HoneyBee V2? To buy or not to by?

[GixxerBlitzer]

Hello all,

Firstly i'd like to say what a great forum this is !! secondly i would like a bit of advice.

I am quite new to the R/C Helicopter world , i first got into model flying when my father introduced me to indoor rubber powered scale models, i also have a reasonable amount of experience with Electric R/C Aeroplanes (mostly slow flight stuff nothing too ambitious).

I am very keen to start out door R/C helicopter flying after buying one the Syma 3 channel Gyro indoor heli's , there great fun but pretty much anyone can fly one, so i would like to go for something that takes a bit more skill and dedication.

However my predicament is this; i have a budget of around £160 and my heart set on a HoneyBee V2, but my head tells me this may be a bit ambitious for a rookie flyer.

i cant really afford to buy a blade Coaxial jobby and then shell out for a Honeybee or similar in 6 or more months time.

So as your all seasoned flyers what do you guys think?

Cheers

HB

[Howling mad murdock]

Hi GixxerBlitzer!

I started learning with a honey bee v2 a few weeks back, alot of skimming about the floor and a few crashes!

I also bought a V911 micro 2.4ghz 4ch heli, Only about £40 RTF! Its really resposive, has two flight modes indoor/outdoor and is really hard to break!

I have had loads of flights and crashes with it and is still works fine. I can now sort of hover nose in and both sides and easily fly it around the living room!

It has given me loads more confidence in my flying, I only get out with the honey bee v2 on the weekends, weather permiting, so still not had many flights!

Good luck!!!

[debrooker]

No, whilst I learnt on a Honeybee FP v1, it was only when I went to a trex 450 clone, that I realised how bad the Honeybee was.

Whilst I've never tried a V2, I can't imagine it being leaps and bounds better, may be it is who knows

[cupracing]

Stay well clear of the honeybees, they are terrible and don't fly well at all even if you are an advanced pilot. I would spend the money on an Eflite product if you are just starting out.

[nobbycopter]

For your budget an mCPX RTF package would be OK to learn on, if you can stretch about another £20 then you could get a BNF (no radio) and a DX6i which means that when (not if) you want to get a bigger heli you can fly it with the DX6i...

[tomatwalden]

Avoid Honeybees if I were you.

For your budget, check out the Blade products. If you're coming from a Syma co-ax (I assume you mean the ones with the "flat" tail rotor that makes it go forwards/backwards), then I would suggest you start with a 4-channel fixed pitch.

An example of the 4-channel, fixed pitch would be : Blade 120 SR

Starting with a 6-channel collective pitch heli would be a massive jump from a 3-channel toy. I'd pretty much guarantee you'd spend over 50 quid in the first few weeks on parts, and spend very little time actually flying!

The 120SR is £120 in ready to fly format (complete with controller, including postage) - E-Flite Blade 120 SR RTF BLH3100UK2
That's comfortably within your £160 budget and allows for spares!

Good luck and welcome to the mad house!

T

[Ubi22]

For your budget an mCPX RTF package would be OK to learn on, if you can stretch about another £20 then you could get a BNF (no radio) and a DX6i which means that when (not if) you want to get a bigger heli you can fly it with the DX6i...

+1

some think you can crash and get away with and also not too easy to fly i.e. Nano / MpcX or X130 with DX6i will see you good for a long time

[Howling mad murdock]

I think I need a new heli???
My honey bee does seem very difficult to fly and now it makes sence, Glad to hear other people found it the same!

[tomatwalden]

I think I need a new heli???
My honey bee does seem very difficult to fly and now it makes sence, Glad to hear other people found it the same!

Well - never flown one myself, but when I was looking to get into this hobby and buy my first heli, I did a fair old bit of research on the various options. I found many poor reviews of the Honey Bee products, and many more positive reviews of the eFlite/Blade line-up.

Coupled with the fact that Blade suppliers seem to be everywhere in the UK - take your pick from what must be over 50 suppliers (guessing!) in the UK alone, compared maybe one or two outlets for HoneyBee (and/or Walkera for that matter) - Buzzflyer being the notable one that seems to supply in the UK.

