Raptor H650 RC Plane Review
This isn't your 'conventional electric rc airplane' review but I was asked by Chinese company KidsToyLover to do a review for the Raptor H650 Tri-Mode airplane, so here it is!
KidsToyLover operates out of China and Australia and sell a range of electric rc aircraft, along with educational and puzzle toys and such like.
I was contacted by a very friendly employee, asking if I'd like to receive the Raptor H650 for review, so it seemed silly to refuse.
My Raptor was shipped from Australia and only took about a week to get to me in the UK, and no transit damage was suffered - so a good start indeed!
It's always a worry when you know something is being shipped halfway around the world, but in this case I need not have been concerned.
Transmitter Mode Option
No sooner had I received email notification that my Raptor H650 had shipped, I realised that it would likely be arriving with a Mode 2 transmitter, since this is the most popular transmitter mode globally these days.
Personally I fly Mode 1 and I knew that a Mode 2 tx would cause me some bother, so I emailed Xiang and explained. Surprisingly, and much to her credit, she promptly arranged a separate Mode 1 transmitter to be shipped out, which arrived a week later.
Knowing that you have the Mode 1 and Mode 2 transmitter options is excellent, as so many rc aircraft are only supplied as Mode 2 these days.
Raptor H650 Spec & Features
Here are your fun facts about the Raptor H650...
- Almost Ready To Fly ('ARF' - requires some assembly).
- 20 minute flight duration.
- Durable foam construction.
- Wingspan 490mm.
- Fuselage Length: 650mm.
- Battery: 7.4V 1000mAh lithium battery.
- Tx modes 1 & 2 available.
- Take off from land or water.
- Wing leading edge LED lighting.
- 2450 brushless motor, 40A ESC.
- Gyro stabilisation.
What's in the Box?
The Raptor H650 comes very well packed in a tough styrene box, mine arrived from halfway around the world unscathed.
On opening the box you'll find the Raptor fuselage with the bottom half of the fin and tailplane in place, a separate fin top-half, two wing panels, carbon spar and a bag of bits including a couple of spare props, battery, USB charger, silicone nose cone, small screwdriver, instruction booklet and a tube of glue.
In other words, everything you need is there apart from the AA batteries required for the transmitter.
Raptor Assembly
If you've ever had any experience of assembling a foamie rc plane then you won't have any bother with the Raptor H650.
The instruction booklet is good enough and there is a QR code that will take you to a few instructional videos, should you need them.
The only pieces requiring assembly are the wing panels and top fin, and carbon spar.
The wing panels are a good fit but be careful inserting the ailerons into the plastic aileron end-frame as they are quite a tight fit. The glue is not a contact adhesive so just spread it on one surface and join together and leave to set.
I'm not sure how long the glue does take to set but at least an hour. It's a very strong glue and works very well on the foam.
The top fin clicks in place onto the tailplane but use a bit of glue as well.
The silicone nose cone is a bit odd and just pushes onto the nose. I did use a bit of glue but being silicone it didn't stick too well, and I don't think the glue is necessary here.
My Raptor H650 Video Review
Rather than write more about the Raptor, I'll let my video review do the talking...
And here is a shorter video of my Raptor on water...
Summarizing the Raptor H650 RC Plane
The Raptor is a low cost, good fun little RC plane which does a pretty good job of doubling up as an rc boat also. I've not had the opportunity to drive it on snow, but I imagine it would go very well and be a lot of fun there too.
While its flying characteristics aren't the best, it is very easy to fly and this is obviously important for beginners to the hobby.
It's also very durable and can withstand a fair degree of punishment - also important!
Its small size (just 650mm wingspan) makes it ideal for flying in smaller areas, although be warned that it can be quite fast at full throttle so can still use up a good amount of airspace.
Would I recommend buying one? Absolutely!