Honey Bee FP w/Slo-Max 300, Direct Drive Tail Motor and M24 Blades - Review and Video

[racin06]

My awesome wife agreed to video tape my flying yesterday. I’m certainly fortunate to have a wife that goes to the flying field with me.

Anyway, I decided to write a short review of my modified Esky Honey Bee FP heli. I've already posted a video of this HBFP; however, I just added the GWS direct drive tail motor. So, this is my setup:

- Slo-Max 300 main motor w/HPI 9T pinion
- GWS direct drive tail motor w/4530 blade/prop
- Kyosho M24 main rotor blades
- Super Skids landing gear.
- Stock 4-in-1 (receiver, esc, motor mixer and rate gyro)
- Commonsense RC 800mAh 2S 8C lipo battery.
- Stock Tx

The Slo-Max 300 is much more powerful than the stock main motor and when combined with the Kyosho M24 blades, generate a much higher headspeed over the stock setup. When using the stock tail motor with the Slo-Max 300, the tail seems to lag behind at times. The GWS direct drive tail motor produces a quick tail and totally eliminates the lagging problem. The FF is wonderful. This setup produces a much faster heli over the stock setup. It took me a couple of flights to get used to the additional power and speed.

Flying an FP heli in the wind certainly keeps you banging the sticks; however, this setup certainly offers more stability in hover and FF (see below vide...flying this setup in 10+ mph wind gusts) over the stock setup Also, regarding pinion size on the Slo-Max 300, I have used both a 9T and 10T and I can’t really see much difference in flight performance. However, the Slo-Max 300 and the lipo battery both run quite a bit cooler on the 9T. I would recommend using the 9T.

Flight times are approximately 6-7 minutes versus 10-11 minutes with the stock setup. This is a small price to pay for the additional power and stability.

Are there a couple of things that can be improved? Yes. One improvement may be to add a HH gyro, which I may try in the near future. Also, I may remove the stock 4-in-1 and add an E-flight 3-in-1 and AR6100 Rx to fly with my DX7 Tx.

If you are looking for a great way to improve your fixed pitch heli without going brushless, this setup is for you.

http://media.putfile.com/Honey-Bee-FP-wSlo-Max-300-GWS-DD-Tail-Motor-and-Kyosho-M24-Blades

[metalhead1986]

Thanks for the info on your upgrades to the HBFP. I have one that I just have not been able to get off the ground, so I have doing research on set up and upgrades people are doing. This is the first time I have seen a brushed upgrade. It is nice to see the M24 blades work well on the brushed motor. Many other people using these blades have posted that they will only work well on a brushless upgrade, but obviously the slo-max can handle them.

Where did you get the direct drive tail motor, prop, and pinion? Can you provide part numbers also? I would like to add these to my list of upgrades.

My Lepton flys really nice, but there is no way I am going to try to lift it off where I live, so a flyable HBFP will be very nice.

One upgrade that I made that will really make a nice addition when the thing flies is a new flybar and paddles. The stock paddles are almost impossible to get level with the clamshell design so I replaced them with a T-Rex 450 flybar and paddles. The flybar is a little longer, but I figure that will just help things when I can finally get the heli in the air and not just skimming across the ground at full stick.

Thanks again,

Steve

[racin06]

Hi Steve,

I may have to give those T-Rex 450 flybar and paddles a try on my HBFPs. I really have enjoyed learning to fly helis on these HBFPs. I have heard many say that a newbie should learn on a more stable heli. My line of thinking is that if I can learn to fly a HBFP very well, I shouldn't have problems flying a more stable 450 CP heli. I have an Esky Belt CP and a Mini-Titan E325 that are still in their boxes and have yet to leave the ground. I guess I'm about ready to advance to the 450 size helis.

Anyway, I ordered the GWS DD tail and prop from helihobby.com. Below are the part numbers followed by descriptions of each item:

FD030B - Tail Rotor blade with mounting hardware (Adapter is included) - $7.50
GWS-EDP-50XC - High Authority Long Tail Motors with Direct Props (EDP50H) - $9.99
HH316 - Tail Motor Heat Sink - $1.99

Jim

[metalhead1986]

Thanks Jim. That is exactly what I am looking for.

I kind of went along the same path as you at first, but when my HBFP would nnot get off the ground more than a few inches, I decided to move forward and built a Lepton as my fist CP heli. I love it and am still learning how to fly it (using a sim and guys in my club as help). Now that I am hooked, I am about to pull the trigger on a T-Rex 600 kit and go even bigger. Of course. I cannot fly either of these bigger helis at my house, so I want to get the HB in the air.

Do you have any pictures of your modded HB? I would really like to see what you have done.

Steve