I remember seeing the EH-1 at around 1984 when my parents took me to a hobby show in Toronto. The boom was damaged and there was an orange belt hanging from it.
yet 30 years later you still cant fly a 450 sized heli for an hour. Even for half an hour. I mean 30 !!! years of battery development. I want to fly heli for 30 min, give me that technology now.
That is amazing, historical, and just so cool. Us pioneers really bled to move the technology forward. The money to even get a heli, trimming it, crashing it, before ever being able to fly them! Waiting months for parts. And then overnight the lipos changed it all. Now we can buy really neat little helis at wal mart! But anyway thanks a lot:)
Thanks for this great video! Did the tail rotor motor give you much more authority? I noticed the second crash it still had the belt driven tail rotor; what about the first crash of the movie? Love your cool comment: it says NO DUMPING :-D The sound effects are hilarious!
I had one of these but never got any further then a few hops, sold it in ebay only a few years ago to a guy who had the skill and experience to make it fly really well - nice to see it go to a great home!!! ;-) Am now playing with a TINY indoor electric 3channel Gyro helecopter made by Syma the Syma S107 available for very little money on ebay - I bought two direct from China - if you've never flowen a model chopper before it's a great place to start!! Look up Syma S107 on youtube :-))
I just want to thank you for this video. I purchased a Skylark EH-1 back in 83 along with the first front wheel drive car both made by Ishimasa. Brings back lots of memories. Back then there were no brushless motors and the EH-1 came with two Mabuchi 550 motors. Eventually Ishimasa came out with a 12 volt 1100mah battery. It was awesome for its time.
its funny to see that you used your air bags back then too! they're pretty cool, what are they, where do you get them and do they change the flight at all? thanks
Are you SURE it was 1980? I remember the Skylark well with an article in Model Builder magazine with Larry Jolly reviewing it but that was in 1983, not 1980. Why would Model Builder wait three years to review a kit that came out in 1980? And the ads for the Ishimasa Playboy, their next gas powered heli, didn't start hitting the magazines until early 1984. Something fishy here.
That's the copter that I dreamed about for years starting when I saw an ad for it in an RC magazine (Model Airplane News?). I clipped the ad and tried really hard to save up for it, but never had enough. Probably best anyway since I crashed the next few RC copters I got. :)
Thanks a ton for sharing this...lots of good memories and I really love the old bird!
yeah my friend had the second model from that and he says that he crashed it the second time he flew, but he kept it till todays and you can see it was awesome...
the blade cp pro is wat i have a was a beginner and i figured id i get that instead of buying a twin rotor and them a single rotor heli after i got good
then get a 500 or some cheap in between heli, but cp pro is garbage. Good Align 450 pro is just out, but better know how to set it up, and trim it up, cuz it's crazy heli, 3D READY, not like most shit
Blade 400 is not bad, but need to replace the servos, they are the worst, dont' center then it's all over the place. Plus no gyro, but get what you pay for. Thought you could hover inverted on the sim lol
i have real flight g4.5 i got it about a month ago
i love it
ive been practing on the bladew 400 but all i do it crazy 3d stuff and crash...im getting more serious like if i crash i wont play for the rest of the day(as if i had to get it fixed) wich makes me not fly crazy and fly carefuly
I wonder if you took a reproduction one, made of 80% carbon fiber parts (metal main and taoil heads) and put some new tech in it (brushless motors/ESC's, digital servos, new ETRMs, etc).... Would it fly better? It would certainly be lighter with nearly 80% CF parts.
Some can, my little (indoor) co-axial was blown into the pool by a sudden gust. Took some grabbing as the rotors were jerking intermitantly (although throttle was cut on the Tx) cut me on the wrist. Dried it with wife's hair drier, and it's still flying 1 year later.
I don't understand your comment. We can't be idiots if LiPos or NiMh weren't even developed yet. Right now, LiPos are best batteries for our rc stuff.
I bought one of those from Condor Models back in the 80s. What a pita it was BUT FUN!!!!! I wish I still had one. I would mod it with the brushless motors and lipos I have now on my newer choppers.
WOW, well I guess you must've known Cliff Rausin and everybody there. It was a unique time for helis. It was fun to fly on the tether too, but sure messed up that speed controller. LOL
Well, whomever was on the other side of the phone was very helpful back then. I can't remember his name but it was always the same person. I never used the rheosat speed control. I purchased an electronic unit from Jomar at the time (Joe Utasi). Dodn't use a gyro back then. I usually tethered mine. I also got stuck a few times with a dead car battery and had to get a jump to get the car started. In fact,
WOW. I used to carry a spare battery around. It was a pain, to lift everywhere, but it was fun. I kept melting down speed controllers and their cases. Victor Kmosek of Victor Engineering finally made one that could take the heat, but nothing like the cool running ones we had today. Thanks again.
