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Chopper Update
Posted Sunday March 4, 2007 at 3:41 am
(4 years ago)
It's been a busy and difficult week at school, which means I've been shirking those responsibilities and playing extra-hard with my toy helicopter. I found a forum at RCGroups.com where a bunch of other Honey Bee FP owners have tried doing just about everything to their helicopters to improve them. I tried a couple of the cheap mods (and one expensive one) myself:
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| Head Stiffener |
I made a head stiffener out of two carbon fiber strips. It fits over and under the normal head assembly, strengthens it, and allows me to pass bolts through the assembly instead of using the stock screws. The idea is to reducing any twisting in the head, which should improve responsiveness and reduce vibration. Several Honey Bee owners have said that this is easily the biggest improvement they've made to their birds, but I honestly can't tell much of a difference. Maybe I'll see the difference when I start flying faster, or maybe I'll just go back to the stock setup.
(Cost: $6 for the carbon fiber and $1 for the hardware.)
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| New Battery |
I also ordered a new battery, one that's a third higher in both voltage and endurance. It's also a lot bulkier, however. I've only flown with it once. It's very hard to position it in my battery hanger due to its size. The extra weight also makes me a little nervous that I'll break something on "sport landings." The power is quite impressive: it lifts off at 1/3 throttle instead of the normal 2/3, and it'll climb amazingly fast at full throttle. Power is good, but I prefer the moderate responses and light weight of the stock battery for now.
(Cost: $27, which is OK because it'll be a great upgrade eventually.)
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| Transmitter Tray |
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| Transmitter Tray |
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| Transmitter Tray |
Following the basic idea of another flyer's do-it-yourself project, I built a transmitter tray. It fits around my neck and frees up my hands to work the controls. It's a lot more stable than a simple lanyard, which I didn't really find to be that much help. Before, I had to support the transmitter with my fingers and work the sticks with my thumbs. Now, I can pinch the sticks with my thumb and forefinger, which means much more precise inputs are possible. It makes a big difference in hovering, but it'll take me awhile to get used to making big inputs since it feels like so much movement compared to before.
(Cost: $2. The plywood was in the shed when I moved in, I bought the Velcro for another project, and the neck strap is off a piece of luggage. All I had to buy are the I-bolts!)
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