MINICooperS

I'm also reading that alot of folks are breaking these helis and I can't figure how. If you kill the throttle and just let the bird fall to the floor when you get near an obstruction or a wall or hit something it should last quite a while. Certainly if you let it flop around on the floor, under power, something will break. You should be able to drop it powerless all day long.
Just my observation.

Xanthius

I've purchased 4 differently packaged MicroGear micro heli's....and 2 of them have had battery/motor problems so bad I had to take them back.

The first one I returned after 2-3 flights and it would not hold a charge anymore.

The last one was today! I got a large MicroGear Dragonfly2 (just put a full 3hr charge on it) and will fly it tomorrow.

The NEW body style of the MicroGear heli is awesome...round , plastic cockpit with shorter tail, no foam. It flew about 2 or 3 times, then the tail motor stopped running full speed. No obstruction. I checked several times. While running the motor, after recharge, it started smoking and the front got very hot. Battery must be fried. I will take this back soon. Both battery AND tail motor failure!

So, if you get it running past the first few flights you should be good to go. The other 2 we have, two different foam body styles, have run dozens and dozens of times...still going strong.

Raumz

I got the Microgear heli at Fry's the other day because it was cheap and I always wanted a RC heli. I almost didnt want to launch it after a 20 minute charge because I didnt want to break my new toy. But I finaly did launch it and I realized after it slammed full speed into a wall that it wouldn't break that easily. So I flew it around for a while. Then my father wanted to try it out. So he launched it off full throttle and it slammed right into the cieling of the room. It crashed to the ground and I thought "No problem" but it wouldnt take off and I found the tail rotter was broken in half and there was a crack in the tails shaft that wouldnt let it fly.

So I got another one and this one is doing great. My only complaint is that I have to re-trim it every time it takes off, and for me that is quite offten because I am new at RC helis and I cant control it that well, or trim it that well for that matter. I think I only ever had it flying straight 1 or 2 times.

generem

Congrats on the purchase. I've had about 30 charges off mine and havent broken anything yet... The heli will never fly straight without constant left / right feeds... atleast mine wont. Its always a balancing act.

MINICooperS

Fry's had another sale on their MicroGear helis this week so thought I'd check out the 5" Hughes 300 "Fairy" they were selling for $21
Here are a few pics comparing it to its Big Brother! Seems funny calling a Picco clone "Big".
Looks like main shaft wobble should never be a problem as it's fully supported throughout its length. With the beefy frame it weighs in at 12 grams and no foam in this baby. If it holds up as well as my other MG's and flys as long I'll be happy.
Enjoy!

MINICooperS

The MG Fairy (Hughes 300) just made her maiden flight and wow! Since it has the same power band as the MG foamy it really moves, and with the shorter tail boom it is ultra sensitive to control inputs. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners as it takes some degree of skill, and for an 8 year old "forget about it". It does get the longer ten minute flights like the MG Foamy though. After you've mastered the basic MG I'd highly recommend it! And a micro Hughes 300 for $21 can't be beat. IMHO
Enjoy!

Raumz

Heh. Well I got the 'no begginers' one. But I seem to have gotten better because I can trim it in mid air and keep it in flight and away from a crash for a good 2 or 3 minutes. Though now my new problem is I cant figure out how to get it to 'hover' above my landing target. All my landings seem to be semi-crash landing, coming in at about a 35-60 degree angles and just letting the thing drop the extra 2 or so inches before it touches down (my landing surface isa table that is somewhat crowded that cannot be clear of as of yet so I dont have a huge space to set down). Does anyone have an advice on how to slow it down so I could come in at more of a 70-90 degree angle?
Thanks for your time.
Also I was just playing with my heli and it was about to his a wall so I let it drop, about 6 feet. Once I launched it again it just flopped around. So I hel pit by its struts and tried to get it up to speed before letting it go. It still just spun sharply and hit the ground. I cant find out whats wrong with it. I tried trimming it but I dont think its a problem of that. I dont see any chips or breaks in the props. I have no clue whats wrong with it. Anyone know what might be wrong with it?

MINICooperS

Raumz,
Sounds like your tail rotor is now pushed up against the motor casing. If it is touching it can't counter the torque from the main rotor and it will spin uncontrollably. I pull my tail rotor blade out until it's flush with the end of the motor shaft on the outside, to make sure it's freewheeling.

marc.aronson

I purchased a microgear heli at Frys today. It flew fine for a while. After several crashes I had to replace the rear rotor blade -- I used the spare that came with it. Now it seems to always rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Using the left-trim button doesn't correct it and trying to keep the stick on the transmitter always pushed to the left doesn't help either. I suspect something needs to be physically adjusted -- any help on what to do would be appreciated.

