RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is it the users?  
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RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 12/29/2005 5:13:05 PM   
nmacwarbirds



Posts: 1157
Joined: 12/16/2004
From: Coltishall, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Dear Ghostcav
Who is the UK importer please. I am thinking of buying a #36.
It would be nice to have it set up, it would be worth paying a little bit extra for that.

Regards Phil Goff.

_____________________________

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Coltishall Memorial Flight, 242 Squadron.

(in reply to GhostCav)
       Post #: 26

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 12/29/2005 5:25:30 PM   
GhostCav



Posts: 84
Joined: 11/25/2005
From: South Staffordshire, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Hi Phil,
I found the trader on ebay,I actually ordered the helicopter to my spec & just asked what the price would be.He trades as World wide hobbies & His ebay name is Helimeup.As I said when My machine arrived there was non of the problems I hear about from some other people on here,everything was set up ready to fly.When I asked him about it He told me that they check over the heli before dispatch.I also ordered a couple more Li-Po's (Non Walkera) off him two days ago & they arrived today so I'm impressed with his delivery times as well.

If you can't find him then PM me or post here & I will try & find his email address.

All the best
Shane.

_____________________________

Agile,mobile & often rather dangerous.
Hirobo Shuttle Plus/Trex 450 XL CCPM

(in reply to nmacwarbirds)
       Post #: 27

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 12/29/2005 7:56:52 PM   
nmacwarbirds



Posts: 1157
Joined: 12/16/2004
From: Coltishall, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Dear Shane
Thanks very much.
I have seen his posts on ebay.
I am really tempted to buy one now.
Regards Phil G.

_____________________________

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Coltishall Memorial Flight, 242 Squadron.

(in reply to GhostCav)
       Post #: 28

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 12/31/2005 9:50:31 PM   
robl45


 

Posts: 134
Joined: 12/29/2005
From: , FL, USA
Status: offline 		are the electronics really that bad on this chopper, it looks much nicer than the esky honeybee cp2 and I really want to get it, but everyone is saying the electronics are junk. Can someone comment?

Thanks

(in reply to nmacwarbirds)
       Post #: 29

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 12/31/2005 11:45:27 PM   
credence


 

Posts: 2518
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Brampton, ON, CANADA
Status: offline 		It's really a hit or miss rob. Sometimes the electronics work fine out of the box, sometimes not at all, sometimes some work, other parts glitch. I believe most problems are still related to user error and setup though. Aslong as you accept the fact that the helicopter will most certainly NOT be setup correctly from the factory, and you follow the guides in configuring it here, and you accept the fact that you may have to end up replacing some electronics right from the get go, you shouldn't have too many surprises. The helicopters are usually pretty good structurally, just don't expect any miracles from the electronics. Personally, i'd suggest getting a barebones 36 and buying the electronics seperately, but at that point, it will cost you as much as a t-rex or x400 would, so you may aswell just get one of those .

_____________________________

Daniel
True Northern Hobbies, Inc.

(in reply to robl45)
       Post #: 30

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/1/2006 12:44:12 PM   
nmacwarbirds



Posts: 1157
Joined: 12/16/2004
From: Coltishall, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Dear Credence
Happy new year to you and your family.
It seems like these Walkera's have a cult following.
Most people love the look of them and are aware of the possible pitfalls of owning one.
The challenge is getting one to fly reliable or fly at all.
You might have answered this question before sorry if you have.
When the #36 is set up correctly how well does it fly compared to a Trex or a X400?

Regards Phil G.

_____________________________

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Coltishall Memorial Flight, 242 Squadron.

(in reply to credence)
       Post #: 31

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/1/2006 6:40:37 PM   
credence


 

Posts: 2518
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Brampton, ON, CANADA
Status: offline 		nmacwarbirds, thanks for the kind words.

I could not tell you which is better since I do not personally own either of them. At anyrate, the #36 is basically a Shogun V2, so it will fly more like that if anything. If I had to put my money on what flies better, i'm obviously going to say a Trex or X400 simply because they're very different machines that have alot of support behind them and quality manufacturing. Along these lines, flies "better" is relative to ones opinion. A t-rex is a very agressive machine, whereas (from what i've read) the #36 is more docile at the controls, so in this regard, depending on your flight preference, one may be better than the other.

