Lepton Competition

[Finless]

Well you may be correct that I was harsh about the Lepton head. I still like my Lepton now and fly it more than any of my e-helis right now.... It is a very good product and I reccomend it to people! I just helped sell the one and only one that was at my local LHS.

So agreed... I was a bit too harsh BUT... I still stand that the head is slow (compared to my other helis and many I have owned) and I think the inside mixing (as I call it) can be improved.

I also didnt tell anyone NOT to go get the lepton and it was crap ITS NOT so I was not attempting to do that.

BUT I do think if I had a head in my hands and a lower mainshaft, that I think it will work better.

So your right I stuck my neck out... If it doent work better then your right, my head gets chopped off... I think I can worry about that myself or I would not have stuck my neck out!

But with all that said I dont believe there was anything I said that warrented personal attacks nor the flame war that insued between Terry and Dave.

If you want to debate and discuss my ideas or tell me in a contructive way that you disagree (or I am full of it) or have issue with what I said (as you did vksy thanks for the constructive message), then there shouldnt be any issue and it wont get personal.

Anyway in the end I am going forward with this as it will be fun, I will learn some things, and maybe just maybe make a good heli or upgrades to an existing heli (The Lepton) or BOTH! Cant blame a guy for tryin failure or not.....

Bob

[kgfly]

So can I ask my question again now ? Is this comparable to an EP8 ?

[mudbogger2]

yes, it is about the same size as an EP8

[TMoore]

Finally I dont care about your receipt. I KNOW I had mine beofre you and FOR SURE know I had mine flying well before you as I remember you posting about when your atrted building it. Your no holding water here and THOSE ARE the facts.

Bob, there you go again, twisting the fact for the masses when you know you don't have the proof. I admit that I didn't have my kit in the air before you, no issues there but the invoice doesn't lie.

TM

[eheliflyer]

Come on guys lets keep this civilized. This is not RR and it dosen't matter how had who's first. This is about the Lepton which is IMHO the best eheli I have flown. Bob go ahead and make aftermarket parts as this will be good for the heli and will get other aftermarket companies off their arses and make some aftermarket parts for this awsome heli.

[Finless]

Yep eheliflyer, your right.... I am still learning this is not RR myself so I appologize to everyone for the garbage. Ego's sometimes get in the way and I am still learning myself the HF way

Bob

[eheliflyer]

Ok now that we are back on track get started on the aftermarket parts. :mrgreen:

[Ghostfit]

Originally Posted by Finless

Yep eheliflyer, your right.... I am still learning this is not RR myself so I appologize to everyone for the garbage. Ego's sometimes get in the way and I am still learning myself the HF way

Bob

This is my 1st post after joining this forum .....I've only 1 comment to make.

There are those who boldly go forward and achieve ! ......and there are those who stay at the sidelines sniping at those who go forward !

Just a note to say thanks, Bob, .....Thanks for all your invaluable contributions to the Trex community worldwide ! :wink: .

Tony

[buster1]

been reading all these threads - bob is probably right that the head could perform better, but whats great about the heli. is that it is high quality and can still perform all the 3D maneuvers well - in some instances, flying this head will make you a better flyer, because you have to work the model with more control through the maneuvers. I am sure there will eventually be some upgrades to handle this, but I am having fun 3D'ing it. Great quality - just plug in and go, no tinkering and I love that fact.
have fun,
Jeff

[vksy]

Anything can be designed to perform better, but keep in mind, we have yet to see what the stock rotorhead can truly do. There have been no tests of different flybar, paddle, and main blade combinations. You could easily tame or bump the cyclic just by changing the flybar length. They're cheap and have a major impact on how a heli performs. Put carbon paddles and mains into the mix, and you'll have even more setups to play with.

Being guniea pigs, we don't have that luxury right now. Once aftermarket companies start rolling out products, that's when the Lepton EX can be pushed to its limits.

[steve28]

I love this soap opera sh*t LOL

[TMoore]

A good friend of mine pointed out today that the TRex heads looked a whole lot like the heads that were on the original Sceadu. You know, I think he's right but then again------Hirobo doesn't make that head anymore.

Go figure.

TM

[Learn to Fly]

EVO 50 comes with MAH carbon tails. only kit that does though... :glasses2:

[king kong]

yup, and anything made my mah belongs right in the trash. Have you actually looked at the size of those tail blades? Come on now, I've been reading this for a while, and I finally need to get in here. I love hirobo. I've owned an x-spec, and a sceadu, but they both had issues like any other heli. Going from to tt to hirobo though was well worh the extra cost. BUT it is known that many of the hirobo helicopters will not roll and flip at equal speeds, and a flybar or paddels will not change that. and I'm still trying to figure out what difference carbon paddels will make over another material...

