RunRyder - I want a micro electric... Opinions please.

rrTV-PHOTO

New HD TV

HOME rrTV-PHOTO GALLERIES MY GALLERY HELP-FAQ

myHOME PM pmRR MEMBERS 564 ONLINE 24 EVENTS SEARCH REGISTER START HERE

1 page

1520 views

POST REPLY

XHELI.COM	.	Autography FlightPower	.	Advantage Hobby
	.		.

e-Electric General Discussion > I want a micro electric... Opinions please.

TurboRacer
Senior Heliman
Location: CT

I currently have a Raptor 30.
I just read through probably 20 threads about micro helis. My birthday is coming up, and the GF keeps bugging me to give her ideas. Ok, here's one!

I was looking and narrowed it down to a few..

FUN Piccolo
Regular Piccolo w/collective pitch upgrade
or
ECO 8
Hornet

I really want one with CP so I can practice 3D stuff indoors.

So far the ECO8 looks like what I want. It has collective pitch, and looks liek it also has a good host of upgrades.

So far for the Eco8 I have found $179 for the heli kit.. I have the radio already, will just need the heli electronics.

Any others I should consider? Where can I find the best pricing? Any opinions or anything?

All info will be appreciated.

Thanks!
Jeff

01-15-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Johnno
Senior Heliman
Location: Southern Illinois

Unless you have a really really large indoor I would not even plan on trying 3d indoors. And unless you are flying the blades off of your Raptor even a fun Piccolo without the c/p upgrade (the only one truly flyable indoors) will be a complete handful. Not to be too negative just realistic. I started with a standard Piccolo having never flown an IC heli or even a simulator for that matter. I mastered a good hover (very difficult with a box stock piccolo without mods) some forward flight and nose in. When I bought my Raptor 30 and lifted it off for the first time I was amazed at how much (much much much) easier it was to fly than my micro. I think if you read more posts on Hornets or Piccolos that you will find that this is the case with most people. You mention the ECO 8 I have heard good things about them but Im not sure they are truly in the micro category...If you are going bigger than micro I would suggest the Logo line...these little birds are awesome!!

01-15-2003 Over year old.

bobj
Veteran
Location: United Kingdom

Hi

For a comparison of the available Hornets and Piccolo's have a look at our website skylinemodels.co.uk and have a look under the reports down the right hand side of the page, click on micro helicopters.
The Eco 8 is way too big for flying inside, well maybe in a hall but not a average house.
In any case give up the idea of indoor 3D, this is not yet really practical, it is sort of if you are already very very good at 3D and are prepared to spend time and money on the model but that really defeats the object for most!

Get a standard Piccolo or Hornet and abuse it to hell, they will take it well and can teach you a lot about fine control, once you have a better understanding of what these little models involve think about getting a collective conversion.
Going with the collective now just makes the model more fiddly and much more prone to damage.

Hope this helps.

Bob J

01-15-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

TurboRacer
Senior Heliman
Location: CT

Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I think I will get a piccollo and get the conversion sometime down the line. ThankS!!!!!!!!!!

01-15-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

jtholley03
Heliman
Location: Haymarket, VA

Some Links 4U

Here are some places with info and to buy Pics and Hornets:

Piccolo Board
http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbt...Cat=&Board=UBB1

Hornet Board
http://www.hornet-heli.com/cgi-bin/...ussion&number=3

Helihobby - info and kits - only $4.50 priority shipping
www.helihobby.com

John K's Hornet and Pic Site (look at the site map, the site links are all messed up. Look and the Moth and the Wasp they are modified to be even smaller)
http://microhelis.homestead.com/

Paul's Piccolo Tips and Piccoboard repairs:
http://pgoelz.com/piccolo_faq.html

Cheapest place for HS-50's and the gears when you strip them
www.servocity.com

Walt's HS-50 Servo Mod:
http://www.hornet-heli.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003579.html

I am not affiliated with any of these. I have an FP Piccolo and a CP Hornet. I fly and crash the Pic I buy upgrade parts and put them in the Hornet box until I get better.

