Flying my Esky Honey Bee FP in 5-10 mph winds.

[racin06]

My fantastic wife agreed to video my flying. I had to delete/edit some portions out of both flights because the boss is still learning how to video RC helis. Therefore, don't pay attention to the ocassional out of focus image or hunting for the heli. I also tried to use some fade transitioning effects, but as you can see, I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to video editing. Anyway, weather conditions were mostly clear, 90F, and winds out of the northwest at 5-10 mph...though, I believe the wind may have been gusting at 12-15 mph a couple of times. The landing in the first video was a little rough; however, I brought her home in one piece.

My HBFP is all is stock with the exception of the lipo battery. Just to give some of you an idea (perhaps some of you new people are curious) of where I am as far as experience is concerned, I've been flying the HBFP for 6 months now. This is my first ever RC aircraft. This evening's two flights were my 71st and 72nd flights on a HBFP. The first 40 flights were spent learning to hover in all orientations, along with lots of simulator time. I only have 32 flights of FF experience, with 25 being very basic FF. Only the last 7 flights have I been able to perform some decent FF, figure 8s and circuits. I continue to put in alot of time on the simulator. I would highly recommend a good simulator for the newbies. Anyway, I am steadily learning and I am very satisfied with my progress thus far. I can't wait to get my Esky Belt CP and Mini-Titan E325 in the air! However, I'm being patient with my learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6qiwszIVp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMmt4b691U

[peoriabrit]

Racin,

Firstly, you are a LUCKY man having a camera person/boss to come out to the field with you. I think she did a great job.

As did you my friend. I have 4 heli's, all in different stages of assembly/repair/dis-repair! I still just get a buzz from getting one of them to hover for a minute roughly (ie, within a 30' square area) in place. Anyway, it is heartening to see that if I can: a: get one of these monsters to stay in one piece for more than 3 flights, and: b: try and be consistent, as you have been, with my flying and training, then I hope I can fly as well as you are in such a short space of time!

I was wondering what simulator you are using and what you would recommend? I have finally worked out.......DUH......that it may be easier, or less painful, to dole out $200 right now rather than over the next 2 years in parts!

Once again, I enjoyed your vids......

[racin06]

Thanks...the simulator I primarily trained on was FS One. I purchased FS One in December 2006; however, I just sold my copy of FS One. Don't get me wrong, FS One is a great sim...I just wasn't too patient waiting on additional add-on aircraft.

I just purchased Phoenix RC a couple of weeks ago. Phoenix RC is awesome, IMO. Many helis to choose from and there is a huge update that is about to be released in a couple of days or so. Having used both sims, I would say Phoenix RC is the better sim when compared with FS One. Of course, you really can't go wrong with any of the high-end sims (Phoenix RC, FS One, Reflex XTR, Aeroflight Pro Deluxe, RealFlight G3). I would certainly recommend purchasing one of these high-end sims.

[dmulligan]

I have a Blade CX2 right now and am considering upgrading if I stick with it for a while. My biggest beef with the micro coax is that it cannot handle wind at all. My primary purpose to upgrading will be to be able to take the bird outside and fly it in the park. How is the HB FP for park flying? I love the price but if its mainly another indoor bird maybe I should save up for a T-Rex 450? How hard was it to fly outside and what do you think?

Thanks,
David

[racin06]

Hi David,

The HBFP is great for park flying. There is also a perception that micro FP helis can't be flown in the wind. That perception is just plain false. Check out my video of me flying the HBFP in 10-15 mph winds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5ThCfcufI.

Is the HBFP more difficult to learn to fly than a 450 sized heli like the T-Rex 450 or a larger heli? Yes. However, the HBFP is much cheaper of an initial investment, easier to setup, safer, more durable (you will crash) and cheaper and easier to repair. I have dropped my HBFP from 60 ft. into the ground and the repair cost was $2.50. Try that with a T-Rex 450.

My recommendation would be to do follow my path. First, instead of paying $500+ for a T-Rex 450, go ahead and purchase Phoenix RC for $160.00 and the HBFP for $90.00 plus $30.00 in parts. You can use the Esky Tx that comes with the HBFP on Phoenix RC provided you purchase the USB adapter for another $10.00, which is located on the Phoenix RC web site. Of course, you may be able to use your Tx from your Blade CX, as well. Just check out the web site. Your total investment is just 290.00...much less than a T-Rex 450 and you are getting probably the best simulator for helicopters (subject to debate, of course) and a great training heli, the HBFP.

