CRich917

I just purchased an HB2 and i am waiting for it to come in the mail.. i cant wait... this is going to be my first heli so i was wondering if there was a few things i need to know before i take it out of the box. I am not familiar with helis but i am very interested in learning. The reason i bought the HB2 is the price and i know where i can order replacement parts. I will keep you guys informed on my progress so i would really appreciate some feedback. P.S. i am the first person around here that i know of to try flying helis so i am going in cold turkey. Thanks it seems that these polls really do help people.

GentleBen1952

Just had what I would consider some successful hovers tonight and I have been trying since Christmas. The last week was spent waiting on repair parts. Make sure and get the training gear, it is a must. If your HB2 doesn't come with a 11.1 lipo battery, get one. I use the 1200 size. A simulator really helps a lot, have spent hours on G2. Follow some of the threads on this forum if you have any problems.

Poll

Tips. hmm. Only had my heli since christmas, but here's what I think maybe useful

Startup:
1. Turn on Tx and make sure throttle and throttle trim (slider next to throttle) are down
2. Plug in batt on heli and wait till the red light turns a solid green, then you can fly it.

I would suggest just throwing the throttle up to half power and playing with the controls, see what does what without actually taking off. Pretty much how I learned.. didn't use sim or anything. Heli's are pretty logical, they're machines after all, so if you spend some time just looking at how it works and know the theory behind how it flies you should be alright. If you want you can unplug the motors and see how the swash alters the pitch and the like, it's good to know if your troubleshooting.

Also, having the main blades just tight enough to stop them from falling when the heli is held at 90* is good; it gives them enough play to straighten themselves out when you speed up the heli.

Two common problems causing the heli to have no lift 1.) is that the swashplate comes apart after a crash (just snap it back together)
2.) and also, not sure of the reason, only happened once to me, but there appeared to be no lift and I just manually pitched the blades (held on to both the blades and twisted them simutaneously to have a + pitch) and it worked fine.

Also, do not allow your lipo battery to drop below 3 volts per a cell. Guessing you'll have a 11.1v battery, don't leave it drop below 9v. And a heatsink for the motors is a pretty good idea. Good luck, happy flying. And as the veterans say, you WILL crash, but don't worry, everything can be fixed (HB2 is pretty hard to break anyways.)

69novadose

Great Tips Poll!! could'nt have said it better my self That swash problem is very common, I added
a drop of CA to hold mine together. The battery charger that comes with the lipo version of the HB-2,
'There is a NiMa 9.6v version that dont get off the ground' , really is'nt worth 2 cents in my opinion.[:@]

VinceHerman

Tips:
Read the [link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275607]EHBG[/link]. It will tell you a lot that you need to know.

Read [link=http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html]Radds[/link]. It can help you get started learning how your heli behaves with little risk of damaging it.

bswole

Good suggestions.

I'd also add that I'd probably check the voltage on the li-poly's that come with it (if any do). I've read several places where they can put out well over 11.1v, and fry your 4-in-1. I haven't checked mine yet, but I plugged the batt in, and my 4-in-1 let out a puff of smoke. This was a new heli.

Rsolty

Onlyhad mine a few weeks as a beginner :

1.Swashplate seperation problem occured on mine (Honeybee will not take off)-solved with cleaning all oil residue from mating surfaces, a drop of ca then a squeeze back together.

2.If you struggle with tail rotor stability and feel the need to adjust the Gain and Proportional controls, be aware that although adjustments of the "Gain" preset are instantaneous, any adjustments made to the "proportional" preset will require you to disconnect and reconnect the battery for the changes to take effect

3. Broke every plastic boss on the landing skids due to heavy landings so a supply of epoxy resin may be worthwhile.

4. Sandiebibe on Ebay selling 2 sets of main&tail rotors for £19.90 (UK GBP) - I disentigrated my original rotors within 2 weeks

CRich917

Thanks a lot for the replies... i just got it in today and the manual really doesnt tell you much??? How does the Radio work .. i know there is 6 channels but what controls what??? is there a site on these types of radios?.. really wish it would have came with step by step instructions [] But you guys really help out a lot so i am counting on you... one more thing how do you work the trainer on this.. where does it plug into the computer, and where can i find software for windows ME. Thanks a lot... Cant wait till the day i can get this nice machine in the air.

