Spirit FBL - made under license from BD apparently ...

[Mark_T]

Anyone been looking at this one: Spirit System - Tomáš Jdrzejek

From what I've read elsewhere, they licensed the recovery feature from Captron and are using a better, faster processor than the BD products (32 bit ARM) and have also added vibe analysis, yet the price is under £150 ...

Spirit FBL - HeliFreak

[Rotorwheels]

Interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on this. If it works anything like the BD for that price, it won't stay on the shelves long!

[Mark_T]

Apparently it has been in use for some months now with local pilots in the Czech Republic, firmware is on V1.0.24 so it looks like they have been active on the updates

Could at least provide a much needed shake-up of BD pricing ...

[Rotorwheels]

Couldn't agree more. IF it doesn't at least bring BD's pricing into question, it will most certainly ruffle some feathers amongst the FBL main players. Exciting times.

[panosg]

All well and good on the pricing, but will it fly as good as the BD?
If it does then we have a winner.

[Mark_T]

All well and good on the pricing, but will it fly as good as the BD?
If it does then we have a winner.

The guys who've been flying it for some time now seem to be very positive, but as always, we maintain a healthy doubt about reports from anyone closely linked to a products development ...

On paper at least, it looks interesting as it has the vibe analysis missing from the BD products and a more powerful CPU, also it is smaller, but still in a metal case apparently.

Time will tell I guess.

[carper2k]

I have ordered a spirit flybarless system to try it out.
£169 delivered including the bluetooth module
i ordered it last night and it was posted with tracking today
This systems configuration soft ware also runs natively in OSX
i don't fly very well so i will need to give one of the lads at the club a chance to fly it
Paul

[Rotorwheels]

Brilliant. Really looking forward to reading how you get on with it.

So Bluetooth and cofiguration software for a variety of platforms; how much is a 3sx again? ;-)

[james_2k]

plenty.

[woodsta888]

I guess the more expensive FBL's will have the best features on them and charge a premium for it. I remeber when 50 inch tellys were £10k and my mate bought one for £5k coz he thought it was a deal. Now that technology is common place.

The rescue feature will become common place across all FBL's in time. But if you wanted it first then you had to pay a premium and lots can and do. I remember paying £150 for a JR490T gyro and a Gy720 was more expensive than a 3SX.

If you want it first, you'll pay for it. if you can't afford it....you'll have to wait for the tech to become cheaper.

[james_2k]

its not just the features but the quality of the components. true 50" tvs are now a lot cheaper. but the cheap ones will be crap. just due to lower quality components.

[woodsta888]

True, though he bought a panasonic which was half price at £5k. A crap 50 inch telly now will have the same if not better tech within it than that 50 inch he bought back then (10yrs?) which had the dogs doodahs components in it at the time.

I'd bet that some if not most of the base electrical components in any FBL will be manufactured in China. Guess quality comes with sticking them on the boards.

I have a 3SX and have been very pleased with it and I hope I can count on better quality and components. But every manufacturer sells duffers. Just hope I havent got one. I bought one from a big heli shop here in the UK. Though it's packaging and transit effectively meant it arrived pre crashed - many times. That went back and was the last I could find in stock on the mainland. Had to go to Irish shop which was much cheaper even after paypal conversion and postage was free.

I was told by the shop in England tby one of the staff that the 3SX was considered as cheating as I'd never get to understand how to orientate the heli when I had a brain fart. Well I do get to understand it. About 20 seconds after the rescue saved my helicopter. I can't learn whilst it's in bits. The confidence the rescue gives when trying new manouvres is what does it for me. Also the midges/itchy nuts in the eves - whack on self levelling and swat./itch away.

Nuts not limited to just the eves.


There is a downside in the rescue function on an FBL becomming common place. - shops wont sell so many spares.

[james_2k]

you say that, but regarding plasma tv specifically, there are people who think the best plasmas ever made were the pioneer ones. and they are very old now.

but i get what you are saying problem with fbl units is that soon (well now to be honest) (some) they can fly themselves, what else would we want them to do.

[woodsta888]

I'd argue mine was still the best if I jizzed £10k on one. The valve amplifiers of the plasma screen world. I know what you mean though.

What else would we want them to do?

The basic skookum is ~£350 and does essentially the same as the 3SX but there is a GPS module you can buy which plugs into it. This can make a hard deck 8m above from its takeoff altitude. The unit doesnt let the heli go below this negating the need to manually activate captain rescue as it's automatic. If you hit rescue mode it will fly back on its own to hover 30m above where you took off from or armed the unit. If you become completly disorientated and it ghets further away again it flies back. As with a brownout too it flies back until it rebinds with thetx. You can also program the skookum to fly waypoints at set altitudes so for a camera ship and stuff. For this it will fly itself on the programmed route. Dunno what happens if you brown out with a satellite but guess this is rare. Only problem I can think of is trees in the way when it comes back to 30m above the start point....

Of course no pro pilot will be interested in an FBL that does all this but thoseof us wanting to hone our skills with the confidence the heli will reorientate itself and climb out is tremendous. I've only just come back into helis properly and when i read about these I thought how much money they would have saved me when i used to fly nitros and gassers.

One thing with rescue - you still have to press the button during a brain fart.

[james_2k]

hah, that is true. buyers remorse