A lot of buzz so far this year over a well known but seldom ventured niche in the hobby by most RC heli hobbyist that has known as “flybarless”. 2010 is marking a place in history with the explosion of new flybarless systems, that are easier, cheaper and more dependable then ever before.
Flybarless is not a new concept whatsoever and in fact the 1981 Nationals were won by a flybarless heli. In the past major players in the sport and 3D arena were Mikado (with their popular V-Bar unit), Skookum Robotics (SK-360) and GyroBot (Gyrobot 700). In the past flybarless was not for the feint of heart due to high cost, extensive and time consuming setup as well as limited knowledge and support. However that is all coming to an abrupt change with the explosion of new pnp designs coming from some major companies in the hobby simplifying and making setup as easy as a conventional tail gyro!
Early this year Align RC (http://www.align.com.tw/html/en/c_rindexe.htm) released there line of flybarless units for the popular Trex series, 3G Flybarless. These units come in a package including everything you need flybarless head, unit and hardware. Packages come for the 250, 450, 500,600 and 700 models,. Align really hit a vast majority of the market with this unit due to its ease of setup, great cost and great availability. More info can be found here http://www.alignrcusa.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=29.
Not to be outdone Mikado, which has been plagued by high cost and what some would say a not so user friendly pc interface, has just announced in a breaking news press release their new pnp unit for the Trex 500, 600 and 700 which requires no pc interface and comes complete with head and flybarless unit! To many, this was Mikado’s way of delivering a very clear message that they were here to stay and not going to roll over to the new companies and products trying to get a piece the hobby they helped create! Due to the product just being released prices and release date info is still up in the air but expect to see these available in the near future. http://shop.mikado-heli.de/e-vendo.php?shop=k_mikado_e&SessionId=&a=catalog&t=4538&c=4538&p=4538.
A couple other companies I can’t go without mentioning would be Skookum robotics that has just came out with their new 3 axis SK720 flybarless system (http://www.skookumrobotics.com//) which is set to be released early this year. Curtis Youngblood Enterprises will also be releasing their flybarless unit with an integrated receiver and governor called the Total G (http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/products_view.php?id=181) , and another German engineered system that is new to the RC heli world called the BeastX (http://www.beastx.com/) which is also a 3 axis flybarless system.
In short, as you go to funflys and watch videos of all the amazing flying sure to come in 2010 expect to see many more flybarless equipped helis all around the world helping change this ever evolving hobby we all love!
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