SNEAK PEEK

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by Stevespana

HH,
Another great conversion. I'm liking this idea a lot.

A question about the auxiliary rotor on this set-up. As the main blades are now rotating CW as opposed to CCW on the FC does the Auxiliary rotor have to be mounted differently or am I missing something ?

Steve.

You’re not missing anything…actually I was wondering if anyone was going to ask this question. Before I actually did the mod on my DDVP Bee, I was also wondering how the Aux rotor was going to work spinning CW. I didn’t know how much if any the negative pitch of the Aux rotor would affect handling/lift and since I’m not an aeronautical engineer I figured the only way to know would be to give it a try and see how it goes. During the first flight I truly didn’t notice a big loss in handling or lift, but still wanting to see if I could make the mod better I replace the non-adjustable linkage between the Aux rotor and rocker arm with an adjustable link off a 450 head. By shorting the distance between the Aux rotor and rocker arm I was able to flatten out the pitch of the Aux rotor. I have only had one flight since doing this and honestly I don’t see much of a difference, but knowing there is no negative pitch in the Aux rotor makes me feel better. I will try and take some pictures and more test flight video this weekend if I get a chance.

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by Chris Arena

If there is one thing missing in this hobby is an Align clone style 300 size heli in the king 3 proportions! I really like my 450 EXI, when the wind gusts and I cut back on the throttle, the heli settles down and does not want to blow back like the old Honebee V2.. But I do miss the 300 size bird wih cheap CNC belt tail rotors and Rotor heads. Especially for flying in smaller spaces. It's just that much more visible and easier to work on the the smaller 250. to me, bigger is not always better, but the 250 and newer micro birds are just too small!

Originally Posted by Viet-Lama

I agree CA, I love my little 250 but a 300 size Trex CP (the size of a Bee V2) would bee better for several things. Wind / stability / visability and simply working on it.
The slightly larger size would still bee small enough to fly in the same space as a 250.
Instead of a 300 Align makes a silly 100

+1 CA and VL
I too wish someone would make a quality 300 size CP helicopter. If the CP3 or SR had a decent belt driven tail setup we would at lease have something…not great, but something.

[Stevespana]

Originally Posted by Chris Arena
If there is one thing missing in this hobby is an Align clone style 300 size heli in the king 3 proportions! I really like my 450 EXI, when the wind gusts and I cut back on the throttle, the heli settles down and does not want to blow back like the old Honebee V2.. But I do miss the 300 size bird wih cheap CNC belt tail rotors and Rotor heads. Especially for flying in smaller spaces. It's just that much more visible and easier to work on the the smaller 250. to me, bigger is not always better, but the 250 and newer micro birds are just too small!

Originally posted by HH
+1 CA and VL
I too wish someone would make a quality 300 size CP helicopter. If the CP3 or SR had a decent belt driven tail setup we would at lease have something…not great, but something
.
It does exist guys but at a price !
Gaui EP255
Steve.

[Stevespana]

Originally Posted by HELIHANKSTER

You’re not missing anything…actually I was wondering if anyone was going to ask this question. Before I actually did the mod on my DDVP Bee, I was also wondering how the Aux rotor was going to work spinning CW. I didn’t know how much if any the negative pitch of the Aux rotor would affect handling/lift and since I’m not an aeronautical engineer I figured the only way to know would be to give it a try and see how it goes. During the first flight I truly didn’t notice a big loss in handling or lift, but still wanting to see if I could make the mod better I replace the non-adjustable linkage between the Aux rotor and rocker arm with an adjustable link off a 450 head. By shorting the distance between the Aux rotor and rocker arm I was able to flatten out the pitch of the Aux rotor. I have only had one flight since doing this and honestly I don’t see much of a difference, but knowing there is no negative pitch in the Aux rotor makes me feel better. I will try and take some pictures and more test flight video this weekend if I get a chance.

Keep us posted HH
Great stuff.
Steve.

[Chris Arena]

Ya know, $275.00 aint all that bad for a heli of that quality, and with a motor and esc included too. Compared to trying to bring up a Honey Bee King with all the mods, it just may be cheaper to go the Gaui way!

[FLThreeFiveZero]

Originally Posted by HELIHANKSTER

Value Hobby…Did I ever… thank you and FL350 for recommending them. hehehe
They really screwed me by sending me a green frame 450 when I ordered a black frame kit…urrrrr. But anyway…if you are going to order your kit from them I would suggest getting the GForce 3500kv motor they also sell. I have one on both FP450s and for $15.50 it really is a decent motor.

