Gaui EP-100 Pro (Pixy Zap, Shogun Midget)

[clear4takeoff]

Here is what I have come up with on these interesting little guys. I had a Pixy Zap that was a lot of fun, so, naturally, when a CNC/CF version came out I had to get it. This has proven expensive, because of the learning curve and high shipping costs from Taiwan. Two things I like a lot: the frame actually slides and expands due to slots and screws for servo mounting and alignment, and this model comes with a 1 way bearing (not that I'll ever autrorotate, but it makes it "feel like a real heli").

Here's what I learned:

1. The screws cannot be trusted. I lost a couple of frame screws and found many others loose on just the initial run ups and hovering. So I bought some 2mm screws and applied loctite.
2. The same is true for the rotor head. I lost a blade grip during a test run in my garage. So don't believe the ad that says "95% assembled RTF." Ready to Disintegrate is more realistic.
3. I am using Thunder Power 11.1v 730mah packs with a 16 tooth pinion on the 2800kv motor from Infinity. This gives me 4200 rpm. The amp draw is surprisingly low at 3-4! I'll get a better reading for hovering soon.
4. The plastic Pixy Zap was mushy on the cyclic due to flex of the swashplate and mixing arms. This one is NOT!! I had to turn down the cyclic percentages on my 7CHP and punch in 30% expo to make it manageable.

I have had 1 successful eye level test hover and then a good flight, but the heli got loose. As I was bringing it back in I had an ESC failure. That was not pretty, but for coming down in the dirt it could have been worse. I found that the top main shaft bearing came out, probably causing the loose feel. I reinstalled it with Loctite 609...hope I don't need to replace it any time soon!

Now I'm waiting for a calm day to apply all of my lessons learned. I think it will be a winner.


http://home.att.net/~miles-lora/wsb/media/47782/site1338.JPG

http://home.att.net/~miles-lora/wsb/media/47782/site1339.JPG



Technical data:
AUW 229g. Rotor RPM 4200. TP 3-cell 710, Phoenix 10, Electron 6, Cirrus 4.4x3, HS-50, Evoflight 7g HH gyro.

[Pinecone]

S Glass and E Glass are totally different things. E Glass is th enormal fiberglass. S Galss is ahigher tensile strength, higher cost glass.

And crbon can have a coating applied to make it silver. Glass is pretty much clear or translucent when in resin.

[clear4takeoff]

Thanks for the info, I'll remove the comment about the frame material from my post to keep the discussion focused on the Pro EP-100 helicopter.

miles

[clear4takeoff]

Well, you can actually make it look pretty decent. It's a "cute" helicopter, but I added some long stripes to try to make the canopy appear longer and not so stubby. This was done with Ultracote, the canopy actually tolerated the temperature of my monokote iron. It also handled a crash quite well.

http://home.att.net/~miles-lora/wsb/media/47782/site1340.JPG

[clear4takeoff]

I did my first outdoor flying. It took off OK, seemed to require a lot of collective. I put it in forward flight and it did great, til I turned. Then it fell out of the sky. I barely saved it. I decided it needed a bigger pinion. Tower Hobbies has an 18t, and that brought it around. I think the chord of the main blades should be at least 10% more than what it is. The heli flies great in forward, but is twitchy and unpredictable in hovering. To be honest, the plastic frame version with the 4800kv motor and 2 cell battery flew better. Maybe this one would as well if I ditched the 11.1v setup and got the other motor. It's still a fun little novelty, and gets a lot of attention.

[oscillator]

got to see one of these fly today at Aeromicro. Cute little chopper - was very tempted, but held off. The guy at the store took it out into the lobby and hovered it - seemed pretty stable. I was watching his movements on the cyclic - and he was inputting very little.

There wasn't enough room to maneuver, and all he did was hover tail in - so no idea how it would fly once you started moving it around, but it looked promising.

I just went to http://www.aeromicro.com/index.htm and priced it out - $410.80 for the heli, motor, esc, gyro and servos. That's no battery and no RX.