But anyway, the hirobo heads fly very nice, depending on the type of flying that you're doing. They are very smoothe, and percise, but they aren't as fast. While I personally don't like a 500 size heli, I think u should just let bob try his new head design. ALthough he may not be at the same flying level as curtis y. or anyone like that, he has built a very large range of helicopters and has flown just as many (you dont' have to take a ferrari to the race track to feel the differecne between it and a toyota). I was happy with my raptor until i flew a hirobo. Then i was happy with my x-spec until i flew an evo. I was happy with an evo until I flew the 600 (but I won't go there in this thread).

So in conclusion if you have flown a variety of helicopters and know what a good head feels like, then help support bob, but if you don't fly a variety of helis on a routine basis, then just back off, and let someone try something new. I do have to admit though that the leprichan is an emorious step up from the E sceadu that had a clutch.

[vksy]

Originally Posted by king kong

if you have flown a variety of helicopters and know what a good head feels like, then help support bob, but if you don't fly a variety of helis on a routine basis, then just back off, and let someone try something new.

Providing support is not the issue. What's important is to stay objective and not get carried away. Blasting the stock rotorhead as inferior is not the way to start a revision. There is nothing wrong with the stock setup. Can it be improved? Absolutely. Just be realistic because if and when the end product becomes available, it will not provide a night and day difference. The Lepton is already that good.

Originally Posted by king kong

it is known that many of the hirobo helicopters will not roll and flip at equal speeds, and a flybar or paddels will not change that. and I'm still trying to figure out what difference carbon paddels will make over another material...

The flybar and paddle setup is the POWER STEERING system in RC helis. In principle, the cyclic rate can be further increased or decreased simply by changing the rod length and/or paddle type. This is a major rotorhead component F3C pilots experiment with that 3D pilots often ignore or have very little understanding of.

With the Lepton, switching to a longer flybar rod to achieve a more aggressive roll rate will make the heli twitchy because the stock plastic paddles are light and very thin. They cut through air fast but also increase sensitivity. Heavier paddles or weights can be used to compensate. However, the ideal solution would be to add light carbon paddles with a thick profile (something similar to V-Paddles) for a good mix of speed and stability.

I have flown only 90's in the last 4-5 years. Since 4mm is the flybar/paddle standard in big block helis (N9 5mm excluded), many options are available to tinker with. The Lepton is my first electric heli, and the stock rotorhead is perfect for my flying style which is big, smooth 3D. I'm not yet familiar with compatible flybars and paddles to make a solid recommendation for wild setups, but then again, I really have no reason to look.

[Gscott]

I guess I just don't get because I think this heli flies great as is. Just like vsky said we are only flying the stock version. Who knows how this heli will fly with V-blades or something similar. I also don't get the knock on the roll rate. I've seen this heli in videos and in person and the rolls are just as tight, if not tighter, than what I've seen from the T-Rex.

[mudbogger2]

If you guys really think this thing is slow you shoud try 9650's on cyclic @5.4 volts or better!

[TMoore]

How about 94761's on 6 volts? It's a gas.

TM

[king kong]

Vsky, I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong with the stock rotor head, In fact, i think it's a fairly good heli, but also, I am familiar with changing flybar lengths, and paddels, but changing that stuff won't make the roll rate and flip rate equal is what i'm saying. It can speed it up, but it won't only speed one orientation up, and not the other.

[vksy]

Originally Posted by king kong

I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong with the stock rotor head, In fact, i think it's a fairly good heli

I didn't say you were. I only wanted to emphasize the need for objectivity and realistic expectations because early posts negatively bashed a perfectly solid setup.

Originally Posted by king kong

I am familiar with changing flybar lengths, and paddels, but changing that stuff won't make the roll rate and flip rate equal is what i'm saying. It can speed it up, but it won't only speed one orientation up, and not the other.

I don't quite follow exactly what you're trying to accomplish. From a mechanical perspective, there is only one cyclic rate. However, its performance is affected heavily by many factors (i.e. flybar/paddles, airframe weight, servos, CG, main blades, etc). That's why certain manuevers may be slower or faster. Once you're finished configuring a heli, the cyclic rate is locked unless you decide to change it later on.