Shopping for a new Micro for winter in the basement.

[jondbennett]

First of all, in the interest of public harmony, I am not looking for opinions on the various model helicopters. I can do the research and it is my responsibility to do so. I am trying NOT to create a flame war or any such problem.;)

I am looking for helicopters that have the following features. If you know of any please post the info so I can research it/them.

1) Fixed Pitch and durable. I fly in the basement and I hit things. :YeaBaby: (most often it is me that I hit)

2) MUST achieve correct CG with a LiPO AND the stock canopy. :lolol I will not EVER fly non-lipo batteries.

3) Brushless would be great.

4) Durable landing gear. I am tired of replacing the :bomb: things.

5) It would be great if the GWS blades fit. They are inexpensive and very tough.

6) NOT dual rotor. I want one with all of the tail problems of a single rotor heli. I fly a rex when I am not in the basement and I love dealing with the tail during presision hovering. I usually fly about 12" from me, so I am highly motivated to learn excellent control.

Thanks! Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[JasonJ]

I know you don't want to consider the coax micros, but despite trim and all that, I have to do quite a bit of "tail management" with my little Lama V3. There is definately no heading hold on that. In fact, I sometimes wonder if there is a gyro at all. When I am flying the V3 outside I really have to use the heck out of the rudder control.
But still, if you want the lack of stability the small single rotors give, more power to you, but you'll spend a lot of time replacing tail motors, they burn out frequently.

The Walkera 4#3 is really small. The only downside is it is a Walkera...The vids make it look kinda cool...

[jondbennett]

Thanks for the reply.

The tail interaction that I am looking for is that the heli will not spin around its axis when pirouetteing. When turning left, the heli moves in a small circle while it changes heading. When turning right it wants to move in a larger circle while changing heading. I like keeping the heli close and using the cyclic to maintain position while compensating for these translation issues. It helps me develop very tight control of the heli.

On my modified dragonfly I can do some fairly fast backwards figure eights and keep the tail leading without using an HH gyro. It is great practice!

I do have a Lama V3 and I love it. It is great for flying around the living room, but I have never had it outside. I have had it for about 6 months, but only started flying it last week. I purchased the flexible tail from Boomtown hobbies. I had become afraid to fly it after breaking the original tail and paying $10 to replace it. When flying indoors, I hit too many things to affort a delecate $10 part.

I'm checking the Walkera 4#3 now.

[aristo]

if you fly a rex,then just get a pixy/zap ep100.its a collective but small enough to fly indoors.

[JasonJ]

Thanks for the reply.

The tail interaction that I am looking for is that the heli will not spin around its axis when pirouetteing. When turning left, the heli moves in a small circle while it changes heading. When turning right it wants to move in a larger circle while changing heading. I like keeping the heli close and using the cyclic to maintain position while compensating for these translation issues. It helps me develop very tight control of the heli.

On my modified dragonfly I can do some fairly fast backwards figure eights and keep the tail leading without using an HH gyro. It is great practice!

I do have a Lama V3 and I love it. It is great for flying around the living room, but I have never had it outside. I have had it for about 6 months, but only started flying it last week. I purchased the flexible tail from Boomtown hobbies. I had become afraid to fly it after breaking the original tail and paying $10 to replace it. When flying indoors, I hit too many things to affort a delecate $10 part.

I'm checking the Walkera 4#3 now.

Yeah that stock tail is made of glass. I had ca'd and taped mine so much towards the end my cg was way off. I burned 50 bones and got the Xtreme sport conversion, which converts the V3 to a pod & boom style, with a carbon tail boom and the plastic is all made of that same stuff the Xtreme blades are made of, very durable. I have broken nothing since doing the conversion, and my basement obstacle course has been hit a few times, especially the Bowflex. Those darn cables just jump out when you are not looking.... :)

[jondbennett]

Are you using the blades from BoomTown?
How are they?

The name says "Hard", which makes me think that they are
fragile. Is this correct?

[borocouncilman]

First of all, in the interest of public harmony, I am not looking for opinions on the various model helicopters. I can do the research and it is my responsibility to do so. I am trying NOT to create a flame war or any such problem.;)

I am looking for helicopters that have the following features. If you know of any please post the info so I can research it/them.

1) Fixed Pitch and durable. I fly in the basement and I hit things. :YeaBaby: (most often it is me that I hit)

2) MUST achieve correct CG with a LiPO AND the stock canopy. :lolol I will not EVER fly non-lipo batteries.

3) Brushless would be great.

4) Durable landing gear. I am tired of replacing the :bomb: things.

5) It would be great if the GWS blades fit. They are inexpensive and very tough.

6) NOT dual rotor. I want one with all of the tail problems of a single rotor heli. I fly a rex when I am not in the basement and I love dealing with the tail during presision hovering. I usually fly about 12" from me, so I am highly motivated to learn excellent control.