Then, fire up the simulator and learn to hover tail-in. When you have mastered tail-in hovering on the simulator, give it a try on the HBFP. Then, start learning side-in hovering on the simulator. Again, once you can hover very well in the side-in positions on the simulator, give it a try on the HBFP. The same goes for nose-in hovering and forward and backward flight. I never tried any hovering orientation or any other forward or backward flight maneuver on my HBFP until I first had it mastered on the simulator. I spent 30 hours (one hour each evening for one month) on the simulator before I removed the HBFP from its box. The key to learning to fly these micro FP helis (and any other heli, for that matter) is practice, practice and more practice on a good high-end simulator. I can't stress that enough. Be sure and practice different wind conditions (speed and direction) on the simulator. One other thing I do on the simulator (don't try this on a real heli) is to mess up the trim on the Tx. For example, I will move the rudder trim a large amount to the left or right and try to fly that way. The same goes for elevator and aileron. These are really fun to do on the simulator, are a great challenge and the lesson being that if you can fly a heli that is poorly setup, flying a well setup heli will be a piece of cake (OK, maybe not a piece of cake, but you know what I am saying).

Once you have mastered hovering the HBFP in all orientations and can perform good figure 8s and circuits, even in windy conditions, then go ahead and purchase your T-Rex 450. The bottom line is this...if you can fly the HBFP very well and in windy conditions, you can fly any larger heli. I hope this helps and good luck.

[dlmcmichael]

Is the HBFP more difficult to learn to fly than a 450 sized heli like the T-Rex 450 or a larger heli? Yes.

I agree. I went a similar route: Axe EZ Coax, simulator and EF Sabre fixed pitch. The small fixed pitch helis are very difficult to fly....they keep you on your toes. It definitely makes it easy when you move up to a bigger one. I am sure the Phoenix sim is good and I can also recommend the Realflight G3.5. A lot of people disagree with me but I found my coax chopper REALLY helped me with orientation. I flew it until I could handle all orientations without thinking. I still do fly it ! And as Racin says, the simulator is priceless, it will save you a lot of money.
David

[dmulligan]

I keep flip flopping on the HBFP and the Honey Bee King V2. The HBV2 will handle the wind better but it will be more expensive to fix.

Right now I can only hover the HBFP for about 20-30 seconds on ClearView. After that I lose it and fly off in whacky directions. At least I am not doing the pendulum swing anymore. Man that just went out of control and crashed me quick. Glad I did not have to pay for those repairs. Any hints on learning to hover? Quick jabs and return to center got me this far. The first problem I overcame was that I was holding the stick out for too long when trying to balance the bird. I know I need practice but I also need some advice!

Thanks,
David

[dmulligan]

My HBFP MK3 is on order. Wish me luck! It will be mostly stock except for the super skids once I break the stock ones :)

I bought spare parts from this message http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=727135 and a spare battery. Fortunately my E-Flight charger will work with the E-Sky batteries not that the second one is E-Sky. Mega Power I think is what I ordered.

Thanks for the help and please pass on any advice.
David

[dlmcmichael]

David,
Man, I've got to tell you...those small FP machines are for indoor use only when you are just learning to hover. Just like your CX, a slight breeze is going to make it do something you can't react to. Racin06 proves you can fly them outside in some wind, but he is very good with his and has spent a lot of time to be able to do that. When you get yours you need to keep it inside until you can hover comfortably. And by indoors I don't mean your living room because that won't work either. You need a garage, warehouse, school gym, etc. Enough room to let it get away from you without hitting a couch or something. You also absolutely, without fail MUST use training gear. Slick surfaces are good too because it will slide when touching down rather than tipping over and breaking stuff. Review Radd's and EHBG and slowly begin playing with it. Don't just pop it up in the air and try to fly it. Figure it out first, be patient. There are a lot of details, too many to mention here, but PM me when you get it if you care to and I will offer some "pre-flight" tips.
David

[dmulligan]

I tried to follow RADD's with my CX2 but there was just too much that was CP or single rotor specific and it went too slow for me :) Besides there is nothing to flying a coax.

A large room... That may be difficult. I have no clue where to get access to such a place. I share a 2 car garage and there is usually another car in there. The local malls have all those pesky people. At least my livingroom with it's hardwood floor is open in the middle and easily made wide open due to some rearranging the wife did. About 15'x15' is all I have.

[sun_E]

You only need 1' x 1' to start learning the RADD way, as you "fly" on the floor. A meter each side is good though . :) I followed his guide for the first ten batteries with my Venom Ocean Rescue, and was amazed how much control I had when eventually hovering. Highly recommended!