Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ?  
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Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 6/15/2004 6:03:15 PM   
afac



Posts: 24
Joined: 6/15/2004
From: St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Hi,

I was wondering if any body flew one of those x-rotation mini-helicopter ( that you can find at www.raidentech.com). I am thinking of buying one, but before I wanted to hear the opinion of somebody who owns one. It kind of looks like the LRH lama twin rotor.

Thank you for your help.


Andrea
       Post #: 1

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 6/15/2004 8:01:40 PM   
FlyingFish



Posts: 565
Joined: 10/24/2002
From: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Status: offline 		I was Wondering the same thing! I've had the Lama XRB and I know it was a great flyer, But I hated the Teather Cord. I was going to Get the Cordless X-Rotation mini-Helicopter, But I never Did, because their was a post on here a few months back that stated it was a cheap knock off of the Lama and the performance was no were near that of the original Hirobro XRB Lama. I May still try an X-rotation mini Helicopter anyway, By the way their all over ebay at a cheaper price, but they ship from china or Hong Kong.

Andrea? are you one of the few female R/C pilots.......?

< Message edited by FlyingFish -- 6/15/2004 3:02:49 PM >

(in reply to afac)
       Post #: 2

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 6/15/2004 8:08:45 PM   
afac



Posts: 24
Joined: 6/15/2004
From: St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the info. And sorry I am not a girl.

I think I am alos going to buy one of the x-rotation, anyway for the price their is not to much of a risk!

(in reply to FlyingFish)
       Post #: 3

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/19/2004 3:11:37 AM   
warren52nz


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 6/20/2004
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		I have one of the untethered XRB "Dragonfly" helicopters and have some good news. I've not been able to find parts for my exact model but, after looking at the Hirobo XRB Lama carefully, I decided they were clones and ordered some blades and the lower mast assembly from Singpore Hobbies. Everything fit EXACTLY except the replacement blades were flimsy polystyrene (styrofoam) and their average life was less than 30 seconds. They just explode if they touch anything!!! The ones that came with mine are styrene I think and take quite a beating. I've (finally) managed to make my own blades for about 30 cents each!!! 8^)

So in the meantime if you want to buy other parts, (except for the tethered vs untethered bits of course) then you can get them from any Hirobo dealer (assuming they're the same) . The battery, battery holder, radio, etc must be custom made for my version as the Lama wouldn't have those bits.

I don't think mine's a "cheap replacement" judging by the Lama blades that arrived but I've never seen a "Lama in the flesh".

If anyone wants to know how to make their own blades for these models just email me on warren@jda.co.nz and I'll post the method I used. It's pretty easy.

(in reply to afac)
       Post #: 4

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/20/2004 2:07:53 PM   
bwanna



Posts: 38
Joined: 7/19/2004
From: Magna, UT, USA
Status: offline 		I have one, but I have never broken a blade! The little part that holds the blade always breaks off first, then you have to buy the whole mast and gear assembly because I can't find just the piece I need. I have gone through about 5 of these already, and it doesn't take a huge crash to cause it, mine just tipped over in the grass during take-off and broke the piece off. Glue holds it until the next "crash" but eventually you have to buy a new one. I am thinking that the "foam" blades from the Hirobo XRB might be better, and maybe cheaper than replacing the whole mast and main gear assembly. I have been buying parts from Helihobby.com and also Starfusionproducts.com.

I should mention that this is my first helicopter and I am just learning to fly. but I did manage to take off and hover for a minute the other day. If flying turns out to be as hard as just taking off, I'm in big trouble!

_____________________________

Do not look directly into laser beam with remaining eye!

(in reply to warren52nz)
       Post #: 5

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/20/2004 11:41:52 PM   
warren52nz


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 6/20/2004
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		I bought some Lama blades but they turned out to be styrofoam!!! And if they touch ANYTHING, they fly to bits! I strongly recommend against them although they work well until you hit something with them.

Anyway, I make my own blades now and they're even stronger than the ones that came with mine. 8^)

I also destroyed my lower mast assembly and although I've replaced it now with a Lama one (exact fit), I made up one out of copper before that arrived and it worked reasonably well. I chose copper because I can solder it and that's REALLY strong! See the photo. I used a cable tie to hold two little "cut to length" finishing nails against the plastic collar which grabs the shaft. If you look at yours closely you'll see what I mean.

Looks like crap but worked quite well in spite of the weight. I'm more into flying than looks (obviously) 8^)

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(in reply to bwanna)
       Post #: 6

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 1:35:56 AM   
JohnY2004


 

Posts: 292
Joined: 6/11/2004
From: LA, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Does it come with mode 2 transmitter?