Walkera very much does have a cult following, which they created themselves through their lack of consistent and proper assembly and product testing. People who have had no problems with Walkera are usually the ones saying they're great, never had any problems, etc. Then you have a clear division, with people on the other side saying they produce nothing but junk, the electronics aren't worth a damn, and so on. Know that saying always make a good first impression? I think it applies here. Only in Walkeras case, they won't likely get a second chance with alot of folks .

_____________________________

Daniel
True Northern Hobbies, Inc.

(in reply to nmacwarbirds)
       Post #: 32

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/2/2006 1:41:10 AM   
nmacwarbirds



Posts: 1157
Joined: 12/16/2004
From: Coltishall, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Dear Credence
Thank you for a frank and honest reply.
As you can probably tell by my handle (nmacwarbirds) I am a lover of anything WW2,
particularly the Spitfire. However when I first started flying some 27 years ago I had a
Micro Mould Lark Helicopter a fixed pitch machine with no giro and a HB .25 glow engine for power.
Needless to say it was quite tricky to fly. It seems very similar to the Walkera helicopters, I had to
continually replace parts on it and in the end I got fed up with it. although I still have it.

Looking at this thread has rekindled my interest in Helicopters particularly electric.
I can't make up my mind which one to go for, my wife tells me to have the cheapest one.
I told her when I first met her I don't come cheap.

Regards Phil G.

_____________________________

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Coltishall Memorial Flight, 242 Squadron.

(in reply to credence)
       Post #: 33

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/2/2006 2:03:16 PM   
nmacwarbirds



Posts: 1157
Joined: 12/16/2004
From: Coltishall, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Dear All
I have gone completely mad and ordered two helicopters off ebay
The Walkera #10 all in including a spare scale fus not a Lama.
Shipped to the UK for £105 I might get clobbered for vat and duty on that one.
I also purchased a barebones E-Sky Honey Bee Cool CP that one cost £68.50 including shipping
from with in the UK so no duty on that one. An engine was included with the Honey Bee.

Regards Phil G.

_____________________________

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Coltishall Memorial Flight, 242 Squadron.

(in reply to nmacwarbirds)
       Post #: 34

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/5/2006 4:32:15 AM   
wolfpack72


 

Posts: 14
Joined: 12/26/2005
From: bertram, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I bought a Walkera 22D for Christmas. It had some good flights at first and then developed a mind of its own. The 3 in 1 receiver crapped out as well as the tail servo. so now I'm putting all new electronics in it. I've replaced the servos with eflite micro servos I'm either going to put a helimax or GWS Peizio Gyro in it and a eflite ESC. The heli for the most part is built pretty tough if they could just make their electronics better. I think my next Heli will be the Eflite Blade CP I've read lots of good reveiws on it. I found a Walkera Tail lock gyro for sale at a reasonable price but I'm not sure how good their tail lock gyros are.

(in reply to GhostCav)
       Post #: 35

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/11/2006 1:50:49 AM   
pedigo99


 

Posts: 45
Joined: 1/8/2006
From: Rio Rancho, NM, USA
Status: offline 		i just got a 36 and the gyro is not worth a flip. i have a futaba gy240 on the way.

(in reply to GhostCav)
       Post #: 36

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 1/11/2006 9:56:09 AM   
HP03 BlackHawk



Posts: 129
Joined: 1/7/2005
From: NLR, AR, USA
Status: offline 		How about this

Attachments
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(in reply to pedigo99)
       Post #: 37

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 2/7/2006 10:38:24 PM   
consultjdm


 

