Are Leptons still worth buying?

[NCflyer]

Hi, I've been offered a Hirobo Lepton recently for $200. This heli was build by a model builder rather than a flyer so it would likely need a full pull down and rebuild. The mechanics are not a problem for me but I was concerned about parts availability and pricing. I don't crash very often with the type of flying I do, but I have been brought undone with mechanical failures in the past on the odd occasion so I'm a little concerned that a crash might result is this Lepton retiring to the dead heli section of my garage. Anyway are Leptons still worth buying, or are they better of residing on a shelf as memorabilia? My GAUI550 flies beautifully but i dont have a nice 500size in my hanger apart from a clone build which i was never happy with due to regular mechanical issues

The offer is attractive to me as i've read they fly very nice, and of course its cheap, like me

regards

Mick

[kcgraves]

Hi Mick,

$200 is an excellent price, I would buy it but I already have two complete and 95% of another one for parts.

The Lepton is a great flying helicopter with a few quirks, mostly a weak tail. There are threads on this forum and RR discussing several ways to reduce/fix the problem. As far as parts availability I have never had a problem. But I usually have to search several places before finding everything I need. You have an excellent source at Perth RC. They appear to have a lot of Lepton parts. The other place for parts is RCJapan. There is a Finless Bob build video here on HF that will walk you through building a Lepton and some things to watch out for.

Hirobo announced last year an upgraded and FBL Lepton but so far it has not materialized. It was also rumored to have a better tail ratio to fix the weak tail problem.

Good Luck.
Keith

[NCflyer]

Hi Keith

Many thanks for your input. Its good to know some parts are available down here in OZ. Thanks for the lead in regards the tail issue as well. Its good to know its not a throw the tail blade off and crash issue like with the 500 clones. So not to many faults with this heli it seems, apart from its vintage, and time frame for parts redundancy i guess, so I will be adding it to my fleet very soon. Thanks again

regards

Mick

[kcgraves]

Hi Mick,

You won't be disappointed with the Lepton. It was one of the first, if not THE first 500 size helicopters. All metal and carbon but it cost over $600 US and the Hirobo battery and motor/ESC combo to go with it were close to $1000 US back in 2006. Over $2000 by the time you put the servos and gyro in it. So it just never made it big. I got both of mine for about $200 each. Both built but never had electronics in them. I took them apart and rebuilt them to make sure things were OK after watching Finless Bob's videos on building one.

I found that the KBDD 70mm (4mm root) tail blades work best. I also have the GAUI 500 skids on both to raise them up. The stock skids are low and do not work well with the 70mm tail blades. The stock Lepton tail blades are 56mm which are not big enough, 65 to 70mm seem to work much better.

If you have any question when you get it don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
Keith

[NCflyer]

OK I've just ordered the tail blades and skids. Now I just need to pick up the heli

Thanks again

[Mike94d]

Don't prang the frames or you will have second thoughts!
Hi KC hope your staying warm up yonder!

[kcgraves]

Hi Mike,

Yep, those frames are like gold. I picked up a third one for free. Missing the drive gears and one way but other than that it is complete. Keeping it for parts for now.

Not too cold right now, 35 and snow/rain mix. But back to the 20s later in the week. Hope things are good in VA.

[extremerc1180]

anyone have extrea lepton parts for sale?

[NCflyer]

We had some poor weather last week end so I finally got a chance to rebuild this Lepton EX I mentioned earlier.

The manual does not show a washer above the main gear where the main frame bearing meets the main gear. Some of my other heli have a spacer between the bearings. When I dismantled I found what appeared to be a crudely fitting spring washer used as a spacer to lower the main gear position which I doubt came with the kit. The motor pinion sits approx 1mm below the main gear, and the belt appears to reside on top of the main gear.
In summary if I lower the main gear with a spacer to align the pinion and main gear to a flush position, this will put the belt in peril for fraying I think. It looks like it will all work out ok left at it is.
Can you tell me is this something I should have any concern?

regards

Mick