CRich917

one more question... how long should i charge the battery for the first use and what about after that?.. Thanks

Poll

The charger should tell you when it's done (mine turns from red to green when charge is complete). It would be a good idea to get a multimeter (prob get one at radioshack or any electronic related store, maybe a hardware store?), i just use a $10 I got from school... to check the voltage.. You can usually tell when the voltage drops on a lipo though, drops fast. Just remember, don't leave it go below 9v or else the reaction becomes complete and it messes up the battery.
Also, if the battery is puffed and hot, put it someplace where it cant' catch everything on fire I don't think you'll have to worry about that though.. not with our hb2's =).

ahhh.... About the controls.... Like before I suggest to throttle it up, and move each control, see how it reacts.... and the little sliders, they correspond to each control parallel to it. So, if you find out your tail is swinging left too much *I suggest learning tail in, or tail of the heli towards you* then slide the lil slider to correspond... you should be able to tweak it so the heli relatively doesn't move it's tail. Heli's aren't easy, def. take patience =).

I'm not sure if you read RADD's guide yet... but it's useful in that it gives you an idea of how to learn the controls without taking off... pretty much throttle it up some so the blades get movin' decently, and move the tail left, move it right, and try to keep heli in same spot, ect. Just helps you get those reflexes before you get it in the air. (I guess what sims do...) I don't know about the sim though, don't use one.

lyjo

I also have the hb2... currently getting 10min hover's .. no problem... (then letting the motor cool)
A couple points to help...

1 - bring throttle up slow to let blades spin up to speed completely prior to lift off... This will eliminate the quick jump from ground to 6ft when your not ready...
2 - make sure main blades have same pitch ... (mine were off) and adjusted on the upper arms...

As for the landing gear... mine have broken and I used super glue then a few winds of thread to reinforce... haven't had them come free again yet...

Did have the swashplate problem but we all know how to fix it... (glue on inner race...)

ONE LAST POINT...
Turn transmitter off before handling heli... I didn't and heli spun out of my hand and to ground ...
I was lucky with no damage but could have been worse..

tanasit

RE: ONE LAST POINT...
Turn transmitter off before handling heli... I didn't and heli spun out of my hand and to ground ...
I was lucky with no damage but could have been worse..

Better yet:
To turn on: Turn the TX first, then connect the battery on the heli.
To turn off: Unplug the battery on the heli first, then turn off the TX.
Make a habit of having the throttle stick and the trim all the way at the bottom when not flying or ready to fly.
When you crouch down to connect/disconnect the battery, place the TX out of the way so you don't accidently move the throttle stick forward!!
Buy the heat sinks and put them on both motors.

CRich917

Thanks for all the help.. i have it on and i can make it spin.. huge progress for me.. i am learning the controls real well now... what are heat sinks?.. where should i put them, and why are they so important?.. and one more thing about the radio.. it has a charge insert does that mean you can charge batteries? if so what kind? and where can i get a charger? This is a awesome heli.. i love it.. i will keep you guys posted on my progress.. i am building me some training gear tom. I have a reall good idea about this.. almost imposible to crash, great for beginners like me ..... Chris

Poll

Wow, didn't even notice that, would be cool.. ... . I think it's more for not using batteries than charging them? I use rechargeable batts though, figure it'll save money in the long run. Oh, and heat sinks are just pieces of metal used to dissipate heat... keeps it cooler, motors live longer (they go on motors, although computers and other things have them on processors, v-cards..ect.)

BTW, for me, getting a new motor didn't seem to improve performance much.. still draws the same 4 amps, just seems to do it slightly more efficient... wouldn't say it's worth the $50, but I just wanted to get some more vroom ;-). The HB2 seems to do pretty well hovering and the like though, all I need I guess. =) The motor was the coreless modified from Helihobby.com. I wouldn't suggest getting it, I'd maybe wait for the 370 to come into stock.... like $20.

-basically using this bird to get me into this hobby, seems like a challenge, i enjoy it =).

And for anyone wondering, I've heard the hornet cp and humming bird parts should fit on the hb2. I've upgraded the blades and motor, everything else I'm leaving as stock since I don't want to put too much $ into this.If I was going to go nuts I'd buy a better heli in the summer, maybe a t-rex.

- Reenforced the skids though, kept breaking, finally drilled 2 holes on each skid, and used the rods from the training gear to act as 2 support braces, of course glued em with CA..... they work well.

As said before, I want to thank everyone for their posts and putting up with us Newbs, 2 months ago I didn't know what a swashplate was. ;-)