Hi,

I'm looking into getting a RTF Fixed Pitch Helicopter and narrowed it down to the popular Honeybee FP Mk3, or for about 2X the price, the Skyartec Wasp V3 Belt Tail (HWH3-8). Which one would you recommend? I have had experience with RC airplanes and helis, but not nearly enough to move comfortably up to CP.

Does anyone have more information about the Wasp?
While smaller, I do like the belt driven tail (no tail motor burnouts), brushless motor, and metal frame construction.

Would this be just as stable/easy to fly as the HB? Are there any distinct advantages to the V3 to justify the cost? Are replacement parts easy to find? The resemblance between the V3 and a CP heli's rotorhead look strikingly similar, which leads me to think of a lot of downtime between crashes and expensive repairs. How's the durability compared to the HB?

Thanks!

Wasp V3:

I don't know much about the wasp, but you can tell from the head that the heli in that picture is a CP, not an FP heli, so I think you are comparing apples and oranges

The head has full bell/hiller CP linkage but the pitch is locked and it uses 2 servos. I've really been tempted to try one of these guys. The hardware included and the belt drive tail make it very appealing. I've read they could use a better gyro and tail servo, but the one it comes with is adequate.

As a beginner heli I'd say it would be a mistake. For an experienced flier looking for a small heli to play around with, it could be fun. But there's no logical reason why you would buy this instead of a CP heli. It will suffer the same damage in a crash as a CP heli. It would be no easier to fly than a CP heli, FP helis rarely are. It's smaller than an HBFP by a good amount, so it's going to be squirrely. The only CP helis that would be as difficul to fly are the 250 and smaller size.

Unless you were thinking of one of those crap 300 size motor driven tail CP helis, I'd say go ahead and get your CP heli. It will be easier to fly. Otherwise, do the HBFP. Or, you could get the Wasp so you can tell me how it is.

That's what I thought too when I first saw the picture, but apparently it is a 4ch. The fixed pitch version (HWH03-8) of this heli and a 6ch collective pitch version ( HWH03-7) look almost the same. It seems as if they're using the same CP rotorhead on a 4ch heli...

Originally Posted by Wingman9526

That's what I thought too when I first saw the picture, but apparently it is a 4ch. The fixed pitch version (HWH03-8) of this heli and a 6ch collective pitch version ( HWH03-7) look almost the same. It seems as if they're using the same CP rotorhead on a 4ch heli...

there is a wasp fixed pitch heli.
but it has a blue canopy.the heli in the pic has to be just a pic they put in for filler.
now i havent had the oppertunity to fly one of these heli`s but have seen like 7 factory video`s on youtube for these heli`s,
honestly they look good.and the 4 channel has a belt driven tail.
i really wish someone would get one just so we all can know how they are.
i promise before i got laid off i was seriously looking at getting one of these heli`s. be it the 4 or 6 channel they are both close in price.
once i get back to work and get some bill`s cought up i will by a wasp.

^^^^
I'm in the same boat as you. I had to sell most of my helis because I couldn't afford to maintain them with no job. The Wasp was one of the birds on my list. Damn, this economy sucks!

Originally Posted by Wingman9526

That's what I thought too when I first saw the picture, but apparently it is a 4ch. The fixed pitch version (HWH03-8) of this heli and a 6ch collective pitch version ( HWH03-7) look almost the same. It seems as if they're using the same CP rotorhead on a 4ch heli...

Just wanted to add that the HWH03-7 is a 7.4 volt 12A ESC CCPM heli. slower and nice for beginner. The HWH03-4 is same construction except it has a 18A ESC and a 11.1 volt system. More power and performance for only a few dollars (literally) more.

Max
www.parkrcmodels.com www.skyartec-usa.com

I have a HB FP mk3 and HAD a Skyartec Wasp FP v2. Overall, I can not recommend the Skyartec. It flew well out of the box and overall the electronics (motor/ESC/servos) were not bad BUT the frame/landing gear and tail (pitch slider) were poorly designed and very weak. I had several failures on the tail with no prior crashes. The frame is very thin and weak.

The HB FP with super skids is very robust and cheap and easy to repair.
Sure the belt tail is superior on the Skyartec but the quality was just not there.
My opinion only...
-Paul

Thanks to everyone on this thread. I have HBFP, looking closely at Wasp. LOTS of data on HB, little on Wasp, need more.

If I had a GF who'd give me her mastercard, it would be no issue, I'd just buy one of everything that appeals to me and find out for myself how they worked. But my lowlife job doesn't meet expenses, since my REAL job got outsourced to China. Still, a new heli is only a couple week's expenses between living in an apartment (forced to sell my house) and living under a bridge. So I indulge. Cautiously.

