RE: My Hurricane 550's first Hover
Still great helis to learn on in their plastic or cf stock form.. and with a simple $60 motor upgrade and some cheap CF blades they are even more fun! This is my old plastic z30 hurri now with hundreds of flights on it. All of them have been very low maintenance helis. Only two complete bearing changes and those were after wicked crashes onto pavement. Same stock tail on em, same belts, never a kick or static issue that wasn't due to a setup issue etc.. definitely was worth every penny of the initial investments. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMFi_84k82g[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cFbWvGNeeo[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LPaSYY75cw[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eoYxwaahs4[/youtube]
Posted on: 9/4/2010 7:46 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9947256

RE: My Hurricane 550's first Hover
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKEpla-Uvw[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q83VJPr5QEM[/youtube]
Posted on: 5/27/2010 12:12 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9762083

RE: My Hurricane 550's first Hover
I've got 3 of them and fly em everyday. They are better than most give credit for and do well with stock parts and basic electronics. They and are simple to fly and a breeze to setup. Here's a vid of practicing a cradle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbSM-f0mW-8
Posted on: 2/28/2010 9:20 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9544095

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
[quote]i really really really wonder if there is anyone could succeed this scrap garbage to fly?? cuse ill give him the nobelprize [/quote] I've only been flying for a little over a year now, and this heli has more miles on it than any other in my hangar. I've moved on to other helis now and don't fly the king2 much anymore, but it still flys great for me and was fine for learning and even up to entry level 3-D: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh2Rm3MIbjE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eR0XQZ1Vhw ..And I agree that the main issues with controlling any heli well are practice and patience. Before I shelved the king2 last month and moved on to newer helis, i flew that thing pretty hard and it took a lot of abuse for the amount of $ i spent on it. It was well worth the cost and served me well. [;)]
Posted on: 5/1/2009 11:03 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8733224

RE: WIN A FREE Scale Fuselage from V-East & Graupner Helis
Might as well give it a shot! :-)
Posted on: 1/13/2009 8:21 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "RC Helicopter General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8355168

RE: MSH Protos just finished!!
Great looking heli and I hear they fly great. Does anyone know if you can use a 3300mAh or 3700mAh 6s pack on this heli and still have good cog?
Posted on: 1/8/2009 8:33 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8333623

RE: WHAT IS A GOOD 450 SIZE HELI
Well, i don't know what to tell ya.. i can only share my own experience in shopping at HL over the last year or so. I've spent a total of $748.59, (which is much less than what i've dumped at other places) at hobby lobby and have only had one minor $5 shipping issue with them that was quickly corrected and credited to my account the next day. Every order i've placed with them so far has been at my door in 3 to 5 days.. and i've had good and bad luck with several other vendors so i didn't get in a twist about it. I guess it just proves that none of them are perfect and we each can have unique experiences with any of them. There are plenty of places to shop on and offline, so there is no reason to get or not get something heli wise just because you aren't happy with one reseller. As for customs.. i guess you will have to find a vendor in country that can easily supply you with the heli and parts. Best of luck to ya. It might be worth calling around to see if any vendors have remote offices in your country that could supply you.
Posted on: 1/5/2009 4:42 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8322217

RE: WHAT IS A GOOD 450 SIZE HELI
I've flown a lot of 450's.. some priced about the same, some much more, and if i was buying, i would get: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/dragonus.htm It is smooth, performs great and is simple and cheap to repair.. just get the hardened main shafts and a few main gears and you will have a nice machine for the money. Take a look for yourself here and in some other forums (there is a nice thread on rcgroups) to see what other pilots are saying about it. If you can, get out to a local club and fly as many as possible before you decide. Fly a TRex, Mini Titan, CopterX, BlackHawk and Dragonus to decide for yourself after the hands on. Best of luck to you no matter what you end up going with.
Posted on: 1/5/2009 12:14 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8320117

RE: Unreal HH
Chaos RC has it for $40 shipped ;) http://www.chaosrc.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=34
Posted on: 1/1/2009 8:53 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8304998

