XK EC145/K124 3D Heli from Motion RC

I love helis. I am a sorry heli pilot, but I do love them! I have a few coaxials (Syma's), in addition to my 450, 500 and 600 sized Align helis, for flying around the man cave. A couple of times I have tried out mini helis, like the CB180, and a couple of other Walkera fixed pitch models. I liked the CB180s, but they are fixed pitch, and other off broadway brand versions from Xheli never were quite right. Now that 3D stabilization is getting inexpensive, these smaller helis are benefiting from addition of this technology, making their tiny weightless airframes more stable and more fun.

I came across a Facebook "suggested page" for MotionRC (a favorite seller of mine) featuring a new product, the XK EC145/K124 3D capable (fully pitch variable) 6 gyro stabilized heli.  In full scale, this is one of my favorite airframes, it was priced well, and it says that while it has a Futaba compatible receiver I can change it out for a Spektrum compatible one. So I impulsively pulled the trigger. As is always the case, MotionRC shipped it quickly and it arrived yesterday. I unboxed it this morning.

Oooohhhhh..... sweet.

That right there is a very tiny box for a very tiny heli.

That is flown using a very tiny 1S 700mAh battery that comes with its own tiny charger.

With very tiny useless instructions... Well maybe useless. There is nothing suggesting how one works with the transmitter in regards to what channel does what in regards to the gyro stabilization other than how to calibrate it. Which is probably actually quite useful if one has the compatible transmitter.

Quick inspection and my familiarity with helis of this size quickly revealed what I suspected. One CANNOT simply swap out the receiver. A) Its integrated into the gyro board. B) It would have to be very, very small, and Spektrum ain't likely got one with 6 gyro stab.

It has what I am pretty sure is the worlds smallest brushless outrunner motor. The wires will need some adjusting to keep them away from the outrunner spinning right underneath. 

This baby bird is very fragile in appearance, and tiny, but the parts all seem to have that in mind. The sticky out parts, like antennae, are soft flexible rubbery, and the shell while thin seems rugged and flexible too. MotionRC sells replacement parts, and they are inexpensive. Nice package altogether.

I was only slightly disappointed as I expected that the receiver swap was a myth and thought, like Walkera's it would be integrated. I contacted MotionRC through their chat about returning the heli. Brad thought it was clear that it was ONLY Futaba compatible, but I redirected him to his page on the heli.... 

While we chatted I remembered that the model was sold RTF for about $40 more with a Futaba compatible transmitter (one presumes that if the receiver if Futaba compatible, so is the transmitter, though Brad at MotionRC wasn't sure and the page for the transmitter doesn't say).

So... I decided to buy one, and picked up a couple of extra batteries, ever hopeful. This is the XK 6ch simple transmitter sold by MotionRC.  I am kinda hoping its truly Futaba compatible so I can maybe fly some small simple aircraft with Futaba Receivers in them. Have always thought about an option other than my Spektrum systems. The transmitter will probably be here in less than a week, and I will see how it all works out. There is very little info on it. I hope it has Flight Modes, IdleUp, DR/Expo, trim and subtrim. I have no idea how the rotor setup works... if tuning it is even necessary, as the manual offers nothing like any kind of pitch range or blade tracking adjustments. This will be interesting! It will be nice to have something I can fly indoors or in my yard to develop my heli piloting skills.

BTW, Brad said it really is 3D capable... I have no idea what the headspeeds are on this small thing to make it 3D capable, but not to worry, I can't dance 3D.