Micro Mosquito...Disappointing

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 8:42 pm

Picked up my 2nd MM yesterday (1st one was DOA, so I exchanged it).

I've already done the following mods to it
- C15 resistor removal (increases Tx range)
- SW3 adjust (tunes the rear rotor response)
- SW1 adjust (tunes the lift)
- Tx lift spring removal
- Using PicooZ rotor for the tail

With the menacing looks and micro size, I really wanted to like this bird...But the only thing I'm getting out of it is frustration.

1. The longest stretch of time I can get the tail to stay trimmed is a couple of seconds AT MOST! I can't even think about introducing FF (Forward Flight) into the mix because if I do and the tail isn't steady...Well, floor dive were we come.

2. The dual rotors NEVER stay in parallel rotation for more than a few seconds, and as soon as they start loosing that sync...I get caught in the infamous "toilet bowl flush" and down she goes.

3. Even the slightest mis-adjustment while flying can send the stability out of whack, and once it's out of whack regaining it is basically a lost cause and the best I can hope for is least harsh crash.

I know you can't compare the 2, but flying the PicooZ is just more appealing and fun to me because I can actually CONTROL the thing and even if it starts to go a little loopy, I can very reliably bring it back in line...If the MM could just maintain parallelism of the dual-rotors, it would be so much easier/better to fly.

$70 is too much for this thing man, especially since I was able to buy a 4 channel Ready-To-Fly Helicopter (honey bee FP2) for $90 shipped!

beanoman · Post by **beanoman** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:45 pm

hmm.. sucks, because it should be a great heli out of the box. are you sure the rotor pivots are very very free moving? i believe peter said if you flick them down, the should bounce up and down a few times.... that might not have made sences, dunno

BilboBaggins · Post by **BilboBaggins** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:21 am

I just picked up a Micro Mosquito yesterday. My PicooZ was broken out of the box so I took it back and got a store credit. The store I went to was out of PicooZ's but just got in the mosquito. So out comes my last coupon and I get the Copter, batteries (didn't have "C" batts at home) and extra blades (I figured I would need them).

I didn't get to do the First flight until this morning and I like it. I was at my inlaws yesterday and my nephew would have wanted to control the copter (he's like 4) so I had to wait till I got home. I think have to add the rubber motor weights to have it fly forward better. I'm not planning any mods (other that maybe a couple of thin sheets of paper on the sides between the legs so it doesn't look as much as a Mosquito.

In the instructions it does say you will have to trim again during flight as the battery drains. I didn't feel I had to trim it too much during flight. I do like the three channel operation.

payaso · Post by **payaso** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:36 pm

We're gonna need some pics of this thing.

silla

SuperFly · Post by **SuperFly** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:43 pm

payaso wrote:We're gonna need some pics of this thing.

silla

I think this is it, or the same thing with a different name?

http://www.slashgear.com/micro-mosquito ... 221777.php

BilboBaggins · Post by **BilboBaggins** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 4:55 pm

That's it.

My wife thinks it's cool but ugly, well it is a little Fugly.

My cat loves it, she keeps trying to attack it.

honda_s2000 · Post by **honda_s2000** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 6:59 pm

Looks ok, a little well... basic I guess.

My favorite micro heli so far, is the airlark, it's about $50USD here, and it flies really well, 3ch digi propo, so you can fly forward,very slowly, but it's so stable when flown indoors, and a small weight makes for great FF.

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:53 pm

I paid a little visit to RS today to pick up some batts for my tx, and they had the MM in. The owner got his hands on it first so he was messin around with it before I came in.

I thought it was a pretty cool micro. I was able to get it off the floor and trimmed without any problems. Once I got it dialed in right, I was able to keep a stable hover and scoot around a little. This only lasted about a minute or so and then the heli battery started to run down. I guess it was low on juice when I flew it.

He also crashed it once when he got to the ceiling. About a 20 foot drop straight down. The only thing that popped off was a pinion gear.

I'll head back for a second flight and find out if the battery is fully charged. Then I can get a thourough assesment. Definitely entertaining and fun for those rainy days.

