Brand new first timer

[Tom1977]

Ok so been having a wee play earlier, the tail rotor doesn't move if I hold the main rotors, unless i pull pretty hard then it jumps the teeth on the belt. Tried moving the tail rotor servo fwd/aft and could see the pitch changing on the blades but it still spins.

I've tried attaching some photos of what i have main blades/tail rotor/headgear to give you guys an idea of what I have and the set up as it sits at rest, powered up.

See if it helps diagnose anything.

IMG_2916.jpgIMG_2915.jpgIMG_2914.jpgIMG_2913.jpgIMG_2910.jpgIMG_2909.jpgIMG_2907.jpgIMG_2904.jpgIMG_2903.jpg

[Boggy]

The first thing I would do is turn your gyro by about 45 degrees so its pointing straight forward.Fasten it down with good doublesided tape and get rid of the cable tie.
here is a chinglish manual for it.

http://www.rc-bargains.co.uk/downloa...s/EK2-0704.pdf

[Tom1977]

Just a question regarding the uncontrollable spinning, if I power on transmitter and connect the batter and let the gyro power itself up, should the tail rotor blades be at zero pitch at this point with all trims on Tx on zero/middle?

And if so, as I put power on is that when the gyro detects the heli trying to spin so alters the tail servo to keep it heading straight?

[tomatwalden]

Mate, you're going to have nothing but problems with that gyro. Essentially, there are two types of helicopter gyro. The first is a "rate mode" gyro, the second is a "heading hold"

Rate mode just dampens tail movement - eg. from being blown about by the wind etc.
Heading hold (HH) does what it says on the tin. All modern gyros and FBL units are HH. These make flying SOOO much easier.

Looking at the pics of your heli, you have a (very) old Rate Mode gyro (EK2-0704). Esky released a B-version that supported heading hold, which is this one :-

Esky Head Lock Gyro EK2-0704B 000855 --- BuzzFlyer UK
(for reference, you have this one ... ESky Honey Bee King Belt-CP Gyro - EK2-0704 --- BuzzFlyer UK )

As Ron (boggy) pointed out, it has been installed at 45-degrees to true on the heli, also from the photo, it looks like you've got it set to "normal", according to this article, it should be "reverse" on your heli ... ESky 0406A Transmitter Guide

Honestly though ...

I really doubt you will every get that heli to fly right. I would honestly advise putting it back on ebay, and investing in something like a Blade 120SR, mSRX or 200SRX and start this hobby on a decent footing. I think the HB king 2 is a route to frustration only ... sorry!

[Tom1977]

Mate, you're going to have nothing but problems with that gyro. Essentially, there are two types of helicopter gyro. The first is a "rate mode" gyro, the second is a "heading hold"

Rate mode just dampens tail movement - eg. from being blown about by the wind etc.
Heading hold (HH) does what it says on the tin. All modern gyros and FBL units are HH. These make flying SOOO much easier.

Looking at the pics of your heli, you have a (very) old Rate Mode gyro (EK2-0704). Esky released a B-version that supported heading hold, which is this one :-

Esky Head Lock Gyro EK2-0704B 000855 --- BuzzFlyer UK
(for reference, you have this one ... ESky Honey Bee King Belt-CP Gyro - EK2-0704 --- BuzzFlyer UK )

As Ron (boggy) pointed out, it has been installed at 45-degrees to true on the heli, also from the photo, it looks like you've got it set to "normal", according to this article, it should be "reverse" on your heli ... ESky 0406A Transmitter Guide

Honestly though ...

I really doubt you will every get that heli to fly right. I would honestly advise putting it back on ebay, and investing in something like a Blade 120SR, mSRX or 200SRX and start this hobby on a decent footing. I think the HB king 2 is a route to frustration only ... sorry!

Hey Tom,

thanks for for your input but please don't apologise! No need to you clearly have more knowledge than me so don't worry. I have been told about the gyro via PM and will be getting rid of it. I do like a challenge and with the knowledge on here, I want to give it my all to get this one flying. Seems in my life I never take the easy route.

the other thing is I work abroad 3 weeks a month so not home every day to play so am just reading up and watching videos etc to learn as much as possible.

that said, back to my original question, let's say it was another heli, should the blade angle be zero once all powered up etc before I put any throttle on and the gyro starts to kick in? Reason I ask.........mine are at an angle when it sits at rest with all trims on zero/middle.

cheers

Tom

[tomatwalden]

So you need to understand that NORMALLY, the left stick for collective pitch helis doesn't control throttle - only collective pitch. Most beginners however fly in "normal mode" whereby the left stick affects both throttle and collective pitch.