It was the largest selling product in History for Kyosho. They were popular in Europe and Japan, because they fly mode 1 and USA folks cant do that well. Judging by my royalties, I would say they sold a ton of them. They were $189.
i wonder if you put in one of these gyro,li-pombrushless motos and modern electronic how it will flight?Great video give us the noobs knoeledge and you vets memento
I tried. Not good. Too big of a motor creates too much torque and then the tail wont be able to stabilize it. It had to be balanced carefully for it to all work originally. Thanks kindly for your comments.
i wasn't looking well when i was writing this....it is knowledge,li-po,brushless,motors, sorry for my bad english! I guess it doesn't worth it,now you can set up a nice kit of a 500 real 3d heli
hi great video iam from the uk i have an old MFA 500 SPORT helicopter it runs on nitro but i want to make it clean and run it on electric do you know want i need to run it on and how thanks i have a 12 volt battery that i use to start it up with its only the size of a scooter [ moped ] battery is this good to power the chopper many thanks
Thanks and welcome UK. I have tried to put motors and speed controllers on the ground to make a cable controlled heli running the 12v battery, but have not had anything but overheated motors, trying to lift the old stuff. Maybe a brushless motor of at least 450 watts would work with a 50 amp speed controller. Check the motors out on Hobby-Lobby(.)com Good luck.
I can not begin to tell you how much I am enjoying your video's. After 40 years of want to, I am finally getting into RC aircraft and am having a ball. Can't wait for spring! Indoors is getting too small. Flew in 20 D.F. today.
Keep em flying Dave! From a VN aircav kid with a rifle.
Thanks very kindly for your comments. I especially appreciate your service and for sure can relate to you being a Vietnam vet also. Semper FI and good luck. Dave
My youngest son just discharged in San Diego. I visited him often and did a Tiger cruise with him and I am very reassured by the professionalism and drive of our kids in service today. I just wish they went straight from service to the senate.
Semper Fi and keep em in the air til the battery goes dead!
Hi Nightflyyer, My 1st text to you. That thing appears to fly quite well and pretty durable too. I wish someone would build a coaxial about that size, or larger.
I never saw another electric heli anywhere before this, as I was right on top of it, working in the RC Industry and still am. But in case someone experimented and never published or produced anything, there is no proof. I assume there must have been experimenters, so I give the benefit of the doubt. No Batteries or E speed controllers were around either, so Electrics were deemed impossible. The Skylark (EH-1) was first, hence the name Electric Helicopter-1. EH-1
yep, i had one, my reciever short circuted after in flight my fingers flicked the 'dip switches' and now only 1 motor works, and a new reciever for this costs £40!
So you're the one to blame for the dreaded tail motor!
At 8 minutes in it sounds just like my HBFP!
That must have been an SCR NiCad you had in it for it to drop that fast. I remember the SCR/SCE days... Thanks for all you've done for the sport/hobby. Nice compolation video.
oh my god!! your daughter is sooo adorable!! it must had been a joy having her help you build them..its so interesting seeing how the first belt drive rotors evolved, its funny, the belt drives are now better than the etrm.
Thanks kindly. Yes etrms have little turning power to the left. Now that "toothed" belts are on the scene, it is much more reliable. But more expensive to fix, with a tail boom strike or rotor blade strike, since they are collective pitch tail rotors on belts. We're getting there now.
Hi Dave great video but you should correct your title. This was the first commercial electric. Quite a few of us scratch builders were home brewing electrics back in the late 70's. I was probably one of the first people to scratch build a composite helicopter using scrap PC board material for the frame. I was probably also one of the first to use lead weights to correct tail heavy rotor blades.
Yes, your right, lots experimented as you can see from my other videos, I have too, including inventing the etrm, including building a heli almost completely made out of wood. I even built my own speed controllers with Victor Kmosek of Victor engineering for that project that I sold to Kyosho. I believe I mentioned it was the first commercial heli in the video and also the description. It was a given. You know what I meant. That is why it was called the EH-1. We were all pioneers in those days.
I guess I should have mentioned that I had Skylark. I used to fly it out at Mile's square once in a while tethered to a battery. Its amazing what you can get today for $100
People just getting into the hobby have no clue how easy they have it. Back then my students came to me with a real knowledge and understanding of how their machine worked nowadays my students come to me with nothing but marketing hype and disinformation, most don't know the difference between a mosfet and a rheostat.
Yep, your so right about the hype. Well I still have my Skylark. I lived in SJC for 40 years and was the founder of the Skynauts of Saddleback valley and the Capistrano Aeromasters special effects team. We got crowded out when Mile square closed and everybody came to use our sites. Now I have plenty of room. Check out my latest Fishing video for a laugh. It should be up in a few hours.
wow, one question, like when the mechanical speed controll burned out or when the belt slipped, it loses controll right? are the crashes hard? is is hard to repair?
Yes, it became uncontrollable when belts slipped or the motors quit in flight because the speed controller found a dead spot. It was not too hard to repair, as it was all aluminum. I never crashed it too much, so never had and major problems, except for buying extra blades.
amazing how far weve come, i have 5 havocs (picos) im thinking of collecting the minis there are so many different bodystyles! thanks for your educating and entertaining vids!
