicopter comes RTF [Ready-to-Fly] and is an excellent choice for intermediate to advanced helicopter pilots. This amazing helicopter is one of the smallest 6ch heli's on the market, oh and did we mention that it's 3D!
The Night Ranger 3D Micro features a V-Series. 180 Brushed Motor, 4-in-1 Unit, Built in Gyro, ESC, Receiver, Mixer, Aluminum Chassis & Skids for Greater Durability & Strength, CCPM Swashplate Mixing & Collective Pitch Rotor Head and a LiPO Battery for Longer Flights. It includes a pre-assembled Night Ranger 3D Micro helicopter, 3s 200mah 10c LiPO Battery, 2-3 Cell LiPO Balance Charger, 6Ch FM Radio and Venom Power, AA Alkalines. Everything you will need to enjoy this one of a kind helicopter in one package!

Venom Night Ranger 3D MICRO RC Heli Parts