xview

Hi all,

i have over more than 4 years experience with rc planes and i've been busy with rc cars (competition for 3 years)
Now i think i am ready for some heli flying, however.....
I'm a bit confused in choosing the right pick for me.
Some sites offer the honey bee (e-sky) complete with transmiiter and extra batteries and sim cables-* spare parts.......
while others claim to have even better equipment like the gws mini dragonfly(hummingbird...and others.....) , this package only comes with the transmitter and electronics included.
is the e-sky really the best deal when it concearns price-quality?
or should i aim higher to another brand...?
Please help me out here, i really want to make a good decision.
Any comments deeply appreciated.
Love from Belgium

kurt

VinceHerman

Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples.
Are you looking to fly indoors? Then make sure you are looking at FP models. A CP model is more stable, but is more prone to causing damage to the surround furniture/walls, so they are more appropriate for outdoor use. Also, a CP model is much more expensive to repair when something breaks, and much more likely to break in a crash.

I like the Hummingbird/Piccolo for quality, although I have flown an esky honey bee and it worked well.

xview

Hi vince,

i will mostly fly my heli outdoors, so tho answer your question yes i'm looking for a micro rc heli.
i know these birds are quite sensitive to breases of winds but hey, when it's to stormy outside, i'll practice to hover in my garage.
can you provide me some links wich explain better use of all the different heli's explained in reviews, do you have some links for me?

Best regards
kurt

VinceHerman

A good place to start is the Electric Heli Beginners Guide
[link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275607]EHBG[/link]

After you learn about setting up your heli, troubleshooting it, and flying, then you can consider some mods that will help FP Micros outdoors.
A Head Stiffener will reduce coning, improving wind performance
Cutting blades will increase head speed in a hover, helping stability.

tnd2000

I think the reason GWS is considered as better units is because it uses seperate Rx, gyro, mixer instead of 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 boards other helis use. And obviously it uses GWS parts.

Pops Racer

My Feedback: (1)

My personal recommendation is to stay away from the RTF's that come with off brand radio systems. These off brand radios are not normally compatable with anything else and usually of very poor quality.

Stick with something that offers a name brand radio system in the package (Futaba, GWS, Hitec, etc.) and I think you will be happier in the long run.

Just my .02

VinceHerman

I agree with Pops on this one. Kurt, do you already have a transmitter from your prior plane experience?

xview

yes i have a transmittor, i own a graupner MC 15 digital transmittor,
i've phoned a few local hobby shops and now i have to admit i've even been thinking about buying a GWS mini dragonfly.
from what i've heard it seems to be more reliable (better plastics and durability) than a honey bee, but hey, i could be wrong.
So i'm really relying here on all you guys' good advice, but confused now.dunno what to buy now.

sincere regards

Kurt

VinceHerman

What does the local hobby shop have spare parts for? That is the one to get. The difference between a Piccolo/hummingbird/esky4ch/dragonfly is going to matter much less than keeping spares available.

pwterry

I'm going with the E-sky HoneyBee 2. It's one of the least expensive CP (collective pitch) heli's out there. And the radio components are supposed to be compatible with my Futaba TX. I like the big internet auction house. They have HoneyBee 2's that come with two batteries, training gear, and spare main & tail blades. You can also specify Mode 1 or Mode 2.

Spare parts are not hard to find:
[link]http://www.hobbyjapan2000.com/store/products.php?id=12[/link]
or
[link]http://www.eshopjb.com/Default.asp?sp=1&cat=Spare+Parts[/link]
or
[link]http://www.electric-scooters-motorized-bicycles.com/honeybee2rchelicopter.htm[/link]

xview

Hi PWterry,

i'm so confused right now, i dunno what to buy.....
i really like the low price of the esky honey bee, i can buy him for 149 Euro everything included (trainingsgear, extra set of main and rotor blades, simulator cable, software, extra battery
But on the other hand i fear the lack of quality, are there any of you rc pilots who already made a comparison between the dragonfly and e-sky?
If so please tell me what would be the best buy.
The dragonfly is 320 euro (double price) but seems to be build from better plastic.
if i would buy the e-sky i would have to order it from abroad, while the dragonfly-shop is just little over more than a hour drive, so i could expect also some service afterwards.
Is the e-sky really a nice flying machine or is rather a cheap toy wich give us all the hang into rc heli flying.

So confused......

best regards
Kurt

tnd2000

There are too many models named dragonfly, but if you say it costs 320 euro, I can only assume you are referring to the GWS Feda Dragonfly. That being the case, the GWS Feda Dragonfly is better. Just make sure it uses seperate GWS components. If not you are being ripped off. All other Dragonfly's should cost less then Esky Honeybee 2 CCPM. No idea how much EURO is worth, but I seem to recall GWS Feda Dragonfly costs much less then 320.

rustler08-delete

1.37 dollar in 1 euro