Thanks very kindly. I appreciate that. Thanks for that last music video. That was great. That really makes me look bad in my video, "How to play with yourself in Mr. Herbert's Science class." I appreciate your comments.
LOL! I hadn't noticed, some make take it as a Freudian slip though lol, funny as I was typing this my kids saw a commercial for the new airhogs stinger they were saying "Daddy You dont have that one yet!" I'll Take That as A hint lol;) ps, the hoverlite sure doesnt fly, but it crashes marvelously, you should have seen them scatter at the ball field, it was like a runaway lawnmower!
Mind blowing! And I've always wanted one since around 1980 when I got to fly inside a 'crop-duster' Bell (think M.A.S.H) heli near our rubber plantation in Kerala, India. I wonder how much this electric costed then! I am now an avid R/C heli hobbyist and am now training on a JR Venture .30.
Bell 47. I have a JR Voyager .50. I've heard that Ventures aren't made anymore. My mate who owns a hobby shop says the Voyager parts have changed hands so are still accessable. I hope the same for Venture. So you'll have to take smaller learning steps and keep it in one piece. As for this pioneer, no gyro must have been murder. We have our passion today thanks to these early days.
I think I did in one of my Heli videos. If not, I dont have one to show you anymore, as we all crash eventually. The most popular was the Concept 30 SX by Kyosho, but Kavan and American RC's Eagles could fly inverted in the beginning too.
Better all the way around lower, in my opinion, but if you are just learning, it wont matter, as you wont be able to tell. It is subtle and only noticeable during extreme maneuvers.
oh ok i c thanks dave im sorri if im asking all these question im just intrested in this kinda things and your the only person i know that have all the expriance to answer me!! thanks you soo much
oh ok thanks oh hae do you know which bottom flybar cnc head can fit on a dragonfly 22E?? the 22E is exactly the same as your esky honey bee
and guess wat i found ot that insted of buying a heat sink which is made out of aluminium if you rap copper wire around it it works way better because copper atracts more heat than aluminium
I think the head will fit, but since I dont have Dragonfly, I cant be sure. I show in one of my other Honeybee videos that I wrapped heavy duty solder around the motors for my heatsinks. It also helps to stop after 3 minutes to let the motors cool anyway. They get really really hot.
oh no im asking if you know if any other cnc aluminium roto head that will fit a dragonfly 22E/esky honey bee
thanks
and yeh i saw that thanks for the tips about the gyro too!! and hae why dont you make a video about twin tail motor those are eazy to make and it would help alot of people!you just need a pice of metal and a tinsnip to cut it in to shape and screw 2 tail motor on to the metal and strap the item on to the tail with the rotor!sadly i dont have a recorder to do it my self!!
wow gnarly crash i crashed one of my 2 channles today and some of the main rotor got stuck 2 inches in the dirt good thing i have spair rotors lying around lol
I guess we all owe you a big thanks, for all the great fun we get to have with these helis today. Thanks a lot for your undying enthusiasm, and honesty. Great vids too.
Wow dude, nice vid, I always was curious of electric heli heritage. That tether must have been a bitch though and only 2 minutes on batteries. Daaamn lol
Cool, what a blast from the past. I considered getting this bird around '82, but instead went nitro with the American R/C Mantis, cause I had a K&B .40 lying around. The Skylark looks pretty stable (tailwise) especially since it doesn't have a gyro, my Mantis would spin like a top sometimes. Thanks for the memories.....
Amazing video. About 12-13 years ago, I was in middle school and we had a technology show, and the guys showed up with some kind of Draganflyer (4 motors) from Japan and it was nuts! I wanted one so bad, but they were stupid expensive. It is truly amazing for me to see how far things have come and how far they can still go given the rapid tech charge! Again, loved the video!
Ill redo this comment as you had a blonde moment and deleted last one ( we all have em )
I was wondering at the time given the fact it was the first of its kind and a bit of a handfull to grasp, did you ever imagine that this concept would take off and evolve into the technologically advanced machines we have before us today ?
I remember seeing the EH-1 at around 1984 when my parents took me to a hobby show in Toronto. The boom was damaged and there was an orange belt hanging from it.
Afrocanuk 2 months ago
yet 30 years later you still cant fly a 450 sized heli for an hour. Even for half an hour. I mean 30 !!! years of battery development. I want to fly heli for 30 min, give me that technology now.
shebotnov 5 months ago in playlist RC History From Mr. Herbert's Science Class
@shebotnov sure you can get a 700 size gasser you can fly for 30 min easy
Elios0000 2 months ago
@Elios0000 I want it to be electric. Gas powered engines will die of as gas prices will rise exponential.
shebotnov 2 months ago
@shebotnov not really an issue as 1 gallon of gas will fly the heli for HOURS
these small 2 strokes sip fuel
gas would have to get to over $30 usd it make it not worth it
and if you havent been out lately gas has drop over 60 cents in some places since the summer
Elios0000 2 months ago
That is amazing, historical, and just so cool. Us pioneers really bled to move the technology forward. The money to even get a heli, trimming it, crashing it, before ever being able to fly them! Waiting months for parts. And then overnight the lipos changed it all. Now we can buy really neat little helis at wal mart! But anyway thanks a lot:)
homebuiltindoorplane 5 months ago
AMAZING
KnightJasonThe 1 year ago
i do envy ur daughter, who has a dad can show her all about the rc.
bobmaxiao 1 year ago
Thanks for this great video! Did the tail rotor motor give you much more authority? I noticed the second crash it still had the belt driven tail rotor; what about the first crash of the movie? Love your cool comment: it says NO DUMPING :-D The sound effects are hilarious!
