pwterry

I'm about to order an E-sky HoneyBee 2 and have a question or two.

Are there any upgrades available for, or adaptable to, the HoneyBee?
An Aluminum swashplate would be nice.
Variable pitch tail-rotor via belt or shaft? (larger motor?).
A "heading hold" gyro? (have a Futaba heli TX)

Years ago I had a 30 sized nitro heli. Are there any major differences in the way the HoneyBee will act/react?

Also, crashing the nitro heli always resulted in replacing the "hinge pins" on the main blades. Is this not a problem on electrics?

Thanks!

Poll

Oh jesus I wish I knew. With some time there should be more stuff around..of course. Here's two things I've 'heard'. 1. The Hornet 2 swashplate will fit on the HB2. 2. The 310 brushed motor from helihobby.com will fit on the HB2. I don't have a clue if any of these are true .

tnd2000

I've also heard eksy honeybee is basically a hornet clone.
You will not be able to use the gyro with the stock rx.

tanasit

So far, I only need the heat sink for both motors on my Esky HB2. It will be nice if there is an after market metal swash plate because several have the stock one came apart.
I think if I have to upgrade, I will get a hotter brush motor..that's it.
In order to use the heading gyro or brushless motor, you have to go "separated" with new receiver, esc, gyro. As for belt or gear driven tail rotor, I don't see the kit yet and don't think it needs one.
This is too small and too light to add any weight. If you prefer, the T-Rex 450 will give you many upgrade options.

VinceHerman

Not busting your chops, but this is not accurate. They will take more weight with the right changes. Any of the current line of Piccolo/Hummingbird or their clones will work quite well with separate components. Something close to an ultimate package would be:

Futaba gy240 HH gyro
3s LiPo battery
Any main ESC with proper amp capacity
High frequency tail ESC (schulze or TREC)
Berg receiver

Of the many different configs I have experimented with, this has given the best behavior. Heavier than stock, yes. Best stability.

pwterry, are you going to be flying indoors? Get a FP. The FP version is a fine candidate for starting out. If you later want more performance and better outdoor ability, get a second heli, bigger and CP.

Yes, the micro heli will be a twitch, difficult beast. You will struggle to keep it under control. You will crash. A lot. But the FP mechanics will survive a lot. When you do get the hover under your belt, you will smile for a week!

tanasit

[quote]ORIGINAL: VinceHerman

Not busting your chops, but this is not accurate. They will take more weight with the right changes. Any of the current line of Piccolo/Hummingbird or their clones will work quite well with separate components. Something close to an ultimate package would be:

Futaba gy240 HH gyro
3s LiPo battery
Any main ESC with proper amp capacity
High frequency tail ESC (schulze or TREC)
Berg receiver

Of the many different configs I have experimented with, this has given the best behavior. Heavier than stock, yes. Best stability.

Yes anything is possible. In your case this is a major upgrade with $$$ spent (perhaps enough for 2 more stock kits) for heavier but stable. I also saw the brushless kit Esky 3D for $450 but I chose to spend less than $400 for T-Rex 450 brushless kit (less TX), which I think will benefit more from such a major upgrade.

pwterry

Thanks to all for the great info!!!

VinceHerman:
I have about 20 hours of nitro heli apx. 10 years ago. I will be doing mostly outdoor flying. I really don't think a FP will satisfy me long enough to be worthwhile. Also, knowing how the nitro reacted to gusts, I have real concerns about how a FP would react. As to repair costs, from what I've seen the electric CP is a Whole lot less costly than the nitro.

VinceHerman

pwterry, with your expereince and outdor requirement, I change my recomendation to more closely match what tanasit said.
T-Rex (or Shogun) would likely be ideal. Of course, I still think that putting a gy240 (or gy401) on it will be the best.