push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

Am looking for a biginner heli for wife and kids and am looking at the V3 Lama. Anyone have experience with this bird? I have an Esky Honey Bee CP2 and love it so I figured that maybe this version is of similar quality........... Any response is appreciated.

DEFLYER22

The ESky Lama V3 is same as the Lama 2 (the V3 only change the color and with a very small modification only - [link=http://www.china-magic3.com/picture.php?cat=13&image_id=128]you can check the pictures here to see the difference here[/link]). So the flying is the same - [link=http://www.linknety.com/modevideos/demo/zoom.php?id=14]Lama 2 flying video[/link]

NMTrucker

I have the Lama 2, which I bought as my 1st heli. Extremely easy to fly - anyone can hover it well with about 15 minutes of practice. As long as you stay inside, out of the wind it's fine. Got caught in a light breeze the other day and had to go and fetch my heli form a neighbor's yard, after a crash from about 30 ft. Damage? Only a broken tail. Enjoy!

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks for all the responses. I just purchased the V3 online and it should be here this next week. Everyone here locally is flying the Blade CX, which looks like a good little beginner heli, but I wanted something different (of course) for my fam to play with and hopefully get them more involved with flying.

By watching the videos that are out (of the V2), and reading posts on other forums, it looks like the V3 is going to be a winner and every bit as nice as the BCX. Parts availability seems to be there from what I've seen on the internet so that is covered. I just need to get a couple of extra batteries and we'll be good to go.

If anyone else has comments on this heli, be sure to post them here. Once I get mine in and have a chance to fly it, etc., I will most likely give some feed back. Thanks again!

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

I got the Lama V3 a couple of weeks ago. What a hoot - 2 thumbs up! It is great for an entry level heli and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a less expensive alternative to the BCX.

Once the proportional was tweeked it was very stable and the nose is (more or less) locked in on a freshly charged battery but tends to drift (due to torque) as the battery depleats. My wife and daughter have both tried their hand at it and with a couple of batteries they are able to get it in a hover and control it somewhat. But, they are total newbies to helis and soon become disoriented - which is pretty typical of those learning to fly helis. I think with some practice they will be just fine with it.

There are allot of guys in my club that are flying the BCX when we fly in the gym here locally. Everyone seems to really like them and they are tons of fun. But I think once the "price difference" is discovered many will be looking at the Lama V3 a little more seriously as an alternative purchase. I'm hoping that we can plan to have a fun fly just for this type of heli in the near future. There are so many possibilities here for some real fun and I think it is the perfect heli for a fun fly of this type.

The only thing that I do not like about the heli is the battery tray. It's not that it doesn't do the job, it's just sometimes a pain to lock in to place. I think primarily due to the thin plastic that they had to make it out of. Other than that it's a keeper!

robbiecoxm2z

Look at the Esky Lama thread and you will find loads of good advice about this superb little heli. The V3 is only a cosmetic facelift so everything for the Lama 2 applies.

Richster

As a RC plane flyer, I strayed into the heli world and I got me one of these in the UK at the weekend. Totally awesome - within about 30 mins I was hovering it happily in the kitchen, then progressed to the larger space and soft furnishings of the lounge. It did need lots of right trim to keep the nose straight, but once she's trimmed out it's a breeze to fly and a huge amount of fun. Took into the office and buzzed a few colleagues' desks. I haven't tried a Hirobo ever, but I suspect the slight increase in quality doesn't justify the huge leap in price, so these are probably a great starting point. She's a tough little machine too - mine took a dive from about 20 feet onto concrete after a collision with a railing , broke the tail which CA'd back together with no problems (plus you can get spares if you really gnarl it) plus broke one of the landing skids, but these again are easily replacable (as are all parts it seems). Could have been MUCH worse.

Charge time is about 1.5 hours, then you get a good 10 mins hover time out of that which is not bad for such a tiny machine.

Also I plugged the Tx crystal into my regular airplane controller (Futaba 6 channel) and it works fine, not that the one they supply seems that bad, just the Futaba is better.

