Protos V2?

[aterren]

They have not even officially confirmed there is a v2 in the works. I would expect it to stay in the 430/470 size. Going bigger is a new model not a v2 in my mind

[Jomaba4308]

They could give the ability to fly 515 blades and still be a v2, I do agree going any bigger such as 550 is a making a new model.

[aterren]

I think a lot of people share your view. There were a fair number of updates for the stretch and 470 to 515 is quite a big jump.

On a different topic, where in CT are you?

[Jomaba4308]

90 min - 2 hours northeast of you in Manchester.

[aterren]

Might be fun to get together in the fall one day --'if you are game.

[corrosionate]

The folks at the MSH tent at IRCHA did confirm there's new versions in the works. And hinted that they'll run larger blades to get disc loading in check. The "hypothetical" example given was that "maybe a 350/360 blade wouldnt do it any more, but maybe a 380 blade would..."

Surely not all set in stone yet, and relatively vague clues to be certain, but I think we all know what they're gonna have to do to compete with what's out there.

So I'm hearing that if you want more power, you have to make it heavier... So you put a bigger motor, esc, and pack in, strengthen the frame, gears, shafts, belts..., put bigger blades to get the disc loading back down, and what do you have? A heli that flies the same as what we had to begin with, but costs 20% more and takes up 20% more space in your hangar. Lol.

To much ego associated with the size of ones heli. No one wants to be the only guy at the field with a 6s 360 blade machine when everyone else is running 8s and 380's on theirs, regardless whether they fly well or not.

Thunder tiger may have gone overboard and failed, but what of the synergy e7se? That can easily be an 11 pound heli, and there's no plastic on it at all. It's built like a fricken tank. The tail gear box system could be simplified, but otherwise that thing is solid, and pretty easy to tinker with.

And I thought folks were claiming 13+ pounds on the Max V1, not 12 pounds....


For the record, I know I'm not gonna convince the general public to stop wanting something newer and shinier or bigger, and the folks selling the stuff want to make money, so the demand is what determines what they're gonna put out, I just don't understand peoples' logic. The beauty is, we can all do what we want and buy or don't buy whatever.... Sooner or later I'll have to cave in and buy the new big bling bling machine if I want to keep flying..... But I'll always talk about "the good old days" when less was more.

[mkovalcson]

I'm very happy with my unstretched Protos 500 and have no interest in more power. That heli is light and lively. It flies great the way it is.

Currently I'm happy with my Logo 550SX so a Protos in a 550 size wouldn't pull me in.

However I am going to get a Protos Max V2, despite the fact my TDR is still flying great and I have a TDR-2 on the way.

The TDR is very light and graceful ( 10lb 9oz RTF). The TDR-2 will be setup for speed. The Protos Max V2 will be my 700 3D machine that I won't worry as much about crashing.

[OnTheSnap]

Originally Posted by corrosionate

The folks at the MSH tent at IRCHA did confirm there's new versions in the works. And hinted that they'll run larger blades to get disc loading in check. The "hypothetical" example given was that "maybe a 350/360 blade wouldnt do it any more, but maybe a 380 blade would..."

Surely not all set in stone yet, and relatively vague clues to be certain, but I think we all know what they're gonna have to do to compete with what's out there.

So I'm hearing that if you want more power, you have to make it heavier... So you put a bigger motor, esc, and pack in, strengthen the frame, gears, shafts, belts..., put bigger blades to get the disc loading back down, and what do you have? A heli that flies the same as what we had to begin with, but costs 20% more and takes up 20% more space in your hangar. Lol.

To much ego associated with the size of ones heli. No one wants to be the only guy at the field with a 6s 360 blade machine when everyone else is running 8s and 380's on theirs, regardless whether they fly well or not.

Thunder tiger may have gone overboard and failed, but what of the synergy e7se? That can easily be an 11 pound heli, and there's no plastic on it at all. It's built like a fricken tank. The tail gear box system could be simplified, but otherwise that thing is solid, and pretty easy to tinker with.

And I thought folks were claiming 13+ pounds on the Max V1, not 12 pounds....


For the record, I know I'm not gonna convince the general public to stop wanting something newer and shinier or bigger, and the folks selling the stuff want to make money, so the demand is what determines what they're gonna put out, I just don't understand peoples' logic. The beauty is, we can all do what we want and buy or don't buy whatever.... Sooner or later I'll have to cave in and buy the new big bling bling machine if I want to keep flying..... But I'll always talk about "the good old days" when less was more.

Actually that may be the most illogical thing I've read in a while. (-: May as well use that logic to say a 360mm heli flies like a 700? A heli is a heli?

At the end of the day, you have a model and an experience with that model. The sum of it's parts, design, and the end result dictate the user experience.

You are getting caught up on one particular approach to making a heli. There are ways to advance and make something better. Better as in what the end experience is with the pilot.

It's better to start with the intent to build the best helicopter in a particular size class. Not to carry over all your baggage and previous designs and end up with something that's not better or maybe even worse.