MrSchermvlieger 1 year ago
It's hard to believe my Cox Skycopter is even older than this.
Afrocanuk 1 year ago
I had one of these but never got any further then a few hops, sold it in ebay only a few years ago to a guy who had the skill and experience to make it fly really well - nice to see it go to a great home!!! ;-) Am now playing with a TINY indoor electric 3channel Gyro helecopter made by Syma the Syma S107 available for very little money on ebay - I bought two direct from China - if you've never flowen a model chopper before it's a great place to start!! Look up Syma S107 on youtube :-))
ChuffChuffWoo 1 year ago
I just want to thank you for this video. I purchased a Skylark EH-1 back in 83 along with the first front wheel drive car both made by Ishimasa. Brings back lots of memories. Back then there were no brushless motors and the EH-1 came with two Mabuchi 550 motors. Eventually Ishimasa came out with a 12 volt 1100mah battery. It was awesome for its time.
Hyperlux 1 year ago
its funny to see that you used your air bags back then too! they're pretty cool, what are they, where do you get them and do they change the flight at all? thanks
Skeebled 1 year ago
It's huge!
UnkleSi 1 year ago
poor helicopter it drowned hahahahaha....
good video dave
yamaha4759 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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AbbeeNges3 2 years ago
Here's another fishy video. It's says 1980!
Are you SURE it was 1980? I remember the Skylark well with an article in Model Builder magazine with Larry Jolly reviewing it but that was in 1983, not 1980. Why would Model Builder wait three years to review a kit that came out in 1980? And the ads for the Ishimasa Playboy, their next gas powered heli, didn't start hitting the magazines until early 1984. Something fishy here.
Thopter 2 years ago
AWESOME!!!
That's the copter that I dreamed about for years starting when I saw an ad for it in an RC magazine (Model Airplane News?). I clipped the ad and tried really hard to save up for it, but never had enough. Probably best anyway since I crashed the next few RC copters I got. :)
Thanks a ton for sharing this...lots of good memories and I really love the old bird!
KenUDoThis 2 years ago
kooooool
badgolf1 2 years ago
yeah my friend had the second model from that and he says that he crashed it the second time he flew, but he kept it till todays and you can see it was awesome...
flyboy83297 2 years ago
man im not being sarcastic or anything but u really really should be proud of yourself!!!!!!!
PBmadness12 2 years ago
FANTASTIC VIDEO!!! OLD SKOOL COOL:)
ARCEYE78 2 years ago
interesting to see how far technology has came now that we can have great flying miniture helis that will perform crazy stunts and all sorts
amazing stuff
puggster 2 years ago
How much did these cost in 1980?
sundown798 2 years ago
From what I vaguely recall, it was $199 in 1980 bucks...you'll need to adjust for inflation. ;-)
KenUDoThis 2 years ago
the picco z just got served by size
erikatvdriver 2 years ago
dave i want one!!!!!
exiledconnections 2 years ago
i hav a rc helicopter its just very simle its made out of plastic and polistyrean
123456789kamran 2 years ago
what would u guys recomind as a heli netx step up from the blade mcx300
Aircraftfreak155 2 years ago
Honeybees.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
@NightFlyyer
i dont really reccomend HoneyBee
its not a helicopter
its a shit
you better just buy Trex 450
or KDS 450
They the best 450 helicopters ever made
PainApple96 1 year ago
@NightFlyyer Yes I agree 100%. They are still fun to fly even when you progress. Great video!
jauchiu 1 year ago
buy a cookie and eat it ....
rintintin223 2 years ago
Belt CP v2 RTF
windaddiction 2 years ago
Comment removed
Atomicskull 2 months ago
your daughter knows how to do that?
darkchoco212 2 years ago
She used to.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
the blade cp pro is wat i have a was a beginner and i figured id i get that instead of buying a twin rotor and them a single rotor heli after i got good
southernboy125 2 years ago
im a newbie...is a blade cp a good first heli?...ive dont the simulators a lot too
jpeel132 2 years ago
probably a bit hard (i think its without fixed pitch), but if your good at simulalators it could be possible
merc133 2 years ago
i can hover helis upside-down on the sim easy
jpeel132 2 years ago
ye if he's really good at simulators he could do it, but its different doing a simulator and real life :P can you only fly upside down in simulators?
