thinking of a gaui but lama pilot

[cambazz]

Hello,

I would like to buy a gaui 200, but I need to do my homework before. Are there any gaui 200 flyers in this forum. What are the pros and cons of such a heli? What are the common modes of failure, what happens when I crash (I am a newbie, and I just have experience with a lama v4 - that is I now can fly it nice)

What spare parts and upgrades should I order with my heli?

Best Regards,
-C.B.

[Mr. Slumber]

The Hurricane 200 is definitely not the next step after a Lama XX / Blade XX heli. Also parts are cheap it's too difficult to handle and setup if you're used to a fp/coax heli like the lama. Sorry to say that but believe me it'll keep you out of frustrations in the first few weeks in the cp heli business... ;)

But don't get me wrong: the Hurricane 200 is awesome and so much fun!!! :YeaBaby: For me a must have!!! :YeaBaby:

[rotorhead58d]

i agree with mr. slumber. not a good choice for a newbie, unless you like spending ALOT of time and $$$$. a trex 450 would be a better choice.:)

[SurfCity]

The Gaui is a serious, no-nonsense, high-performance helicopter. I say buy it and have fun! It will be very different from the Lama. Quick. Unforgiving. So what? Plan ahead. Think it through. Work out contingencies ("what do I do if . . . ?") Don't fly until you're ready. Practice, practice, practice. It's a great heli. Master it, and you can fly anything.

Surf
"Never let a helicopter take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier."

[jad]

when I first started flying mine after having flwon and owned another couple of heli's I stuck a set of training balls on just to get a feel for her, it saved me a few times until she was setup correctly.
If your handset has expo then it can make her a lot more stable.

Personally think this is the best heli I have ever brought or flown. love it to bits quality heli!

but not really the next step from a contra heli would go for something bigger and more stable

[surgicalCFe]

I think it boils down to how strict you can be with your self. If you are bound a determined to rip it out of its box the minute it arrives and try to fly it, well my friend you will be in for a scary ride. If you are willing to take your time skidding around on the garage floor and really get a feel for her before you even attempt to hover, and then spend lots of time practicing hover positions before forward flight, if you are willing to take your time and do things the right way its a very rewarding heli. Good luck with your decision. :thumbup:

[stoatnchips]

Cambazz, its probably safe to say there are a few EP200 flyers in this Forum ;-)

I'm kinda in the same position as you... I recently mastered a coaxial and wanted to progress but did not want to follow the crowd and buy a fixed pitch Honeybee-type then a Trex. After looking around and visiting several forums (...ended up registering on this one though :noteworthy) It looked like the Heli for me. My 200 is still in the postal system from HK and so can't really comment but what swung it for me was that i could use it in the Garden and how cheap the parts are! You do not need to go down to the field to fly, you can practice in a double garage if you have one! There's a saying about life's certainties... taxes, death and pranging a RC Heli when you're Learning.

I think many people out there see the correct route as Coax, fixed pitch, then small electric cp. They are right when saying its the easiest route buts its not the only one.
I learnt on a .30 Nitro 15 years ago when eCCPM and Heading Hold (back then a gyro's initialisation time was how long it took to spin up!!) were just dreams... yeah it was frustrating... but i think jad and surgical have got it right... get a trainer... take your time... and you'll be fine. I have not flown in over 12 years but decided to jump back in on the EP200.

Opinions are like *******s.... we all have one ;-) Don't get too hung up on what others suggest or how they learn't, sure it will be harder to master than a bigger machine but chances are you'll master it quicker if you don't have to go down the field each time you want to fly!! Whichever unit you buy, build it yourself, so you learn the termanology, layout and how to repair it BUT get your LHS or Club to set it up for you... you'll not learn easy on a badly setup bird!!

[crabfu]

Yeah going from cx to cp is a difficult transition, cx skills doesn't translate into a cp or fp heli that much... at least not for me :) And gaui 200 is not the easiest heli to fly, so learning on it is going to be a bit of a challenge. I do believe that it's very possible to learn on the gaui 200 if you have the patience to take it really slow. As stable as it is, it's not very forgiving, so room for error is very small, mistakes are costly in parts and repaire time. So a bigger heli would be much easier to learn on. Once you get used to the bigger helis, gaui 200 would not be a hard transition, but starting off with it will not be the easiest road to take IMHO.

-Crabfu

[dazzla777]

You could always do what i did!!!

