La Heli Ricco Review: - Page 5

Flying Dutchy · Feb 23, 2009, 01:14 PM

Ok, thanks for the info guys. the reason why I am interested is because Nick (Mahbouni) Told me it is a great replacement for my Hornet! I have a Hornet X-CP which is no longer available because MScomposit is going out of the hli business. And I want to re-use my electrics, like the 300/20 motor + MS-116 ESC..... Should be a perfect fit with the Ricco. How about this special canopies?

pwkpete · Feb 23, 2009, 02:19 PM

You can check my site on the canopies, I have a number of pre-painted Ricco ones available.

Flying Dutchy · Feb 23, 2009, 03:03 PM

Checked them out, they look cool! (the lightning one). I also saw your special for hornet owners. I am very tempted, however, I should receive my 4th. Gaui this week (the EP200 SE V2) and am a bit afraid for the I believe limited amount of Ricco owners....... I also want a protos........

raynet11 · Feb 23, 2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchy

Checked them out, they look cool! (the lightning one). I also saw your special for hornet owners. I am very tempted, however, I should receive my 4th. Gaui this week (the EP200 SE V2) and am a bit afraid for the I believe limited amount of Ricco owners....... I also want a protos........

I don't think the Ricco will suffer the same fate as our beloved Hornet's, LA Heli seems a lot more dedicated (and realistic) in their business model. They also have the sales of their UFO's and Autogyro's to prop up business. The majority of the Hornet owners already migrated over to the Maxir (in searching old threads here on RCG). Us die hard Hornet guys (I have 3 of them) were slower to migrate.

The Gaui is a sweet ship but if you still have a soft spot for the Hornet a Ricco is going make your jaw drop when you build it and even more the first time you fly it.

Giovanni Day · Feb 24, 2009, 03:36 PM

I looked at a Gaui and decided on the ricco SE as it is a little bigger and offers longer flight times. I have since thought about getting a gaui 200 flybarless as a second but have not moved on that as the weather has been bad the last couple months.

raynet11 · Feb 24, 2009, 04:35 PM

My Ricco and Hornet X3D are both small enough to fly in my back yard.. Granted I couldn't do this a few years ago but as you get better at flying the little buggers the less space you need to do stuff. The Ricco's flip and roll radius are very are pretty tight so goofing off doesn't take a full sized field.

If I had a Gaui I'd be flying it in the house, that is smaller yet, I finally seen one in person and wow are those things tiny ..

Flying Dutchy · Feb 25, 2009, 10:26 AM

Be careful to fly a 200 in your house. headspeed is 4000+ so with CF blades it can easily kill you.. (or damage your interior). Yep I do love my hornet. It was my first CP bird but it is not the best design I think. Flight times were always great! I hate all the plastic stuff and the prices for upgrades. The newer birds have metal rotor heads and the tail is completely metal as well. The Hornet X-CP has a lot of slop in the main rotor and in the tail. Therefore I am still a bit allergic for the Ricco......

Quote:

Originally Posted by raynet11

My Ricco and Hornet X3D are both small enough to fly in my back yard.. Granted I couldn't do this a few years ago but as you get better at flying the little buggers the less space you need to do stuff. The Ricco's flip and roll radius are very are pretty tight so goofing off doesn't take a full sized field.

If I had a Gaui I'd be flying it in the house, that is smaller yet, I finally seen one in person and wow are those things tiny ..

pwkpete · Feb 25, 2009, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchy

Be careful to fly a 200 in your house. headspeed is 4000+ so with CF blades it can easily kill you.. (or damage your interior). Yep I do love my hornet. It was my first CP bird but it is not the best design I think. Flight times were always great! I hate all the plastic stuff and the prices for upgrades. The newer birds have metal rotor heads and the tail is completely metal as well. The Hornet X-CP has a lot of slop in the main rotor and in the tail. Therefore I am still a bit allergic for the Ricco......

There is no slop in the tail on the Ricco... There is a tiny amount in the head at the mixing arm where the screw goes through the bushing or bearing. If there is slop in the joints, they need to be replaced.

raynet11 · Feb 25, 2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchy

Be careful to fly a 200 in your house. headspeed is 4000+ so with CF blades it can easily kill you.. (or damage your interior). Yep I do love my hornet. It was my first CP bird but it is not the best design I think. Flight times were always great! I hate all the plastic stuff and the prices for upgrades. The newer birds have metal rotor heads and the tail is completely metal as well. The Hornet X-CP has a lot of slop in the main rotor and in the tail. Therefore I am still a bit allergic for the Ricco......

My comparisons made from the Hornet to the Ricco are in reference to the Hornet X3D, the X3D has a bell hiller head which is night and day over the CP. So in saying that the Ricco is even better then performance wise on the head think 3X better then your Hornet X-CP's head.

