Well, I got my 4#3B in today...and after a little work. Here it is, MIA CF frame with 4#3B hardware.









It flys so much better now....2 thumbs up

that is sharp looking. I LOVE my MIA 4#3. throw a little pos pitch on the paddles and it has plenty of pull. With johns 500Mah battery i have great flight times.

that looks awesome , could you give us more details of the build , like if there was any problems in fitment or just anything that may be usefull ?
Im definatly having a MIA 4#3b !

Mario- I got your g10 frame before you changed it to fit v2 servos

I am just not coordinated enough to mod it myself

Is there any way I can just have you send me a new bottom plate and servo clip?

for cash of course! not asking for free one-but dont want to buy whole new frame

mk

I had no problem swapping everything over, I had to adjust the linkage on the servo motors a little, but that was about it.

Originally Posted by diamondd7711

I had no problem swapping everything over, I had to adjust the linkage on the servo motors a little, but that was about it.

I got one of marios first run -before he accomadated for new servos-my frame doesnt really have enough room to widen holes comfortably

he altered to accept both servos I was told-could buy latest frame-but was just hoping for new bottom plate

mk

First Impressions:

This is a very nice helicopter with the aluminum parts but has some weak points as with the original 4#3.

Operation out of the box:

My 4#3B in stock form, flew very wobbly, and erratic so I took it apart to inspect the assembly in the rotor head because this is mainly where most stability problems are at. Sure enough, found that the factory forgot to install the C-clip on one side of the rotor head that holds the damping o-rings, so the head was very wobbly and unstable. I fixed this by inserting 2 small thin 2.5mm OD washers with 1mm ID to take up some of the slack on the head and this did the trick, but I'd felt better if I didn't had to do this, it should really have the C clips one per side.

Tip 1 - Rotor Head Inspection

So my first suggestion is that, if you recently got a 4#3B , and the heli flies unstable or erratic, carefully take the head apart and see if you have the C-clips installed on the rotor axle pin, make sure that the small o-rings are there , as well. I normally use a small clean towel over a table to work with small parts so that if they happen to fall I don't lose them, the towel material acts as a catcher for small parts.

Tip 2 - Flybar and Paddles.

Once I had the head issue corrected, I did some more test flights in my living room. I tried some figured eights and reverse backward flying but was a bit difficult to do this, since the helicopter appeared to have a mind of its own at times and granted also that I was flying under AC ducts. So I turned off the AC and gave it another run, still, I had the heli stable for a moment then it would go out of control by shifting itself into motion in another direction .

I corrected this by using parts I designed specifically for the 4#3B and was able to keep the helicopter more stable and with more precision of control.

Tip 3 - Linkages

Walkera 4#3's have the links a bit too loose and this reflects in the lack of precise control you feel when you fly these helis in stock form, with more use, the links become more lose and you will feel this, lack of precision, even more. Also the links thin OD threaded rods tend to bend easily and this can also throw off your control a bit. I resolved this, by using my own especial tool and parts designed for the 4#3B to correct this.

Tip 4 - Frame Options

I flew the helicopter a bit hard but could not get away from the unavoidable "oops! I crashed, mode", this resulted in the canopy cracking, and the LG breaking at the same points those plastic little tips that are molded part of the thin wire skids. So I removed the stock wire LG and replaced it with my own tougher parts kit which I mentioned earlier in this thread.

I removed the battery basket and went for the more conventional adjustable battery placement under the belly near the front with a custom G10 plate and a couple rubber bands and had mended the canopy with tape. This held up nicely another 20 flight and this time I am pushing the heli all over the place, a few more crashes, the boom broke at the screw attachment point, the typical place where the original 4#3 normally breaks and cracked the anti-rotation arm and canopy at the same place (NEAR THE AILERON SERVO ARM), NOTE: the arm is too long and hits the canopy when you hit a wall causing the canopy to break, I clipped the end of the servo arm and rounded the edged to clear the canopy so to avoid possible breaking of canopy in this area).