merc133 2 years ago
yea i have real flight g4.5 and i can do stunt heli's
jpeel132 2 years ago
jpeel132, bladecp is crap for a first heli, be better off getting a coax like CX3 or a sim, either is better than cp pro
warderseeker 2 years ago
screw coax i can fly my friends heli...idk what it is bit its cp not coax...i past coax
jpeel132 2 years ago
then get a 500 or some cheap in between heli, but cp pro is garbage. Good Align 450 pro is just out, but better know how to set it up, and trim it up, cuz it's crazy heli, 3D READY, not like most shit
warderseeker 2 years ago
haha a trex?!
idk man
that thing IS too crazy
i TRY to fly iy on my sim but i cant do anything but hover or i go crazy
what about a blade 400
jpeel132 2 years ago
Blade 400 is not bad, but need to replace the servos, they are the worst, dont' center then it's all over the place. Plus no gyro, but get what you pay for. Thought you could hover inverted on the sim lol
warderseeker 2 years ago
Buy a VW, Honeybee Fixed Pitch and if you never crash it, then get the Porsche. First get a sim and study my 9 heli flying tips. Good luck.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
i have real flight g4.5 i got it about a month ago
i love it
ive been practing on the bladew 400 but all i do it crazy 3d stuff and crash...im getting more serious like if i crash i wont play for the rest of the day(as if i had to get it fixed) wich makes me not fly crazy and fly carefuly
i really like the blade 400 tho
jpeel132 2 years ago
I wonder if you took a reproduction one, made of 80% carbon fiber parts (metal main and taoil heads) and put some new tech in it (brushless motors/ESC's, digital servos, new ETRMs, etc).... Would it fly better? It would certainly be lighter with nearly 80% CF parts.
What a thing that would be to see fly.
-Miles
TheMHeli 2 years ago
Absolutely. That is why I put a Plate on my Humming bird a few years ago. IT works great.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
Dud who is price this heli???
bensendinac 2 years ago
It was $189, but no longer in production since the Honeybees came out.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
Some can, my little (indoor) co-axial was blown into the pool by a sudden gust. Took some grabbing as the rotors were jerking intermitantly (although throttle was cut on the Tx) cut me on the wrist. Dried it with wife's hair drier, and it's still flying 1 year later.
tombo242 2 years ago
In this case, yes, it flew again, but if it was salt water......
History. LOL.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
dave and his patented orange floats.. who would of thought they would make it to 2009... dave your patent officeis calling... hint hint .. lol
cutter043 2 years ago 2
Hahaha. You boat guys sure love anything that floats! LOL. Thanks Mister.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
i wonder if in years and thinks what idiots i cant believe they used li-po what garbage
ManeatingFrog 2 years ago 2
We didn't have LiPos back then, only NiCds!
I don't understand your comment. We can't be idiots if LiPos or NiMh weren't even developed yet. Right now, LiPos are best batteries for our rc stuff.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
he means people in the future will look back at our time and think that
paintballguy113 2 years ago
I bought one of those from Condor Models back in the 80s. What a pita it was BUT FUN!!!!! I wish I still had one. I would mod it with the brushless motors and lipos I have now on my newer choppers.
sanctuarysucks 2 years ago
WOW, well I guess you must've known Cliff Rausin and everybody there. It was a unique time for helis. It was fun to fly on the tether too, but sure messed up that speed controller. LOL
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
Well, whomever was on the other side of the phone was very helpful back then. I can't remember his name but it was always the same person. I never used the rheosat speed control. I purchased an electronic unit from Jomar at the time (Joe Utasi). Dodn't use a gyro back then. I usually tethered mine. I also got stuck a few times with a dead car battery and had to get a jump to get the car started. In fact,
sanctuarysucks 2 years ago
WOW. I used to carry a spare battery around. It was a pain, to lift everywhere, but it was fun. I kept melting down speed controllers and their cases. Victor Kmosek of Victor Engineering finally made one that could take the heat, but nothing like the cool running ones we had today. Thanks again.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
how much did one cost back then? and also did u sell many, were they a big seller?
azzahighkite1 2 years ago
It was the largest selling product in History for Kyosho. They were popular in Europe and Japan, because they fly mode 1 and USA folks cant do that well. Judging by my royalties, I would say they sold a ton of them. They were $189.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
nice work!
coombsy16 3 years ago
Thanks kindly.