It's that good..

Flying Dutchy · Feb 26, 2009, 10:54 AM

Well, I have the upgraded bell-hiller head on my hornet.......

So what spares do you recommend on the Ricco? And is there a possibility to upgrade the head to full metal and 0 slop? And is the swash metal too on the SE?

Quote:

Originally Posted by raynet11

My comparisons made from the Hornet to the Ricco are in reference to the Hornet X3D, the X3D has a bell hiller head which is night and day over the CP. So in saying that the Ricco is even better then performance wise on the head think 3X better then your Hornet X-CP's head.

It's that good..

pwkpete · Feb 26, 2009, 11:01 AM

Ricco both, Maxir 08: alu swash, plastic mixing arms

Risso SE: alu head

From the mixing arm, there are 2 links, one to the flybar ball link and another long link that goes around the flybar and connects to the swash. No need to make those aluminum.

There are aluminum grips available, though, other than bling I don't see the need for them. I don't believe in some thoughts out there that aluminum = better or = 0 slop... There are good places for aluminum and not so good... The way this machine was designed makes it very simple to work on and keeps it very light...

As a former Hornet owner, take a look back in the Maxir construction thread at my first impressions when I got my first Maxir flying... That was prior to getting involved as I am now... There have been many improvements since those days to top it off...

Flying Dutchy · Feb 26, 2009, 02:05 PM

Well, my hornet is still alive! (but not for long I'm afraid...) So I would be needing the SE kit, the alu tail servo holders and the alu blade holders. What spares would you recommend? And the blue lightning canopy is no longer available?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwkpete

Ricco both, Maxir 08: alu swash, plastic mixing arms

Risso SE: alu head

From the mixing arm, there are 2 links, one to the flybar ball link and another long link that goes around the flybar and connects to the swash. No need to make those aluminum.

There are aluminum grips available, though, other than bling I don't see the need for them. I don't believe in some thoughts out there that aluminum = better or = 0 slop... There are good places for aluminum and not so good... The way this machine was designed makes it very simple to work on and keeps it very light...

As a former Hornet owner, take a look back in the Maxir construction thread at my first impressions when I got my first Maxir flying... That was prior to getting involved as I am now... There have been many improvements since those days to top it off...

pwkpete · Feb 26, 2009, 02:26 PM

Blue lightning is just out of stock. Should have it back in soon.

I don't keep the main alu grips in stock, but I happen to have 1 set of silver in right now, they can be special ordered.

Spares: (nothing that you wouldn't really expect)
blades
main shaft
pinions
undercarriage
boom and supports
fins (and mounting clips)
links
mixing arms and both linkages
flybar and carrier
tail drive shafts
bearings

That list would cover most things and it really doesn't add up to too much outside blade costs (which are quite reasonable when compared to Hornet blade prices that I recall)

HTH

raynet11 · Feb 26, 2009, 03:30 PM

The links wearing on the balls is what slops out most birds, well that an after your servos have had a hundred thousand cycles on them those slop out as well. I grew sick of all my helis getting sloppy over time (they all do it) so I make it a regular practice to replace the plastic links at the end of every season.

My Trex is the biggest offender of the links going sloppy on me, (soft plastic + hard flying = sloppy)

If the heli is still sloppy after that then I replace the servos or rebuild them.

mrbubbs · Feb 27, 2009, 04:38 PM

A couple questions...

Is the Turnigy 1640kv motor closest to an AXI 2208-26? Yes, I know the AXI is more efficient and probably a better build, but I gotta be cheap right now.

What are the alternate servos that work with the Ricco SE? I have some Futaba S3114s that I thought were close to the HS-55s but someone mentioned having problems fitting them in on the cyclic.

Since the gearing on the Ricco is plastic, does this take the stress away from blade strikes? I know my usual thought is to get wood blades that break instead of harder-to-replace/more expensive head/main shaft parts when a blade strike happens. This is why I've stayed away from CF blades as I'm not reliably hit-free yet and I'm going to be practicing inverted flying quite a bit so I assume I'll hit more than usual.

I'm good at FFF, backward flight, loops, rolls. Of course, the alternative is the Ricco (non-SE) which has plastic blades which wouldn't "break away" either in a hit, so I might as well get CF, I guess.

I've really been going back and forth between the ultra-cheap Maxir 2008 model, the Ricco, and the Ricco SE. Decisions, decisions!

Thanks!