If you are getting a pic look through helihobby's upgrades! You will be placing weekly orders somewhere! I have plenty more info if this is not enough.

01-16-2003 Over year old.

TurboRacer
Senior Heliman
Location: CT

Awesome jtholley03 - Thanks for the help. I think I decided on the Ikarus Piccolo. The one where I can upgrade it to CP in the future.

How come the Eco 8 is only like $20 more than the Piccolo, yet it's almost double it's size? The only reason I don't want that one is because I'd like to fly it around my house, and I don't think the 41" rotor diameter of the E8 will take to my walls... hehe..

I'm going to go check out those websites you linked me to. Thanks!
Jeff

01-16-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

jtholley03
Heliman
Location: Haymarket, VA

In House

You would not be able to fly anything larger in the house. You might be able to hover momenterily but not for long. Even the Pic stirs up the air in a room. I am learning. I can hover for a bit but then the air gets stirred up too much and it becomes more difficult. My next project is going to be a Joker for outside. Have you seen the vids on this one? It is sweet.

01-16-2003 Over year old.

TurboRacer
Senior Heliman
Location: CT

Yeah, the Joker looks really cool. But very expensive.. Plus battery packs can't be cheap!

Thanks for your help. I've been looking through those links all morning..

Do you know anything about the Piccolo with the CP upgrade? I'd like to keep it stock for a while, but definately upgrade in the future. Just wondering if it flies well.

01-16-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

jtholley03
Heliman
Location: Haymarket, VA

I personally have no experience. I am going to the National Building Museum in DC Sunday for an indoor flight deal. There will be other PIcs. One dude I talked to said they are a little better responding from control inputs and fly much smoother. He also said you don't want to crash it. The fixed pitch is very strong! Not to say there aren't weak links.

01-16-2003 Over year old.

bobj
Veteran
Location: United Kingdom

Poccolo with upgrade to CP

Hi

If you upgrade the Piccolo to CP be sure to get the larger performance 310 motor, it will fly sweet but if you plan to do 3D stuff with it you might need to go up to the Pro spec (410 motor etc)

Best regards
Bob J

01-16-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

skypup
Senior Heliman
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Hi

I have had the piccolo and hornet (fixed pitch). I tried them for winter/indoor flying. They were ALMOST satisfying. The piccolo needed a lot of mods for forward flight and it was iffy. The hornet blades allow better performance and a higher head speed. Overall I was not thrilled enough to keep them and got an Eco 8 with brushless. I love this machine. I have 203 flights since June 15th. It is fragile compared to others and not cheap to fix but a lot of fun. I'm using an ESC with governor so I have constant rotor speed. I AM NOT a 3D pilot but I loop mine a lot. They are 3D capable. The LMH Corona is another option although fixed pitch. With brusless my friend gets 9 minute flights on (7) RC2400 cells. It is rugged,cheap and fun and a great knock around machine. I'm building a logo 10 now.

I have gotten away from gas after 38 years and am really enjoying brushless electrics. They are relaible and it's so hassle free that I get so much more flying time than I ever did. I don't need to drive all the way to the flying field when time is short. Since they are quiet my friend and I do most flying at schoolyards just minutes away. Good luck.

Bob F

01-17-2003 Over year old.

edg
Senior Heliman
Location: San Francisco, CA

I've had both the Piccolo and Hornet and currently have an Eco8 and Joker. You should ask yourself if you really really REALLY want to fly inside, or will flying in the yard, street or nearby park work for you too?

The Eco8 flies a HELL of a lot better than the Piccolo or Hornet. It's not indoor, but I hover it in my tiny backyard all the time.

Like you said the Eco is only $20 more than the Pic. It's also got a nice set of upgrades down the line (although some of the stock Eco parts really suck and should be upgraded immediately). Don't expect big bargains in the micro world, it won't cost you much more to get your Eco set up.

