not sure yet. original plan was not to get too involved in this hobby. so probably won't be getting into CP any time soon. plus, the complexity of CP mechanics scares me .

as in banking turns? you can't really do banking turns with a coax, even with extended inner shaft.

...especially after crashing!

---

Added on May 23, 2012, 3:54 pm...in addition to Qiw's comment:

- check the fly bar. a 45 degree affects the flight characteristic a lot. make sure it's not bent and is level with the main blade spinning plane. (this is usually the prime suspect for TBE)
- check the main shaft make sure it's not bent too.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: May 23 2012, 03:54 PM

that's why i also have a honey bee.

i use my coax for indoor flying and in flight video capturing. FP/CP can't really be flown safely indoors.

just some cheap "spy cam" that fits nicely on both my coax and honey bee. not that good, but heck, it does the job.

a tad better than a coax, but of course not as good as a CP. the main thing is, it's cheap and flies pretty much like a CP. so if you plan to move to a CP, the HB is a good platform to learn on. even hovering it in a spot is challenging.

on that note, does a 250 size CP handles the wind as good a 450 size? i suspect not, but what do i know .

there is, but the HB itself is scarce. not many shop sells it and parts are hard to find too. but it's quite crash worthy out of the box.

i got mine for about 360. it's a 300 class, so it's bigger than most coax.

this is true on the HBFP. i swaped to the longer ball and it does become more responsive and sensitive. although i'm not sure whether it will have much effect on such a small heli. by angling the linkage arm, you give the main rotor more movement range.

on the lama, the extra ball for the flybar is probably just part of the moulding process. in won't do anything.

...and it's also the reason why a lot of people quit the hobby. those stunts are not as easy as it looks. beginners tends to just jump straight to 3D flying and end up with a really expensive paper weight.

true, i'm just into this hobby because i like Heli sim game. no intention to do 3D flying, at least not yet.

that is the honey bee 1st version (but with LiPo). not the updated honey bee v2. FP honey bee only goes up to V2. CP has a few version. the HBFPV2 is much tougher.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: May 29 2012, 07:46 PM

well, as i mentioned earlier, spare part for any honey bee is hard to come by(FPv1 and FPv2 uses a lot of common parts). some shops have them, but most likely, not all parts. i've been trying to find after market blades for my HBFPV2 to no avail. i did however managed to get extreme main motor and direct drive motor for it in time square(where i bought the thing).

the FPV2 is quite resilient to minor crashes. the stock blade is strong too. i bought a spare when purchasing my HB, but never had to replace it even after a 10ft outdoor crash into a tree . heck, i've even hit a wall with the blades one time and it still didn't brake.

knowing how to crash properly will definitely help saves on parts in this hobby.

note however that the HB don't fly like the 911. it's more like a CP. constant input required even to hover.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: May 30 2012, 08:13 PM

thing is FP heli like the honey bee(w/ 90 degree flybar) are becoming less popular these day due to the newer 45 degree flybar FP. the 90 deg flybar FP flies just like a CP, but they don't handle the wind like a CP and usually are too big/unstable to be played indoors.

the 45 deg flybar FP flies like a coax, so although it doesn't handle the wind that good, it's still stable enough for an enjoyable indoor flight but without blade clash. so more beginners are moving towards the 45 deg flybar FP, like the 911. so thus, most company are migrating towards the 45 deg flybar FP, esky doesn't though.

so what's my point?

coax<45degFP<90degFP<CP, basically that's about it. as such, heli like the HBFP are phasing out.

well the common ones available here are walkera Cb180 series, CB100 series and the likes. your 911 is a 45deg flybar FP, same as that double horse 9116.

walkera cb180q isn't half bad and look really sweet and the cb180z and cb180q2 comes brushless and is shaft drive. if only walkera's stuff aren't too fricking expensive for a beginners' budget.

