Fun Piccolo

[genovia]

Hello Gang,

I just bought a new Fun Piccolo, instead of the Humming bird. Reasons why I choose the Fun Piccolo is that the parts and availability can be purchased domestically, as well, as the Fun Piccolo is the best all around trainer:) At times being cheap has it's price and you will mount up to buying mor, the Pic. is crash friendly. So, Piccolo here we go:cool:

My setup.

FMA M5, RX.
2 HeCells 14000 lilpoly.
2 HS 55
Eclipse 7 radio.

[Trikster]

Nice looking Pic. Looks just like the box. :) I just got mine today, just need to install the radio gear and hit it. I do need a canopy though, I guess the previous owner banged it up real good.

[genovia]

Don't fly with a canopy for a while:)

[Trikster]

Yeah, yeah... Keep it cool... :p

[genovia]

For real.. A friend of mine suggested that for the first hurdle, it's best not to use the canopy. Did you read the Piccolo website? He even suggested his readers not to use the canopy, until you pass the hover stage:)

[Troll]

Guys,
What is the difference between the Eco Piccolo and the Fun Piccolo?
And why isn't the Fun Piccolo listed on the German Ikarus site but only on the US site?

How does the Piccolo compare to the Hornet?

I guess the Piccolo is easier to build since it has a Fixed Pitch Tail Rotor with separate motor..?

The Schweizer 300 Canopy for the Piccolo Looks very cool! Can it be used on the Fun Piccolo?

The Fun Piccolo can be upgraded to an Eco, right? What's in that upgrade kit?

Anyone fly their Piccolo with Lithium Polymer or Ion cells?


Cheers!

/Jorgen

[Trikster]

Difference between the Fun and Eco: Eco comes with 6 ball bearings and many carbon fiber parts (main rotor shaft is the big one) as well as a 310 motor. The Fun has bushings and a steek ritir shaft. The Hornet and Piccolo seem to be head to head in comparison. The Hornet add a lot of complexity to the tail with its tail rotor gears. Many people I have read about say that this is the hardest part to maintain. The Piccolo has a small motor on the rear, and this motor in stock form tends to burn out quickly on 8 cells. All bodies for the Piccolo line (except the Pro) can be interchanged. Many people (myself included) use two of the 1020 Kokam LiPoly cells in series for power. This is a very good setup for the fun and Eco Piccolo in its Fixed Pitch setup. If you have the Collective Pitch upgrade or you are using a larger main motor, people have to either use 3 Kokam cells (not advisable) or switch back to NiCd or NiHM packs and upgrade the tail motor to their Pro motor. All of this is needed if you plan on doing any aerobatics.

[Troll]

Trickster,

Thanks for a very informative post!

In your oppinion, is the Eco worth the extra cost over the Fun Pic?
The Fun Piccolo seems like a very affordable entry Heli... I've only flown RC sims of Helis before, but is profficient on fixed wing RC.

Is there any info available on the handling characteristics of the Hornet vs the Piccolo? How do they handle wind for instance?
I hear the Hornet is capable of some winds and is not restricted to indoor flying... How about the Piccolo?

And is it true that a regular 4Ch Tx is good enough for the Piccolo? What about for the Hornet? Any idea?

How long flight duration do you get on the 2x1020 Kokams?
Any stabillity issues with the lighter cells?

Thanks again for your input!

/Jorgen

[Trikster]

The only thing with the Kokams are the fact that they are so light, you might need to fashion a longer mounting spot for the batteries. Mine barely fit on the stock mount to balance out the heli.

With the Piccolo, you are not limited to using a heli radio like you are with the Hornet. (You can get an external mixer to use with a plane radio, but you are just adding weight) The Piccolo Piccoboard has the mixing on the board, as well as the gyro, so its a plug-and-play feature. Just adjust the pots and go. Many people "cut" the stock blades on the Piccolo to increase the head speed, which in turn translates to greater stability in slight winds outdoors. The stock blades have a large coning angle which does not help its stability in wind. There is a company that is manufacturing CF blades for the fixed pitch Piccolo's that will help a lot in the wind department. Since they are as light, but much stiffer, the coning angle is lessened greatly.

The only place I know of where you can find info on both heli's is at the Ikarus bulletin board located here (http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php) . This is the place I gleen all my information from. These people will help you out once you get into more technical questions. :) I am still learning, not even left the ground yet. There is a guy under the handle RADD on the Ikarus forums above that has an unusual training procedure for helicopters, but by gosh, it works.

[Troll]

Originally posted by Trikster
The only thing with the Kokams are the fact that they are so light, you might need to fashion a longer mounting spot for the batteries. Mine barely fit on the stock mount to balance out the heli.

So Using the Kokams with the Schweizer 300 body is pretty much out of the question then?

How much weight do one gain with the Kokams?

How long can you fly on the Kokams? I see you haven't flown as such, but you might know anyway?

/Jorgen

[Trikster]

I have heard of flight times in the 15-20 minute range (mainly hovering) with a few flights in the 25 minute range with forward flight added in. It takes less energy to do forward flight then it does to hover.

For placement of Kokam's, I would really check out the Ikarus BB. They have many posts about those batteries and placements.

[sootall]

Ok here is my fun Piccolo, It took me like 5 flight to get used to the little bird but Im getting the hang of it all ready I had a hover yesterday at the 3 minute mark and I kept it in a space like 4ft by 4ft practice makes perfect the trick is learning not to over correct..

[sootall]

here is another picture of my Fun Piccolo...

[Trikster]

Outstanding! 4' x 4'?! Man that is a turbulence chamber if I have ever heard of one.

[krisI.925]

I am intrested in buying a Piccolo heli. Are they very difficult to fly/hard to crash. Im mainly looking for something I can stay inside on a rainy day with and is challenging but yet not to expensive.

Does anyone know of a place that sells the piccolo other than hobby-lobby for a desent price and will ship US and will take a check. Also what kind of batteries are you guys using.

[Trikster]

I sent you a reply in the Park FLyer forum in regards to the above.

[Trikster]

But here it is again... :)

When I do mail order, I shop at one place for my micro heli stuff... It is HeliHobby.com (http://www.helihobby.com). As to batteries, I am using the 1020 Kokam 2-cell packs. These are LiPoly cells and require a special charger. I think they accept checks...