ChopperMike

Exactly! I drive a Toyota. My last 3 vehicles in fact have been Toyotas. As far as I'm concerned Japanese means high quality and attention to detail. And as Mossie said, try and find a radio system or any electronics for that matter that is American made.

Mike

tahustvedt

I love my 1991 Toyota MR2! I would have to lure it behind the barn and shoot it several times for it to die on me.

My turn to rant!

Helicopters are NOT maintenance free. I don't know where people get that they fly on their own or don't need maintenance from.

For a helicopter to last forever it would be too heavy to fly, and/or extremely expensive. Just change the damn $10 motor when it dies, it's not rocket science and takes just five minutes. I always keep one tail motor in spare.

Both the AeroHawks I have bought (one for my friend) flew right out of the box and are great for learning to fly on (like I did, and my friend). They will fly better with basic mods, yes, but those mods don't cost any money. I have to let out a giggle (almost every day now) when I read about people who constantly buy upgrades to get their micro to fly when it's obviously their own skill-level that needs improving and then complain about how crap the product is.

luc-RCU

Yep, heli do require quite a lot of maintenance and parts; that's the difference with planes where you can repair a lot with some glue and balsa/foam. Heli require parts.
Also , I don't know any which has no upgrades...so the heli world is darn expensive!!

pgitta

My Feedback: (3)

"Yuk it up."

Then actually read the complaint:

It flies fine. It just doesn't fly long.

And you can keep buying $10 motors if you like. I put my brushless on it after motor one. And after I get the differnt pinions and tail motor I ordered and it still won't behave with the tail spinning, I'll write the whole thing off as a total loss and get a real one.

Mossie

I can actually see your point Pgitta. I purchased a Piccolo waaaaay back in 2001. Back then it was a very expensive collection of plastic and carbon rods. It flew pretty good but did wear out tail motors quickly and the piccobd could be unreliable. Back then we accepted that as a small issue because micro helis were cutting edge stuff and Icarus and MS were the only manufacturers.

These days it seems everyone has had a go at the micro heli market. The real shame is that most of them seem to have just replicated what Icarus designed without looking at what could make their product better, the Pic was not that great it wouldnt have been hard.

As far as the components are concerned, technology has advanced in the last 3-4yrs which would enable a more robust heli, however the old technology is still there and its cheap, so it gets used first to keep the retail cost low. My thoughts are that many of these cheaper helis are bought on a whim and never really get used...and not because they wear out quick, just because the box looks cool and they are cheap.

This sort of "cheap manufacturing" exists everywhere. Sometimes its easy to tell the cheap/rubbish from the cheap/does the job and sometimes its not. Sometimes the rubbish is worth a fortune...but its still rubbish.

On the car front: I own a '93 Mazda Rx7 "batman" this car was not cheap in its day, but it still breaks down a lot. In fact I have spent a ****load of money keeping this car running. Its on its third motor so far, second turbo, its been recalled twice and the interior is falling apart. But at the end of the day I love this car, its still considered cutting edge and other ppl love to look at it

gshoaf

I have to at least partially agree with you. A $5.00 motor here and there I can accept; but when a board goes out that cost nearly half as much as the entire outfit to replace (after only about 6 hrs. of use) its not fun anymore. I've spent enough on replacement parts to keep my electrics running (long enough to try to fly), I could have bought a nice nitro outfit. I have to admit, my Dragonfly has been more reliable than my Skylark.

crashparry

imo flyingfish hit the nail on the head with "you gets what you pay for" The cheap cost of these machines has enabled me to take up this hobby which otherwise would be out of my price range for initial layout.

pnmrr

I just started reading on this forum, so forgive me if I presume, but... I have just had an opportunity to put together a very nice heli Kit from a company out east call Quickheli. for display at my local hobby shop.

I have assembled and flown a few gas copters in the distant past and had the chance to build a T-Rex just a couple of weeks ago. These new elec helis are quite a leap forward from the old days.

