downunder

This is a "temporary" (which means it's likely to be permanent ) mod I've done to the main gear to keep it flyable until I get a new gear. Both of these gears have had teeth stripped (if you look at the bottom gear you can see the stripped teeth off to the left) so I made 3 fairly tight fitting plugs to lock the two together and align both sets of teeth so that no stripped teeth overlapped. The plugs were flared out slightly both ends so they can't slide out. The pinion gear on the motor is long enough to completely engage both sets of gears so when some stripped teeth arrive at the pinion the other gear keeps full engagement. The second gear obviously had to be hogged out in the centre for access to the drive pin.

Tucson-120%

Thats a good fix, that Walkera motor is a good one.

underthefloor

I have a HBK2 with a 3100kv brushless but was thinking of getting a 1#a. How would you compare these two helis? Is the 1#a an upgrade or just different?

Tucson-120%

you need a higher kv to fly the 2 cell pack the 4100 kv motor that it comes with is a good one

underthefloor

So do you think that the 1#a is an overall better heli than a king v2?

UberKarlson

Hi,

I thinking of buying this heli (Walkera 1#A), but have a few questions I wanted answered before I spend money. I'm kind of new to "proper" RC helis (have 2ch model, and want to move up ).

1. Does 1#A have autorotation landing system? Specs don't mention anything about it... Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought all helis that have colective pitch control (and this one does) can be autorotated.
2. It's not 2.4GHz technology. How important is it to have 2.4GHz? I understand it's a requirement if I want to avoid interference with other RCs (when few of them controlled in the same space). Is there anything else apart from that? Does anyone know if Walkera plans to release this model with 2.4GHz?
3. It's regarded as RTF (ready-to-fly), but I'm sure that there is a bit of work to be done before it can be flown comfortably. Can anyone list things that need to be done - ie. adjustments, tuning, etc. Any hints, tips that can help?
4. I'm thinking about getting 1#A with metal rotor head (installed). I didn't see anywhere metail assembly for tail rotor - does it exist? If yes, how important is it to have?
5. I have read that manual that come in the box is bad. But supposedly there is a "good" version with proper explanations/settings/adjustments/etc. I couldn't find it. Does anyone know of such manual, and if so - where can i find it.
6. Is the charger that comes in the box any good? Or is it a battery killer?

Generally how good/bad this heli is? I've seen a few posts that bag Walkera for being really bad, but most of them date back to 2004-2005. Whats the general perception these days?

Can anyone recommend good place to purchase this heli in Australia (preferably Melbourne area, but not vital) - be it in the shop or online. What should be the average price - i've seen it fo AU$300 (with metal head) - is it a good deal?

Thanks a lot in advance. Your help/advise is much appreciated.

Karlson.

VulcanGrey

IMO I would say the 1#a might be the best CP beginner heli (with all the features) out there.

If I were you I would buy from airborne RC in Australia.
I've bought replacement parts for my h1#b from airborneRC and had them shipped to the US.


Here's their 1#a with metal head
http://www.airbornerc.com.au/product...roducts_id=826

or the plastic here.
http://www.airbornerc.com.au/product...roducts_id=827

The metal head might sound nice, but I would start with plastic...

The H1#a and 1#b are nice little helicopters. They are very light, therefore performance is better than a heavier heli like the Axe CP.
They are pretty easy to repair after a crash.

I have had my 1b run away from me once, not sure if it was radio interference (72MHz) or that I was near buildings, but I had to run after it to get it to follow the controls again. 2.4GHz might have helped?

I would choose the 1a over the 1b since it has the belt driven tail, better gyro, and brushless motor.

And autorotation with these smaller heli's is not really an option. They have too little inertia, and the blades won't keep spinning long enough to do much of an auto.

I have had very good luck with the included Walkera batteries and the charger. It balances the packs, and I have checked with an Astroblinky balancer. And they seem to last a long time without degrading so far.


If you want a little bit bigger heli with 2.4GHz and all metal... the I would consider this
http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6077
It's actually cheaper than the 1#a. I have one of these as well, all metal, running Futaba gyro and radio.
Only problem is the soft frame.

UberKarlson

Thanks for the advise VulcanGrey!

Any reasons for starting with plastic heads instead of CNC? Apart from being cheaper to replace/repair... Generally, what advantage do you get with CNC?

I'd definitely consider 60B as well - a bit bigger/heavier and looks a bit more advanced for not much more money... However that 60B comes with brush motor instead of brushless (Walkera site is misleading about this as it lists both motors/ESCs ) and they don't last long...

Another heli (not Walkera though) that seems to be popular is Blade 400... Would you recommend it over Walkera? Why / why not?

Thanks again,
Karlson.

VulcanGrey

The plastic head is softer and only a few parts usually break in a crash. The metal head is stiffer, which means more parts may get damaged.... and you will crash...

I actually was able to buy an entire replacement metal head, tail, swash, flybar, and blades on ebay for my 60B for $25+SH

The blade 400 is nice, and comes with a good radio if you do not have one, but it is much more money than the 1#a or 60B.

BTW the elf hobbies brushless motor upgrade and ESC is $35... That's what I have.

The metal edition 2.4GHz 60B is brushless.

Ooh and the new Creata looks nice, looks like a 60B with a washout assembly (not a good thin imo) and a plastic frame, or partially plastic... The aluminum 60B frame is a problem.


Many of Walkera's designs, like the 1#a, 1#b, 60B, 83, and 59D, do not use a washout assembly. They use a fairly revolutionary design called the Moving Flybar System, which came from Hanseleit helicopters
http://www.henseleit.com/index_e.html

The design is very simple and has the advantage of an adjustable flybar ratio. You can set the flybar to be gentle as you learn and then crank it up to be more responsive later. Most heli's including the Trex cannot do this.

Tucson-120%

I agree the floating flybar and its light weight is what makes this heli so great

Ldalmas

I have mine std exept for the radio and put a 3 cell 850 25c insead of the 2cell and have rocket performance and just started to do 3d withi it its great,
but replace the radio cos the mixing is rubish i am useing a walkera 1001 and flight performance is much better and smoother and with a 3 cell i get 200w+ of power almost as much as a trex 450