Lee G

Seen a few of these poping up on ebay. Are they any good?
etc etc dumb newbie questions etc etc cant use search function etc etc
What are they like handling normal out door wheather conditions, build qualtity, can you fit any other shells to them.

Thanks Lee

credence

My Feedback: (2)

Eco-8 is made by Ikarus, it's a mid sizer (bigger than the micros). Build quality is OK, nothing fantastic. Some parts beg replacement. It's not a cheap chinese product though, they're made in germany. Theres tons of upgrades available for them, including full aluminum rotor heads, auto gears, etc. It's my understanding that the eco-8 has been around for some time (2000 or before I think) and so has had a long time to "mature".
Uses a belt drive, which is nice. It can use mechanical mixing, negating the need for a computer transmitter. My eco-8 never flew all that great with mechanical mixing though, it was real sloppy. Stick a CCPM setup on it and you'll be much happier. I'm in the process of getting a computer transmitter so I can go with the CCPM.
Eco-8 can suposedly be made into a real monster aerobatic performer that can outperform most comparable 30 glow size helis, but be ready to invest a good deal of cash into the bird to get it to that level, as the stock setup doesn't lend it's self well to aerobatic flying. Some of the motors that are good for aerobatics (such as the Hacker line) will easily cost you $250, just in the motor!

As far as build, I find the instructions to be very well done, and everything was explained clearly, with very detailed pictures. Had no problems with assembly, and it was my first ever heli kit.

The only real hit is if you want to convert this to a scale heli or anything like that, there isn't much. There is only 3 available fuselages I know of, and out of all of them, only the Bell 222/airworlf is even decent looking. In terms of canopies, theres nada. I suppose you might be able to get other canopies from raptor 30's or logo 10's to fit with some modifcation, but it probably won't be pretty

Because of the helicopters size and weight, it should handle fairly strong wind without much trouble aslong as you have a good gyro (gy201 or gy401 would be best). It is definiately more tame in the air than any micro i've ever flown, so it's certainly easy to fly.

Lee G

Thanks for the info. You allso put a smile on my face when yoiu said what bodies were avalable. I intend to have an airwolf be it nitro or lecy. Just the learning to fly bit that stands in the way now It adds more incentive to sit down with the sim etc

I had done a search on the eco 8's on here and got very little info. Going by the age of the heli it would explain why they keep poping up on ebay as oposed to few t-rex's. Seems like the model shop I use are very biased on their sales as well going by what you have said. All they want to sell is huming birds or full blown nitro's. They tried puting me off a T-rex along with the eco 8 saying about setup being hard, poor flight and so on.

Nothing like trying to push crap on customers they make a lot of money on through spares [:@]

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My Feedback: (2)

T-rex is a very good option aswell, simply because of their popularity and parts availability. I think however, you'll find, that most mid-size electric helis aren't popular to begin with. Possibly due to their size and relative cost. The eco-8 will probably cost you about $1500 or more in the longrun to get flying well.

A quick search on this forum will not yield many posts about mid and full size electrics such as the eco-8/16, mikadao logo's, e-voyagers, e-raptors, etc.

But then, a properly built and setup eco-8/16 will fly loops around most small electrics, so it's a matter of what you're looking for I guess .
Eco-8/16 offers alot of room to grow with the helicopter as your skills progress, but the initial cost can be a little steep in getting it flying. The helicopter it's self is cheap, it's the electronics that kill you ($120 for a gyro, $250 for a transmitter, $100-300 for a motor, $100-200 for a speed controller, $50-100 in batteries, etc.)

Have a look at www.helihobby.com or www.fxaeromodels.com both carry the eco line aswell as all their upgrades and cnc machined parts.
I'm happy with my eco-8, but it's costing me a damn fortune! [:@]

Lee G

I was down the hobby shop today and asked a few more questions.

The reason the trex is not pushed more. Is the main sales man does not have one, so he has no intrest in them.

But the eco so they say, uses motors that are designed to rotate in one direction, but have to be reversed for the eco 8. So they burn out a lot and need constant replacing.
Being in europe, we can order straight from Ikarus, spares, complete kits etc. Every version is avalable eco 7,8 and 16
http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/onlin...7/tpl/-/lang/1

Would something like that need upgrading straight away?

It allso looks like they are puting all their time into the picolo and droping moast of the shells that were avalable

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My Feedback: (2)

This only applies to brushed motors (about them only spinning one way).
A brushless motor doesn't care which way it spins, and I would definitely go with a brushless setup on this heli.

The only real nescesary upgrades to get for the stock helicopter for basic flight and control are the auto-rotation hub (about $40) which will save you a gob of cash on destroyed main gears, tail servo mount, and possibly a frame stiffener (though you can make your own) Or you could just buy the all aluminum frame, either-or works.

As for that kit, I wouldn't bother. You really are better off getting all your own parts and electronics seperately.

A major problem with the base design of the helicopter (for me anyways) is that the tail control servo (with mechanical mixing) is located directly beneath the ESC and motor. I would get random glitches in the tail causing it to swing out for no reason. Very poor forethought was put into that design decision. Of course, tail mounting the servo removes this entire problem, but then requires a computer transmitter as you no longer have the mechanical mixer to mix the pitch between the main and tail blades, and if you've got a computer transmitter, you don't need mechanical mixing to begin with .


Ikarus brushless motors are pretty good, but i'd stick some hitec servos and your own ESC and gyro in there rather than what they give you. 40 - 60 amp ESC is probably a good bet if you go brushless and offers lots of headroom if you ever wanna change tooth count or battery count for more performance. Futaba GY201 or GY401 gyros are probably some of the better gyros available for larger helis like the eco, i'd stay away from a rate gyro, but that's just me .

Woots

Lee G,
The ECO-8 is my favorite. With my 8000 Mah Lipo I get 30 min flights! I did upgrade alot right out of the box:
- aluminum 120 deg swashplate
- aluminum frame
- boom servo mount
- FB blades
- aluminum tail slider

fxaeromodels is a good source for spares/upgrades. I fly with a buddy that has a 40 size Raptor and there's nothing he can do that I can't (plu I can fly for 30 min)! Here's my website with some pics:
http://wpenny.rchomepage.com/

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My Feedback: (2)

The alu swashplate is my next big buy, but damn, it's expensive. Almost as much as the whole eco kit to begin with!

That's a pretty groovy canopy paint scheme you got going on all three of your heli woots . Those tiger colors are nice

Lee G

Thanks for all the help and the information.
THe tiger paint job does look nice.
Looks like wwhen my application is accepted to join an out door club the eco is the way to go. And it wont have the added cost of constant buying of nitro, tuning etc.

Thanks again Lee

Woots

Thanks for the comments on the Tiger schemes. They are actually really easy to do. Anyway, the ECO-8 and T-Rex are the way to go IMHO. Yes, the aluminum swashplate is pretty pricey - maybe there's a cheaper plastic one? Hope you get your ECO going Lee G.