There will be a new model(s) with a lot of new design features. It will stand on it's own and be judged by the community. It will be the best possible model the MSH engineers can conceive of. What it won't be is a re-hash of what was done 6 years ago.

On the max V2 - did you miss it's a full blown 800 capable of swinging 806mm blades at high RPM with the most rigorous flight styles? To do that it has a 12mm main shaft, 10mm feathering shaft. And an incredibly robust belt only drive system.

See the Synergy 766? It can swing 800 blades like a max. They won't disclose the weight. But prob 2lb heavier vs a e7se. Which can at its absolute limit swing only 716's.

My 2c.

[alexf1852]

From the sounds of it, it doesn't look like there will be an upgrade path for current Protos and mini Protos owners.

And it sounds like Corrado is taking the same approach that SAB has taken... building a heavy duty heli and then choosing a large enough blade size to lighten the disc load and run a bit higher head speeds. It's seems like that is what the MAX is...not a 700, but a 720-730. And the V2 mini and V2 500 might follow in down that same path.

[MSH-Direct]

The current Mini with a few mods would work great, I think???

I would personally leave the 500 alone, It just works for a lot of applications, from casual to extreme, and is super easy to maintain. Just a great all around machine.
(biased, as this has been my all time favorite)

I think a 550-600 + a bit??? would be a great addition to the lineup.

As for the Max V2, Looks to be exactly what was needed

[DoubleCH]

Originally Posted by MSH-Direct

I would personally leave the 500 alone, It just works for a lot of applications, from casual to extreme, and is super easy to maintain. Just a great all around machine.
(biased, as this has been my all time favorite)

I think a 550-600 + a bit??? would be a great addition to the lineup.

As for the Max V2, Looks to be exactly what was needed

Yes, I love the simplicity of the 500. I don't need to V2 my 500 stretch. There had been a few minor weak points (from longevity, design, and replacement cost points of view) that I've fixed with my home-made mods (solid steel pinion mod with 3rd-motor bearing delete for hard 3D stretch, double-idler mod, tail lever arm mod, lower frame plate mod, micro-size servo mod, landing skid mod, etc). Since then my stretched protos has always been a super solid super reliable/durable/low-maintenance (even for hard flying) super light disc-loading machine I fly up to 10 flights almost every day when weather permits. I've put probably 2500+ flights on it within the 21 months I've owned it.

If anything regarding the V2 matter, I hope all the existing version parts are still available so I can keep my protos running for as long as parts are available.

[aterren]

I'm going to make a few more suggestions based on two significant rebuilds in the past 10 days.

Tail pitch slider -- I forgot how much work is needed to make the links move freely. 30 minutes of fiddling, filing and fitting later they work as designed. It seems that either the nub on the slider or the yolk has sides that are not parallel I've had this issue before so I don't think it is a 1 time problem.

Bearings -- Overall quality of the bearings seems much lower than Synergy, for example. Out of the package some bearings felt gritty. Unfortunately I've had them a while so returning isn't really practical.

Swash plate -- I use the swash (and both frame sides ) from a spare kit and the new swash has a sloppy bearing - it is very clearly slop between the inner and outer race of the bearing and it can be felt at the main blades. Again, the kit is 18 months old so I don't feel right about going to Helidirect with this problem.

This is has been an ongoing message and I hope it is one that MSH has heard -- step up the QC.

[mahbouni]

When you look at the current MiniP, the size of the canopy and frames are proportioned for 325mm blades. It flies very well with 350mm blades but I always felt it needed a bigger canopy. If MSH go the 380mm route then I will only be interested if they proportion it specifically for 380mm blades. I'm not interested in stretch kits.

Same goes for the 500. It is proportioned for 430mm blades. If they go the 470-500mm route then I want it to be designed specifically for that. Not interested in stretch kits.

[alexf1852]

Originally Posted by mahbouni

When you look at the current MiniP, the size of the canopy and frames are proportioned for 325mm blades. It flies very well with 350mm blades but I always felt it needed a bigger canopy. If MSH go the 380mm route then I will only be interested if they proportion it specifically for 380mm blades. I'm not interested in stretch kits.

Same goes for the 500. It is proportioned for 430mm blades. If they go the 470-500mm route then I want it to be designed specifically for that. Not interested in stretch kits.

+1

[ccg123]

This I agree with.

[vtown nick]

I don't see the need for a V2 either, just would be nice to have a full double set of crash parts on hand

[OnTheSnap]

[Thunder Fighter]

I do agree with the issue of canopy size on the 500 when stretched, I even looked at fitting a Logo 400 canopy when I had one to try and get it in a better proportion. Doesn't seem to be much of an issue on my Max which is stretched or my Mini P which is also stretched, but the P500 suffered more with this for some reason.

//Dennis.

[Colonny5]

The lynx speed profile canopies are awesome for improved visibility.

[JustPlaneChris]

Originally Posted by Colonny5

The lynx speed profile canopies are awesome for improved visibility.

Get 'em while you can, I believe Lynx is dropping all the Mini Protos upgrade parts from their lineup due to slow sales.

Luckily, I designed that canopy and still have the master mold so I'll always have a way to get one.