Newbie with Honeybee fp

[DaveMe]

Hi,

Decided to go for a Lama 5 for my first heli, unfortunately it only lasted 2 weeks before on of the motors burned out, and there's a problem getting spares for it (ie can't find any). .... it was fun while it lasted though and I was just getting the hang of landing it on the lounge table from different angles.

Spotted a Honeybee fp on ebay and thought that might be the way to go as parts seem to be a bit more accessible and also it was quite cheap. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get it to work properly.

The first problem is that although the rear servo will move, it has a tendancy to stick in one place making control of the heli impossible.

The second problem is with the tail rotor. It seemed to work OK for the first 2 or 3 times I tried to fly the heli, but now the tail rotor will unexpectedly stop and there is a whiring sound. On close inspection it appears that the plastic gear wheel attached to the rear rotor is not quite straight (I'm not sure if this is normal).

I have of course contacted the seller in China, but don't hold out too much hope of getting much joy there.

Any advice on the above will be very gratefully appreciated.

[Pipistrelli]

hi,

I have a few FP heli's and they are superb fun.

It sounds like one of your servo's is knackered. Replace both with a matching pair of quality servo's, you will find control is much improved.

The tail rotor is driven through legs off the drive gear, make sure these are not broken. Also ensure the gear is held in mesh with the motor pinion with a piece of rubber tube. However, I prefer to use a GWS 50 motor and direct drive prop which gives much better tail authority.

[DaveMe]

Thanks for the advice.

The teeth on the gear wheel are intact and the bit of rubber tubing is in place. only problem I could see was the slight wobble on the gear wheel as it rotated due to it being slightly bent.

Seems that a direct drive and a pair of good servos is the way to go.
Are they very expensive or difficult to fit? and where is the best place to buy them please?

Thanks again for your help.

[Pipistrelli]

Hi,

You won't regret the changes. There are a few other upgrades that make significant improvements too, have a look at my thread under hummingbird or dragonfly.

There are several online stores that sell what you need. I used midland heli's for my last spares. Go for hitec HS55's or a similar quality 7-9 gram servo. The motor is a GWS 050, or hummingbird high authority tail motor. Buy a bag of GWS props, size 0320 which are a push fit on the motor shaft, oh and throw all the other tail gear away. It will transform your heli!

[DaveMe]

Just had a look on Midland Helicopters web site, they have the servos you mentioned and also a direct drive tail rotor motor: GWS CN12-R-XC that's meant for the hummingbird. Do you think this would slot into the place the Honeybee tail motor is at the moment?


Thanks.

[Pipistrelli]

Yep that's the motor, either it will fit or can be easily made to fit, don't worry about trimming plastic bits so that it fits better. You will need to desolder the wires and resolder to the new motor. Make sure it runs the right way and make sure you fit the prop the right way round!

If you need a photo let me know and I'll try to load it later in the week.

[Adrian]

Heliguy.co.uk sells all the spares you will need for the honey bee.

[DaveMe]

Thanks flyer1

Just couldn't resist having a practice hover in the back garden. Actually had it hovering for about 3 minutes, every so often the tail motor would throw a wobbly and I would find myself hovering in a different orientation which made it quite challenging .... then the servo threw another wobbly and it flipped over and broke the rotor head.

Looks as if I'll visiting online heli spares shops for the forseeable future. Do all newbies have this experience?

Cheers.

Dave.

[quanter]

Thanks flyer1

Looks as if I'll visiting online heli spares shops for the forseeable future. Do all newbies have this experience?

Most definitely, yes

Brian

[DaveMe]

Can anyone tell me how you fit a rotor head to a Honeybee fp please?


Cheers.

Dave.

[quanter]

The blades and head are held by two clips, they pull off as one unit. The clips are pretty stiff, I've found popping one and then the other seems to work OK.

Putting them back I find again its best to do one at a time and I use a bar or a flat bladed screwdriver to push the roller into the clips.

Brian

[quanter]

Forgot in previous post, don't forget to pop the two control linkages before trying to get the head off.

Brian

[DaveMe]

Hi,

Got all the new bits on my FP now. What a difference .... The new servos are so much more responsive, its like a different helicopter. It's now possible to fly in a confined space like the living room or kitchen.

Thanks for all your help guys.