Thanks! Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.


If you find anything that meets all the above, I'd be really surprised. I'm not sure that such a product exists. While you list fixed pitch as a requirement, I'm not sure that you want fixed pitch characteristics.

It's quite a wishlist. I don't know of anything that will meet all of the requirements. Even if you fit "durable" blades, other things can bend.

Off-the-Shelf Indoor Choices and Criteria Satisfied:
AirHogs Havoc 1,2,4,6
E-Flite Blade CX2 1,2,4
MiniZoom Pro 2,3,5,6

[JasonJ]

Are you using the blades from BoomTown?
How are they?

The name says "Hard", which makes me think that they are
fragile. Is this correct?

The Xtreme blades are not fragile at all. They can be broken, but you really have to try to do it.

[Ginvent]

If you find anything that meets all the above, I'd be really surprised. I'm not sure that such a product exists. While you list fixed pitch as a requirement, I'm not sure that you want fixed pitch characteristics.

It's quite a wishlist. I don't know of anything that will meet all of the requirements. Even if you fit "durable" blades, other things can bend.

Off-the-Shelf Indoor Choices and Criteria Satisfied:
AirHogs Havoc 1,2,4,6
E-Flite Blade CX2 1,2,4
MiniZoom Pro 2,3,5,6


I would stay away from the airhogs and blades helis,

The honeybee fixed picth and century hummingbird are nice FP helis. But ifyou want to spend more money the Gaui ep 100 and 200 are great little helis with stability caparable to a trex, however this heli will be allitle less durable than the FP conterparts. Your drangonfly is the equivilent to most of the FP helis out there but you should check out the belted tail FP micros too.

Good luck I to am looking for a cheap little micro to tool around the house with

[jondbennett]

I have never heard of FP that had a belt-driven tail.
Which one is that?

[ChasHeliCop]

Check out this Gaui at Ready Heli

http://www.readyheli.com/203910_Gaui_Hurricane_200_Helicopter_Kit_90_RTF_p/203910.htm

[borocouncilman]

That Gaui doesn't meet his rugged criteria. I'm hard-pressed to come up with something that meets all of his criteria. If he's going that big, he might as well pick up a Honey Bee King 2 -- much cheaper. I've flown mine in the basement without any ill affect, but that size is a little big for the house.

[ChasHeliCop]

If he's going that big, he might as well pick up a Honey Bee King 2 -- .

It's not that big.... it's only about a foot long, 200 mm blades. And just like you said, I don't think anything exist that meet his criteria. A little pricey just to fly in the basement.

[jondbennett]

Good info.
The havoc looks like fun, and at $25, I may pick one up just
to chase the cats :roll:

I have liked the GWS Dragonfly, but I am tired of replacing the landing gear, doing without the canopy due to balance issues, and now the controller died.

I must pick a helicopter that won't kill me when I fly it into me, which happens
sometimes.

That leads to the next question (next post)

[jondbennett]

Has anyone had experience with the Hornet X-FP?

It looks like it has a tough landing gear, and might
be able to balance with a lipo.

The FP implies "tough", at least tough enough to hit the
water heater and survive.

[dmulligan]

The Honeybee FP is probably your best bet. To meet your criteria you will need to get some SuperSkids, a Blade CP or Honeybee CP battery hanger, LiPo packs, and if you really want brushless you will need to go with seperates. The bird is available as a bare bones kit or RTF. RTF can be had for ~$90 and the BB for $35-40. Check rcgroups for their super long HBFP threads. It's a favourite over there.

[skid]

Compy fp belt drive coming soon.

[jondbennett]

I'm interested.

[write2dgray]

I have a few HoneyBee FPs (including a few that are mothed), a CompyFP, and a Gaui EP100. The Gaui is best for a small backyard, but due to the high headspeed can not be recommended for close-quarters. The CompyFP is my favorite small park flyer, the belt driven tail holds well and the noise is very low. The HoneyBee FP (preferably mothed) makes the best indoor flyer due to the ease of repair, small size, and low headspeed. I hope this helps!

Cheers,
David

[wren1702]

The Honeybee started my helicopter flying! It's a durable fun little heli. I used to fly circuits in the den with it. :lol:

BTW, I started the HB II threads on RCGroups, never knew that they would take off like they did! :shock::cool:

The original: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=458261
Only 556 pages long. They made me start a new one because the database was slowing down the system. Find it here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=657500

It's already 487 pages.

[Razor_Racer]

Target is having a sale this friday and saturday, Havocs are only $15! I'm picking one up :)

[jtpowell]

I just picked up an MS Hornet and was pleasantly surprised to see it had a shaft drive for the tail. It's just the right size for indoor as well. mscomposit-usa.com