10 out of 10 to the E-Sky!

Richard

moonsnake

Yep I got one yesterday within minutes I was flying it around the kitchen no probems at all, I do agree with push rodz the battery compartment is a pain to get off.

Have fun

moonsnake

Oh BTW even though it hasn't happened to me yet, if you make a hard landing with the Lama it is easy for the lower rotor blades to snap off the tail frame at the point where the plastic little stabilisers are, so take care.

Happy flying

Richster

Agreed, I leave my battery in the machine while I charge it (even though you probably shouldn't from a safety POV). Looks like the battery clips wouldn't survive too many battery swaps. Other than that it's a fantastic little machine. Still waiting for my replacement undercarriage []

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

moonsnake -

If you have a little cheapo 2-cell 700 mAh - like E-Tec - it's thin enough to slide through the front of the heli without having to take off the battery tray. Although I get better run times with the stock battery, the 700 mAh is still a good alternative and worth the $20 (+/-) that you pay for the batt.

I've really enjoyed the little heli and is a good "toy" to play with around the house when you can't get out to fly the planks. I use it kind of like a flight sim for nose in hovering/flying to keep my brain and fingers in line.

When you really get bored, try this. Make a light "tow hook" so you can pick up things and place them from one place to the other. This will definitely challenge your flying skills but is allot of fun and is waaay harder than it looks. I'm trying to develop some fun fly events for the little coaxial helis that should be too much fun. I'm not sure that the tow hook thinggy is a good candidate because it is very difficult to do.

This heli is waaay cool!

moonsnake

Cheers for that, as for the tow hook errm give me a bit longer I only got it yesterday

moonsnake

Ooops I opened my mouth too soon, I was flying around the house when a chip inside the 4 in 1 dropped off the circuit board, no damage but the chip is tiny, I'll have to grind down my soldering iron to fix it.

So if you have one stick a bit of glue from a glue gun onto the board to stop it from happening to you.

Richster

Oh dear - I'm guessing the chip you are referring to are the ones on the output stages of the two motors, so would be passing quite high current. If so I agree the connections don't look particularly beefy for this... Anyone else had this one? Maybe you can get some kind of warranty claim on this? Sounds like a manufacturing problem rather than you crashing it!

J-Cube

I ordered a Lama V3 a couple weeks ago but the website said I'd get it at the start of July. I read in an earlier post: Can I use my stock 6 channel Blade CP transmitter on this helicopter as long as I plug in the crystal they provide with the Lama? Will accidentally hitting the idle up command affect the helicopter, confusing the 4 in 1? I just want to use the transmitter I know (currently I use it for the Clear View flight sim).

Richster

Probably - there's two or three variants on crystals I believe. For example, I think that Futaba and Sanwa (two of the major brands) are not compatible from a crystal point of view, but you can of course use any brand transmitter with any brand receiver so long as the frequency band matches (and is legit in your area). So my suggestion would be plug it in and see what happens - they are all the same socket size. Also give it a range check just to be ultra sure. If it does work you could get yourself a Futaba Rx crystal on the same channel you currently have and put it in the helicopter to save changing bands when you change helis.

BTW I am only using the first 4 channels on my Futaba controller.

Don't have enough knowledge to give a sensible answer on your other point! Channel 3 is the throttle as normal, from 0 to full power. Channel 4 (tail) is used to alter the speed of the two motors relative to each other to cause the heli to spin on its axis.

Hope that helps - Richster

J-Cube

Thanks Richster. I just wanted to ask everyone, how hard is it to fly the Lama V3? I need a good answer because I've been fooled before thinking and being told I could fly a Blade CP. That really ended badly. I need to know if what the people do in the [link=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/media/EK012-CoCoLama.wmv]videos[/link] is also possible. Like when they take both hands off the transmitter and the Lama keeps on hovering. I need real answers from people who have experience with this little thing!

P.S. How well can your family members who haven't flown anything fly this?