IMO, the next step for any beginners are definitely 90deg flybar FP. it will get you accustomed to the unstable nature of an rc heli and will prepare you should you decide to go CP. get the HBFPv2 if you can find it(or the likes). a heli that flies like a CP but without the complexity = fun .

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: May 31 2012, 07:41 AM

but unlike skateboarding, crashing can be expensive (especially CP). my advice, learn how to crash properly and it can save a bunch of unnecessary damage.

the art of crashing 101:
1. know when you are no longer in control (can't recover anymore) <-- at this point trying to recover will only cause more damage
2. ALWAYS throttle down BEFORE you hit something <--this really saves you rotor head parts and electronics too.
3. quickly deliberate where to crash with the least damage <-- into a bush?, into a tree?, head-on to sofas or wall?, onto tarmac?

well at least the skateboard would still be working . rc heli can cause serious injuries too when crashed into people or yourself.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: May 31 2012, 03:56 PM

none. none of them are better than the other as all of them are targeted to different skill level.

learning curve wise
v911< HBFP < Belt CP

the CP is more for advance player. if you start directly with a CP, you'll probably find more frustration than fun. learning curve is steep. a FP like the HB still have a high learning curve (if you've never flown before), but it is a little more forgiving for beginners(less complex mechanics). the v911 (and any FP with 45degree flybar) is tailored for 1st time flyer. by design it auto stabilized, like a coax (but w/o the blade strikes). so it's easy to pick up and fly.

walkera has several offering like i mentioned before. or if you need a bit more challenge, get a FP with 90 degree flybar, like the HBFP.

it's the angle of the flybar in relation to the main blade when you look at the heli from the top. all flybars will still move up and down, else it'll cause more damage in a crash.

well, the reason why the fly time is short is mostly because of the heating motors. not because of battery restriction. you should only fly for ~10mins each session(scale with motor size), let the motor cool, and continue the next session. it'll help to prolonged the motors life, especially if it's brushed motors. plus, 10 mins flying is actually quite long, because you must be focus at the time of flying.

the heli actually uses lipo battery. the AAA is for the transmitter. those don't really suck the battery juice.

v120d01 is pretty cool, brushless & shaft driven CP tail. can't go wrong, except that the price is pretty steep for beginners. you can get it for around ~Rm500?

honey bee CT/CPX, not really recommended. a CP with tail motor won't give you much tail authorities, . perhaps fine for normal flight, but not 3D. plus, the motors are just normal HB motors. doubt it can perform beyond normal flight.

as i said earlier, FP helis with 90deg flybar are phasing out. yes the HBFPv2 parts availability is a concern, so far i only know 1 shop that carries some parts. i'm in KL btw.

at that price, i think it's worthed. considering it comes with brushless motor. a lama v4, depending on fuselage, is about 200-250(how the heck do they calculate this anyway?). for me, i think the cb180z is just a nice size for indoors and a little bit of outdoor flight, but probably more expensive.

err....i believe i just said that a few pages back.

no, i won't say that.

i'm no sifu, so i don't really know the quality of the electronics on the KDS. but since it's a trex clone, it's quite a safe bet for the long run. heck, i think the belt CP is also quite a safe bet for the long run. sure the electronics aren't that good for 3D flying, but since the spare/upgrade parts are easily available EVERYWHERE, it'll definitely grow with your skill level too.

well to venture into CP you definitely need to have the setup skill. when a CP heli crash, you have to set it up again, not like an FP. that's the main reason i don't want to venture into CP yet. don't want to end up with a "white elephant".

i'm kinda a DIY guy myself, and i built gundams too, but CP heli still scares me . yes, i think the KDS is quite good for the long run, same as any other trex clone.

the thing with align is, they come with good parts to begin with. so if you get an RTF or ARTF trex, it can actually be cheaper on your budget, since you can remove all the mix n match problems.

well...you don't have to set everything up, just to make sure things are the way it's suppose to be e.g: blade pitch, servo linkage and stuff. more moving parts = more fiddling. it's inevitable.