For the past several weeks I have been testing the new Falcon 3D helicopter offered by Hobby-Lobby Intl. of Brentwood, Tennessee. This new helicopter will be geared towards those that want to get into helicopter flying on a limited budget while still being able to have a Mini sized helicopter that's capable of 3D flight. The street price is expected to be around the $299.00 price range and will be ready to fly out of the box! I will include pictures and dimensions and will try to answer your questions should they arise.
Here are the specifications for the Falcon 3D Helicopter.
Specification
* Main rotor diameter: 630mm 24.8"
* Tail rotor diameter: 152mm 5.98"
* Length: 670mm 26.37"
* Weight: 530g 18.69 Oz
Packaging
The Falcon 3-D comes in a very attractive box that not only protects the helicopter but will also serve as a carrying case if you like, it even has a handle on the top. It is well packaged in foam, which should protect it from anything but a Gorilla deliveryman. The kit contains the following parts.
1. The helicopter and blade holder, 30 Amp brushless speed controller, brushless speed 400 class motor with heat sink, 6-channel micro receiver and heading hold gyro. Four micro servos to control pitch, yaw, rudder, and collective.
2. 6-Channel Transmitter with two switches and two rotary knobs to control pitch. Note: you will need 8 AA Alkaline batteries to power the transmitter.
3. Lipoly 1300 Ma 3-Cell pack made by Art-Tech.
4. Training gear complete with ping-pong balls, carbon rods, wire ties and fuel tubing to hold the balls on.
5. Lipoly 115V Wall charger.
6. CDROM with videos of various aircraft and helicopters that Art-Tech manufactures. The CD Also has FMS Flight Simulator on it and there is a cable included in the kit to plug into your transmitter and computer, a nice touch.
7. A small bag of tie wraps, (to attach the training gear to the skids) and two Allen wrenches. There is also a set of stick on decals so you can decorate the canopy if you like. And instruction booklet with exploded views of the various parts. Note: The instructions are written in broken English but the important information is covered as well as some diagrams and pictures.
The blades are constructed of wood covered with white heat shrink. NOTE: Be sure to balance the blades prior to your first flight! The tail boom is made of aluminum and the landing gear are constructed of some type of very strong yet light plastic. The frame is made of the same type plastic as the landing gear and appears to be very strong. This material should be able to take hard landings without breaking or cracking. The tail is driven by a steel torque rod with plastic bevel gears on both ends. This type of drive system is tried and true and has been used for a number of years. The canopy is constructed of a very light yet strong plastic and the windscreen is slightly tinted and looks attractive. The tail fin and horizontal fin are a tough plastic with cutouts to reduce unnecessary weight. The color of the canopy is a nice color of red which should aid in being able to keep orientation during flight.
The only thing needed are 8 AA Alkaline batteries for the transmitter and it’s ready to fly. I opted to use some rechargeable 2250Ma NIMH AA's instead of using alkaline batteries. There is a charging port on the side and standard wall charger plugs didn't work, I had to find one with a larger diameter hole in the center of the plug. As with any helicopter the proper setup of the controls and balancing of the main rotor blades and tail blades is critical. I found that the main blades required two strips of scotch tape placed on the CG of the blade to properly balance. The tail blades were balanced and required no weight. I strongly suggest you invest in some good quality jeweler’s screwdrivers so that you don’t strip the very small heads on the Phillips screws. Radio shack has them at a very reasonable price and I found a set of 5 for under $5.99. After checking all of the controls I found that they needed no adjustment, everything was centered except the throttle trim, it was at its lowest position which is correct.
First Flight
The first flight consisted of hovering the helicopter at head height to check blade tracking. The blades were in track and required no adjustment. At this point I did several strong climb outs to check the gyro authority. On full collective stick there was no tendency for the tail to loose lock. After hovering approximately 5 minutes the motor was warm to the touch and the battery was just barely warm. The speed controller was also slightly warmer than air temperature. Prior to the next flight I removed the back of the transmitter and turned the ratchet on the throttle over so it would glide smoothly and give a nice feel on bringing up the throttle. I personally don't like the racket action on the throttle for helicopters since it always seems that one click more of throttle either causes it to climb or descent.
More Flight Testing
After charging the battery I flew the helicopter and switched to idle 1 on the transmitter after reaching 50% throttle. Please note: You want to be sure you have the throttle open to at least 50% prior to switching to idle 1! If you were to switch to idle 1 upon initial startup it could cause the helicopter to spin or loose control since it would not have time to spool up correctly! After switching to idle 1 the RPM increased substantially and the heli felt rock solid while hovering! I then flew several figure 8's and circuits getting a feel for the helicopter. I have to say that it flies like a much larger helicopter, it tracks true with no tendency to pitch up. The heading hold gyro works as advertised and held the tail with authority.
I have now had a total of 20 flights on the Falcon 3D with no issues. I did purchase a slightly larger battery pack so I could get extended flight times. I am using the Thunder Power 2100ma pack and it just fits in the battery bay, albeit tight. The run time on the stock battery is just a shade over 6 minutes, with the Thunder Power pack just over 14 minutes. The Thunder Power pack is 3 ounces heavier than the stock 1300ma pack but it seems to fly just as well. The Thunder Power pack makes the helicopter slightly nose heavy but I did not need to change the trims and I had no problem holding a steady hover with the larger pack.
Conclusions
The Dragon 3-D by Art-Tech and offered by
www.hobby-lobby.com would be a great addition to anyones fleet. With its good looks, great handling characteristics, small size, and price I think it will fill a niche that presently does not exist. A novice can purchase this helicopter and gain useful experience at a bargain price while learning and gaining their flying ability. I know from buying and flying helicopters during the past three years, I've spent more on one radio than the cost of this complete helicopter. If you’re looking to enter the exciting world of micro helis nows your chance, I just wish this had been available when I was starting out. As time goes by I'll keep you posted on how it goes, and I'll post my findings here. I will also include a video when I can get my camera lady to shoot it!
The Falcon 3D should be available this week for ordering!
Till next time keep em flying!
Gary Morris
Nashville, TN