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

J-Cube,

The Lama is very easy to fly once you get the hang of it. If you have not flown helis before, there will be a little learning curve involved but it's not impossible to be sucessful with it if you practice patients and practice often. Not to insult your intelligence, I'm going to start from the beginning on getting your Lama going as if you're totally brand new to helis. There may be others that read this that this will help as well...........

Initial set up is a real key in getting started off on the right foot. After you've charged up your battery that comes with the heli and install the AA batteries in to your transmitter, make sure you look things over on the heli to check things out before starting it up. Blow out all the little particles of styro foam packing that will collect on the plastic parts of the heli. Once you're satisfied everything is a go, center all the trims on your Tx except the throttle trim which needs to be all the way down to its lowest position. The throttle stick too needs to be all the way down to its lowest position and the Tx is turned on before you plug up your battery to the heli.

When all the above is done, you will turn your transmitter on first and then plug in your battery to the heli, making sure that it stays completely still after you plug it in. The heli takes a few seconds to calibrate so it's important that it is not bumped or moved until the little green light (that will blink during calibration) stays solid on the 4-n-1. Once you have a solid green light you're ready to start powering up the heli for flight. Be sure that you start out on a smooth surface like a hardwood floor or tile floor instead of carpet. You'll experience less problems this way and will save your blades, etc., because the heli will be able to slide on its skids easier once you apply throttle. You will, at first, always point the tail of the heli towards yourself. This helps keep orientation of the controls a little more user friendly because left is left and right is right when in this position.

The key to lifting the heli up in a hover is to not dilly dally with it but apply enough power to promptly get the heli off its skids and about 6 inches or so in the air. Otherwise, you will most likely just slide all over the place trying to get it in the air if you sloooooowly apply power. But on the other hand - DO NO just shove the throttle stick up to max power or you'll be in for a real surprise. This is something that you will just have to experience to see what I'm talking about.

Once you have the heli in the air, the nose will most likely want to turn to its left. This is caused by the torque of the main rotor. Instead of trying to correct this with your yaw (rudder) trim, bring the heli down, turn things off and remove the canopy and increase the porportional pot on your 4-in-1 unit. It is very small and hard to see, but look closely on the unit and you will find it. Look in the manual to see which way you need to turn the pot as I don't remember. Leave the canopy off, turn things back on and hover the heli. Keep adusting the porportional setting until you can get it as close as you can AND THEN use your rudder trim on your Tx to fine tune this setting until the heli's nose stays put. You will find that a freshly charged battery will keep things put better and the heli's nose gradually begins to want to turn left as you depleat battery power. So when this happens, you can either live with it by applying a little right rudder stick or re-adjust the rudder trim to compensate for this. I may have left out some things here and there but these are the "high lights" to setting up your heli.

Now, I've said all that to say this in regards to answering your questions above. Without proper set up, it is harder to fly the heli which in turn makes it waaay harder for a beginner. Even with a properly set up heli, it is a challenge for someone to learn BUT it is not impossible. Yes, you could fly the Lama "hands off" if yours is set up correctly however, I would not recommend it. Especially if you are a beginner!

My family members (wife and daughter) have both tried flying the Lama and with practice and instruction have managed to hover it for a short period of time. If they were to spend more time practicing with it, they would be able to fly it with no problems. Getting it off the floor in to a hover is the first obsticle they had to overcome. They wanted to slooooowly apply throttle to get it up which in reality makes it more difficult than it really is. But being totally new, they (as all of us are) reluctant at first to just give it power and get it off the floor. Once they got that down, holding it in place was the next challenge. Controlling a heli is not difficult once you get the hang of it but for a newbie, it is a real challenge that takes time and lots of practice to overcome.

So to sum all this up, helis are not for everyone but everyone that is interested enough to stay with it is more likely to be sucessful. If you do not have patience nor wish to devote allot of time to practice, my advise is stay away from them because you need both to be able to sucessfully learn to fly a heli. The Lama is an excellent starter heli for those who have the desire and patience to learn. This heli is about as easy as it gets and handles really fantastic besides just being tons of fun to play around with. It is one of the best investments that I've made because it has proven to be very reliable, well made and very affordable to boot. I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to spend minimal bucks to give helis a try and wants to just have fun. Good luck!