Posts: 5482
Joined: 8/26/2005
From: Canyon Country, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Wow, hard to figure what all the comments add up to. Let me just add that I have a EF showgun and it can have a million problems also. The better you get to know your Heli from practice and repairs the less problems. Setup of the transmitter is so important. Little hops up a foot and right back down and seeing how it drifts and responds need to be done until you have trimmed it out to be more or less stable. And then tighten everything each time you get ready to start flying. I have regular mechanical problems. Normally dealing with the tail rotor. From the housing being striped where the bearings hold the tail rotor shaft to the gear that the pinion gear turns to drive the tail rotors belt and the housing just becoming loose. But now with those problems I usually only have to buy the new gear for $4.00 or a new housing for $6.00 or so, and up we go. Of course this means I can land while it spins in circles. So once beginner crashing is done little goes wrong. I think mine cost about $800 - $1,000 to get up in the air with nice batteries and electronics. I do not have electronic problems. My phoenix controller and HS 56 servo's and eclipse 7 TX with QCPM receiver just keep working. Even the cheap EVO gyro works okay. But when I used to crash I could break tons of parts. And I mean just from a hover 3-4 ft up and flipping over into the ground. So I guess I am saying that if you crash either one they break. The electronic problems would give me pause to buy a walkera because the expense of the darn heli was really the electronic not the heli. Shogun $150 before motor and electronic.

I just suggest going to your local store and buy what they sell. You'll be getting parts every day until you get good. And then only once a week for parts you wear out.

But hey for $150.00 sabre $129.00 on sale you can have a lot of fun. Just understand you will spend another $250 before you can fly it. But I fly mine an hour or so a day in the house and maybe only spend about $15 -$20 a week on average. (servos burn out, and other stuff - and I even bought a new one and used the old one for spare parts. I used every part off the old one over 3 months). What makes us try to fly them in 5+ knot winds I don't know - what a rush - oh thats it!

Good luck
JD

(in reply to GhostCav)
       Post #: 38

RE: Walkera products, are they really that bad, or is ... - 2/8/2006 2:04:13 PM   
Gary JP4



Posts: 100
Joined: 2/5/2006
From: nashville, TN, USA
Status: offline 		Just my 2 cents. Between 3 friends and me we have gotten 6 Walkera #4's since Christmas. All have broken top frame connectors. Seems Walkera has had a bad batch of parts since late 2005. 2 were broken in crashes, 1 with minor main rotor strike, and 3 with no strike. One of those on first flight (that was my backup, I never had a main rotor strike on either one). All are down waiting for parts. I ordered parts for 3 of us split between a few OEM replacement parts, and some CNC machined aluminum parts from a Guy in Canada. Also I am told we could use some parts from GWS Dragonfly. We will see what works but, so starts the modification process.

Just my 2 cents. Between 3 friends and me we have gotten 6 Walkera #4's since Christmas. All have broken top frame connectors. Seems Walkera has had a bad batch of parts since late 2005. 2 were broken in crashes, 1 with minor main rotor strike, and 3 with no strike. One of those on first flight (that was my backup, I never had a main rotor strike on either one). All are down waiting for parts. I ordered parts for 3 of us split between a few OEM replacement parts, and some CNC machined aluminum parts from a Guy in Canada. Also I am told we could use some parts from GWS Dragonfly. We will see what works but, so starts the modification process.

One of the crashes was due to a bad 4 in 1 which ran at full throttle on battery plug in. Crash could have been avoided by carefully securing at plug in first time, but ESC was bad to start with.

I was drawn in by the low cost and flying friends bird. I used to build and fly RC nitro airplanes.

I am totally fascinated by these helicopters and the challenge of flying them. Can't wait to get them going again. I am starting to look at more expensive electrics. I am sure I would not have purchased something more expensive at first but would agree that would have been good advise. I started with a $100 dollar bird and a $100 backup. I thought that was good logic because I would crash many times for sure and these are cheap and cheap to fix. I havn't crashed yet (close). Have taken in very slow. 5 out of 6 of these DF #4's all flew nicely. We learned how to set them up. I learned to hover. I am hovering consistently at 3 to 6 feet except a bit weak on nose in. I can hover in and out of ground effect and stay within 3 to 6 (sometimes 10 foot?) box. Still using training gear. Other models may be more stable but I don't know any better.

I have spent another $200 on parts, 2 cell