Imagine for a moment that you're further on and that you fly with a constant head speed (idle up). In this mode, the left stick (for 3D helis) allows full negative through to full positive setup. Zero pitch should be when the stick is smack in the middle (mid stick).

Coming back to your question - with normal mode, the left stick controlling throttle, there's a bit of a quandry. Left stick full down = no throttle, but it also is some negative to allow you to bring the heli down if too high.

But fundamentally, you should only have zero pitch when the left stick is at mid-stick.

HTH.

[dillwhacker]

I have one of these sitting in a drawer never being used.
11.0-Gram G110 Micro Heading Lock Gyro (EFLRG110HL) Manuals, Parts Explosions, Team Tips, Bulletins and other Support Information: E-flite - Advancing Electric Flight
If it will work and help, I'll happily bung it in the post to you.

[Hummingbird]

Hi, I don't know if this thread is still active, but, for what it's worth: I agree with Tomatwalden; flying these things is hard enough and to stand any chance of success, your heli MUST be set up correct. It sounds like you are going round in circles (excuse the pun!) with this thing from Ebay. Unless you strip the whole thing down and rebuild it (and it's STILL an old design) I feel you will be far better with a new model with modern technology. A Blade 450 or T Rex 450 will be 1000 times better and bang up to date. Anything bigger than a 450 will start to get significantly more expensive.
Whatever you do, good luck and don't let that Honey Bee thingy put you off. It's great fun when you get the hang of it.
Cheers from Cornwall

[myxiplx]

Has to be said, that's probably a good trainer heli, but it's likely to be either expensive or frustrating to learn on. If I were you I'd keep hold of that, and also pick up either a small heli or a sim to learn on. You're fairly likely to crash as you're learning, and the costs on a micro are a tiny fraction of the costs on a larger heli (and on the sim it's free!).

You can literally pick up a small helicopter for less than the price of a typical crash on a larger model, and the small ones can often be dusted off after a crash with no damage. You might find the chart in this guide useful:
What should I buy? A RC Helicopter beginners guide

Has to be said though, for some people larger heli's just suit them better, and you can learn a lot by repairing an older model. My first large heli was a second hand Kyosho Concept 50, it was an utter nightmare to work on and never did fly right, but it was a lot cheaper learning the basics of maintenance on that than on a brand new model :-)

[Tom1977]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your comments, however, I will persevere for a while with this one, i do like a challenge. I do realise I will most probably have to change gyro etc. However, until I know exactly how it SHOULD be set up and then diagnose I won't do anything drastic. I have changed to a upgraded brush less motor & esc, fitted the frame stiffener and waiting for a new drive pinion gear to arrive. Tomorrow I will be receiving some advice/assistance off here and will hopefully make some progress. I'll keep you informed though. In the meantime, any recommendations on something else to get me in the air and flying a little to boost confidence would be welcomed, and not too expensive :-)

[Peteski]

Hi Guys,

In the meantime, any recommendations on something else to get me in the air and flying a little to boost confidence would be welcomed, and not too expensive :-)

A Blade Nano QX. It's a tiny little quad, but flies much like a CP heli. Been using mine as a trainer since Christmas and it's been great. It's zero maintenance, virtually crash proof and totally safe to use indoors or out.

[myxiplx]

Have a look at the link I posted earlier. If you're looking for a good route into the hobby the Nano QX is a great indoor trainer, the nCPX is a more advanced indoor helicopter, the mCPX if you're wanting to learn outside.

They're all small models, don't require assembly, will fly well out of the box, and are relatively cheap to repair if you're unlucky enough to break something. And the flying skills you learn on any of these will translate straight to your larger one, meaning that by the time you get the big one working, you should have the skills to fly it

[Tom1977]

Will take a look thanks mate. Didnt see that link first time round oops. Dunno why it is in BOLD afterall haha.

[tomatwalden]

FWIW - I'd suggest you look at a Blade 120SR RTF, or a Blade 200SRX RTF. Or for indoors, a Blade mSR or mSRX.

The nanoQX is a good little quad for indoor fun and learning orientations, but if you want a heli - checkout the above.

[umox]

Hi tom welcome to the hobby.

I too started this hobby with a honeybee can't remeber exact model many years ago and gave up the thing was a nightmare.

Then last year I decided to have another go at it and got a used trex 450 flybarred for £65 and I must say wow what a massive difference compared to the honeybee.

Dont give up as the model you have is not great quality in fact if your willing to pay postage I'll gladly send you my honeybee it's up in the loft gathering dust, you maybe able to get a working heli out of 2 just a thought.

Dont give up!