cutlassglsracer

Ive been looking around at the various RTF e-heli's and I'd like to know what you guys think of the:

Thunderbird 2 heli, it comes with a 6 channel radio(how good is it?)

I have heard that the Esky the dragonfly and the hummingbird are all the same design, is this true? If so which is best? I was looking at a dragonfly.

I want to get a FP for now so I can learn to hoover the heli, then convert to CP in the future. I know there is a CP kit for the Hummingbird so I'm guessing it will fit the esky and dragonfly also, is this correct? Also is there a CP kit that will work with the Thunderbird heli?

I was kind of leaning towards the Thunderbird because it comes with a 6 channel radio, so it wouldn't need to be replaced when converting to CP.

What do you guys think?


Thanks in advance,

Alan

jyc

Have you looked into a Corona, by Litemachine? It's a much bigger heli and the cost of operating and initial setup is equivalent to the Piccolo or HB. Flying it outside, the wind has lesser affect on it.

If you want to fly only indoors, I would go with HB by Century. It's lot more stable than the Piccolos and the parts are readily available.

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ultramag1234

i think the gws dragonfly is ideal but the jabo is another fine flying machine
Mike

JohnY2004

No matter which mini helicopter you plan to get, whether is gws dragonfly, jabo2, honeybee, aerohawk, or thunderbird 2, these helicopters will consume tail motors like crazy. But you can always get bunch of cheap $0.75 tail motor from Allelectronics.com for replacement of the burnt motor. However, since thunderbird 2 uses type 360 main motor which produce higher torque than most of the mini helicopters I mentioned above, as a result, it has to use bigger tail motor to keep the tail straight or "higher authority". A single cheap $0.75 tail motor doesn't generate enough thrust to neutralize the torque of the 360 main motor. You have to use much more right rudder to keep the tail straight. The tail motor will burn up even faster. But there're alternatives that you can either go with dual-motor setting or direct drive for the tail.

I have the Jabo2 and I'm very satisfied with it. What I like about the most of the Jabo2 is its smart PCM transmitter. With the smart PCM transmitter, you can turn the transmitter on/off anything wihout sticking to the same routine: 1) TURN ON THE TRANSMITTER FIRST, 2) PLUG THE BATTERY ON THE HELICOPTER, 3) UNPLUG THE BATTERY ON THE HELICOPTER, AND THEN 4) TURN OFF THE TRANSMITTER LAST.

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

I think the little motors @ Allelectronics.com are- - CAT# DCM-166. You have to buy 2 of them for $1.50

cutlassglsracer

Thanks for the replies. I'll keep all of that in mind when I make my purchase.

kakemanx

Anyone willing to buy me 10 of those motors? And send them to Norway..

When i try to register, its just for customers in US,canda, and mexico

I can send money with paypal? or something?

leslie_p

Be careful, dcm-166 motor are rated at three volts. If you run 3 cell lipos you will toast them very quickly. I would recommend mabuchi ff-n20pn motor it's a six volt motor and will last alot longer, expecially if used in a dual mount setup. These are available from bg micro for .79 cents (.49 for 10+).

cheers,
Leslie

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

I would think that money would dictate which heli you would want. Me being new to helis but not to RC planes found that a cheaper easy to repair and not expensive either is the mini Dragonfly, it looked like a safe way to go. Its brand new got rave reviews and its simplicity in fixing makes it all worth while. IMO you cant beat the price and you can use your own comp radio or the supplied one with it. My brother seeing the dragonfly started to look too and found the Shogun 400,or Zoom its a CP and it can get very very expensive to maintain especially if you just starting out in helis. I wanted something to bash around a bit and learn on and from my experience the dragonfly so far can take quite a beating and it is not hard at all to get to hover just take your time in the beginning with the set up procedure and i found it to be quite stable.

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

Well seeing as though I burnt out the main motor accidentally(Totally my fault)I figured I would stock up so I just purchased three of those ff-n20pn motors and 2 of the em150's at 8.00 a pop for the main motors and a whopping 2.37 for the 3 tail motors I didnt think I could go wrong. Now all I have to do is buy a pinion gear puller.

Shard

Just to straighten something out... the Mabuchi ff-n20pn tail motors from BG Micro (stock# MOT1022) are exactly the same as the ones from allelectronics.com (DCM-166). Do not be discouraged by what some might say and get yourself a bunch of those guys... I've used mine for 35+ flights and still kicking strong. When used in a dual setup the life of those motors increases even more.

david5272

where can I buy a jabo2. I went to hobbyjapan2000.com and looks like they just sell the jabo for $135, great package price.

JohnY2004

I looked at mabuchi ff-n20pn (dcm-166) specs sheet. This motor is rated 1.5~6.0 volts for the operating voltage on mabuchi website while it's being rated 1.5~3 volts on allelectronics.com.

JohnY2004

I order 30 pieces of these little guys on each purchase. Included shipping costs less than $30. With the same amount of money is only enough to buy 4 from LHS.

I have a set of GWS mirco pinion gear puller. It does a very good job of removing a pinion.

david5272

I'll ask again,

where can I buy a jabo2. I went to hobbyjapan2000.com and looks like they just sell the jabo for $135, great package price.

J-a-s-o-n

The one at hobby japan doesn't look like Jabo II becouse the box looks different than mine. You can buy one from http://www.uce-tech.com/ (slow website) or do what i did and but one from ebay.

Good Luck
Jason

DeuceMan_408

What are the capacitors you use for the dcm-166? You guys have a link to that also?

ultramag1234

if u dont wanna bother with tall motors then get a dp heli like the shogun, they use a belt or gears to run the tail

LiquidSky

I also have a JABO 2. It shakes a bit and the tail twitches a little on take off. But the trim for the tail seems to alter as the battery gets used. Is this normal? The tail motor has burnt out now, so that may have been the cause but I won't know until a new one arrives. Also, this is my first helicopter (used to fly IC planes), when first trying to hover do all helicopters drift around or should you be able to trim them to take off and hover quite stably in the air (in doors)?

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

Not to sure about your tail motor set up. My Mini Dragonfly doesnt do that I have it tweeked pretty good with the Gyro and moxer gains. As for stability in a hover you are always going to be on the controls with a heli like this they are touchy and anticipation of their tendencies is key to how much correction input you give it. I am always moving the sticks around in a hover but its slight and minimal.