Now, I admit to not being a fan at all to the micro's, so take what I say with that in mind. However, I DID try them. After realizing what I was spending on them and what else I could have done with the same amount of money, I sold them. Just something to keep ihn mind...

-edg-

01-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

TurboRacer
Senior Heliman
Location: CT

edg - Thanks for the suggestion. I really do want this to be my living room flyer.. I live in CT, and more times than not, the weather is too crappy to fly outside. In the summer it's pretty good anytime, but in the winter, it sucks. Plus, I have a Raptor 30 for outdoor flying.

I'm moving into a new house with a friend the beginning of this month, and it has a HUGE kitchen, and a very big attic. I will mostly be flying the pic inside. Though, I can't guarantee that I won't open the door, and fly out off the second story porch! I hear though that there has to be pretty much no wind.

All that being said, yes, I do want to fly this heli 80% of the time in my house. It will most likely be something to do while we're home drinking and getting stupid.. haha.. Thanks for the advice.

Jeff

01-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Bugflyer
Heliman
Location: Maryland

Piccolo Pro

Hello:
I am currently playing around with a piccolo pro. It is a very stable little heli and smooth. I have a hornet fixed pitch and a JR Voyager with hacker brushless ,and the Piccolo seems to be somewhere in between the two as far as ease of control and smoothness of control. I did have a problem with the tail motor ,and did replace the supplied wooden blades with MS Hornet CP blades. The new tail motor solved the tail problem. I have about 20 or so flights on it 15 outside in my backyard . It is a lot easier to fly than any other MICRO heli I have ever flown and is nothing like the fixed pitch piccolos at all. I really like it. I would only recommend flying it with the optional heading hoild module which works very well since this makes control much easier. Yesterday I took it out in about a 7 to 10 mph wind and it did fine. It bounced around a little but was perfectly controllable. Hope this info helps someone

Bugs

01-29-2003 Over year old.

Bugflyer
Heliman
Location: Maryland

One thing I forgot to add the Piccolo Pro flew fine right out of the box with no mods. The only reason I replaced the wooden blades on it was the covering did not go on very well and looked bad. For the price I thought this was a good buy. I had to put a lot of money into a Hornet CP I had last year for mods to get performance equal to the pic pro. I actually converted my Hornet CP back to FP to get the flight time back.

01-29-2003 Over year old.

Eco8gator
Key Veteran
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Hello

I am building a Piccolo Pro right now and all I can say is it is a wonderful kit. Ikaurs definally put a lot o thought into this little heli.

Here are some pics of mine.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/foru...p?s=&forumid=42

Please note, I have tested all the plastic components and they all work resonably well. This kit does not need upgrades, I only have them because I have no self control

All I recommend is to get good electronics(its not usually the micro's fault is fly bad, its poor electronic choice) and you will have an awsome
flying heli.

Carlo

01-30-2003 Over year old.

Bugflyer
Heliman
Location: Maryland

patmore is right about flying it in a small enviornment such as a living room or family room. You will find that it is very slippery in forward flight and transitions quick. This makes it difficult to keep forward speeds low when manuvering in tight areas. You can hover indoors side to side and tail in if your good even head in. The rotor head speed is a lot higher than the fixed pitch piccolo so it can present a hazard to furnishings and pets as well as your marriage !!!. I am sure that there are flyers out there better than me that could do it but I cannot. The heli does tolerate wind very well though , I think probably because of the higher head speed . This enables me to fly it outdoors more often. I had it out yesterday in a 10 mph steady wind and it could manage as long as I watched my altitude in turns. This takes up for not being able to fly it indoors as much. My house is tiny anyway . Happy Rotoring !!!!

Bugflyer

01-30-2003 Over year old.

1 page

1520 views

POST REPLY

Revolution Models	.	CarbonXtreme	.	Midland Helicopters
	.		.

e-Electric General Discussion > I want a micro electric... Opinions please.

UPDATE SCREEN PRINT TOPIC

Advertisers

Subscribe to This Topic