Anyway, this electric helicopter kits are quite impressive. quality throughout, machined alum., carbon fiber etc. I really liked what I seen and thought it blew away the T-Rex kit. Came with AXI brushless motor. Pheniox 65 speed control and a big ole li-pol battery (I forget the size) and the heli for under $400.00 bucks

These were not beginners helicopters as far as assembly is concern, but once you put one together you just kind of say"Oh, Yea I see what they were going after, very cool" These without a doubt merit further insp by anyone interested in elec helis. there web site is:

http://www.quickheli.com/

I never heard of this company or helicopter until last week, but I liked it alot. Check it out. (buy the way, they are a little bigger than the small helis you guys are talking about in this thread, but still worth a look)

helisean

Hey everyone, take what you see and design, test, manufacture, distribute, monitor, improve, pay taxes, on your own. Then everyone could spend time flying "your" machine! Or, you could do the same and address the aftermarket potential!

2 cent[>:]

pgitta

My Feedback: (3)

whut?

rcgrinch

My Feedback: (69)

LMAO@pgitta!!!

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Ok,

1st - Brushed motors suck. They always have, and always will. I go out and buy a dremel tool, within a year, I have to replace the brushes. Brushed motors SUCK. Anytime you have a mechanical device that uses friction, parts are going to wear out. Lifespan is determined by, how hard you run it, and how often, and how long. In most RC applications, the brushed motor is OVER voltaged, OVER heated, and generally run like a ragged dog. So its no surprise that they fail...and rapidly. Instead of B***chin about the "longevity" of brushed motors, learn how they work.

Ive seen tons of people come onto these boards. They want to fly, but dont want to put the effort into understanding how or why they fly. Nothing works all the time. Even your car requires maintenance. If you bought one of those POS Fords, and the alternator goes out 2 days after you get it, do you think Ford is going to take back the whole car and give you another one....HELL NO. They will probably do exactly what century is doing and give you a new "motor(alternator)".

2nd - Everybody wants a quality machine, but they arent willing to pay for it. How many times do we see threads on here entitled "Looking for cheap beginner heli" or "Need cheap good heli". Its an oxymoron. You cant get a good cheap heli. Either its cheap because its built with less quality, uncompleted, stock, or garbage. Or its good and expensive. You pay for what you get.

3rd - Stock motors are exactly that ...."STOCK" They are just some random motor the factory had in "stock" and threw in for free so that at the very least you could get it up and flying.
I once called a factory and asked them why they didnt make a package deal with brushless motors. They told me "So many people like different brands of brushless motors, that its just not economically feasible to stock and supply that many different brands." I can understand that. For one helicopter, there is probably 15 different possible motor combinations. Not to mention the different ESC combinations needed to run them. NO company in the world could afford to do that.......SO......they leave it up to you to choose what you want.

4th - Everyone gripes because they bought a heli with a plastic head, and it should be made of aluminum. Ok. You payed $79 bucks for a barebones heli. Its got a plastic head. The factory that made the heli has a big $40,000 plastic injection molding machine, and they can pump out thousands of the parts everyday. This mass manufacturing is why your heli only costs $79 bucks.

Now you have another factory that is cranking out aluminum head helis. They cant mold aluminum head parts, they have to mill them. So they have (20) $20,000 a piece CNC milling machines running 24 hours a day with Mini-Mite tables cutting head parts. Your heli now costs $300 bucks for barebones....

WELL duh.


Final comments.
You get what you pay for, and you cant get high performance from stock. This doesnt just apply to RC.

rcgrinch

My Feedback: (69)

bdavison very well said!!!

rcgrinch

still LMAO@pgitta!!! you made my day!!!

hammered_chaos

My Feedback: (7)

if it has moving part sooner or later something will need replaced regaurdless, be a rc heli or a real car. thats why we have junk yard and trash cans

pgitta

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks. I'll be here all week.

warren52nz

I thought I'd jump in here even though this thread is a bit too aggressive for me. Mossie's last comment finally pushed me to respond becuase I have a "Batman" as well and live in Auckland New Zealand! Should contact me mossie [email protected]

On the 3D Pro thing, I have one too. It's my 2nd after a long run with an XRB which confirmed my passion for R/C helicopters. But that was a toy, really.

