G'day All,
Just wondering if anyone has attempted to change the Honey Bee2 (twister) from a CP to a FP bird?

I don't see myself being able to fly this thing upside down anytime soon so I figure that the CP is a bit of overkill in my case. I know that if I has wanted a FP that I could have bought the HB FP but this CP version was toooooo cheap to pass up!

It's just a thought I had and I was wondering a number of things....

1/ If there is any real benefit in doing this? ie will it give me a high head speed fixed pitch. Less set up problems in the long run. Any other benefits?

2/ Is there any traps or pitfalls to look out for? ie diff main shaft diam. problems with servo setup, 4 - 1 box set up problems.

3/ Can I convert my 4 in 1 to be a three in one and use my JR rx (or a gws rx) and JR Tx.

4/ Should I just keep the CP for later on and buy another fixed pitch micro and fly that in my house instead? ie Dragonfly or the HB FP?



Cheers and thanks in advance

Aaron

If you have a transmitter with a programmable pitch curve, then all you need to do is make the pitch curve flat across at whatever pitch you want, and presto! it's fixed pitch.

If you don't have one, then there isn't an easy way, short of gluing the swashplate to the shaft, I think.

Toshi

I did this for a while with mine, but found the 120 CCPM was not very accurate and led to unpredictable flight characteristics, even when locked into FP. I've shelved it now as too cheap and nasty.
I just flew my new Dragonfly on the weekend. MUCH nicer than the Esky!! Smooth and predictable. Quality really makes a difference!

I don't have a Heli Tx so the programmable pitch curve is out of the question. My thought was to replace the CP head with a FP head and remove one of the servos.
The bits would cost about $30 - $40 but I'm unsure if the shaft diameter is diff between the CP and FP versions.

shaft dia should be the same...

of course,the heli flies like a FP if you dont use the 3D switch.

pitch changes very little with switch off.

Without a heli radio you will not be able to fly it as a CP. Indeed without a radio that handles 120CCPM, you will not be able to use the swashplate/servo arrangement.
The current swashplate is 120 CCPM and the servo mounts are placed to drive this swash arrangement. You would need a swashplate with 90deg balls and change the servo mounts to handle the 90 deg setup to go FP. It would be easier, and better to buy a FP machine to start with, or get a heli radio for the Twister and lock in the pitch curve.
I just noticed you are in Geelong...small world!

"Small world....but I wouldn't want to paint it" as Steven Wright says.
Yep Geelong... from my searching through the archives there seems to be quite a few active Vic members on here that play with choppers.

I do have the 6 Channel Tx that comes with the all in one kit from Esky....and also a six channel JR TX non Heli variety. I guess they are the same sort of set up just that the JR is a little more fiddle-able(tm).....

I was going to replace the swash and all etc but on second thoughts a Dragonfly FP may be the go.

After (re)learning to hover on the Twister, and stuffing around for weeks, I found the Dragonfly to be a huge relief! It is so smooth in comparison. It is a little harder to get off the ground easily, the lower headspeed is not as nice (Like90 sent me stock blades :-( ), but the overall predictability makes it much easier to learn. Much longer flight times too!
Until I can do circuits, stall turns and are hanging out to do better rolls and loops, I'm staying with FP. (or until I just HAVE to own a Trex!)
Thankfully I got a semi-decent JR Tx straight away as I didn't want to be stuck with the cheapo RTF crud.