Carlos2

Well, I've learned how to hover the HB in a pretty stable manner. I've just started to practice a little nose in and tail in hovering. Man is this stuff exciting when everything is going right. No major crashes yet, nothing broken except a tail boom support which I dont plan on replacing (flies fine). I'm still having problems getting out of ground effect on occasion though.

Turned out there is probably a good reason. The main motor gave up the ghost after around 2 hours total time. I dont think this motor was ever 100% out of the box. I'm betting its probably why I couldn't consistently get out of ground effect.

I ordered the century HB 370 upgrade motor and a heat sink. Hopefully its not another 2 hour wonder . Does anybody have any experience with this motor? How is its reliability?

(I'm secretely hoping someone will convince me to get one of those orion motors or something )

tocano

Carlos, I too always wonder why sometimes it can't get off the ground. Is it the motor or the battery pack. I wonder if anybody have tried the graupner 280 race? I have tried speed 300 but the tail can't keep up. Do you have stock standard setup?

Gazoo

My Orion motor lost power, so I resorted to the HP stock motor which I already have. The HP motor is a good improvement over the standard stock motor. Not sure how long it will last.

I took the top off of the Orion motor and it has wipers instead of brushes. They look burnt but I would assume it is easy to get replacements. I don't know why, but the motor has always been real hot even after a short hover. Others have posted that it just gets warm. It is kind of a shame because it had performed so well. I did not have many hours on it and it should have lasted longer. Setup was with the stock blades, 10T pinion, and Etec 1200 2S Lipo battery.

I was tempted to get a brushless, but I have needed to force myself not to go that route because I am trying to save for my next heli, and I will definitely want a brushless for it. So what I decided to do was to order an Acro 280BB 6Volt motor which has replacable brushes. I hope it does not get hot, and that I can find a heat sink for it.

Anyway, the Acro will be here later today and I will post some results as soon as I can.

AtomHeartMother

I had about the same track record with the stock motor. I then bought a GWS 370 motor-which I am 99% certain is the same as the 370HP Century motor. This motor lived just slightly longer than the stock motor. Heat kills these motors. I have read of decent success with the added heatsink. After I burned up the 370, I decided to take the brushless plunge. Before I got my astro 010, 10 turn, I just didn't understand what all the rave was about with these high priced motors and controllers. Now that I have one, I can see why. Power is superb. Throttle transition is flawless. And the beauty is, this motor will last a very, very, very long time. I would hesitate buying a brushless for the HB until you start crashing less. Not to knock anyone's ability, but that's how I viewed my own purchase. The stock motor and 370 did give me enough time to feel confident about running a brushless motor without breaking it in a crash. I still crash by the way..hehe
Anyway, you have to decide if you think you'll stick with the hobby and how much you'll be flying when considering a brushless motor. If you answer"yes" and " I'll be flying alot", then the brushless motor and controller will pay for itself in one season.
High performance brushed motors are very good. Replacement brushes are fairly inexpensive, but eventually you'll have to have the commutator turned. I prefer the virtual zero maintenance of the brushless set up.

tocano

Yes, I agree. That's why I am not getting a brushless now. I just want to get a descent brushed motor untill I know how to hover well. I just want to have a heli that take off when I want it to take off.

Jim_McIntyre

I'm surprised.

I'm getting good power out of my stock hummingbird. Not a lot of time on her (probably ~30 flights) but I've flown out the the charge every flight.

One thing, the charger supplied is not worth bringing home. Perhaps this is the source of the problems mentioned here?

Carlos2

I think that these motors are so cheap, that the quality control on them might not be that great, maybe explaining the variability.

As far as my battery, I'm pretty sure my batteries are being charged well since I'm using a peak charger (albeit a cheap one).

Carlos2

When you say the tail cant keep up, what do you mean exactly... Can you hold the nose steady if your getting off the ground in a fairly slow manner. Or are you saying that it cant hold the nose straight with more aggressive throttle inputs. I'm just a newbie, but shouldnt you be able to hold the nose steady with the biggest motor, as long as you are not doing heavy throttle inputs (somebody please correct me if Im wrong).

I worry about this since Im gonna get the Century 370. I dont envision myself doing any zoom climbs or anything like that, I just want the thing to be able to hover and have a decent climb reserve. With my motor that just died, when I could get it to hover out of ground effect, I had maybe one click on the throttle left over for additional climb. Definitely not enough to recover from any sort of unplanned decent rate.

