XRB Lama Wirless

[wazzer]

HI Guys

I am seriously considering taking the plunge and buying the new Hirobo XRB lama Wirless as a first heli for training on. I am fortunate to live near Singapore and they are available for just over 90 quid (280 sing dollars) from a shop called jethobby.com.sg. (just goes to show how much the distibutors are making if jet hobby are also making a profit!!!)

Can any one tell me if the TX supplied with the Hirobo XRB Lama RC Version would be suitable for use with the Reflex XTR sim.

I cant seem to find info on who the TX is made by and if it has a trainer or DSC socket.

If no one knows could you give me an idea as to where to look for the information.

Cheers

Ben

[bibs]

Hello

I've recently purchased the same heli and the bundled tx is very poor quality with no ports for cables to connect to your pc. I think the difference in price in the UK with/without tx is 30 which kinda indicates how good it is :S. The Lama tho' is excellent and I'm confident enough to be buying a .50 size in the next weeks after a month of the lama and will keep it indefinetly to fly around the house.

[wazzer]

Cheers Bibs

Thanks for your reply.

I have also just found out that the very cheap Lama i found in Singapore is actually a Chinese copy thats not as good.

Is a shame as i was just about to go and buy one.

Thanks for your reply.

Ben

[FZT]

i saw one flying today in a model shop.Im thinking about buying one.The guy got it to hover nice at head hight then put the TX down and it just stayed right there!

stayed there for about a minute or so hovering in the same spot until his coleague behind him started muckin about with the controller and hiding so it looked as if the heli was flyin out of control!

well funny.looks easy to fly.

[spacebaron]

I have a Piccolo and and Hoverfly (and have flown a Hornet) and have recently flown the Lama and I have to say, it is a brilliant machine - It is by far the most stable electric 'heli' I have seen and has excellent flight duration (steer clear of the cheap copies - these will only end in frustration and a waste of money)

If your budget can't stretch to the Lama then seriously consider the Hoverfly - It is tougher but not that much harder to fly with the only downside being the tethered flying.

[wazzer]

Space baron

How durable do you find the Hoverfly to be it looks very flimsy to me is it very robust or do you get through alot of spares.

I really like the diferent approach but an unteatherd one would be much more fun i bet.

Interested in your views

Ben

[G-DAVE]

Got a lama just before Xmas - and posted how good they were then - as a start in this hobby I don't think you can get a better trainer -one word of caution , if you then want to progress to IC heli's your time on the Lama will stand you in good stead because you will be able to cope with the orienation problems but you will be suprised at how much harder you have to work to get a stable hover. The difference is you will loose your guardian angel "ie the top stabilizing rotor."
Dave

i have also seen and briefly flown the lama,and i got to say that i found it very easy to use,i will be geting one in a few months when i can smuggle it into the house unnoticed.

[beaverjack]

i have seen them also in the model shop,and i want one badly as it seems so easy for a newbie to fly,i just cannot afford to purchase it yet.

you and me both mate,i know someone selling one but im not going to tell you who they are because i NEED it myself........lol

[spacebaron]

Space baron

How durable do you find the Hoverfly to be it looks very flimsy to me is it very robust or do you get through alot of spares.

I really like the diferent approach but an unteatherd one would be much more fun i bet.

Interested in your views

Ben

I have to say, I love the Hoverfly - it is the closest thing to indestructible I have found (as proven by my friend with 4 kids who have all crashed spectacularly on several occasaions). The worst thing to happen is the propellers breaking which cost about 80p each. Because they are so flimsy, when they hit the deck, they have no real inertia and no 'brittle bits' to break.

They are very stable and quite capable of a 'hands-off' hover although not quite as stable as the Lama and of course, as you say, they are tethered which is a downside although you can purchase a portable 12 volt transfomer which you can hook up to a small battery and then walk around with.

Of all the electric micro helis I've flown. the Lama and the Hoverfly are my top two favourites at the moment. The others (such as the Piccolo, Hornet, Hummingbird etc) are nice machines but will 'nickle and dime' you in repairs over time and the airframes seem to disintegrate more and more after the initial crashes.

[wazzer]

Hi Space Baron

Would you say that as a training aid due to the more unstable hover than the lama the hoverfly would be more suitable.

As was pointed out earlier in this thread the lama makes a transition to ic a bit harder as you have not had the hovering skills developed due to it being too easy to fly.

If i buy a training Heli along the lines of the Hoverfly or XRB Lama i would hope that once proficient at flying it i could make the transition to IC easily with out to much trouble.

I dont want to be frightened to hover my new 50! (when its bought)

If the Lama is so easy then you dont actually learn a huge amount.

CHeers

Ben

[spacebaron]

Well, Bibs has been flying the Lama for just over a month and took his nitro out for the first time yesterday and hovered perfectly so I think it shows the transition can be relatively smooth.

In calm conditions, a well set-up nitro will fly just as easily as a Lama - The main difference is going to be the wind and learning how to deal with gusting etc plus the power of a nitro will allow the heli to accelarate much more rapidly than a micro flyer is likely to be used to. Another plus for nitro is the ground effect is damped by the grass so they are less 'skittish' at low levels.

The difference between a micro and a nitro is probably like the difference between a Mini and a Lotus - the basic operation is the same its just the bigger one has more power but is also more versatile. If you can drive a Mini then you can drive a Lotus but you then have a new learning curve on how to handle the additional features and power of the machine so take is slow and enjoy the learning

If you're still nervous on your first nitro flight then consider using a Hula-hoop (don't use those awful training aid ball and stick things - they simply aren't as good)