You asked me for my experience with the Freya Eagle Helicopter. I hope you first talked with a friend who has one.

You would think that a Company like Hirobo who has been in this Heli Hobby business as long as they have, could produce an almost perfect product. But it appears that they are just another one of the Trash Peddlers of this Industry.

When I first unpacked my Freya Eagle kit I noticed the landing struts. What in the hell were they thinking here ? It must have cost them 5 times the molding process to come out with that idea. No one else does it like that. I talked with MTA hobbies at a hobby show in Southern Calif. and they said; " It makes no since. No one else does it like that. " Then after my first take-off & landing I learned that the struts are much too short. You will hit the tail fin on every take off and landing. So I added those rubber isolators to the struts and never had that problem again.

During the construction of the Freya you discover that you can not follow the 90 degree rule in the servo/pushrod setup because the Canopy Stand-offs are in the way. The drawings and instructions explain it correctly but it can't be done. Good engineering Uh ?

When it comes to pinching a nickel into pennies, Freya is not ashamed to cheep out on parts and systems.. They must have saved 5 cents per screw by using Phillips screws instead of Socket Head screws and lock nuts to hold the Frames together, They cheep out with Phillips Head Screws and we all know about those Chinese made screws. Try to tighten them, and strip them. After my first flight I landed with three Frame Screws Missing and four more ready to come out. A funny thing; I noticed that someone on the NET offers a package of Socket Head Screws to specifically replace the Freya Phillips Head screws for the frame. Speaking of screws; They also found a much cheaper way to attach the Radio Tray by floating the tray on the points of two short Wood Screws. Of course the sharp points of the wood screws finally ware out the plastic Radio Tray and it falls out. What are Wood Screws doing in these models ?

I wonder if Freya ever figured out how they made the Main Blade Grips so small that the washers and spacers they provided, don't fit. The Grips are too tight without spacers. I filed them down so a thin nylon washer/bearing would fit.

There is no reason for the Tail Blade holders to shatter in a slight hit. But for Freya, the holders are molded so flimsy they can't help it. Another penny pinch idea ?

In my experience, do not follow their instructions to CA glue the bearings into the plastic frame. I had to buy a new Frame for my first rebuild. And Hirobo could do well to read Ray's Manual about head cooling because this Freya idea doesn't even come close to directing the fan air onto the engine head. What a disgusting effort. While the plastic molded frame is popular with a few of our trash peddlers, try to avoid them.

At this point you may suggest that I got The Lemon of the Freyas and that doesn't happen to everyone. Well here is the biggy; I learned that 80 percent of the time there is a tragic problem with the Freya. One person at HeliProz said it's more like 100 percent.

My Freya flew just great. Much better than my two 60-JR's and the 30-Baron. I loved the Freya at this point.
So there I was with about 10 hours of time on the Freya and the tail rotor went out. I landed it with little damage except for the main shaft and a few nicks in the blades as they hit the loose sand. The Tail Push Rod had snapped at the threaded ball link.

While on the phone with HeliProz ordering parts, I explained what happened and he came out and said "It Was The Clutch that did that ! " "We hear it all the time with the Freya." Freya does not use a one way bearing in their clutch. The clutch shaft it pressed into the clutch and at least 80 percent of them are Out Of Throw or Run Out and create a vibration that ends up snapping the Tail Push Rod and destroying the Tail Servo. Because the clutch is made like it is, it is the cause of most of the problems in the Freya. It is much cheaper for a clutch like that than a One Way Bearing Clutch. And that is why they use that clutch. The Cost. You must first check out the Clutch with a Dial Indicator before installing it in the Heli. If it is out of throw, you must knock it back into Throw before installing in the Heli. I asked where does it say they have this problem and how to correct it ? They said; "Who is going to tell you their product is faulty out of the box ?"

Not only is there a clutch a problem with the Freya, The Starter Nut keeps loosening up with every other start because the Set Screw sets into a large dimple instead of a flat surface on the Start Shaft. I still have to retighten that set screw every second or third start. When the Start Nut loosens, it also creates another vibration problem that can give you more troubles if you don't correct it. The loosened set screw also develops a Burr and Edge on the shaft end which makes impossible to slide the bearings off without damaging them. The bad clutch shaft also damaged the bearing in the clutch bell. Those are not cheep. The clutch system is the main problem in the Freya Eagle. Freya refuses to except that problem and Jeff Green says there is no problem with the heli.

When I talked with Jeff Green of Freya, he claimed there was nothing wrong with that Heli. I said; "Then why is it that someone offers a package of Socket Screws just to replace the Phillips Head screws, for the Freya ???? " He muttered...and went silent.

I have never had a problem with my 2 JR Helis that wasn't my problem. I am still flying them after 6-8 years. The Freya lasted about 10 hours. And I am still fighting to get them to fly right after 6-8 months.

I just read on RunRider that someone lost the rotor head at high speed because of the "Jesus Bolt" that holds the rotor head to the main shaft, snapped. The problem was that the bolt was a full thread bolt and was weak by nature. It should have been a Shoulder Bolt for strength but Thunder Tiger disagreed and claimed that the pilot may not have tightened the bolt. This is the cop-out of this hobby industry. It's the pilot's fault. They did not follow the rules.

I have been in the RC Plane hobby for about 50 years. I am now 70 years old. About 10-12 years ago I sold about $15-20,000. worth of planes, radios, EVERYTHING to get out of this Trash Peddling Industry. About 2-1/2 years later I got into Helis. I love em. But the industry still has its incompetent trash peddlers.

I will say it again; ask a friend before you jump into a $600. to 1,500. hobby toy.
"They" figure you are the fault, not their product.