stockbkr
Heliman
Location: Manila, Philippines
|  I got my new XRB Bell 222 last Monday. The body and paint job is awesome. The electronics and motor are encased in durable styro. All trim adjustments are located at the bottom of the heli.  However, unlike the Lama or the Shuttle, the 222 does not have a cover to protect the trim adjustments from dust and grime. To access the the swash plate, pitch adjustment screws, and the upper gear, you have to remove the exhaust cover (which I thought was pretty nifty with the wire mesh to simulate the heat exhaust) which attaches to the main body by blunt pin-like pegs and a guide. Unlike the big brother Hirobo Bell 222 (for the 60?), skids are used instead of the tricycle wheels setup of the real McCoy.  Hirobo scrimped on the battery holder, too. It felt too brittle unlike the thicker plastics used on the Lama or Shuttle.
 Out of the box - it was more stable than the Lama or the Shuttle. (Considering both the Lama and Shuttle were very good out of the box.) I flew the 222 around the living room....it was great fun!  Disappointingly, unlike the Lama or the Shuttle's more than 15 minutes of flying time on one battery charge, battery life was a little more than 10 minutes. This is probably because the heli is heavier than the 2 previous Hirobo XRB models.
Given that it is heavier than either the Lama or Shuttle, I wonder if I can fly this outdoors...hmmmm. 
 I plan to install tricycle "landing gears" using resin attached to the undercarriage. They will be falsies since I will be retaining the original landing skids. I will also look into using parts from the new Esky Dauphin fix pitched helis. I also bought the racing mechanics set (1:24) made by Tamiya and will modify these to look like chopper pilots. I'll take some pictures and post them on this thread when I am done.
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