KDS Flymentor first look.

[Dan_555]

Any word on if/when this unit will be available in the US? I am in the process of putting together an AP ship and was going to get a helicommand until I came across this thread.

[nightflyr]

first suggestion was the end of August.....have to wait and see

[Kepler]

Originally Posted by JohnAu

Hey Kepler, how about some video of you flying the heli with the KDS Flymentor?, even if its taken with a phone, it will give us a true idea how well it works.

Cheers
JohnAu

I havent had a chance to do any video but I can confirm that I could basically mimic the flight performance in the Youtube clip (except the 3D)

Note that he keeps the model quite low while demonstating position hold mode. This is where it seems to work best. Also I found that the longer grass like in the clip seems to work better the flat mown grass. Maybe easyier for the camera to reconize the more uneaven terain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRPiAMF4nEo

[treadmill]

Is there any indication that this system stabilizes in 3D so it will level off inverted?

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by treadmill

Is there any indication that this system stabilizes in 3D so it will level off inverted?

If you watch the video earlier in this thread, it shows the systems capabilities

[Leandro]

Here is the Flymentor for only 199.99, is more cheaper than the copilot 2, so what I will do with mine?

http://www.scaleflying.com/product_p/fm3d.htm

[nightflyr]

Ok,
Pulled the trigger on a FlyMentor, lets see what $200.00 for this unit can get you, I can at least compare it to a Helicommand 3A and a CPII so we'll see how it stacks up

[klh66]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

Ok,
Pulled the trigger on a FlyMentor, lets see what $200.00 for this unit can get you, I can at least compare it to a Helicommand 3A and a CPII so we'll see how it stacks up

So did I. Nightflyr we should compair notes when we fly this set up. Did you get a shipment notice?

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by klh66

So did I. Nightflyr we should compair notes when we fly this set up. Did you get a shipment notice?

all I got was a response with the order # and payment information, nothing stating it has shipped yet though

[klh66]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

all I got was a response with the order # and payment information, nothing stating it has shipped yet though

Same here.
I am only trying to decide if I want to put it in my Trex 450SE V2 or hold off for the Trex 500 ESP that I just orderd too. I have plans on going into scale. 3D flying is cool but I realy love scale. I build 1/35th Armor and helicopters. I have been building 1/35th for over 35 years. My son is 9 years old and now he is realy taking to 1/35th armor. Was always a dreem of mine to build a RC scale helicopter. I just converted my 450 to a torque tube dive after a crash. I got cought in a realy bad gust of wind.

[Jordan]

Waiting to see some user reviews before I pull the trigger on a CP2.

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by klh66

Same here.
I am only trying to decide if I want to put it in my Trex 450SE V2 or hold off for the Trex 500 ESP that I just orderd too. I have plans on going into scale. 3D flying is cool but I realy love scale. I build 1/35th Armor and helicopters. I have been building 1/35th for over 35 years. My son is 9 years old and now he is realy taking to 1/35th armor. Was always a dreem of mine to build a RC scale helicopter. I just converted my 450 to a torque tube dive after a crash. I got cought in a realy bad gust of wind.

Well best of luck with your project, 35 years in the making..should be an awesome machine!!,

I plan on fitting this Flymentor to my 600ESP that should put it to the test rather well i guess

[arthx7]

what kind of sensors Flymentor have ?

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by arthx7

what kind of sensors Flymentor have ?

From what I can tell..CCD camera and triple gyro

[06graphite]

Originally Posted by Jordan

Waiting to see some user reviews before I pull the trigger on a CP2.

Me too! My plan was to order the CP2 later this week, now I might have to wait and see...

[Kepler]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

Well best of luck with your project, 35 years in the making..should be an awesome machine!!,

I plan on fitting this Flymentor to my 600ESP that should put it to the test rather well i guess

Good to see you have taken the plunge. I dont think you will be disapointed, I certainly wasnt. Would be interesting to see how it goes on a bigger model but it would also be good for a direct comparison in your scale 450 running the Helicommand. I know its always a pain though to disturb a well setup model though.

[nightflyr]

Originally Posted by Kepler

Good to see you have taken the plunge. I dont think you will be disapointed, I certainly wasnt. Would be interesting to see how it goes on a bigger model but it would also be good for a direct comparison in your scale 450 running the Helicommand. I know its always a pain though to disturb a well setup model though.

Well it arrives tomorrow from the tracking info,.....so we will see.

Fitting the 600 with a tray to mount the sensor and CCD, I was going through the manual, which could do with a good rewrite, and it claims you HAVE to use the built in gyro is this true?? Not looking to give up my Spartan760.

And as far as refitting my AIRWOLF with the FlyMentor.......Sorry Kepler ain't gonna happen I just completed replacing the tail drive gear assembly, she flys like a charm and I will not tinker with perfection now...

[Kepler]

Originally Posted by 06graphite

Me too! My plan was to order the CP2 later this week, now I might have to wait and see...

I think its important to keep in mind that the CP2 and Flymentor in some ways have different purposes.

If scale is your thing or you want a safety net if you loose orentation, or perhaps you want to uses the model indoors, The Mentor I think is the go. Thats not to say you cant do 3D with the mentor on. Keep in mind you must own a laptop to setup and program the Mentor.

If you fly pod and boom and see the main purpose of flight stabilization is to get you out of trouble, I like the CP2 mainly because it will always flip you to upright (unless you are specifically using the 3D mode) if you muckup your aeros. The Mentor would recover you to either upright or inverted depending on your position and personally, if the model recovered to inverted after and emergency bailout, I would still be in a panic.

Other things to consider:

Mentor is not weather dependent, CP2 can be. (However its usually weather your wouldnt bother flying in anyway)
Mentor has a built in tail gyro (medium quality only)
Mentor has Position mode and as such greatly reduces drift especially when learning to hover

CP2 is also designed for fixed also and as such has various fixed wing modes.
CP2 has a sensor that tells the system if it is inverted or the right way up.
CP2 has a handheld IR programmer

Both are great stability aids and make general flying much more relaxed giving you the oportunity to practice manouvers you may have thought about twice previously.

I like them both.

My CP2 lives on my 3D pod and boom.
My Mentor lives on my FPV heli at the moment.

[Kepler]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

Well it arrives tomorrow from the tracking info,.....so we will see.

Fitting the 600 with a tray to mount the sensor and CCD, I was going through the manual, which could do with a good rewrite, and it claims you HAVE to use the built in gyro is this true?? Not looking to give up my Spartan760.

I dont think so. I havent tested it with a separate gyro but I thought i read you could use a separate gyro. I will test this this morning.

Originally Posted by nightflyr

And as far as refitting my AIRWOLF with the FlyMentor.......Sorry Kepler ain't gonna happen I just completed replacing the tail drive gear assembly, she flys like a charm and I will not tinker with perfection now...

Fair enough. Know exactly where you are coming from.

[thatsme59]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

all I got was a response with the order # and payment information, nothing stating it has shipped yet though

I got two heads of these guys ordered on 9 aug recived on 20 aug my acc showed processing order. no email say it was sent (im in oz )