Hard to know what the dearth of data represents. On the one hand, might mean very few have taken a chance on this heli. On another, might mean everyone who has is too busy flying them without problems to come here and ask about.

Tough damn business. You could have a really superior product, but for a very long time people would still buy what they're familiar with even though it has known issues.

I've asked before and I'll ask again, for what it's worth. Is the Wasp a competent craft, or just a very attractive collection of features?

I think you've made the right decision. Lots of info and parts available for the little bee

I have had both myself, and would not reccomend the wasp, it flew out of the box, but most parts were of bad quality, the aluminum parts are very cheap and strip out easy and bend easily. Also parts for the wasp are hard to come buy and can't be easily bought. For the price the honeybee fp is the way to go, stock parts are cheap and can be found on any forum or website. The product support on forums is endless for the honeybee fp. I would highly recommend the honeybee fp for the price, I recently just got my honeybee just because I had to sell off my whole fleet and I needed something cheap and something to fly around in my backyard, and the honeybee fp to me is the funniest helicopter, it whips around and even if you have to repair it, its fairly simple and cheap to fix in crashes.

Have to agree with HeliStyle and PAS. Had a Wasp V3 4ch... Lots of good features, which is what sold me on it... but the quailty of some of the parts is lacking.

Had to replace the tail servo cuz the orginal fell apart within a week or less. The tail slider and grips were not up to par... replaced with Gaui parts... though IMHO shouldn't have had to. The head is rather delicate, pitch frame in particular. Had problems with the tail belt. AND the screws are not quite standard and the Skyartec hex-driver set is almost a must!

For the disclaimer: This was about a year ago so maybe there quaility as improved but don't know.... and I was rough on it as I was learning.

Glad to see your doing your research... wish I had done more .
Go with the HBFB, cheap to fix and takes a beating... of course I'm partial to my 4#3B converted to brushless

Steve

I like the idea of a FP heli, with a belt drive tail and a brushless motor, in a 250 size. I had a 4#3B and didn't like the way it flew; response is sloppy and it's highly affected by the slightest air current. Something a little bigger that has more upgrade options would appear to be a better choice.

I have enough experience building 450 size and Compy/GuruZ helis to have a good idea of the cost of decent servos, HH gyros, brushless motors, ESCs, BECs, etc. So, for the price of the Wasp V3, I'm not surprised some upgrades are in order, nor am I put off by it. I can't say I've ever has a $200 (or less) heli that didn't require some.

Originally Posted by asylum56

Have to agree with HeliStyle and PAS. Had a Wasp V3 4ch... Lots of good features, which is what sold me on it... but the quailty of some of the parts is lacking.

Had to replace the tail servo cuz the orginal fell apart within a week or less. The tail slider and grips were not up to par... replaced with Gaui parts... though IMHO shouldn't have had to. The head is rather delicate, pitch frame in particular. Had problems with the tail belt. AND the screws are not quite standard and the Skyartec hex-driver set is almost a must!

For the disclaimer: This was about a year ago so maybe there quaility as improved but don't know.... and I was rough on it as I was learning.

Glad to see your doing your research... wish I had done more .
Go with the HBFB, cheap to fix and takes a beating... of course I'm partial to my 4#3B converted to brushless

Steve

Thank you for the your honest feedback on the WASP; many improvements to quality control have been implemented. Parts are much easier to get now here in the USA. Many hundreds of WASP V3 and V4 have been sold recently with very positive feedback from the buyers. I fly serveral versions of the WASP series myself. I believe that the feature set at the suggest prices are hard to beat. Over the last year I have seen amazing improvement to the quality of parts. Yes it does fly out of the box and each is factory test flown. (test flight by serial number is on you tube.

Max
www.parkrcmodels.com www.skyartec-usa.com

I've tried to introduce a superior product at a nominal price and I can tell you it ain't flarggin easy. People gravitate toward what they know, even if it has issues.

HBFP HAS issues. I own one. Haven't flown it for 2 weeks. Waiting backordered parts. Electronics and servo links fairly aligned out-of-box. Hub/rotor junction NOT aligned. It was unflyable. But how was I to know, coming from coax? Until I researched and measured it extensively. BTW, the hub/rotor junction is what broke, after 2 weeks of hopping.

There's flying and there's learning. NO RTF craft--or any craft for that matter--comes out of the box without opportunities for both. Us Americans like to blame something when stuff doesn't go as we expected. All these things fly, in their own way. We can either adapt to what they do and what they need, or cuss them on the internet. It's all valid, it's all good, and it falls upon the reader to determine what data applies to their perspective/goals.