Tocano, I am running completely stock right now... well was running stock, now Im not running at all

ticketec

My Feedback: (2)

i have bought the 370 motor but haven't fitted it yet because i wan't to get some time on the standard motor first and burn that one out first.

are the flight times any better with the 370?

is there any mod etc, to stop the hb/dragonfly from coming down really fast when you take the slightest bit of power off?

Gazoo

The new 280BB motor is installed and works great.....plenty of power. But it does get hot even with an 8T pinion. I am going to need to get a heat sink I guess. Perhaps the CF blades would help as well

Carlos2

I couldnt wait for my Century 370 to come in, so I picked up a stock HB motor at my LHS. Seems to fly much better. I put two battery packs through it tonight and was able to get out of GE with relative authority. I also got a little cocky and managed to give my little hummingbird a taste of cold concrete. The damage looked bad, since the blades folded, the tail rotor came off, and the top part of the rotor head came half off. But a after about a minute of studying the situation, everything popped back into place, and I was back flying with no repair bills. Not bad! What a great feeling it is to hover this beautiful "toy" around the garage. Pretty soon I'll have to bring this baby inside for hover sessions, so my wife doesn't get jealous .

Buuuuuut... I noticed that the HB seems to glitch at times, sounds like the motor stops for a split second, the tail instantly swings left (nose to the right) because its still making power, and I quickly drop a couple of feet. Sometimes it glitches in quick succession for a few seconds, and I landed involuntarily on two occassions today because of it. It could be a radio glitch, but its weird because I seem to retain control of the cyclic as it is loosing altitude. If it is a radio glitch it only seems to affect the main motor.

Of course the other explanation is that the main motor is starting to grenade itself again, after only 14 minutes. Time will tell I guess.

What kind of motor do the stock picollo and hornet use? Do they have problems with it like the HB folks do?

Carlos2

An update on the stock 280 replacement that I got. So far its holdding up well. I've put a bunch of packs through it (many more than the original motor lasted), and it still pulls out GE and climbs like it did when new.

Im still getting that glitching or seizing issue every once in a while. I could be the motor or the radio. But, I also noticed the the pinion on the main motor is not drilled on center, so it wobbles when engaging on the main shaft gear. So I guess this glitching/siezing could be the pinion skipping teeth on the main gear. Oddly though, the plastic main gear shows no damage.

Is anyone else having this issue? I'm kinda thinking its probably a mechanical issue rather than a radio issue, but that is just my guess.

Carlos2

Spoke too soon. The motor is dead now...should have knocked on wood. It just kind of died a slow death, over the course of a flight. Basically it seemed like the battery was dying a minute or two into a flight with a freshly charged pack. After spinning the rotor for a while on the ground, it slowed down and stopped.

It would be nice if the motor was the cause of the glitching. I'll know with my next new motor, the Century 370.

avance_x

Do you have any pic of this 280BB. I think it's just similar to the Kyosho Grand Prix 28BB Motor I have. Works great and better than Speed 300.

BTW, this 28BB was just released in our part of the planet for the 1/5 scale moto (not sure if it was released elsewhere though. )

Gazoo

The link for the 280BB I ordered follows.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/648566.asp

I ordered the heatsink for the Century HP Motor. I think it will fit. Still need to order the CF blades.

Carlos2

Gazoo,

Im seriously considering getting the Acro 280 BB, but I dont know where to get a pinion that will fit. Where did you get yours? Also, do you know of anyone that sells the brushes?

Thanks

Gazoo

They have the pinions too.

http://hobbypeople.net/prdcls/cardppg02.asp

I suggest ordering 8T and 9T pinions. I am using an 8T but may need to switch to a 9T when I mount the CF blades.

You will need to file out the pinion hole a little bit to keep the collar from rubbing on the frame, and will need to file down the set screw since it protudes just a bit from the collar. Note that these are HPI steel pinions so you don't need to worry about them stripping. The screws from the stock motor will fit the 280BB. I don't know where to get the brushes yet.