(in reply to warren52nz)
       Post #: 7

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 2:16:21 AM   
warren52nz


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 6/20/2004
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		No. It's Mode 1 I believe. Left one does left-right rotation (yaw?) and forward/backward and the right one does throttle and side to side. You could change it with a soldering iron though. I looked inside the remote. Would be easy for me.

(in reply to JohnY2004)
       Post #: 8

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 4:02:32 AM   
bwanna



Posts: 38
Joined: 7/19/2004
From: Magna, UT, USA
Status: offline 		Mine was Mode 2, throttle on the left. although there was no indication on the box. I was lucky because I didn't know enough to inquire about it.

(in reply to warren52nz)
       Post #: 9

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 4:21:52 AM   
warren52nz


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 6/20/2004
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		How odd..... Well, if you can't solder, there are plenty of people who can. Just swap the three wires from each control to the other side. And move the little "clicker" arm to the other side so the throttle stays where you put it. Hmmmmm..... actually, the throttle assembly is a bit different in that it doesn't have a centering spring. Would have to swap a bit of the internal hardware too but I bet it can be done without too much trouble.

(in reply to bwanna)
       Post #: 10

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 4:49:55 AM   
JohnY2004


 

Posts: 292
Joined: 6/11/2004
From: LA, CA, USA
Status: offline 		bwanna & warren52nz,
Did you get yours on eBay?

(in reply to warren52nz)
       Post #: 11

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 5:19:39 AM   
warren52nz


 

Posts: 117
Joined: 6/20/2004
From: Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Status: offline 		Yes. For $139 US plus delivery I think. It was $275 New Zealand in my hand (about $179US). Just add 8 X AA batteries for the remote control. Mode 1.

They say 1 hour flying for the battery and 1/2 hour somewhere else but it's more like 10 minutes. Anyway, the motors get so hot you can't touch them if you can manage a 10 minute continuous flight (improbable) so battery life beyond that would seem irrelevant.

A guy here (who also has one) measured a 5 amp current draw. The battery is 800 ma-Hr so
0.8/5 = 0.16 hours or 9.6 minutes so there ya go. When the batteries get low so does the chopper until it will barely lift off. Just as well because shortly after that it just turns off completely! You don't want to be at 20 ft when THAT happens. 8^|

Some more info for anyone who wants to know, the Li-Po battery has an internal cutout when it's fully charged so the charger is nothing special. I opened it up (230 volt version) and it's a simple transformer/rectifier type with a filtering capacitor and a zener diode and LED to indicate "charged". The LED comes on (really faintly) when fully charged (about 40 minutes on mine). Also the charger charges at 700 ma on mine. I replaced the LED with a high intensity one so I could more easily see it.

I have reason to believe that, if you let the batteries get really hot (they apparently shut down anyway) the magnets can lose some of their strength and torque will drop. Sounds feasible because heat can destroy magnetism so it might be worth stopping before they get too hot.

Also I checked on the Internet today and these motors (180SH) appear to be very common. They're also used on shavers and electric toothbrushes! 8^)

And don't forget, I've cracked the "how to make your own very strong blades" problem. Details posted elsewhere in this site.

BTW, another guy here at work brought in his gasoline powered helicopter which is a "60" I'm told. Has a 20cc weed whacker motor in it and the blades look about 2.5 feet EACH! Could probably lift 15 pounds I bet!

< Message edited by warren52nz -- 7/21/2004 5:21:34 AM >

(in reply to JohnY2004)
       Post #: 12

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 10:19:51 AM   
JohnY2004


 

Posts: 292
Joined: 6/11/2004
From: LA, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Can it really lift off vertically on a 3' x 3' square and hover steady in the air like the sell claims it would? Or does it just feel like another aerohawk/$129 dragonfly?

(in reply to warren52nz)
       Post #: 13

RE: Does any body have a X-rotation mini helicopter ? - 7/21/2004 1:36:07 PM   
bwanna



Posts: 38
Joined: 7/19/2004
From: Magna, UT, USA
Status: offline 		I saw mine on Ebay, the seller had an online store and the price was the same but shipping was cheaper so I bought it through the online store. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the place. I paid $138 plus shipping, but I have seen the same heli for as much as $209. I bought a 2 channel heli first and was quite dissapointed in it so I bought this one in hopes I could learn to fly with it and buy a really nice one later, but I am not having much luck learning, I spend most of my time tearing the thing apart and glueing or replacing the little main blade holders. It seems that everytime I tear it apart and put it back together, it flies a little different. Just before it broke the last time, It was really good, it took off straight up with no spin or right pull, it was great and I hovered it for a minute then set it down. Naturally, the next time it lifted off, I ran it into the house and broke the little blade holder and had to quit to head for the glue................

(in reply to JohnY2004)