Opinions on the CB100

[Cdub]

Hey guys, I purchased a DB CB100 a couple of weeks ago and wanted to see what others thought of it. It seems pretty sluggish to me. Slow piros and not to fast with FF. Flight time is good though. 8 to 9 mins. What results are you guys having?
Regards, Calvin

[shaggybirdman]

well i love mine. i got the double brushless version. haven't tried FFF due to the amount of room i have indoors, but i'm happy with it so far. i have the better part of 100 packs threw it so far. it's quick enough for me at my current skill level.

it doesn't hover hover near as well as my msr, but flies 100% better. it also feels like a bigger heli witch is a big plus for me. hopefully by next spring i'll be able to nose in hover my 450, hurricane 550. i can do both side in, and tail in no problem, but nose in? not a chance, but with my micros no big major problems.

all in all i give it :thumbup::thumbup:

if your on the fence over it. just get it. you'll be happy with it. my brother liked it so much he got one as well. well waiting for it to show up anyhow.

[hiwattheli]

I've had mine for three weeks. It flew pretty good, but after a few minor crashes, now it gets pretty erratic. Yaw is jerky, pitch trim changes alot every other flight. It has a minor vibration, likely due to the shaft. I hate to tear it down to replace the shaft, as it looks like it will take over an hour. It's a 10 minute job on my MSR.

[hiwattheli]

Just had to pass this along...the shaft wasn't bent, one of the the rubber rings in the head was breaking down. Much more difficult to replace than it looks, but flying fine now.

[shaggybirdman]

i got the same problem. where did you get the O rings from? i really don't want to spend $15+ s/h to get a new main shaft just for 2 O rings.

[Steve Joblin]

Several options...

1. Chinese Jade sells a $3.50 pack that just contains the O-rings, E-Clips, and Feathering Shaft (http://www.chinesejade.com/walkera4_3_A_B.htm). Price is right, but obviously shipping takes a long time.

2. If the O-rings are the same as the ones on the 4#3B, then you can use the canopy gromets from an E-Flight mCX (which may actually be carried by your LHS). IF IT IS THE SAME CONFIGURATION AS THE 4#3B, then the Inner and Outer diameter will be exactly the same, but the Walkera O-rings may be a bit thinner than the mCX canopy gromets, so you may need to sand them down a bit as they may be a bit too thick.

Replacing the O-rings is a bit tricky and the E-Clips can fly off pretty easily and get lost.

[hiwattheli]

I spent the $15, but got screwed when one of the Eclips fell off. The ones on the bad head held up very well, just the rubnber went bad. So, I took a brass bushing from the MSR feathering kit and just capped the side with the missing clip. Flies perfect. Next time, I'll just put the bushing on both sides and skip the clips. Anything I can do to make this more like an MSR makes it better, IMO.

[hiwattheli]

Hello Steve,

You seem to know alot of fixes. Please, help. I need something to hold the tail boom to the chassis, without shattering the thing. I see WOW sells an upgrade that includes a clamp. Does anyone sell the clamp?
TIA, John

[Steve Joblin]

Happy to help out any way I can!

First, to step back on the rubber O-rings and E-Clips. The E-Clips really do serve a function in keeping the feathering shaft centered. Luckily, you can buy a bag of 25 of them for $1 at Micro-Tools (http://www.micro-tools.com/store/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=RR-0-8M). Again, if the feathering is the same as in the 4#3B, then you want to 0.8mm Retaining Rings.

Now, onto the tail boom issue. I am not quite sure what clamp product you saw on Wow... can you post a link or provide further details?

If the issue is that the tail boom keeps breaking where it attaches to the main frame, then perhaps my tutorial on strengthening the boom on the 4#3B may be of help. Check it out here: http://rcfriends.createforum.com/walkera-4-3b-tutorials-f117/how-to-prevent-the-tail-boom-from-breaking-t253.html

If I am not answering your quesion, please provide a bit more details so I can hopefully help you better.

Thanks,

Steve

[hiwattheli]

Many thanks for your response, Steve. I can use all the tips! I misread the WOW ad, saying they used a clamp insead of a screw that splits the shaft...they meant the end that wasn't splitting on mine. So far, I pulled the front end screw out and CA'd the first inch of the shaft. But that bond broke and the shaft twists within the chassis, sometimes on take-off, making a poor flight. Learning from the 4#3B forum, I think I need the stainless steel shaft, with a flat spot filed in where the screw goes. I'm afraid this may be too heavy, though. Any thoughts?

[john aeras]

Many thanks for your response, Steve. I can use all the tips! I misread the WOW ad, saying they used a clamp insead of a screw that splits the shaft...they meant the end that wasn't splitting on mine. So far, I pulled the front end screw out and CA'd the first inch of the shaft. But that bond broke and the shaft twists within the chassis, sometimes on take-off, making a poor flight. Learning from the 4#3B forum, I think I need the stainless steel shaft, with a flat spot filed in where the screw goes. I'm afraid this may be too heavy, though. Any thoughts?

I don't know about stainless steel, but many others use aluminum which bends easily.
I personally use solid CF rod on my 4#3b and route the wires on the outside.;)
Look here:

http://www.helifreak.com/showpost.php?p=1700874&postcount=9

[Steve Joblin]

A solid stainless steel boom would be way too heavy. Try my "pin" technique I provided in post #9 above... the idea is to make the hollow CF tube more "solid" where it mates to the frame... the pin will prevent the CF from crushing when you tighten the fixing screw.

[hiwattheli]

Good enough! Thanks Steve, I'll post back on any problems. The solid rod sounds good, too, but not "clean" looking (as if having the esc and battery cables hanging out look clean). John

[shaggybirdman]

not sure if it would be too heave, but small pieces of shrink tube to hold the wires to the boom could help keep it clean.