I am still concerned about the heat problem so let's wait and see if the heat sink I ordered for the Century HP motor will fit on he 280BB. I also ordered the Hornet FP CF blades yesterday. I was told that the motor is happier runing at a higher head speed. I am able to get around 15 minutes of hovering time with the stock blades, and the LiPo battery.

In the meantime, I know you will see a nice improvment with the Century HP motor you ordered. But if I can get the motor to cool and you decide to order one, I can help with more details for enlarging the pinion hole on the frame. I had to get help with this also I should have the heatsink today or tomorrow, and the CF blades by Saturday. I will post as I go along with this.

helimik

Well I've had my Hummingbird for about two weeks now and I can finally hover it OK in my living room(about 2 minutes average). I'm lucky I only live about 20 minutes from Century been there a couple of times. I have been practicing on the FMS flight sim. It has helped me a lot. I've found some nice heli models for it. I would recommend it for anyone starting out in electric helis. Best of all it is a free down load from them. You can crash there all you want learning to hover. Definitely happy with my Hummingbird.

Gazoo

I received the heatsink today for the Century HP motor. It snaps right on to either the Century motor or the 280BB. It is flexible so you can bend the ends a little so it fits tighter. Very nice

It does improve the heat dissapation problem especially with the canopy off. But even with the canopy on, the motor still does run cooler, though still hot. However it cools down much quicker.

I will post another update when I receive the CF blades.

Carlos2

I got lucky today and found an Acro 280BB at my LHS, and an 8 tooth pinion at a slot car racetrack/store down the street. The pinion is a bit loose fitting on the shaft (it can just about spin on the shaft), but did not seem to have any significant lateral play in it. The shaft on the Acro is actually a tiny bit smaller than 2mm. I used CA to glue the pinion on, seems to hold ok, but Im a bit nervous about it holding since the first time I glued it it popped off when I pulled at it a bit.

After soldering the whole affair up, I took her for a hover in my basement. If flies great, plenty of power, and it seems I was able to control the throttle more precisely. But I noticed it was a lot louder, sounds much more "geared up" than before because of the 8T I imagine. Gazoo, have you noticed any increase in loudness?

The tail seemed a bit more sloppy/inconsistent today, like it was having delayed reactions. Hopefully this isnt my tail motor dying on me.

The whole chopper doesnt seem like a toy anymore, maybe due to the new sound or more power (wow, this actually has the potential to fly up and away from me ) It kinda feels like something that could do some damage now. With the sloppy tail today, I felt like a was playing with a loaded pistol . In a couple of days I'll fly it the comfort of my garage, and hopefully be more relaxed with it. No RC flying for me tomorrow. Tomorrow Im off to EAA Airventure in Oshkosh

Carlos2

BTW, I noticed that the Acro 280BB motor did get warm to hot after a pack of hovering. I could hold my fingers on it about 3 or 4 sec after my brain registered heat. Whereas on the stock motor I instictively pulled back from pain if I even brushed it accidentally. Its fair to say it runs significantly cooler.

However I also noticed that the motor gets warm running at 1/4 throttle with no load on it whatsoever. I ran it about 10 min out of the chopper just breaking it in. So Im not too worried about the heat in generates when its under load turning the rotor.

Gazoo

Carlos2 ,
I still recommend ordering the heat sink from century. Anything that can help increase the life of the motor and brushes is a good investment. I peeled away the sticker on the motor and it looks really neat, but it looks even better with the heatsink on it

From what you have described, your motor is generating the same amount of heat as mine. I suppose this is normal but I can't wait to see what happens with the CF blades. I may need to go to a 9T.

The motor does have a unique sound to it that is much different from other motors. I know you now see what I mean about power I did not take the time to break mine in although I probably should have.

I have had very little tail drifting problems since I installed the CSM200 HLG. The tail will still drift, but ever so slightly.

BTW, I do recommend installing a heat sink on the tail motor. It really does help greatly to keep it cool.

Gazoo

Update:
I have received and installed the Hornet CF FP blades, and all I can say is WoW! The heli is much more stable due to the higher head speed, and that also helps with the responsiveness of the heli. In addition, the Acro runs much much cooler! I would say warm...not hot There is no need to use a 9T, the 8T pinion works great. I also love the sound of the blades.

You would need to get longer head srews since the blades need to be mounted to the top. The screw size is 2.5mm. I also used self locking nuts and washers. For screw shims I just used wire insulation...so far so good!