RE: Telebee HH
When i was starting out setting up the tail on the king2 i just [b]secured[/b] the landing skids to a 14" tupperware lid, then placed the heli on a smooth floor and adjusted it that way. The lid helps to keep the heli from tipping and makes getting the gyro/servo set up simple. Just make sure you keep the lid away from the tail blades. ;) [u] [b]*If you do this, make sure you secure the heli very well to the lid.[/b][/u] :-)
Posted on: 12/25/2008 7:54 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8282238

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
[quote]hello, i have a big problem with my new honey bee king2. since a small crash the direction don't work and the gyro is always flashing!!!! please help thanks [/quote] Depending on what gyro you have, it could be that your gyro isn't initializing properly because the rudder trim on the TX isn't centered or close enough to center. Try to center the rudder trim and then power up and see if that lets the gyro lock in. Also, make sure you are in HH mode on power up if it's a HH gyro. Hope this helps. Steve
Posted on: 12/21/2008 10:10 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8269284

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
I'm only using a $50 telebee gyro on my old king2 and it can flip and roll and invert hover low to the ground no problem. The tail does kick out when i punch it really hard and it takes some finesses to get it to perform some things with the stock plastic head and wood blades, but it's ok as long as you know how to fly the tail a bit when flying backwards. Rusty, she's still servin' me well after a year of hard use! It was a little bit of money well spent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh2Rm3MIbjE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eR0XQZ1Vhw What is really amazing is what it CAN do for a little budget and cheap entry level heli.. i'm still amazed every day i fly it. After watching those video clips, it just looks to me like he lost control/orientation of the heli when inverted because the tail flared a bit as he reversed collective and didn't adjust much to hold the tail during the transitions. Really don't need a rock solid tail to do those maneuvers and doing them with a rate gyro helps a lot when moving on to the hh gyros.. hell, my king2 still has a happy wag when it's inverted lol, but i fly the $%^& out of it anyway heheheh. The little heli is a tank and thanks to Rusty all the support and advice and for steering me that way when i was starting out learning. Hats off to ya Bro and thanks again man! :-) Steve
Posted on: 12/15/2008 9:05 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8246396

RE: looking for a case
http://www.rchelicoptertown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1515&page=7 Post #65 was my unique heli case creation. It worked well but now i have another large heli so they all won't fit heheheh. It does work well to carry 3 helis, tx, tools and li-po's to the field. It was just a hard golf case that i got for free and added some foam.
Posted on: 10/28/2008 4:18 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8093195

RE: Gaui Hurricane 550 Swash Servo Questions...
Hahaha.. I don't care about brands.. just like servos that work and keep working long term. Although i push the helis really hard, i'm no where near a 3D expert, but i do some aggressive flying everyday. My skill level isn't even close to pushing my cyclic servos to their limits lol. I'm using DS 821's for the swash on both of my Hurricanes and they work fine for hard sport and entry level 3D. Here they are in action.. you can't see too much of the snap rolls and tic tocs because i didn't have a camera person with me lol.. but they fly smooth and are very responsive and will easily do good 3D when in the hands of a better 3D pilot (because i've let them fly it).. just need a better pilot than me heheh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImScrDbcy_I They are good servos and are effective and are still all original servos and gears after 323 flights and 4 crashes on one hurri, and 331 flights and 3 crashes on the other hurri. Any servos with at least the performance rating of the DS821's should be fine, but i'm staying with what i know already works. Happy flying!
Posted on: 10/28/2008 12:42 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8092632

RE: My Hurricane 550's first Hover
Managed to keep the hurri in one piece after the flybar rotated in in the cage during flight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImScrDbcy_I Check out the paddle orientation in relation to the flybar cage ;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlJLdEN9Ju0
Posted on: 10/23/2008 3:21 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8076507

RE: Dragonus NVII and Elite
The Dragon is a great Anytime project : -) [sm=thumbs_up.gif]
Posted on: 10/12/2008 6:40 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8042121

RE: Dragonus II
Fly it everyday it isn't raining. No new crashes to report.. lots of hard sport flying. Doing snap rolls, flips, tic tocs, tail slides, low inverted hovers just inches off the grass.. with the PLASTIC head version, stock WOODEN blades and the cheap ESKY 8g servos that were on my honey bee king2 lol... and not even one boom strike lol. What an amazing little heli. I was going to upgrade some of the parts, but.. WHY when it can do all this stuff on a tight budget setup? I'm still very happy with this heli. :) Steve
Posted on: 9/27/2008 5:06 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7996375