I too started with a V4 LAMA. But rather than going to CP first or Honey Bee, I decided to go small smal smalll and went for a Buzzfly (also known as walkera 4#3), this little thing is prertty hard to master at first but one you get the knack hurricane 200 will be a bliss - well hoving it will anywa!!

I decided to go for the 4#3 as becuase its small (like the 200), its more senstive to controls and figured what ever I master in a smaller size bigger will be easier (and also becuase I had long term intentions of getting a hurricane 200 next too)

Going by experience this worked for me!

And like the some of the others have said above you dont need to go to the field for practice, in fact with the 4#3 you dont even need a garage or garden, the living room would be ample enough!

Another plus to the 4#3 is that the parts are so so cheap and the heli is pretty robust, you can crash it and things just pop back into place/bend to shape - if you ask me this is the way forward!

I will say though, the 4#3 does require patience and set up, but its a good way to learn about heli set up and prepare you for CP. Out of the box it may fly but not to its full potential it does require some tweaking and experimenting - but its all part of the fun.

I'd say most def go for the hurricane 200 as one of your goals becuase yes this heli is so awesome and if you can fly it your well on the way to flying anything! But it might be worth considering the above route that I took, its too great fun and a good stepping stone bigger and better things!

Hope that helps!

Dazza

[jad]

My 4#3 was the hardest thing I have ever flew, really not for the beginner IMO, yes they are virtually unbreakable, I ended up with training arms on mine just to try and make it more stable, but the thing had a mind of it's own, Tried all the conversion from a metal head to longer titanium flybar to new style battery box, still was a totally pig!
perhaps it was just mine perhaps the Buzzfly is different to the walker, but for me that was the most frusting period in my heli career. If you want something small then the 200 is fine, but trainers are a must, take your time ( computerized tranny will also help ) and get her setup correct!!!!

You'll soon be flying it in your front room, I do now days!

[cambazz]

what is a 4#3? Is that a walkera?

the local store has belt cp, and honey bee king 2. My other alternatives to gaui are those. I have heard mixed comments about the belt cp, some say it is better then honey bee king 2.

Also, I forgot to mention, I like tinkering with my heli as much as flying it. my lama is modified with xtreme everything from motors to batteries, and I have took my time to set it up, and I know modding a lama is not really hardcore but I learned alot of mechanics.

The gaui looks like a very nice design.

A question: for example in lama things like servo pushrods, or the flybar linkage, things that you need to adjust to make the thing fly stable - you can only adjust with 1/2 turn adjustments. a better mechanical design is probably a linkage that has the turning part in the middle that the screws go in so it the total length could be adjusted in much smaller increments.

Those are the things I look in a heli.

Also, the belt cp and king - come with a transmitter. I like to buy my own transmitter that can be used with other things.

For those reason I was considering the gaui. trex are too expensive, but a heli with cheap parts could be great.

Best

My 4#3 was the hardest thing I have ever flew, really not for the beginner IMO, yes they are virtually unbreakable, I ended up with training arms on mine just to try and make it more stable, but the thing had a mind of it's own, Tried all the conversion from a metal head to longer titanium flybar to new style battery box, still was a totally pig!
perhaps it was just mine perhaps the Buzzfly is different to the walker, but for me that was the most frusting period in my heli career. If you want something small then the 200 is fine, but trainers are a must, take your time ( computerized tranny will also help ) and get her setup correct!!!!

You'll soon be flying it in your front room, I do now days!

[crabfu]

Also, I forgot to mention, I like tinkering with my heli as much as flying it. my lama is modified with xtreme everything from motors to batteries, and I have took my time to set it up, and I know modding a lama is not really hardcore but I learned alot of mechanics.


Take a look at finless videos on setup the trex 450, it's quite a lot to learn but finless makes it easier to understand. The setup between the trex and gaui is rather similar.


A question: for example in lama things like servo pushrods, or the flybar linkage, things that you need to adjust to make the thing fly stable - you can only adjust with 1/2 turn adjustments. a better mechanical design is probably a linkage that has the turning part in the middle that the screws go in so it the total length could be adjusted in much smaller increments.

Those are the things I look in a heli.



cp helis are not like cx, adjustments won't be as easy as the lama, not a turn in a link to make it more stable.... there are a lot more linkages to worry about, a lot more variables that makes the heli fly the way it does.



Also, the belt cp and king - come with a transmitter. I like to buy my own transmitter that can be used with other things.