Sorry about that boss . Thats what Value Hobby does with all their kits (The 450's are green and the 500"s are golden).......I think its so that in case of any problems they can tell if it was one of their kits or a say HK450 etc.
There is thread going over at RCG apparently quite a few people arent happy with their "larger" items (airplanes) not being great quality. AND the quality of the customer service borders on that of HobbyKing quality (if you know what I mean).
I dont know about either of those 2 points....I never bought a heli or plane from them and luckily Ive not had to attempt to return anything. Ive only bought Batt's, Esc's, Servos, and Motors from them. And with those things I have to say that Ive been very happy.


Speaking of those 450's. Are you flying that Value 450? What do you think about the quality, fit, finish etc.? Ive been kicking around the Idea of getting a 450 clone to use as a basher and to try out new moves with (its time for my flying to move to the next level). Of the two 450ish class helicopters I have I wont fly the SJM anymore (parts are impossible to find) and the Gazaur parts have to come from Fla. I need something that I can source parts locally cause I plan on crashing LOTS!

[Chris Arena]

3-5-0.

I got the economy EXI 450 and it has been a great bird. However, the plastic tail rotor housing is not that hot and you will have to replace it almost immediately. The Hobby King version, for all I know looks like it was made in the same factory. They are great clones. I would recommend stepping up to the belt tail version with the CNC rotor head and tail parts. You will need em quick. Also, a complete EXE alum CNC tail rotor is only $19.95 and a complete CNC head is a whopping $29.95. and both of them work great. Main and rotor shafts are the problem and they are best bought from Align at your local store. Result.....A very nice heli at a great price!

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by Stevespana

Keep us posted HH
Great stuff.
Steve.

Did some more testing on the beast this weekend Steve and all I can say is this thing is a f#^&ing animal lololol! I still think I can fine tune it some more (would like to increase cyclic a bit), but if this thing handles crashes like I think it will…then I done…there is nothing else to be done in my quest for a 300 size fixed pitch helicopter that is just as tough as it is good in performance. I want to say thank you Steve for coming up with the idea of putting the fun copter head on a smaller bird and now I can leave you guys knowing I can move on to moddding and flying cp helicopters knowing that I made the best fixed pitch helicopter I could.

I don’t know if anyone has looped a fun copter, but I can at lease say I looped a fun copter head. Lolol!
Steve near the end of the video I show a close up of the fc head, it does a good job showing how level the Aux rotor is using the adjustable linkage.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3g7CyzQRac[/ame]
P.S I would like to thank OnGuard for coming up with a great name for this Bee

[Chris Arena]

That is a gret flying heli! Makes me wish I never sold that King 2 to JettaDan!

Anyway, if you go for an EXI or HK clone, beware of thier cruddy CNC tail rotors. I have had 2 of them break right at the joint just at the end of the tail boom clamp, Once at the top and again this one yesterday. Luckly they are cheap and I had a spare. ($14.95 from Heli X0> But then, you can see why it is so cheap. I hear the Tarot tail is a bit better. However, I will post this on the HeliFreak 450 Align page and see what they recommend.

Both of my tail hits where very light. Only one just barely bent the tail rotor shaft and the 2nd one I did yesterday seemed to have just broken by itself. I had no sign of a tail strike, my tail rotors had no marks on them, but it just broke.

It would be a good idea to check the responses on the Align 450 site and be aware of this problem with these clones. Other than than. no problems of any kind with over 35 paks thru them.

[Viet-Lama]

GREEEEEEEEEEEEEAT!
Your the new King Bee HH

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by Viet-Lama

GREEEEEEEEEEEEEAT!
Your the new King Bee HH

Thanks Bud, I wish we lived closer because I would really like you to give this animal a flight…it’s serious sick!

[FLThreeFiveZero]

Originally Posted by Chris Arena

3-5-0.

I got the economy EXI 450 and it has been a great bird. However, the plastic tail rotor housing is not that hot and you will have to replace it almost immediately. The Hobby King version, for all I know looks like it was made in the same factory. They are great clones. I would recommend stepping up to the belt tail version with the CNC rotor head and tail parts. You will need em quick. Also, a complete EXE alum CNC tail rotor is only $19.95 and a complete CNC head is a whopping $29.95. and both of them work great. Main and rotor shafts are the problem and they are best bought from Align at your local store. Result.....A very nice heli at a great price!

Cool Chris, Thanks.

[Viet-Lama]

That would bee super cool HH

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by Chris Arena

That is a gret flying heli! Makes me wish I never sold that King 2 to JettaDan!