My comments on the 3D Pro are about the tail section. I've had a lot of trouble trying to get it to mesh properly and am on my 3rd crown gear (the black plastic one that drives the torque tube). My new parts have just arrived so I'll be assembling tonight.

I went brushless from Day One so I don't know about motor problems.

Pgitta, if you're serious about selling yours cheap I might be interested. Then I'll have a spare EVERYTHING! But the tone of your comments doesn't give me much confidence, I'm afraid. We all get pissed off (surely I can say that) from time to time about stuff but everyone here's on your side as long as you take the right approach.

A couple of my freinds have gone with the TRex and I'm starting to wish I had too since the parts are about 2/3 the cost of the 3D Pro. My only hope is that this will bring the price of the 3D Pro parts down too.

As for Japanese (and Chinese) products, try to imagine a world without them. You'd have to give up almost all of your toys, your electronics, etc. Almost EVERYTHING is made in China these days because the workers will work for almost nothing.

My Batmobile had a rebuild at about 130,000 Kms which is about right for these super cars. It's given me very few problems since and it will pull away from almost anything including the Supra. And, in the corners, well, it's definitely GOODBYE.

Sorry I'm off the topic.

bensidus197217

My Hummingbird has not gone past a foot off the ground and already fried the tailmotor.I replaced it with the high authority one and that corrected that. The thing still wants to spin with the direction of torque I adjusted everything possible and still the best I get is slowing the spin down. I took a servo and plugged it into the rudder channel to see if my radio is at fault but no it's not the problem. It comes down to gyro or mixing board and it's been a problem from day one so I am done with it I will try to send it back to my long time hobby dealer for return or part it out. As far as Japanese junk goes sure they make some good stuff but I wouldn't be caught dead driving imported cars and that goes for German stuff too. When they pack my carcass off to the boneyard it will be in a Chevy I call it pride in where I came from that is why I will not buy or drive an import.

Druss

Ben, you've got brand loyalty but don't take that to the extreme and call everything else crap... I'm the exact opposite of you and refuse the buy a domestic car (my parents long line of POS pontiacs have lead me to this view). And quite frankly, whoever said "jap crap" doesn't realize that VERY few of the rc heli's are made in Japan... almost everything out there (including Align) is either made in Taiwan or China. Hirobo is the one exception and it is actually made it Japan, it's also why it's known for it's quality.

I'd also like to point out that most of the "japanese" cars for sale in North America are MADE in either Canada, USA or Mexico... without their plants (considering how many Ford and GM plants are closing) the North American auto industry would be on it's collective *****.

Now, back to heli's... I agree with the "you get what you pay for" attitude, there are always exceptions to every rule but in general it holds true.

bensidus197217

Things change times change but I don't. But that's OK I respect your opinion Druss each to his own. And yes you get what you pay for. Thanks

redvtr1000

Mossie! here is a solution for your rx7 woes!

http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/

I had an old turbo rx but it was the same way, always something going wrong until the turbo finally gave out and an apex seal let go. It ended up in the scrap yard because I had too much going on. Did stuff a 383 in an 89 model though and that worked nicely.

The 3rd generation cars really are nice to look at though.


As far as the hummingbird goes, I think we have all been there but there isn't much you can do about it except learn from the experience and try to help out the next new guy that you introduce to the hobby. I started with an axe cp and got tired of replacing tail motors and e-boards that cost half the price of the heli itself. Bought a mini titan after that and a raptor followed that up. I could have bought a heli max kinetic or 450 mx but after using an axe, why would I want to do that?