NightFlyyer 2 years ago
i wonder if you put in one of these gyro,li-pombrushless motos and modern electronic how it will flight?Great video give us the noobs knoeledge and you vets memento
IgorGiganskiANtiatom 3 years ago
I tried. Not good. Too big of a motor creates too much torque and then the tail wont be able to stabilize it. It had to be balanced carefully for it to all work originally. Thanks kindly for your comments.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
i wasn't looking well when i was writing this....it is knowledge,li-po,brushless,motors, sorry for my bad english! I guess it doesn't worth it,now you can set up a nice kit of a 500 real 3d heli
IgorGiganskiANtiatom 3 years ago
this is such a cool post thank you NightFlyer
sk8cre8 3 years ago
Thanks very much.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
when was this video made?
f1adore 3 years ago
1980
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
hi great video iam from the uk i have an old MFA 500 SPORT helicopter it runs on nitro but i want to make it clean and run it on electric do you know want i need to run it on and how thanks i have a 12 volt battery that i use to start it up with its only the size of a scooter [ moped ] battery is this good to power the chopper many thanks
colscopters 3 years ago
Thanks and welcome UK. I have tried to put motors and speed controllers on the ground to make a cable controlled heli running the 12v battery, but have not had anything but overheated motors, trying to lift the old stuff. Maybe a brushless motor of at least 450 watts would work with a 50 amp speed controller. Check the motors out on Hobby-Lobby(.)com Good luck.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
you should have made the background music retro!
Denso2131 3 years ago
Love your videos could you make a video of you flying you piccolo.
Helipro3218 3 years ago
Thanks. I actually did make a video of it flying already, but am not sure which video it is in right now.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
I can not begin to tell you how much I am enjoying your video's. After 40 years of want to, I am finally getting into RC aircraft and am having a ball. Can't wait for spring! Indoors is getting too small. Flew in 20 D.F. today.
Keep em flying Dave! From a VN aircav kid with a rifle.
rstpete 3 years ago
Thanks very kindly for your comments. I especially appreciate your service and for sure can relate to you being a Vietnam vet also. Semper FI and good luck. Dave
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
My youngest son just discharged in San Diego. I visited him often and did a Tiger cruise with him and I am very reassured by the professionalism and drive of our kids in service today. I just wish they went straight from service to the senate.
Semper Fi and keep em in the air til the battery goes dead!
rstpete 3 years ago
Fabulous. I thank him too. Best regards, men!
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Hi Nightflyyer, My 1st text to you. That thing appears to fly quite well and pretty durable too. I wish someone would build a coaxial about that size, or larger.
garyshoaf 3 years ago
Thanks. Well you know that Exceed RC Blazing Star is pretty close and flies great.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Thanks, I have 2 Blazing Stars ans 2 Walkera 53-1, Exceed's cousins. I was thinking more on the lines of a T rex 450 size or even a 30 size nitro.
garyshoaf 3 years ago
So is this the first RC heli full stop or the first electric rc heli?
ollyk22 3 years ago
Like the title says, First Production Electric RC Helicopter.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Which implies there was something before this? What was it and when?
ollyk22 3 years ago
I never saw another electric heli anywhere before this, as I was right on top of it, working in the RC Industry and still am. But in case someone experimented and never published or produced anything, there is no proof. I assume there must have been experimenters, so I give the benefit of the doubt. No Batteries or E speed controllers were around either, so Electrics were deemed impossible. The Skylark (EH-1) was first, hence the name Electric Helicopter-1. EH-1
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
oh i thought that the battery on the helicopter was a LIPO or NIMH battery
and i watched your video again and saw that there were no NIMH or LIPOS back then
coolpunksy 3 years ago
why was it important to plug the 12v battery and let it hang onto the helicopter during flight? You could just tie it on the helicopter?
coolpunksy 3 years ago
Your obviously not serious and joking! It should be obvious to you that the heli could not lift a 40 lb battery. Geez!
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
coolpunksy, the battery used to fly this was a 12v CAR battery hence the tether to transfer the power to the heli.
Scari45 2 years ago
Just to thank you for the effort of putting this video toghether, good job guys!
joseico90 3 years ago
Thank you. I appreciate your comments.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
M*A*S*H helicopter cool
13WARBIRD13 3 years ago
LOL. Thanks.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
yep, i had one, my reciever short circuted after in flight my fingers flicked the 'dip switches' and now only 1 motor works, and a new reciever for this costs £40!
thats over $80 no thanks. il stick to my sabre.
14cyproit14 3 years ago
IS UR DAGHTER AN RC LOVER LIKE U
locoleroco 3 years ago
Nope, not anymore. She is 33 yrs old now. LOL.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
yup lol
locoleroco 3 years ago
So you're the one to blame for the dreaded tail motor!
At 8 minutes in it sounds just like my HBFP!
That must have been an SCR NiCad you had in it for it to drop that fast. I remember the SCR/SCE days... Thanks for all you've done for the sport/hobby. Nice compolation video.
philosophicle1 3 years ago
Ha ha. Well it was my idea, but lots of people ran with it. I still have some of those Nicads too! LoL. Thanks kindly for the comments.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
oh my god!! your daughter is sooo adorable!! it must had been a joy having her help you build them..its so interesting seeing how the first belt drive rotors evolved, its funny, the belt drives are now better than the etrm.
funkydrummer24 3 years ago
Thanks kindly. Yes etrms have little turning power to the left. Now that "toothed" belts are on the scene, it is much more reliable. But more expensive to fix, with a tail boom strike or rotor blade strike, since they are collective pitch tail rotors on belts. We're getting there now.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Hi Dave great video but you should correct your title. This was the first commercial electric. Quite a few of us scratch builders were home brewing electrics back in the late 70's. I was probably one of the first people to scratch build a composite helicopter using scrap PC board material for the frame. I was probably also one of the first to use lead weights to correct tail heavy rotor blades.