You can get king2 artf kit w/ esc and motor, without the transmitter... not sure about the belt cp



For those reason I was considering the gaui. trex are too expensive, but a heli with cheap parts could be great.

Best

If you setup the gaui with good electronics (which you really should) it is not really that much cheaper than a trex 450 or other larger helis. Stuff like gyro, rx/tx, and charger are the same, servos on the gaui are slightly cheaper, batteries are much cheaper however.... but overall it's not a big savings between the gaui 200 and a larger heli :)

-Crabfu

[jad]

Have had a esky cp2, was a bit twicthy I didn't really like it used to burn out the tail motors A LOT, I had the belt cp this was a good cheap heli, but build quality wasn't much I also brought the carbon verion as well, Belts are good cheap alternative to a rex's but remember how much your paying so cheap is the optimum word.
The walkera 4#3 or Buzzflyer was manic I ended up with a set of trainers on it to help control it, fly it into a wall pick it up pop the links back on and fly again don't for the faint hearted. But if you can master it you'll be flying it in your front room
The Gaui 200 supurb helicopter the best I have owned, not really expensive and now you can get parts over here in England, you would need to provide your own tranny I woudl go computerized so it can adjust the fly characteristics. Some shops are doing deals over here. I used justheli's in England great service.

The King II yes they do kits, but these are brushed motors which tend to run hot and burn out, Will cost as much to upgrade to brushless etc as to buy a belt cp in the first place. The Belt is a good cheapo 450.

[cambazz]

Well, what a great idea!

I am checking the 4#3's. But I want buy a 4#3 and bunch of spare parts.

What spare parts should I get with it? Shipping is expensive to here, so I like to buy a batch of spares. I checked out rc-fever.com and they got the walkera 4#3 for 70some bucks - but all the spares they have (even the smallest thing is like 9$) so it adds up

Do you know a place to purchase them for cheap?

Best.


You could always do what i did!!!

I too started with a V4 LAMA. But rather than going to CP first or Honey Bee, I decided to go small smal smalll and went for a Buzzfly (also known as walkera 4#3), this little thing is prertty hard to master at first but one you get the knack hurricane 200 will be a bliss - well hoving it will anywa!!

I decided to go for the 4#3 as becuase its small (like the 200), its more senstive to controls and figured what ever I master in a smaller size bigger will be easier (and also becuase I had long term intentions of getting a hurricane 200 next too)

Going by experience this worked for me!

And like the some of the others have said above you dont need to go to the field for practice, in fact with the 4#3 you dont even need a garage or garden, the living room would be ample enough!

Another plus to the 4#3 is that the parts are so so cheap and the heli is pretty robust, you can crash it and things just pop back into place/bend to shape - if you ask me this is the way forward!

I will say though, the 4#3 does require patience and set up, but its a good way to learn about heli set up and prepare you for CP. Out of the box it may fly but not to its full potential it does require some tweaking and experimenting - but its all part of the fun.

I'd say most def go for the hurricane 200 as one of your goals becuase yes this heli is so awesome and if you can fly it your well on the way to flying anything! But it might be worth considering the above route that I took, its too great fun and a good stepping stone bigger and better things!

Hope that helps!

Dazza

[dazzla777]

Hi,

A good place for the 4#3 is miracle-mart.com (in Hong Kong), the heli and parts are dirt cheap. If you get lots of parts in one batch you can save on delivery.

Suggested spare parts:

3 x blades
3 x rotor head
3 x bearings
3 x main motor
3 x tail motor

Tail boom - rather than going for the boom as a part get your self some 2.5mm (outer diameter) 1.5mm (inner diameter) carbon from your LHS, and cut ot down to lengths. You will save loads this way! I got a 1m length for £2 - which I cut down to make 10 tail boom spares - awesome!

Flybar - the 4#3 first came out with carbon flybar which broke easy but they now come with titanium ones i believe, dont however bother buying spare part as a part, get your self some 1mm piano wire and cut to lengths (like i did with the carbon for tail boom it works a treat! Again i got a 1m length and cut it to give me over 10 spare fly bars


Ive really tinkered with this heli and love it to bits, once its set up nice you can get it to hands free hover for about 7 seconds. I love it as able to fly circuits in the comfort of my living room - great practise for the Gaui!

Ive done some other mods too which really help, if you decide to go for this heli (I throughly recommend to), then feel free to get in touch and i'll discuss some mods you can do!
Hope that helps

Regards

Darren