[Pinecone]

I have one.

Bought the heli and motor. I have several Phoenix 10s hanging around, a few HS50s, and picked up a Telebee gyro on eBay for $45 NIB. I have some 2S and 3S packs, and GrandRC has some small packs on their clearance page. I have a Berg 7 looking for a home. :)

[bullaculla]

Rc-expert.com has RTF version for $400. I'd still disasemble and locktite tho.
http://www.rc-expert.com/product-package.php?pid=399

[clear4takeoff]

I have never been able to get mine stabilized, especially indoors. It's always oscillating one way or the other, and is very hands-on. Mainly, I've had trouble with the tail. It twitches, sometimes 45 degrees before the gyro catches it. However, outdoors in forward flight it does quite well. That's actually the time when I enjoy it. I still think it was a mistake going to 11.1v. Anyone else out there flying 3-cell?

[MAXXED]

Stay away from rc expert's version.
I bought one off eBay, and it's totally setup wrong.
Mine came with a 3800kv motor which won't hover for more than a minute on a 2S pack.
It also comes with 9 gram Tower Pro servos which are too big for the heli.
I ended up buying a set of Futaba servos and a Gaui Tornado 4800kv motor.
The 4800kv motor flies for more than 5-6 minutes on a 2S pack, and totally transformed the Mini-Z.
I've bought Mini-Z parts from fung at flying hobby before, and with all the extra expense I had to put into it, should have bought it from him in the first place, setup with the correct 4800kv motor and servos, and saved some cash. :roll:
http://www.flying-hobby.com/product.asp?productSort=101

[jimh]

My setup-- EP100 Pro
3 hs-50's
1 Futaba digital on tail
CC 10 esc
Spektrum 7000 rx
Eflite G-90 gyro
4800kv outrunner
DN 2s 850 packs
240 grams auw.
Good garage flyer for those of us in winter right now, though the eflite gyro does not like temperature changes.

www.aeromicro.com carries parts for the Pro version now.

[revoh]

So is the e-flite gyro a good gyro for this little heli or is there another one that would be better? And what servo are you guys using for the tail?

[jimh]

I am using the futaba 3154 digital on the tail. e-flite g90 gyro is all right, just does not like temperature variations. Too cold to fly in my garage right now, the tail is all over the place. In my basement, it works fine.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNCW1&P=
I shortened the hs-50 leads to 4 inches. Shortened the esc and motor wires. With a 2s 850, AUW is 236 grams, or a little over 8 ounces.

[revoh]

Thanks! I will check out that link for the servo!

[Pinecone]

I have a Telebee on mine, but it hasn't been properly set up.

I am running HS55s on the cyclic and an HS50 on the tail.

CC Phoenix 10
Berg 7
Gaui 4800 kv motor
DN 2S 850 and 900 packs.

I just hopped it around a bit, but without the gyro setup, it was ugly.

Some guys over on RCG are working with slightly wider chord blades, which seem to fly better.

[helibandit10]

Have you tried experimenting with different flybar weights?

[3DBatixkid]

You guys need a set of the Fiberglass blades. The issues with the blade chord are totally fixed after you go to the glass blades. It also allows for much better cyclic which will allow you to 3D it. I ran the lightest weights on the paddles. Also, I think there is something to be said about staying with a 2 cell pack. The lighter you can keep this thing the better it will fly. Also, if you want to make the thing fly super nice, get the head speed up to the 4000-4800 rpm range. It turns it in to a whole new animal. You will need lots of collective for 3D stuff, just fyi.

[revoh]

Where do you get the blades and what motor/pinion and speed control are you running?

[MAXXED]

I'm running a TeleBee gyro with a Futaba servo, and it works great.
The trick is to make very small adjustments to the gyro gain, literally just touching the adjustment screw, and test flying it.
Takes awhile, but there is a sweet spot that will get rid of the tail wagging and allow you to hover like silk.