Finally, I decided it was time to reassemble it with my own G10/Carbon frames and went direct drive, in similar fashion, as I did with the original 4#3. Some noticeable differences were increased stability and a much more realistic larger heli, look. The added stability is mainly due to my frame, but bare in mind that investing a little time in the head and in the links as described above, so to remove a much play as possible, helps to attain a much more stable and enjoyable model.

About the transmitter supplied with the 4#3B, although it is a nice size transmitter, It felt as if the joysticks molded gimbals, felt not as nice as the original 4#3 or the 52# transmitter stick gimbals, granted the 4#3 B is at a nice price tag, I decided to be happy with the transmitter provided. I will keep this model as is and perhaps buy another one to modify with a better transmitter and separates components. Although, so far the stock motors appear to be holding well. But I never have had a problem with the stock motors in either the 4#3 or the 4#3B.

Tip 5 - Rotor Head, Blade Mounting Important!

The aluminum parts with this 4#3B kit, are a very nice touch. But the rotor head blades fit too loose on the alu rotor head blade holders by about .005 of an inch. YOU DO NOT WANT TO TIGHTEN THE BLADE HOLDING SCREWS TOO MUCH, as this will risk stripping the tiny screws or bend the alu blade holders out of parallelism. What I did to get around this I simply stuck two small washers made from scrap decal material I supply in my canopy kits, this takes up that fraction and make the blade stay in place without having to over-tighten the blade holder screws.

One more thing, in the past I was a bit reluctant to recommend this helicopter to new comers, because I wanted to try it myself, I had bits and pieces of this helicopter version that allowed me to do the frames for it ahead of time but I didn't have a complete helicopter to be flown. Having flown this helicopter, I can now recommend this kit to everyone, but please read the tips I have included here, so that you too can enjoy it as I am and others are enjoying it.

Diamondd7711 that looks awesome!! Gotta get one from Mario. But first gotta think of a reason to tell wife about the new expense after the 4#3B. Then there's the walkera 52 MIA mods when it comes out. I'll buy her a Mac worth $1,220 so she can't say anything.

Haha...good idea. I talked my wife into letting me get the 4#3B by telling her it would be cheaper to get the whole thing and upgrade my old 4#3 than to just buy the individual parts.

Mario,
i think the problems you had are very unusual. i have sold quite a few without any issues at all. my personal 4-3B V2 flew perfectly right out of the box.
cheers, johnw

Originally Posted by johnIn2SonAZ

Mario,
i think the problems you had are very unusual. i have sold quite a few without any issues at all. my personal 4-3B V2 flew perfectly right out of the box.
cheers, johnw

The rotor head on mine had issues definetly because it was missing the C clip and with it, it will fly fine stock. But it can be made much much better with the tips I mentioned and using the parts which I specifically made for the 4#3B. You have to see this in a video or the real thing to be able to appreciate these improvements. I will try to capture these improvements in a video.

Mario,

I crashed almost every time I flew (about 80 flights) and the only thing I ended up with was a slightly cracked canopy. How big is your room and do you have sharp obstacles in there ? A little off topic, is there a projected date for the 52 mods? I'm losing sleep.

Originally Posted by tonyastro

Mario,

I crashed almost every time I flew (about 80 flights) and the only thing I ended up with was a slightly cracked canopy. How big is your room and do you have sharp obstacles in there ? A little off topic, is there a projected date for the 52 mods? I'm losing sleep.

I am purposely pushing this 4#3B helicopter indoors in about a 20x20ft area to test it stock and with mods. I mean pushing it beyond basic hovering, I am forcing it fast forward, reverse sideways and trying to dial in a more instantaneous response on the control while maintaining a high degree of stability. With the mods I mentioned earlier, it is to my satisfaction.

Here is a pic before the G10 frame mod.. only using my stabilizer, links adjustment and LG struts mods, I am also using the edge solid color canopy.

Check my site tomorrow morning regarding you question on the 52 mods.

I think I will use this color scheme next and try an interesting window shape.

Awesome Mario! Can't wait for the 52 mods!