Anyway, if you go for an EXI or HK clone, beware of thier cruddy CNC tail rotors. I have had 2 of them break right at the joint just at the end of the tail boom clamp, Once at the top and again this one yesterday. Luckly they are cheap and I had a spare. ($14.95 from Heli X0> But then, you can see why it is so cheap. I hear the Tarot tail is a bit better. However, I will post this on the HeliFreak 450 Align page and see what they recommend.

Both of my tail hits where very light. Only one just barely bent the tail rotor shaft and the 2nd one I did yesterday seemed to have just broken by itself. I had no sign of a tail strike, my tail rotors had no marks on them, but it just broke.

It would be a good idea to check the responses on the Align 450 site and be aware of this problem with these clones. Other than than. no problems of any kind with over 35 paks thru them.

Attachment 224052

Those guys will probably just say you should have paid for a real Align...thats what the guys at my LHS say anyways anytime I bring up the word clone..almost like its a touchy subject.

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by FLThreeFiveZero

Sorry about that boss . Thats what Value Hobby does with all their kits (The 450's are green and the 500"s are golden).......I think its so that in case of any problems they can tell if it was one of their kits or a say HK450 etc.
There is thread going over at RCG apparently quite a few people arent happy with their "larger" items (airplanes) not being great quality. AND the quality of the customer service borders on that of HobbyKing quality (if you know what I mean).
I dont know about either of those 2 points....I never bought a heli or plane from them and luckily Ive not had to attempt to return anything. Ive only bought Batt's, Esc's, Servos, and Motors from them. And with those things I have to say that Ive been very happy.


Speaking of those 450's. Are you flying that Value 450? What do you think about the quality, fit, finish etc.? Ive been kicking around the Idea of getting a 450 clone to use as a basher and to try out new moves with (its time for my flying to move to the next level). Of the two 450ish class helicopters I have I wont fly the SJM anymore (parts are impossible to find) and the Gazaur parts have to come from Fla. I need something that I can source parts locally cause I plan on crashing LOTS!

First sorry Brother I didn’t see your post for some reason
Second, I was just messing around with you and Dan. I know that nether one of you would recommend VH if you thought there would be any problems or issues.

My first 450 kit I order from them came black just like the one they advertise on their site, the problem came when I ordered my second kit…When I received it and open the box to my surprise the kit was green, so I e-mail them thinking they had made a mistake with my order. Again to my surprise they said there was no mistake…they didn’t have any black frame kits left, so they just send me the green kit. I told them it would have been nice if I had received a notification before they shipped the kit letting me decide if I wanted the kit or not. They seemed like they could care less about customer service and the story goes on, but anyways lets just say I wont be placing another order with them.

Yes both my FP450s are the plastic VH kits and even though I’m not using the plastic cp heads that came with the kits (yet) I have to say for the price, the quality and fit was fine, but I have no experience with high end kits so I really can't do a comparison. I can say everything went together fine and I haven’t had a part failure to date.

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by Viet-Lama

That would bee super cool HH

Yes it would Bro!

[Chris Arena]

Of all the clones out there, the only one that I never hear of any gripes over seems to be the Tarot 450. They also have a pretty stout looking tail rotor box that would fit my EXI for around 20 bucks.

If I decide to buy another 450 for when the enivitable day comes that I reduce my heli to base metals and plastic debris, I think it would be the Tarot. Seems to be the star clone of the moment. Although it is not really a clone, as it has some good inhouse design to it.

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by Chris Arena

Of all the clones out there, the only one that I never hear of any gripes over seems to be the Tarot 450. They also have a pretty stout looking tail rotor box that would fit my EXI for around 20 bucks.

If I decide to buy another 450 for when the enivitable day comes that I reduce my heli to base metals and plastic debris, I think it would be the Tarot. Seems to be the star clone of the moment. Although it is not really a clone, as it has some good inhouse design to it.

How much do the Tarot 450 clones run, are they comparable to the HK's, and similiar?

[Viet-Lama]

A fly a Blue Ray 450 (Trex 450 SE V2 clone) and its really sweet running machine.
My Trex SE V2 has a little more power in the motor but I cant tell the different in CNC alloy fit. The Align alloy finish is slightly better but its the fit that matters. Both birds fly exactly the same P&T curves and you cant tell the difference in flight.

I have Tarot 450 spares and ill tell you the plastis is stinky but the CNC alloy is beautiful. If I bought another clone it would bee the Tarot.

[Chris Arena]

The Tarot price is not that much more than the mid level clones.

Finally had a no rain day, but still was a bit gusty. Took a few laps around the court for kicks with a 6 minute flight. I got this bird finished just before the winter and have yet to get it to a large field and stretch it's wings! Can't wait! Tired of Pheonix sim. C'mon Summer weather!