Personally, I like having a spring on the throttle stick. It gives me some nice tactile feedback, letting me know how much pressure I'm giving it.

My first flight and I already was better than the owner at flying it.

Hey namuna.. just a thought here. did you try lubing the rotorshaft with graphite? that may help with the sync problems.

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:29 am

Okay, I've now gone through 3...THREE damned MMs!!

I returned the 2nd, the store gave me some bullshit about not refunding money on the Helis anymore and doing exchanges only (some shit about how there's been so many returns, they had to change policy).

So they sent me MM #3. First thing I do out of the box is stick 'er on the charger.

The first few seconds of flying I was thinking FINALLY!! A bird that flies right!

...Then it happened. GLITCH! The spins a 180 clockwise, but then it's back to normal. Another second later, GLITCH again. This time it's spinning a couple of rotations.

After that, she's done. It doesn't do shit but spin hard clockwise (even with full counter trim and stick) now. Tried lubing everything, same result.

Apparently there's ABSOLUTELY NO quality control on these things. I KNOW there's people that've gotten "good" ones, but I've won the shitluck lottery and got 3 straight shitbirds.

So this weekend it's off to return #3. I'm going to try a different ratshack though, see if they'll just straight-up refund my damned money.

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:23 pm

Either that or I can hit the RS here and send ya one after I've made sure it flies correctly.

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:38 pm

Okay. got the MM in. I pull it out of the box (god what a bitch that was), get it ready, and let er spool up.

ok what? won't lift off. gets light on it's feet, but no liftoff. fly out of the box, huh? survey says.. you lose.

So I put it on the charger, thinking it's a depleted battery. no green LED to show charging.

I was hopin to get some flying time in tonight, but it looks like no soup for me. Basically DOA. fuck sakes.

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:00 am

The guys at RS let me test out the new unit at the store to make sure it was working correctly. It was able to take a charge, which is good. When I got hime and pulled it out of the box, the first flight was just wierd. I found it hard to keep a certain altitude, needed to trim it quite a bit to maintain heading. When I did get it trimmed properly, i tried forward and reverse. whoops. It ended up dropping like a stone about a minute afterward.

When I fly it a couple inches off the ground, the ground effect seems to give it a bit of cushioning, causing it to 'bounce' somewhat. Plus, the first flight lasted maybe a few minutes. I did run into the 'toilet bowl effect' as described, but I fould a couple shots of full throttle pulls it out of the swirling. It's mainly due to a battery that's starting to falter.

I figure the battery needs to be worked in for the first little bit, so I put it on the charger.

Second flight... What second flight? there was no second flight. one of the motors is binding so it ended up spinning out of control as soon as it lifted off.

Took it for a third run after letting it sit on the charger for a while. The motor problem is gone, so I think it has to do with heat. Also, when I go full throttle, she more or less rockets upwards. So it has some power to it.

Maybe I'll try some mods I've been reading about, like a zipzap motor swap.

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:50 pm

bah. I've won the same shitluck lottery Namuna has. Still been trying to get this damn thing to fly right. and by right i mean a hover and pointed in the same damn direction.

I can't hold a hover without it yawing like crazy. trimming doesn't help because it goes the other way straight after. Then it starts to toilet bowl.

The only thing I can think of is one of the main motors is just shit. So I'll try a third one.. and if that doesn't help, I'm gettin my damn money back.

man, this is infuriating.

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:45 pm

Finally was able to get a refund on my MM. I went to a different shack and they didn't hassle me at all.

...I also noticed that this store didn't have any of the MMs, but they did have about a 1/2 dozen of the PicooZ (at the hiked up $39.99 tag I might add). My conclusion to this is that they didn't order anymore of the MM other than the limited stock they originally had, but the DID order a bunch more of the PicooZ and hiked the price.

On the car trip to return the MM, I was able to pickup an Aero Ace from TRU (for only $20 to boot!). That thing is a blast to fly!

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:43 pm

If this third MM is as bad as the one I have, could you send me a picco Namuna? Will pay through paypal.