J-Cube

I understand. I own a Blade CP (trying to [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemID=195860]sell[/link] it) and I quickly found out how to get off the ground (I just didn't find out how to land [:@]). What I really want to know is, when flying the Lama V3, will it act anything like collective pitch, as in, will it just keep drifting until I give it another command and/or smack the blades against something? I don't want to buy another helicopter that tries to turn into a "lawn mower" (inverted by accident). I know this helicopter most likely isn't collective pitch, I was just using it as an example. My main focus for buying this helicopter would be, I just want to get in the air and have fun!

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

J-Cube,

The Lama (which is a fixed pitch, coaxial type heli) does not fly nor does it react as quickly (or violently) like a collective pitch heli. It is very stable in a hover and in flight with minimal effort. You are not constantly "on the sticks" like you are with a collective picth electric heli like the Blade or the Honey Bee CP2. It is a joy to fly and play around with in the house or anywhere indoors where you have limited space. Of course it's more fun with lots of open space because you can get in to more forward flight maneuvers. Just keep in mind that it does handle wind very well.

I personally think that if you've flown the Blade with any reasonable amount of success that the Lama will be a welcomed change for you if you're looking for something easier to fly. It is very easy to control, is a blast and you should be able to fly it with no problems. GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

J-Cube

The only success I've had with a Blade was when I took mine to the commons while my friend raced me with his RC car. That's the only time I ever flew without a "lawn mower" incident. It's not near reasonable, but it was still success!

I agree with you though. I'll go for it!

There's just one more thing I have to know... this won't be like my Blade CP where, every couple of flights, the blades will be unusable, will it? How much money am I looking at for future replacement parts? Knowing the Lama V3 won't "lawn mower" must save a lot of money, I'm sure.

One more thing. I have the [link=http://www.rcflightsim.com/]Clear View[/link] flight simulator and the controls are very realistic. One of the models on there is a XRB Lama. Is flying that like flying a Co Co Lama, or a Lama V3? I've been practicing with the XRB Lama for awhile in preparation for the Lama V3.

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

As far as parts replacements - that will depend on you. If you keep it from tipping over and running in to things, the parts will not be an issue. Here is a web site that sells replacement parts for the Lama V2 which is the same heli except color.
[link]http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V890236[/link]

In regards to the sim that you have, I am not familiar with it. But, any heli on any sim will help you with orientation and getting your fingers and brain in sync............ Don't worry about the Lama V3 - you'll be wizzing around in no time and having plenty of fun.............

wired203

J-Cube

I don't recall where I had seen the video but when I was researching the lama heli I found a video of the reviewer hovering the heli with just the throttle stick, and he even placed the transmitter down for a moment and it hung in the sky. I have a Blade CX and the co-axils are extremly stable in flight. I'm sure if you search for lama reviews you could come by the video.

Richster

I don't feel there's much I can add to that! We have a big warehouse joined to our offices, which has proved to be a great flying location. It stays pretty upright, so if you can find yourself somewhere large and spacey and with no hazardsm you're away!

phillipmorris

Love the Lama 3, it should not be alive, should name it Rambo Lama, mine recently winded into our lawn windmill and broke off the tail section, ordered direct from hoooby.com ....my flying experience is zero on helis, so learning alot, also have the Blade CX, wonderful heli as well but blades like to snap on my learning period..

Note the Lama 3 has folding blades, again they should not be intact but so far holding great, indoors is way to tight at present, fly outside in dead calm, light breeze keep low to the ground...

Now able to steer it around, sometimes trim abit of a problem, simply turn power off and often resets correctly..its a beautiful trainer and very well designed heli, LOVE MY LAMA..WARREN .<>.

PS waiting for tail section, meanwhile simply clipped on a wooden close pin to missing tail area, easily adjusts for balance, flys like a trooper, looks like a BEE now and foward flight is awsume...hi hi...