Feb 26, 2009, 11:01 AM	#71
pwkpete ElektroRC.com - LAHeli,YGE,RJX Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pewaukee, WI, USA Posts: 3,863	Ricco both, Maxir 08: alu swash, plastic mixing arms Risso SE: alu head From the mixing arm, there are 2 links, one to the flybar ball link and another long link that goes around the flybar and connects to the swash. No need to make those aluminum. There are aluminum grips available, though, other than bling I don't see the need for them. I don't believe in some thoughts out there that aluminum = better or = 0 slop... There are good places for aluminum and not so good... The way this machine was designed makes it very simple to work on and keeps it very light... As a former Hornet owner, take a look back in the Maxir construction thread at my first impressions when I got my first Maxir flying... That was prior to getting involved as I am now... There have been many improvements since those days to top it off... Last edited by pwkpete; Feb 26, 2009 at 11:14 AM.

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Feb 23, 2009, 01:14 PM	#61
Flying Dutchy Bird of Pray Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 622	Ok, thanks for the info guys. the reason why I am interested is because Nick (Mahbouni) Told me it is a great replacement for my Hornet! I have a Hornet X-CP which is no longer available because MScomposit is going out of the hli business. And I want to re-use my electrics, like the 300/20 motor + MS-116 ESC..... Should be a perfect fit with the Ricco. How about this special canopies?

Feb 23, 2009, 02:19 PM	#62
pwkpete ElektroRC.com - LAHeli,YGE,RJX Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pewaukee, WI, USA Posts: 3,863	You can check my site on the canopies, I have a number of pre-painted Ricco ones available.

Feb 23, 2009, 03:03 PM	#63
Flying Dutchy Bird of Pray Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 622	Checked them out, they look cool! (the lightning one). I also saw your special for hornet owners. I am very tempted, however, I should receive my 4th. Gaui this week (the EP200 SE V2) and am a bit afraid for the I believe limited amount of Ricco owners....... I also want a protos........

Feb 24, 2009, 03:36 PM	#65
Giovanni Day Gettin back into it!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: KY Posts: 398	I looked at a Gaui and decided on the ricco SE as it is a little bigger and offers longer flight times. I have since thought about getting a gaui 200 flybarless as a second but have not moved on that as the weather has been bad the last couple months.

Feb 24, 2009, 04:35 PM	#66
raynet11 Sponsored by Team Me Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montgomery, IL Posts: 6,400	My Ricco and Hornet X3D are both small enough to fly in my back yard.. Granted I couldn't do this a few years ago but as you get better at flying the little buggers the less space you need to do stuff. The Ricco's flip and roll radius are very are pretty tight so goofing off doesn't take a full sized field. If I had a Gaui I'd be flying it in the house, that is smaller yet, I finally seen one in person and wow are those things tiny ..

Feb 26, 2009, 02:26 PM	#73
pwkpete ElektroRC.com - LAHeli,YGE,RJX Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pewaukee, WI, USA Posts: 3,863	Blue lightning is just out of stock. Should have it back in soon. I don't keep the main alu grips in stock, but I happen to have 1 set of silver in right now, they can be special ordered. Spares: (nothing that you wouldn't really expect) blades main shaft pinions undercarriage boom and supports fins (and mounting clips) links mixing arms and both linkages flybar and carrier tail drive shafts bearings That list would cover most things and it really doesn't add up to too much outside blade costs (which are quite reasonable when compared to Hornet blade prices that I recall) HTH

Feb 26, 2009, 03:30 PM	#74
raynet11 Sponsored by Team Me Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montgomery, IL Posts: 6,400	The links wearing on the balls is what slops out most birds, well that an after your servos have had a hundred thousand cycles on them those slop out as well. I grew sick of all my helis getting sloppy over time (they all do it) so I make it a regular practice to replace the plastic links at the end of every season. My Trex is the biggest offender of the links going sloppy on me, (soft plastic + hard flying = sloppy) If the heli is still sloppy after that then I replace the servos or rebuild them.

Feb 27, 2009, 04:38 PM	#75
mrbubbs Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Kalamazoo! Posts: 270	A couple questions... Is the Turnigy 1640kv motor closest to an AXI 2208-26? Yes, I know the AXI is more efficient and probably a better build, but I gotta be cheap right now. What are the alternate servos that work with the Ricco SE? I have some Futaba S3114s that I thought were close to the HS-55s but someone mentioned having problems fitting them in on the cyclic. Since the gearing on the Ricco is plastic, does this take the stress away from blade strikes? I know my usual thought is to get wood blades that break instead of harder-to-replace/more expensive head/main shaft parts when a blade strike happens. This is why I've stayed away from CF blades as I'm not reliably hit-free yet and I'm going to be practicing inverted flying quite a bit so I assume I'll hit more than usual. I'm good at FFF, backward flight, loops, rolls. Of course, the alternative is the Ricco (non-SE) which has plastic blades which wouldn't "break away" either in a hit, so I might as well get CF, I guess. I've really been going back and forth between the ultra-cheap Maxir 2008 model, the Ricco, and the Ricco SE. Decisions, decisions! Thanks!