Blaze1024 3 years ago
Yes, your right, lots experimented as you can see from my other videos, I have too, including inventing the etrm, including building a heli almost completely made out of wood. I even built my own speed controllers with Victor Kmosek of Victor engineering for that project that I sold to Kyosho. I believe I mentioned it was the first commercial heli in the video and also the description. It was a given. You know what I meant. That is why it was called the EH-1. We were all pioneers in those days.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
I guess I should have mentioned that I had Skylark. I used to fly it out at Mile's square once in a while tethered to a battery. Its amazing what you can get today for $100
People just getting into the hobby have no clue how easy they have it. Back then my students came to me with a real knowledge and understanding of how their machine worked nowadays my students come to me with nothing but marketing hype and disinformation, most don't know the difference between a mosfet and a rheostat.
Blaze1024 3 years ago
Yep, your so right about the hype. Well I still have my Skylark. I lived in SJC for 40 years and was the founder of the Skynauts of Saddleback valley and the Capistrano Aeromasters special effects team. We got crowded out when Mile square closed and everybody came to use our sites. Now I have plenty of room. Check out my latest Fishing video for a laugh. It should be up in a few hours.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
wow, one question, like when the mechanical speed controll burned out or when the belt slipped, it loses controll right? are the crashes hard? is is hard to repair?
thanks
3DFlyer15 3 years ago
Yes, it became uncontrollable when belts slipped or the motors quit in flight because the speed controller found a dead spot. It was not too hard to repair, as it was all aluminum. I never crashed it too much, so never had and major problems, except for buying extra blades.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
amazing how far weve come, i have 5 havocs (picos) im thinking of collecting the minis there are so many different bodystyles! thanks for your educating and entertaining vids!
DwgFcdGrmln 3 years ago
Thanks very kindly. I appreciate that. Thanks for that last music video. That was great. That really makes me look bad in my video, "How to play with yourself in Mr. Herbert's Science class." I appreciate your comments.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
LOL! I hadn't noticed, some make take it as a Freudian slip though lol, funny as I was typing this my kids saw a commercial for the new airhogs stinger they were saying "Daddy You dont have that one yet!" I'll Take That as A hint lol;) ps, the hoverlite sure doesnt fly, but it crashes marvelously, you should have seen them scatter at the ball field, it was like a runaway lawnmower!
DwgFcdGrmln 3 years ago
Was it collective or fixed pitch?
sheik480 3 years ago
Fixed pitch.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
wow your daughter is like an engineer or a mechanic lol nice
GreenAce92 3 years ago
Ha ha. She was a big help in those days of heli building. Thanks.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
and this heli ...fly ? :))
razva125 3 years ago
Come on, cant you see it fly in the video?
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
i think he means, does it fly now?
bobbybob3680 3 years ago
Yep, the early days. We have certainly come a long way.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Mind blowing! And I've always wanted one since around 1980 when I got to fly inside a 'crop-duster' Bell (think M.A.S.H) heli near our rubber plantation in Kerala, India. I wonder how much this electric costed then! I am now an avid R/C heli hobbyist and am now training on a JR Venture .30.
kjmathew 3 years ago
Thanks and good luck with your machine.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Bell 47. I have a JR Voyager .50. I've heard that Ventures aren't made anymore. My mate who owns a hobby shop says the Voyager parts have changed hands so are still accessable. I hope the same for Venture. So you'll have to take smaller learning steps and keep it in one piece. As for this pioneer, no gyro must have been murder. We have our passion today thanks to these early days.
HalowithDragonwings 3 years ago
wow thats the first rc heli i cant believe
and that's really cool i love it
dipeshlimbu1 3 years ago
Thanks very much.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
very nice, i always wanted one!
BigRickSharpe 3 years ago
Thanks kindly. Well nowadays they are much more reliable and fly longer, so go get one and study my 9 heli tips first.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Hehe nice try on the water..
just to bad it sank;)
how old are these videos?
heat1235 3 years ago
They are off of VHS tapes and over 20 years old.
I tried...Now my helis have tail boom floats. Ha ha.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Did it every run again after the pool????
omgmazda 3 years ago
Yes, it did. But this was after much hairdryer work. Haha.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
Hey you should make a vid of the first heli that could fly inverted!!! That would be SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!
omgmazda 3 years ago
I think I did in one of my Heli videos. If not, I dont have one to show you anymore, as we all crash eventually. The most popular was the Concept 30 SX by Kyosho, but Kavan and American RC's Eagles could fly inverted in the beginning too.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
hey, i had it too!
my first heli ever....
mine never flew ... :(
regards
creatom2 3 years ago
You still have it?
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
nop, it was more than 20 years ago ... i broke it atthe very first flight!!!
creatom2 3 years ago
Bummer.