RE: Dragonus Pictures
My Dragonus pics are here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7551697/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm As for using esky servos on cyclic, the old 8g servos work great on it. ..So does the esky 3800 motor with a 13T or 14T pinion. lol.. what it "deserves" is a pilot that can smack it down with the esky stuff, because my noob 3D is far from maxing out what the esky motor and servos can do and I fly it pretty hard. One thing that had to go right away was the telebee gyro on the tail.. that didn't hold well at all during tic tocs or tail slides. For now I've got a gy401 and 9650 on the tail and now it holds good. This heli is a dream to fly and it's not hard at all to hover it inverted inches from the ground for an entire batt pack. It's well worth the price and the plastic version is super cheap to run and fly hard.
Posted on: 9/5/2008 11:21 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7924801

RE: Dragonus II
Howdy, I wanted to post this as soon as it was figured out and tested. The problem that I was having with the main shafts bending in flight was caused my [b]me[/b] not having the programmable head set up correctly. I was on the phone with Rusty and he was telling me about another friend of his that pushes the Dragonus hard and hasn't had a problem with the main shafts bending in flight.. so.. i'm thinking "well, what the h$#%"? We went over the programmable head settings one by one and sure enough, mine was off by one. I made the correction and then flew the heli hard again and couldn't bend the shaft in flight anymore. [b]http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=29_231&products_id=4000 (If you scroll down to the middle of the page to the "Adjustable Bell-Hiller Ratio for Different Types of Flying Pleasures" area.. for the 3D setup, I had one link going to A1 instead of A2.)[/b] I wanted to apologize for my statements about the main shafts being a weak spot on the Dragonus. The real weak spot was [b]me [/b]not setting up the heli properly. I'm very sorry for any negative feedback that I gave about the main shafts. The Dragonus is still much more enjoyable to fly than any T-Rex 450 I've flown and is an awesome bargain and I would not hesitate to buy another when I finally wear this one out. :) Steve
Posted on: 8/28/2008 11:40 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7895222

RE: tips on flying? a 3D for the first time
Since you got such an awesome deal on it, spend some of the cash you saved and get a good simulator and put in [i]at least [/i]30 or so hours before you even think about lifting the B400 off the ground. If you don't, you will be spending more $ and 30 or so hours of down time fixing it until you break down and practice anyway. I spend as much time on the SIM as I do flying at the field and it's paid off. The other method is to do the training gear fly in a box and hop around and fix it when it breaks. It is possible to hammer the SIM and master all orientations and beyond, then learn hands on to fly that B400 without ever wrecking it. Enjoy the heli journey, it's so worth it! [sm=thumbs_up.gif]
Posted on: 8/20/2008 11:38 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "RC Helicopter General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7868574

RE: NooB here.please help me decide.Do I Want Honeybee king 2 or Gaui 200
I have never flown the Gaui 200, but the Gaui 550's are a blast to fly. I did find this heli: http://www.art-tech.cn/english/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=248 but I have no idea of the price or performance compared to the Gaui 200. I do have the Art-Tech Shark 450 and it has held up well and still performs great with over 200 flights on it. It really depends on your skill level, where you want to go skill wise and your budget.
Posted on: 8/17/2008 10:58 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7857358

RE: Honeybee King v2 tuner shop
[quote]Has any one heard from Rusty lately? I PM him and get no answer LOL Riggerbill[/quote] He read the email I sent him yesterday. I don't think his PM feature is enabled here in the forum so you might want to send him an email or give him a call.
Posted on: 8/10/2008 12:53 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7828713

RE: Dragonus II
[quote]Did you order your Hds 877 servos from Helidirect? How do you like them? Are you running the same servo on the tail, inside the heli - or on the tail boom? [/quote] I got the 877's from Rusty. I only have two of them and they have survived bench testing lol. I'm still waiting on the other two to come in so I can test them all out in the air. I'm not sure if Rusty is getting them from HD or not. I guess I would really only need one more 877 at this point, but I originally had (4) DS 929BB servos that I bought from Rusty, but two of them crapped out (one even smoked/burned up).. on the first few flights. I sent the other two that still worked back to Rusty and during his first test he had another one fail. I'm running a GY 401 gyro paired with a Futaba 9650 servo on the tail and it is great combo. I have the servo mounted on the boom.
Posted on: 8/7/2008 11:53 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7822324

