• The swashplate is taking a lot of slope, after only 10 flights (I must admit with hard 3D), -> I replace it with the "Correct" metal upgrade
• If you want power for hard 3D, you NEED to invest in 15% nitromethan, but that is common by 30''size.
• The paddles are moving and sliping (they are in 2 parts, sometimes they slipe 2 or 3mm after a flight!!!!!!) -> I replace them with raptor 30 paddles
• The landing skids is too small (could be larger for a newbie) and made in a hard plastic, that can easily break in case of a loose crash, -> I replace it with Raptor 30 landing skids after my first crash.
• Tailboom supports are too small and their angle is below 30°, should not be larger in order to improve the tighteness of boom ? You can replace them with raptor 30 or use longer one.
• Canopy is...... you know...ugly...moreover you have no access to the motor (who made the design of this !!!), 4 easily to loose screw are use to maintain it in position -> I replace mine with the raptor canopy (one of the cheapest canopy 9$) or you can cut the original one. It has no screen windows......
• All plastic are very very cheap, washout arms can be bend with the finger, the same for the arm on the carburator, screws can only be tightened twice, no more then it becomes loose inside the plasti frame....
  

• The height of the tail belt is ridiculous (4mm height), 43% smaller than the raptor 30 (7mm height), I hope that Kyosho test them enough,
  
• Blades grips are so thin and flat, that they make me scared... a friend say that they should support the load...
  
• The main mast is going through the whole mechanics (very long 260 mm ! and rotor is above canopy 150 mm above frame !), should not be so easy to replace it and what is it's price ?
• Ridiculous swashplate in 3 parts ! with 3 philips screws below and 4 in upper side! R I D I C U L O U S ! this is the weak of this helicopter.
  Ridiculous swashplate...

• 90° control is really cheap (all servos (3) are moving in the tray guided by 4 bearings, a lot of lateral slope), I prefer 120° CCPM.
• Philips screws everywhere in the frame....no comment
• One of the strongest screws loctite was used....prepare you to have a lot of fun if you want to remove screws..
• Very small plattform for the gyro, (for the CSM 540, I cut one of the arms see pictures), under the canopy, and in front of the heli is it not the place where amplitude of vibrations are the worse ???
• Very few room space left for the gyro ! the CSM540 can not be used with the standard canopy (see this page http://pages.infinit.net/heliweb/ )! It work only with the Raptor30 canopy.
• Only battery AAA can be used, 1100 mAh (I use 1700mAh but not mounted in line see pictures), a CCPM system is draining more, so why allowing so less space for battery ???
• So much slope everywhere (here and here and here) that you do not need exponential settings...
• 2 screws are missing... hole are prepared but empty : one in the tail rotor hub, the other in the metal pignon beside the main spur gear.
• Plastic clutch bell standard....(but there is already an metal upgrade....)
• Bad position of power switch, below the radio tray far away inside the canopy.
• Paddles are made of 2 parts, this increase drag since the are not glue together and may cause flutter during 3D
  -> replacing them with raptor 30 paddles supress flutter.
• Frame is very light, can easily break and won't survive so many times like the raptor 30 one.

Very nice engineering !

• Fan quality is bad and inefficient. Need to be replaced (Correct or quickUk?), some people encountered overheating.
• The MMS mode has to much slope, the idea is nice but the realisation is bad (4 pinion sliding in a plastic tray),
  some people (Jason www.jason.net was the first) already made 2 shim with a coca cola metal can to remove lateral slope of the sliding tray..
• The starter coupler CA3018 is made of a very soft metal, and will need to be replace very quickly (before it get round shape and disallow to start the engine). You can use the correct aftermarket fan from correct or quickuk (if they release one).
• The cyclic power is good but with the main shaft so long there is a lot of mas to rotate around the disk so roll/flip rate is about the same or a little better than a stock rappy 30 with similar head speed.
• Canopy weighs also 8.4 oz (too heavy for a 30)
• The radio tray is flexing so much that it affect the pitch, really bad.

• The machine is light, even as light as my electric helicopter, (eRaptor 2.9 kg.)

• The design of head is directly taken from the caliber 60 (not in metal and with a lot of simplifications but it is a clever design),
• All upgrades parts from the M50 and caliber 60 can be used, (is it a strategy from kyosho????)
• In flights, noise is grandly reduce due to the 2 stages belt system,
• The tail head is herited from a 60'' size,
• Main blades from the raptor 30 can be reuse (4mm nut bolt).
• The tank is really big for a 30''size, fuel level is visible at 10 meters (color is neon blue).
• The radio installation is very clean, all cables can be hidden in the radio tray.
• Sold with an OS32sxh and not a TT36 (which sometimes sucks!),
• Muffler is quite good for a stock one (the one with the raptor sucks!), tips you can drill 4 holes (4 mm) to increase power.
• Both an Electrical Mixing System (EMS in fact CCPM 120°) and a Mechanical Mixing System (MMS) are standard.
• Basic configuration in 30 minutes not more : a record. In fact you need time to mount servo, fix them etc... This is mainly due to the manual which tell you all settings, only ATV is missing (normal it is dependant on servo and TX pulse),
• Very long main mast, allow mass to be far below rotor, increase stability.
• Tail servo is mounted directly on tail boom as standard, easy maintenance and removal without losing trim settings.
• I never see a control system which slide so easily right out of the box. (even on high end machine).
• Less parts, less problem, the frame and overall design is clear and nice.
• Final assembly is simple and straightforward, linkages are easy to adjust.
• Large cooling fan allows for use of both low nitro and low oil fuels (as used in Europe).
• 10mm main shaft and 6mm spindle shaft (not new ! same on Raptor 30).
• Motor mount in metal stiffen the frame and act like a radiator.

• Revolutionnary linkage, at the correct size right out of the box.
• Very nice manual, but I would like to see it only english and not with some cyptic japanese (sorry but that is really disturbing when you can not read it)
• Tail rotor has great authority - fast pirouette rate, stops on dime.
• 47 pinions in the mechanic as standard.

SR3