Marc

Note: Edited original post on 5/14 to correct numerous gramatical errors. Guess I shouldn't be writing posts just before I fall asleep :-)

TCchopper

If left-trim doesn't work, try the right-trim.

marc.aronson

TCchopper, thanks for the suggestion. I've tried trimming in both directions and I've tried pushing the transmitter's rudder stick in both directions. Neither solves the problem. For a while I noticed that holding the rudder control all the way to the right would slow down the counter-clockwise rotation of the heli enough for the thing to hover, but now that doesn't seem to solve the problem anymore.

Marc

MINICooperS

marc. . . .
Are you stabbing the right trim multiple times (as many as 10) on a full charge, during takeoff? This should work. If not, it sounds like your tail rotor is jammed up against the motor casing. You shouldn't see any of the motor shaft protruding from the outside of the rotor blade. I put a half-drop of epoxy on my blades to prevent the shaft from protruding, while still allowing for blade replacement.

marc.aronson

MINIcooperS, thanks for the reply. I have tried hitting the right trim multiple times on a full charge without any improvement. I've also checked and the tail blade is not jammed up against the motor casing and the shaft is not protruding from the blade. When I push the rudder all the way to the right, the heli doesn't rotate counter-clockwise nearly as rapidly.

You mention the drop of epoxy -- is that placed over the outer side of the hole that the shaft goes through?

Marc

MINICooperS

Try this:
Give it full throttle and full LEFT rudder until it's about 5 ft. in the air (it'll be spinning CCW)
Start stabbing the RIGHT trim button until it stops spinning.
If this doesn't work and you're sure you're using good batteries and the rear rotor isn't hanging up (blow on it), you've got other issues I've never run across.

As for the 5-minute epoxy, yes it goes on the outer side of the hole the shaft goes thru but make sure the shaft doesn't protrude before you apply it. The idea is to close the end of the hole so the rotor doesn't slide into the motor when crashing. I suppose if you were real careful you could use a soldering iron to melt the end of the plastic to close the hole. I just used epoxy because at the same time I was re-enforcing the blades with it.

marc.aronson

Thanks for the help, but no luck. I recharged the battaries in the transmitter to be sure they were good and made sure that the rear rotor spins freely. I am using the replcement blade on the read rotor, so I am starting to suspect that the replacement balde is defective.

Marc

rf1

I had the same experience so you might see if you made the same mistake I did.... I put the replacement rotor blade on backwards. It doesn't necessarily go on the way it would appear. I had to punch a hole through the opposite side and then slide it onto the rear motor shaft. Then, once I fixed the over-trimming I had done originally trying to correct the problem, everything worked great again.

james_chen70

Hello Marc,

I had the same problem. On my chopper it was fixed by adjusting the 'tail flap'. Not sure if I am calling it with the right terminology. Anyways, it is red and white in color, pointing down. If you look at the chopper from its tail, the tail flap is pointing down. When I had the rotating CCW problem, the tail flap is bent towards the left. After bending it to the right, the uncontrollable rotation CCW was resolved.

It is a great toy. Enjoy.

PS. This is my #5 from Fry's... I kept running into this rotating CCW problem. Finally figured out how to 'take care of it'. Hope this suggestion helps you.

James.

cold4ged

See the new Havoc Heli Laser Battle. Not out yet, IR battling helicopters.[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwhWgRIwWms]Havoc Heli Laser Battle Air Hogs Internal Review[/link]

Dave ESPI

I'll stick with my Havoc Heli. I've bought 4 of them and had problems with one, but it was my fault as I crash landed it into my saltwater fishtank.

They all flew great, but the replacement one I got direct from spinmaster flies PERFECT every time. Maybe they have ones that are put together my "smart people" from the factory... LOL.

mocars2

You say #5 from Fry - were they all the 300 non-foam ones? Did all of them have the CCW of death as I call it? And the flap is your fix huh? I had a foam one that would work on it's own - too it back got it replaced and the new one had the CCW of death and broke off a piece of the foam foot and - Fry said because they saw a slight crack it was broken and they wouldn't take it back. Did they take all of yours back and what did you tell them?
I've got a 300 non foam and it's tons better.

mocars2

my little Fairy that I got from Fry's lost it's top pin and I can't find it. Tried a part of a paper clip - terrible; then tried a part of a stir mixing straw still not good.
Any suggestions?

cold4ged

Unreleased havoc heli laser battle.
Here's a new havoc battle set soon to be copied I'm sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKJeP_C3LSU
Just an internal QA review, but you can see how it works.
[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKJeP_C3LSU]Havoc battle test video[/link]

marc.aronson

rft1, you hit the nail on the head -- that was my problem. I removed the tail roter and attached it the other way and now it works. Thanks!!!!

Marc