RE: Dragonus II
Nope, I didn't hear about the Dragonus 500, but that would be cool. I feel your pain man, I'm still waiting for the last two hds 877 servos so I can finally get the Dragon back in the air again. Maybe they had limited stock or something and only sent 2 instead of 4.. i dunno. I'm tempted to ditch a lot of these budget, back ordered, parts anyway and just go with the higher end electronics from now on that I can pick up at my LHS. The LHS is only two miles from my house and although it costs more, when I leave the building, the parts are with me lol. I guess I could always take the esky servos out of my king 2 and end the wait.. but that would put my king 2 on a shelf..and that's not right because that little heli and I have history heheh. The Dragon is a great heli though for sure. Take care, Steve
Posted on: 8/6/2008 8:26 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7817302

RE: Zippy's lipo's
"Granted, this does not include blades" Don't forget to include the other more costly crash items .. big $ goodies, like all the electronics (servos, esc's, motors, Li-po's). Big price difference in frame replacement cost from smashing my HBK2 frame compared to my larger helis.. There are little cheaper parts that are close, but main gears are never a big worry regardless of the heli.. but for the most part I agree that parts like those are pretty much a wash and that the Trex 600 and other large helis are fairly inexpensive to fix for what they are.. but the items I mentioned above aren't cheap and the initial price for them or the heli isn't either. If you can seriously find the [u]expensive[/u] parts (that really kill to replace in a major crash) for the Trex 600 at the same price of the HBK2 equivalents,.. lemme know.
Posted on: 7/21/2008 8:40 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7756903

RE: Am I the only one who wants a Gaui 550?
Have two of them and love them. I thought that was what we were all flying lol. I would be interested in buying a few bare bone kits at some point if the price was right.
Posted on: 7/17/2008 12:05 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7740855

RE: Dragonus II
Hi UFC, I'm doing fine. Been busy and not online much, but have been able to get some flying time in most days. I have my doubts about the hollow main shaft on the Dragonus being strong enough.. and i don't just mean in crashes. The narrow servo sizes that must be used so the servo arms don't hit the frame is a limitation, but workable as long as servos that fit it are available. The canopy mounts are located way back on the frame and although I'm sure I could relocate the mounting posts somewhere else more towards the front of the frame, it's a weird location and it seems to only serve the proprietary canopy.. which will be gone one way or another... soon. :) Don't get me wrong, i love the little heli. It is great in the air and is as happy right side up or upside down. ..just a few things that I'd like to find a work around for, that's all. JacChr, sounds like you have to either reverse the gyro and/or make sure your tail servo is set up properly. It's a basic tail setup. Check out the Finless videos and follow them step by step.
Posted on: 6/17/2008 12:20 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7627687

RE: HBK2 mysterious clicking noise
Hi Don, A couple quick things to check.. Check where the main gear meshes with the pinion to see if the main gear is hitting the set screw. Check the motor mount screws to see if they have come loose allowing the pinion's set screw to hit part of the frame. Check to see if any of the plastic head parts are hitting the anti-rotation bracket when the head spins. Steve
Posted on: 6/10/2008 9:01 AM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7602390

RE: My Hurricane 550's first Hover
These were taken tonight just after a series of thunderstorms moved out of our area. Our power went out so I figured why not head to the field to fly! Not great conditions for photos, but it was fun flying around out there after the storm.
Posted on: 6/9/2008 11:21 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7601234

RE: Best Collective-Pitch SMALL electric heli?
My vote would be the plastic head and tailed Dragonus II. The Dragonus is rugged and the parts are inexpensive.. so overall much cheaper to fly and upkeep than most other 450's. The Kong Power 2200's work great in it.. so do Thunder Power 2100's, Esky 1800's, Art-Tech 2200's, Mega Power 2100's etc.. Your best bet would be to fly a Trex, Copterx and some other clones before you purchase anything, so you know what "feels" best in the air to YOU, and are able to compare them from first hand perspective to accurately judge all the factors before you make your final decision. Once you fly a few of them the decisions get much easier. ;)
Posted on: 6/8/2008 12:46 PM by Author "xodarap1" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7594502