Hummingbird v4 discontinued?

[Austxheli]

Hi all.

Ive been looking at getting into helis and some of the members here suggested the hummingbird v4, its been out of stock for a while and I checked the heliworld website who I guess is the marketing partner with century and the site says the heli has been discontinued.. has anyone who owns a hummingbird v4 heard anything?

thanks,
Brian

[heavymetal92]

Hi Brian,

The Hummingbird V.4 is being discontinued. My wife talked to a century rep before she bought my hummingbird V.3 and he told her that the Hummingbird line is being discontinued as century is going to be replacing it with a completely new heli, what that new heli is I have no idea, but I am watching for it. he also said that they will continue to make all the parts for the V. 1-4 Hummingbirds for a long time to come. Keep an eye out for the V.4 try http://www.towerhobbies.com when I looked the other day they still had them in stock, but let me ask you this question how much are you wilingl to spend on your heli? I would look into a collective pitch heli as they are more versatile and can do more than a fixed pitch heli. They are a little more difficult to fly than a fixed pitch, but after I learn on my Hummingbird V.3 I'm going after a collective pitch heli. If you can't find a Hummingbird V.4, then i would look into a hummingbird elite or 3D pro


JD

[uneverno]

Originally Posted by heavymetal92

The Hummingbird V.4 is being discontinued.

This is sad news. I have a V4 and an Elite, and love both of them. Century builds a good product, and parts are readily available and cheap.

If you do go the Elite route, I highly recommend replacing the shaft drive with a belt. The reason for this is that on a boom strike (where the tail rotor hits the ground) it tends to strip the gear on the main shaft that drives the tail rotor. This means disassembling the whole heli to replace the gear. I've completed the belt install and it works like a charm - boom strike, belt slips - check and adjust if necessary, and you're up and flying again. It's quieter as well.
You can get the belt conversion here:
http://www.techglass.com/helitech/products_hp.htm

Originally Posted by heavymetal92

what that new heli is I have no idea.

My guess would be something more competitive with the TRex than the Elite was. I like the Elite because it's a bit smaller than the TRex, and my flying space/time is restricted. Guess I'll be stocking up on parts before flying season...

[uneverno]

Incidentally,
being discountinued, Century has some excellent specials on the 3D:

http://www.heli-world.com/specials.aspx

I may well purchase one as a spare...

[heavymetal92]

I just talked to my wife again about it an she says that she remembers the rep saying that the entire hummingbird line is being discontinued including the 3D pro and the elite. So I would call Century and find out for sure which ones are being discontinued.



JD

[Austxheli]

Hi JD and Emil,

Thanks for your help and responses...Based on the prices on the web and prices at hobbytown here I figured on spending about $200 - $220.. my local shop sells the blade cx2 for $189.99 and the trex for $800 with everything included.. but they don't carry anything fixed pitch with a tail rotor.. the trex is cool but a bit steep for someone totally new to helis... I like some of the cp helis Ive researched but alot of posts say they are too much for someone starting out.. I like the airframe and price of the wallkera 22e but many owners say the electronics aren't good.. I can get a helimax axe cp or the venom night ranger 3d at towerhobbies for $199.. Hobbyzone has the venom night ranger 3d for $219 with a crash kit.. is collective pitch too much heli to learn on?

thanks again,
Brian

[heavymetal92]

Hi Brian,

As a matter of fact I would have rather my wife bought me a collective pitch heli to start with, just because of the fact of after i get good with my fixed pitch heli. I will have to now buy a collective pitch heli to graduate to, although i could just strip out all of the parts on this one and make it collective pitch but i think that would be a pain in the butt to do. I would go with a collective pitch heli though



Good Luck

JD

[uneverno]

I concur,
there's a bit more to it, but there are a number of people on the forum who will say don't waste your time with fixed pitch. You can set a cp machine up to be pretty close to fp, and then you don't have to buy a 2nd heli. Another consideration is the radio gear. With most of the RTF kits, the radio won't graduate well to cp either. It's kind of a gotcha in that regard. $200 gets you addicted, prepare for the next $ 1000

I hear ya on the TRex, it is a bit pricey, but it's worth it. Come hell or high water that will be my next bird.