HIKO 400 and 2801 PRO tx/rx... getting back into the hobby
09-18-2010, 12:21 AM
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HIKO 400 and 2801 PRO tx/rx... getting back into the hobby
Hello,
I have not had to post in forum for RC planes or helicopters for a long time. Infact I haven't flown a plane in 5 years or so and am pretty green heli pilot. But recently I was pondering over all the amazing brushless electric heli's out there today and decided to pull the trigger on one. I choose the 400 to 500 size range so I could fly in light wind outside. Also the bigger the rotor diemeter generally means a more stable helicopter. CP was the only way to go as far as I am concerned. I have someverry limited stick time on TT Raptor and that was a while ago. I understand the principles of flying a heli, I need some serious practice though. I was looking at the Walkera 60b, and found lots of info on the kit and mostly good reviews. I then found the HIKO 400, which is a bit of an upgraded 60 model. Carbon fiber chasis, a new metal rotor head design and the 8 channel radio gear. It also has a little beefer servos and the reviews on the Gyro walker uses were solid. So I said to myslef "huh, wonder it I can fly that thing?..."
Well yeah, I can actually fly it. I am on my 8th flight or so and I am getting a handle on it. My last flight I had much more controled hovers and was able to do some simple directional flying. So it looks like a good way to dive back in the hobby. I like the fact that I can take the thing out in my back yard and fly around and not bother my neighbors. Gas helis are tons of fun but I never had the time to pack up all the gear and go somewhere to fly. Thats why i haven't had a plane since I started college. But with these new electric heli's you can fly damn near any where, anytime. I am loving that idea.
The HIKO must be a new kit because there isn't much info on it. Mechanically I think its a great machine. I like the simplicity of the main rotor design. I am sure it is probably not the most high performance rotor head out there but it is a piece of cake to set up. It provides +/- 10 degress of blade pitch with no problems which is WAY more than I need at this point. Initially the swash plate and linkages were assembled pretty well, buy there were few things I snugged up. The fly bar needed some adjusting too. Nothing out of the norm for an RTR kit. . No complaints on power either. The 30 amp brushless powertrain is fantastic. I am astonished at the power these electric heli's have, and the torque is rediculous, which makes flying quite a bit different than a nitro. Also the battery life is fantastic. Walkera supplies this with 3 cell 30c 2200mah li-po and I have gotten 12 minute flights before the Low Voltage Cutoff. Mind you I am just basically hovering around but I can't believe capability these things have.
I was probaly most sceptical of the radio gear that came the heli. At this point the 2810 Pro TX/RX combo is just fine. Infact I have no complaints at all. I can set up the flight modes, adjust rates and curves, and have no connectivity issues as of yet. So I give it a passing grade so far. The servos on the other hand I don't think will cut it. The tail rotor servo is fine and I will probalby leave that alone. But the three cyclic servos are a bit too sloppy for my liking. They have plenty of torque but they have too much play and I think are causing some of the drifting and bobing I get when flying. With the motor disconnected and the heli and TX powered on I can wiggle the swash plate and 90% of all the play is in the servos. I am looking a replacing them with a Hitec's or Futaba's. Anyone with suggestions here please speak up!
Over all I am really impressed. The heli flys well, and dosen't have any nasty tendancies. The gyro works very well which lets me focus more on cyclic control. I am clearly the weak link in the system at this point. I kind of jumped in the deep end of the pool but I knew the learning curve would be steep. Anyway this helicopter for me is a great machine to learn on. With regular flights and some simultor time I may just become as good as a beginner someday.
I haven't managed to break anything yet either which I guess is just dumb luck. I have had a few hairy landings but I always manage to keep the rotor blades out of the grass. I have broken a few 1/4" dowels I use for my traing gear but those are plentiful and cheap. I have been taking things very slow too, and I don't expect to be pulling off tic toc's and reverse inverted figure eights any time soon. Just putting around the yard is enough for me right now. I bought another battery and decent charger, a spare set of main rotor blades, tail blades and landing skid if and when I need them. No parts are available for this model yet, at all ...anywhere. But many parts are comon to the 60b.
I guess this post got longer than I expected. But being as this is a new kit ans there isn't much info out there I figugured it was worth starting a thread. The link below covers the basics on this kit. I can take pictures too if anyone is interested.
http://www.rc711.com/shop/24g-walker...te-p-3323.html
I have not had to post in forum for RC planes or helicopters for a long time. Infact I haven't flown a plane in 5 years or so and am pretty green heli pilot. But recently I was pondering over all the amazing brushless electric heli's out there today and decided to pull the trigger on one. I choose the 400 to 500 size range so I could fly in light wind outside. Also the bigger the rotor diemeter generally means a more stable helicopter. CP was the only way to go as far as I am concerned. I have someverry limited stick time on TT Raptor and that was a while ago. I understand the principles of flying a heli, I need some serious practice though. I was looking at the Walkera 60b, and found lots of info on the kit and mostly good reviews. I then found the HIKO 400, which is a bit of an upgraded 60 model. Carbon fiber chasis, a new metal rotor head design and the 8 channel radio gear. It also has a little beefer servos and the reviews on the Gyro walker uses were solid. So I said to myslef "huh, wonder it I can fly that thing?..."