[hiwattheli]

Hello Calvin,

I feel like I took over your thread, to answer my problems, so I must apologize and also thank you. Now, I will answer your actual question. In my first experiences, I had better luck outdoors in the wind with the CB than any others I have flown (but my others were coaxial and the tiny mSR).

After help from this group, I have had CB flights that my mSR cannot duplicate. I can take off smooth, fly around with swoopy, banked turns, and come back to hover 3" over a precise landing, and "set it down" like a feather. I know that experienced CB owners have alrady been there, so bear with me.

If it weren't for the tinkering (I'm pnp), this heli would be tops! Thanx to Steve and others for the insights, I'm keeping my foot in your door, if that's OK with you.

Good luck, Calvin!

ps Can you guys help me fire up the old 48" nitro I found in the attic?

John

[shaggybirdman]

Hello Calvin,

I feel like I took over your thread, to answer my problems, so I must apologize and also thank you. Now, I will answer your actual question. In my first experiences, I had better luck outdoors in the wind with the CB than any others I have flown (but my others were coaxial and the tiny mSR).

After help from this group, I have had CB flights that my mSR cannot duplicate. I can take off smooth, fly around with swoopy, banked turns, and come back to hover 3" over a precise landing, and "set it down" like a feather. I know that experienced CB owners have alrady been there, so bear with me.

If it weren't for the tinkering (I'm pnp), this heli would be tops! Thanx to Steve and others for the insights, I'm keeping my foot in your door, if that's OK with you.

Good luck, Calvin!

ps Can you guys help me fire up the old 48" nitro I found in the attic?

John

wrong forum, but:

is the radio system in it, and working?
does the motor rotate?
if not can you get the exhaust pipe off?
if so shoot some wd-40 in it and threw the plug hole (do this anyhow to get some oil in it for initial lubrication), and wait till it will spin. or pull it, and clean with wd-40.

if the motor spins get the needed starting equipment, and fresh fuel, and try to fire it up. don't mess with the needles. it probably ran when it went to the attic.

[hiwattheli]

Thanks for the reply, Jerry. However, at my skill level, flying that giant "spruce (bladed) goose" cp is a fantasy. I was just trying to let you all know that, among the group, ANY problem can be solved. I'm very glad to have had the help. When I move up to a cp, I will start a new thread, so this one stays on-topic. I want CB100 fliers to benefit from the experience that I have had here. If the group had a pub, I'd buy you all a pint (two for you and Steve, if you're not driving). many thx again -John

[gamjamm]

Hi. This is my 1st post on this site. Have had the CB100 for about three weeks now. Had no previous heli experience whatsoever. Got it to hover by the 3rd lipo. Can do all the basics but not nose-in hover/flying yet. I choose this heli because of the ratings/reviews and opinions of other CB100 owners/users. Plus I wanted something to grow into and looked more like the real thing than a coax[no offense to coax flyers] and parts that were cheap. I can say it's pretty durable, after putting up with my novice abilities,I've not had to do too much to it to keep it in the air. I have learned a few good tips/tricks.Here's a couple: Coat the tail boom with CA where it goes in the frame. Sand for a tight fit and don't overtighten the screw. You can do this at the other end but a small dot of gel CA where the boom meets the tail-fin housing should suffice.[You can put a small dot at the frame end too if you want.] Don't overtighten those screws though or it could[probably will] crack the boom. Make sure it's all true before you glue. If your CB100 spins around when you spool it up don't worry. A lot[most ] users report this problem. Overcome it by using forward cyclic with right rudder when spinning her up. Also "burping" the throttle seems to help "wake" the tail rotor up. Looking forward to learning/helping here,Thanks, Chuck

[shaggybirdman]

for nose in do this. steer to danger. if it moves left push the stick to the left. works like a charm. also when it first gets to nose in give it a moment to settle then correct the worst direction first. give it a try. you will surprise yourself.

[gamjamm]

for nose in do this. steer to danger. if it moves left push the stick to the left. works like a charm. also when it first gets to nose in give it a moment to settle then correct the worst direction first. give it a try. you will surprise yourself.
Thanks. Will try that. I'm good at shuttin it down before impact and it has saved me a lot of time in the "maintenance hanger". Surprised how resiliant this bird is. Got a second one and parts and I'm serious about learning this. I knew it wasn't going to be easy and did some good homework before I pulled the trigger. Got a sim too but it ain't as fun so I don't put the time in on it like I should but I try to take it easy and don't mind the maintenance/tinkering. The hands on and forums/learning experience is a blast. My muscle memory/thumbs control sucks. Need a lot more stick time.

[shaggybirdman]

i use fms, and found that it usually turns into a game, and didn't teach me much, so it got shelved. my cb100, and 4g6 will keep my thumbs moving till spring shows up again, and my 450, and 550 come back out to play. i'm really looking forward to flying my 450 again. hopefully i'll be doing nose in with it next time out.

[Xige]

I've got a CB100 a few weeks ago and its really good fun. Word of warning don't glue your swashplate to the main shaft as suggested in the other thread, I tried this and it made the heli worse! Gave it serious TBE (Toilet Bowl Effect).

So I scraped off the glue and just left a tiny bit on it. And it hovers and flys fine, really good tail authority and cyclic response. Really good fun indoor and for all orientations hovering. I'm slowly learning Nose-In.

I've had many crashes and this thing just keeps on ticking, worst crash I've had resulted in a broken tail blade, so just replaced that and I was back up and flying.

Great little heli.:thumbup:

[shaggybirdman]

blade replacement trick.

put a pin threw the screw hole then use a magnetized screwdriver, and install the screw. works like a charm.