NightFlyyer 3 years ago
soo is it true that bottom flybar is good and stable for biginer but top fly bar is better for 3D?? or are they both good??
Thankss again
quan2882 4 years ago
Better all the way around lower, in my opinion, but if you are just learning, it wont matter, as you wont be able to tell. It is subtle and only noticeable during extreme maneuvers.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
oh ok i c thanks dave im sorri if im asking all these question im just intrested in this kinda things and your the only person i know that have all the expriance to answer me!! thanks you soo much
quan2882 4 years ago
HI dave thanks for every thing uve done i wana be lyk u when i grow up well i hope!!!
ive gt a question. whats the differnt with the flybar on top or under the blades is there a differnt in performance??
thanks again!!!!
quan2882 4 years ago
There seems to be better control, below the blades than on top, plus less chance of damage.
Glad you like my videos. Just never give up and study my 9 heli tips.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
oh ok thanks oh hae do you know which bottom flybar cnc head can fit on a dragonfly 22E?? the 22E is exactly the same as your esky honey bee
and guess wat i found ot that insted of buying a heat sink which is made out of aluminium if you rap copper wire around it it works way better because copper atracts more heat than aluminium
thanks dave
quan2882 4 years ago
I think the head will fit, but since I dont have Dragonfly, I cant be sure. I show in one of my other Honeybee videos that I wrapped heavy duty solder around the motors for my heatsinks. It also helps to stop after 3 minutes to let the motors cool anyway. They get really really hot.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
oh no im asking if you know if any other cnc aluminium roto head that will fit a dragonfly 22E/esky honey bee
thanks
and yeh i saw that thanks for the tips about the gyro too!! and hae why dont you make a video about twin tail motor those are eazy to make and it would help alot of people!you just need a pice of metal and a tinsnip to cut it in to shape and screw 2 tail motor on to the metal and strap the item on to the tail with the rotor!sadly i dont have a recorder to do it my self!!
quan2882 4 years ago
wow gnarly crash i crashed one of my 2 channles today and some of the main rotor got stuck 2 inches in the dirt good thing i have spair rotors lying around lol
nibbler125 4 years ago
I guess we all owe you a big thanks, for all the great fun we get to have with these helis today. Thanks a lot for your undying enthusiasm, and honesty. Great vids too.
-Grais.
Graiskye 4 years ago
Thanks very much. That is very kind of you to say.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
that is you wow you look young
light919 4 years ago
That was a long time ago, guess I am old looking now, eh?
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Thanks for the great video - it's hard to believe how far electrics have come, and how affordable they now are!
Could it do 3d? haha
altonman 4 years ago
Thanks very much. 3d in those days was unheard of and loops were just barely making it.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Oh my! I just realized how much Rc Helis have advanced.
pd4005 4 years ago
Thanks for sharing your videos I enjoy watching them as I am still learning about RCs.
M2J4J4 4 years ago
Thanks kindly. I am still learning RC's too!
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Wow dude, nice vid, I always was curious of electric heli heritage. That tether must have been a bitch though and only 2 minutes on batteries. Daaamn lol
RoboTekno 4 years ago
Thanks. Actually the tether's weight made it more steady on the up and down, but still you had to let the motors cool for a long time.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Cool, what a blast from the past. I considered getting this bird around '82, but instead went nitro with the American R/C Mantis, cause I had a K&B .40 lying around. The Skylark looks pretty stable (tailwise) especially since it doesn't have a gyro, my Mantis would spin like a top sometimes. Thanks for the memories.....
smoothchopperator 4 years ago
Ha ha. WOW, a Mantis pilot... Fantastic! Well thanks for the kind comments. Those were the days, alright!
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
wow you amaze me. thats some nice vintage video you shared with us. thanks
Cell306 4 years ago
Thanks. That is very kind of you to say.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Amazing video. About 12-13 years ago, I was in middle school and we had a technology show, and the guys showed up with some kind of Draganflyer (4 motors) from Japan and it was nuts! I wanted one so bad, but they were stupid expensive. It is truly amazing for me to see how far things have come and how far they can still go given the rapid tech charge! Again, loved the video!
logicwins 4 years ago
Thanks very kindly.. We are just scratching the surface too. I'm holding out for miniature hydrogen fuel cells for RC models... Haha.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
dave thats not hard they sell fuel cell kits imagine on a blade 400 holy cow
rokketfilmzsociey 4 years ago
I always enjoy your video clips. However, this is the best one! Thank you Mr. Dave Herbert.
encycom 4 years ago
Wow! That is very kind of you to say.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Classic!
jcabb1 4 years ago
Thanks kindly.
NightFlyyer 4 years ago
Great vid again Dave
Ill redo this comment as you had a blonde moment and deleted last one ( we all have em )
I was wondering at the time given the fact it was the first of its kind and a bit of a handfull to grasp, did you ever imagine that this concept would take off and evolve into the technologically advanced machines we have before us today ?
cayote64 4 years ago