Is a Fbl 500 more stable than the Fb version?

[Hoghunter7mm]

Wazzup helions? Just wondering how many are still flying flybarred helis and is there a real noticeable difference between the 2 in stability,flyability,etc? I like the orange halo that my paddles produce (visibility) and interested in knowing more about Fbl. Have fun!

[ragge1]

oh yes big difference , will never go back to FB

[duytang]

The only prior flying experience I had before going to a 500 was a mcpx. When I built up the FB 500 it felt really steady, but it was nothing like what I was expecting a 500 to fly like. After going FBL I will never look back, the heli is incredibly stable and easy to fly, plus less things to break in a crash. I definitely think there is a night and day difference between stability of FB vs FBL

[Hoghunter7mm]

Sounds great! I have a 500 esp and dx6i, what else do I need for upgrade? Ive heard the beast x being mentioned alot, I dont know much about fbl,thx!

[Blayd]

I fly both, FB and FBL.. the FBL are 400's, all three of my 500's are flybarred.
Yes, there is a difference. But, that doesnt mean a FB'd heli isnt stable..set up is everything.
My FBL 400's will just hang there...my FB'd 500's have to be flown. I like both, but when theres wind..I like the FBL more. But when I get a FB hauling a** in FFF..wind or not... its rock solid. Again.. set up is everything. The FBL controller just tries to stablize the swash depending on how much you want it to. Its really doing the job the Flybar used to....
There is a difference....but right now, I am really enjoying "flying" the heli... I will honestly say.. one of my 500's will go FBL next winter.

[Mateyhv]

Yes, all the fuss about FBL is because its much more steady.

[nothinbetr2do]

fbl is worth it all my heli's are....

[Wildcards]

FB takes more skill to fly.

[Hoghunter7mm]

Sounds cool.. Ive kinda always liked old skool stuff,so i'm pretty sure i'll keep a fb heli around but I think my next one will fbl if I decide not to convert this one. Its hard too keep up with all the technology and it wont be any fun if in the future if all we have to do is flip a switch and it flys itself and does manuevers through voice commands! Have fun

[dtabuenc]

I think the biggest difference is how much you can configure. You can make a flybarless systems more stable or less stable. It can fly almost like a flybar, it can fly robotic, or it can fly like it's on skids floating on ice.It is very easy if you understand your software to tune to what suits you and fly.

A flybarred system can be tuned as well, but it is much more difficult. The mechanical design of the head is really important and what sets apart really good helis from ok ones. How much weight and position of weight of the flybar can drastically change how your heli feels, how fast it rolls, etc. It's very time consuming and there is a lot more to understand. If you want to change how your rolls feel you have to buy and experiment with different paddles, etc...

Flybarless allows you to configure a lot of these things electronically rather than mechanically. Head design is not so important because the links go directly to the grips (rather than going through several directional changes, arms, and bearings. You also don't need to be as exact in your mechanical setup as the fbl system will compensate for minor problems (unless you are pushing the heli to the limits you can get away with an out of level swash).

[ddj74]

My FB heli i can let go the sticks and it'll hover almost perfect for over 10 seconds by itself with no wind. I'm looking forward to making it FBL because as others said its night and day.

[dtabuenc]

Yeah, a FB heli will be perfectly stable and hands-off in a hover. You have to take your time and set it up mechanically perfectly (which you should always do even if you are FBL). FBL is more forgiving though.

The FBL is more predictable. It translates your commands into what you intend to do, rather than absolute positions of your servos.

For example, on one day a full right command on the cyclic might make the heli use 8 degrees of cyclic pitch, while on another day (perhaps more windy) the same command might use 10 degrees. This also means that it will not center itself. For example if you give right cyclic it will start rolling, the more cyclic you give the faster it will roll. If you center the stick it will stop rolling but will stay in whatever orientation it last was so you'll have to give it left stick to bring it back to center. A FB will have a tendency to come back to center (even if only slightly) so if you want to stay in the orientation you have to hold the stick to the right. This is most evident in wind. If you hover FBL in a cross-wind and roll in the direction of the wind to hold it in place, once you bank enough you should be able to go hands off as long as the wind is fairly constant. You can't do this with FB no matter how well you set it up.

Originally Posted by ddj74

My FB heli i can let go the sticks and it'll hover almost perfect for over 10 seconds by itself with no wind. I'm looking forward to making it FBL because as others said its night and day.

[Hoghunter7mm]

What's the best way to go fbl?

[Deet]

Originally Posted by Hoghunter7mm

What's the best way to go fbl?

Get a beastX, and an FBL head.

I won't start the debate on what is the best head to get.

[dtabuenc]

I second the beastX. It's easy to setup and really good price for the performance you get. If you want to go all out then get a V-bar or Skookum 720, although for their price they won't fly all that much better than the beastX but do have the advantage of external governor mode which is excellent.

To be honest, the FBL head you chose won't make a huge amount of difference as long as it fulfills the minimum requirements (basically holding your blades and making your links attach parallel to the main shaft rather than off-set). One nice feature to look for is for a one-piece head where the washout arms attach directly to the head block rather than a separate piece which can introduce phasing issues if you don't align it right.

Originally Posted by Deet

Get a beastX, and an FBL head.

I won't start the debate on what is the best head to get.

[Hoghunter7mm]

Are the ones on ebay any good? I would like to stay with quality,and really lost on which one to get. Can I use the same main and feathering shafts?

[dtabuenc]

I would get a head from a known manufacturer designed for your specific heli. Usually they will use the same main shaft, some heads use different feathering shafts (the Protos 500 for example). Ususally the head will come in a kit with all you need. Just go for the align head, or the KDE head for your 500. Also I'd recommend getting the spektrum branded microbeast I think it's called the AR7200BX. It's essentially a beast-X with built in receiver, which is great since otherwise the bestX supports only one satellite.

Originally Posted by Hoghunter7mm

Are the ones on ebay any good? I would like to stay with quality,and really lost on which one to get. Can I use the same main and feathering shafts?

[Hoghunter7mm]

That sounds awesome! Thanks for everyone imput! Have fun out there!

[gmiller0]

how do ya feel about a KBE head??

[dtabuenc]

I don't know about the 500, but I have the KDE head on the 450 and am very happy with it. It's already survive quite a few nasty crashes without bending in the least. It grips on very tight to the main shaft as it has both a jesus bolt and screws to clamp on the bottom. The washout arms clamp on directly to the head block.

I'm tempted to try one of the new align DFC heads though.....

Originally Posted by gmiller0

how do ya feel about a KBE head??