Also, the Blade/Spektrum radio link-up seemed a more standard way to progress. The DX6i that I ultimately got with my 450-3D RTF package is now controlling my Trex500EFL Pro!

[n00by]

i flew a v2 the other week and it wasn't to bad, better than the V1, but they are hard work and with the stock RTF setup there isn't much u can tweak.

it makes for a good trainer and u will learn more from it than flying a 45 degree fixed pitch heli like the Blade 120 SR.


if u can hover a HBFP u can hover anything lol

[tomatwalden]

i flew a v2 the other week and it wasn't to bad, better than the V1, but they are hard work and with the stock RTF setup there isn't much u can tweak.

it makes for a good trainer and u will learn more from it than flying a 45 degree fixed pitch heli like the Blade 120 SR.


if u can hover a HBFP u can hover anything lol

Everyone's different I guess . The (self-correcting, 45-deg flybarred) 120SR helped me over the initial hump of learning mode-2 controls and basically how to control a "proper" heli (ie. not those 3-chan, Syma things). I quickly bought a 450-3D RTF which I started to progress on into 6-channel collective pitch (I also rebound the 120SR to the DX6i I got with the 450-3D). The 450 took me through the next phase - no self correction, and collective pitch controls. I then sold the 120SR when I had truly outgrown it, and replaced it with an mCPX which made a good 2nd heli for me alongside the 450.

I think it's fair to say that all these beginner helis (ie. 4-chan , FP, co-ax's etc.) are there for a particular phase. If you truly find RC helis are your thing - you'll outgrow all of them pretty quickly.

[jimmyhorns]

No, whilst I learnt on a Honeybee FP v1, it was only when I went to a trex 450 clone, that I realised how bad the Honeybee was.

Whilst I've never tried a V2, I can't imagine it being leaps and bounds better, may be it is who knows

+1 on this.

I 'learnt' to hover with it (though mine was a CP). I got a beltCP after and was amazed at the difference, then a 450 and again a huge jump in ease.

The tail was always all over the place.

Id save for a 450

[Smudgyboy]

Hello all,

Firstly i'd like to say what a great forum this is !! secondly i would like a bit of advice.

I am quite new to the R/C Helicopter world , i first got into model flying when my father introduced me to indoor rubber powered scale models, i also have a reasonable amount of experience with Electric R/C Aeroplanes (mostly slow flight stuff nothing too ambitious).

I am very keen to start out door R/C helicopter flying after buying one the Syma 3 channel Gyro indoor heli's , there great fun but pretty much anyone can fly one, so i would like to go for something that takes a bit more skill and dedication.

However my predicament is this; i have a budget of around £160 and my heart set on a HoneyBee V2, but my head tells me this may be a bit ambitious for a rookie flyer.

i cant really afford to buy a blade Coaxial jobby and then shell out for a Honeybee or similar in 6 or more months time.

So as your all seasoned flyers what do you guys think?

Cheers

HB

I have an old MCX V1 you can have, comes with lipos charger. If you buy a DX6i you can bind it to that and once you feel happy flying that you can use the Blade MCP X I'm going to send you as well!

I don't want any money for them as I have enough Heli's I don't use. If you (when you) progress onto bigger and better Helis then you can pass the MCX V1 and the MCP X to someone else, if they are still fly that is!

PM me your address and I will send them to you.

Phil

[gazmk2]

Generosity doesn't get much better than that!!

[meggark]

Re: HoneyBee V2? To buy or not to by?

That's a brilliant offer from Phil!

I started with an mCPx as my first ever heli (after fiddling with a cheap coaxial I got for Xmas) and it didn't take long to crack the hover. It's easily doable as a first machine as long as you are prepared to crash. I did find phoenix a big help for some things too though, like nose in hover. Mine cost me£160 with dx6i, all new.

All that is redundant if you take Phil up on his offer, what a star!