LAHeli Ricco

[Doozer]

Hey guys, while I wait for my camera battery to recharge so I can continue building my 250 flybarless, I thought I'd share a link to my LAHeli Ricco page on my website.

I built this heli about 8 months ago. It's a sweet heli and a fun "builders, build." I think I'm going to get another one. I just put a Mini G Gyro, and a Hyperion DS11GCB Tail servo on it and the tail is locked in.... I had a Logictech 2100T Gyro and 3100 tail servo on it, but I kept getting some serious bounce back (about 90 degrees). I couldn't work it out, so I tried a change. I first replaced the gyro, but the Mini G didn't like the 3100. So I replaced the 3100 with the DS11 .... like slamming the gate shut. I've had it out a couple of times since the change, and it's very smooth, and extremely quiet. I'm having a lot of fun with it.

more here.... members.cox.net/robbyshelis/Ricco.htm

[dubehigh]

hey doozer, how do realy no what is a quality heli. i to like to try new helis. like the gaui, and the guru neon, i find my self like the builds more and more. imo i think align is a great heli, but to rich for my blood. i think that they can all be good helis ( if ) you use top notch elec. on them IMO.

I POOPED A LITTLE TO. i love that

[Doozer]

Dube you're right. Any heli can fly well if you pay attention to the detail. I think that's what seperates some heli manufacturers from others. ESKY mass produces a ton of helis, and does a pretty good job at it. However, because so many helis are coming off their line, the quality control is a bit suspect. Generally, its us, the tinkerers, the builders that put our hearts, and sweat into making one of their helis fly well. Also, Flying well is a matter of perspective.

On the other hand, manufacturers Like LAHeli, Curtis Youngblood, MSH, etc. put a ton of effort into research. That research produces new technologies, like flybarless systems, different approaches to head design, and eventually a heli that is great to build and fly. Not one that will burst into flames a few flights in. I understand not everyone has had that happen, but it has happened to me.

I'm not trying to knock anyones heli, I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone can make a HBFP fly well. So if you put a little effort into any heli... EXI, ESky, Align, LAHeli, they will all fly well. But not all of those came off the line ready to do so.

later bro
Robby

[Doozer]

Dube,
Even after I attempted to answer your question the first time, I thought about it a lot today. It was really a great question. How do you know what quality is?... My conclusion was that my own definition of Heli quality is relative to my amount of Heli knowledge. I have to take someone's word about products I haven't tested or seen.

In the the case of the Ricco, Chris "JustPlaneChris" from "Inside Heli, has flown with some of the best RC Pilots in the world. On his show, he's built and reviewed quite a few helicopters. He's had the opportunity to fly some of the best helicopters in the RC market. Not to mention that he's interviewed some of the biggest names/best pilots in RC Helis. His knowledge of helis is extensive and his show is listened to world wide.

However, I didn't just take Chris' word for it. I researched the Ricco quite a bit before buying it. I went to RC Groups, Helifreak, RunRyder. Looked at builds, and made my choice by looking at the data and the experience of the people giving it. Also, Lee from GotHeli lives right here in Phoenix. GotheliRC is one of two distributors in the United States. I emailed Lee, then chose to buy the heli.

You can look at the parts a tell this is a nice heli. But this above all else this sold me:

LA Heli , in there own words regarding the Maxir / Ricco design:

We build our machines with experience and love. All the members of our team – the company owner, the manufacturing workforce, the designer and the webmaster – all fly our helicopters almost every day. Every team member is capable of flying at least standard aerobatics. Yes, it’s true, we don't employ anybody, who cannot at least fly loops, rolls and stall turns! Because we fly the machines ourselves, we have a constant flow of information for hints and improvements. All of us want to fly a perfect machine, but we don’t make changes just for our own use. Every improvement, as it is verified, is brought into standard production. Consequently, we fly standard machines without any factory special parts.

We take maximum care to optimize the construction. Even in the basic version of the MaxiR, our models have many standard features which are available only as optional tuning on competing products. Indeed, most of our tuning items don’t affect flight performance, as our machines don’t need such modifications! Most of our tuning parts are either "look-nice" or longevity features.

A key objective of our construction is to minimize crash damage, as crashes happen to every model heli pilot. Consequently, we introduced the programmed crash feature. If a helicopter hits something solid (like the earth), it is inevitable that some parts will break. In our design, the first parts to break are cheap and easy to replace, thus sparing the more expensive parts in the core from major crash forces. These expendable parts work like an electrical fuse in case of short circuit.

For example: If the rotor stops suddenly, the inertia of the spinning motor will inevitably break some gear teeth. We designed our plastic motor pinions to break before the more expensive and hard to replace main gear teeth are be damaged. Therefore you should never replace the plasitic pinion with a metal one, or you are likely soon to need a new main gear. The same philosophy applies to the construction of the rotor head and tail drive.

To keep all movement smooth and durable, we provided the basic version of the MaxiR with 21 ball bearings. For full tuning you can use as many as 25 bearings.

Molded frame parts allow the servos to be mounted with screws (rather than cutting off the lugs and gluing the servos in place, as is common in competing machines). The tail rotor servo mounts can be slid along the tailboom, making fine tuning easy. All aspects of the construction allow damaged parts to be replaced using just a screwdriver and Allen wrench. In particular, no glue is involved in replacing the tail boom, repairing the main or tail gearing, or replacing head parts. The battery holder can be moved on the frame to adjust the center of gravity.

The tempered main shaft, in combination with the durable head, make the core of the helicopter almost unbreakable. In the case of a crash, the parts that usually break are cheap and easy to replace plastic items. The head itself is rigid and all moving parts work smoothly.

Likewise, the tail rotor assembly was carefully designed for smooth movement with minimal clearances. The construction employs miniature ball bearings in the blades holders and a pitch control lever that moves moves on precision bearings. Plastic or carbon composite blades are lightweight and durable. All aspects of the construction are designed to eliminate vibration and help to keep gyro sensitivity high in order to ensure smooth control even in 3D maneuvers.

The lexan cabin helps to keep the weight low, but is incredibly durable in crashes.

That's the kind of effort and research that I was talking about in my first attempt at your question. Thanks again for making me think about that. I feel really good about having made the choice to buy this heli.

[dubehigh]

wow, now thats great info, thanks for sharing that with me and who ever might read this thread.
i am glad you took the time to research for all of us on this new heli. align is the favorite, but yet very costly. i tend to do research to, you brought this to a new level. i always enjoy your posts. to the point. thats what i like robby. no beating around the bush, as they say. thanks again

dube