Well yeah, I can actually fly it. I am on my 8th flight or so and I am getting a handle on it. My last flight I had much more controled hovers and was able to do some simple directional flying. So it looks like a good way to dive back in the hobby. I like the fact that I can take the thing out in my back yard and fly around and not bother my neighbors. Gas helis are tons of fun but I never had the time to pack up all the gear and go somewhere to fly. Thats why i haven't had a plane since I started college. But with these new electric heli's you can fly damn near any where, anytime. I am loving that idea.
The HIKO must be a new kit because there isn't much info on it. Mechanically I think its a great machine. I like the simplicity of the main rotor design. I am sure it is probably not the most high performance rotor head out there but it is a piece of cake to set up. It provides +/- 10 degress of blade pitch with no problems which is WAY more than I need at this point. Initially the swash plate and linkages were assembled pretty well, buy there were few things I snugged up. The fly bar needed some adjusting too. Nothing out of the norm for an RTR kit. . No complaints on power either. The 30 amp brushless powertrain is fantastic. I am astonished at the power these electric heli's have, and the torque is rediculous, which makes flying quite a bit different than a nitro. Also the battery life is fantastic. Walkera supplies this with 3 cell 30c 2200mah li-po and I have gotten 12 minute flights before the Low Voltage Cutoff. Mind you I am just basically hovering around but I can't believe capability these things have.
I was probaly most sceptical of the radio gear that came the heli. At this point the 2810 Pro TX/RX combo is just fine. Infact I have no complaints at all. I can set up the flight modes, adjust rates and curves, and have no connectivity issues as of yet. So I give it a passing grade so far. The servos on the other hand I don't think will cut it. The tail rotor servo is fine and I will probalby leave that alone. But the three cyclic servos are a bit too sloppy for my liking. They have plenty of torque but they have too much play and I think are causing some of the drifting and bobing I get when flying. With the motor disconnected and the heli and TX powered on I can wiggle the swash plate and 90% of all the play is in the servos. I am looking a replacing them with a Hitec's or Futaba's. Anyone with suggestions here please speak up!
Over all I am really impressed. The heli flys well, and dosen't have any nasty tendancies. The gyro works very well which lets me focus more on cyclic control. I am clearly the weak link in the system at this point. I kind of jumped in the deep end of the pool but I knew the learning curve would be steep. Anyway this helicopter for me is a great machine to learn on. With regular flights and some simultor time I may just become as good as a beginner someday.
I haven't managed to break anything yet either which I guess is just dumb luck. I have had a few hairy landings but I always manage to keep the rotor blades out of the grass. I have broken a few 1/4" dowels I use for my traing gear but those are plentiful and cheap. I have been taking things very slow too, and I don't expect to be pulling off tic toc's and reverse inverted figure eights any time soon. Just putting around the yard is enough for me right now. I bought another battery and decent charger, a spare set of main rotor blades, tail blades and landing skid if and when I need them. No parts are available for this model yet, at all ...anywhere. But many parts are comon to the 60b.
I guess this post got longer than I expected. But being as this is a new kit ans there isn't much info out there I figugured it was worth starting a thread. The link below covers the basics on this kit. I can take pictures too if anyone is interested.
http://www.rc711.com/shop/24g-walker...te-p-3323.html
10-12-2010, 12:53 PM
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RE: HIKO 400 and 2801 PRO tx/rx... getting back into the hobby
That looks pretty sweet.. I can't find one from my usual walkera dealers. Maybe wowhobbies will stock them soon.
Bent wrench, we are glad to have you back in the hobby. These helicopters have come a long way in the last few years. Walkera has really stepped up their game. The two I have seem like a very good value for the price.
Best of luck flying your heli, it sounds like your doing great!
Happy hovering,
Jay
Bent wrench, we are glad to have you back in the hobby. These helicopters have come a long way in the last few years. Walkera has really stepped up their game. The two I have seem like a very good value for the price.
Best of luck flying your heli, it sounds like your doing great!
Happy hovering,
Jay
10-16-2010, 11:30 AM
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RE: HIKO 400 and 2801 PRO tx/rx... getting back into the hobby
This heli is turing out to be a pretty good machine so far. I have upgraded the cyclic servos the Hitec 65MG's and the difference is amazing. Unfortunatly Walkera dose not use a standard micro servo size so I had to make some modifications to mount the Hitec's. It wasn't very hard to do and for the $90 the servos cost it was well worth the time and money. The main rotor feels much more solid than it did before and the heli is very smooth in flight now.
12-06-2010, 12:45 AM
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RE: HIKO 400 and 2801 PRO tx/rx... getting back into the hobby
I myself am a newbie to the hobby, training on a 4ch solo pro II by Nine Eagles. I'm not looking for my next upgrade, and thinking of diving into CP with a good Radio and RTF heli and of all I find the Hiko 400 the most interested. But I also see it's relatively new and parts seem scarce? Not to mention it's not cheap. So what you take on it so far? i enjoyed reading your post as I too feel I' "right behind you" in following your footsteps. One thing I like to ask, how are you training on it, via sims or sites likehttp://www.rchelicopterfun.com/index.html
Anything you can share is greatly appreciated as not too many hiko post out there.
Thx
Anything you can share is greatly appreciated as not too many hiko post out there.
Thx
