Esky Honey Bee King 2
Necessary Upgrades
As it arrives, the Esky Honey Bee King 2 is pretty good!
However, there are a couple of ‘necessary upgrades’ that you should make to get optimal satisfaction from your purchase.
Isn’t it strange how no manufacturer appears able to get it right? The King 2 is a really nice little Heli – why market it with a motor that is obviously not suited for the job? Ones mind boggles at the thinking that allows this to happen!
As the title of the page implies, the upgrades mentioned here are not ‘Bling’ but necessary. They are, fortunately, few!
There are a lot of bling upgrades that you can get, but I feel that they negate the real value of this little heli which is as a cheap to purchase, cheap to repair, out of the box, learning tool. I will therefor not be dealing with purely bling upgrades here.
Upgrade One - The Power System
This is essential – do it right away, persevering with the supplied motor/ESC is a waste of time.
The power system comprises –
The Motor/ESC combination
The Drive Pinion
The Battery
There are a number of brushless motors being used, but in my opinion, the one that best fits the HBK2 is the Esky 3900kv motor. (EK5-0005)
There are a 3100kv motor and a 4000kv and 4100kv motor also available, but I feel the one is a little too slow and the others are pushing it a bit.
The matching Esky ESC is EK1-0350. This was offered as a motor/ESC pack and I dithered a bit, however I am impressed at the build quality of the ESC and well pleased with it.
You can get the motor/ESC/10t Pinion set for about £30.00 which is excellent value.
Alternately, there are several hobby shops selling upgraded Kings with the brushless power system fitted already.
The pinions are available from several sources in sizes ranging from 8 tooth to 12 tooth. The 8t is a little small for the 3900kv.
When you go up in size remember that you will be drawing more current. Don’t exceed the ability of the motor or the battery.
Pinions come in both press on and grub screw versions. The grub screw ones are easier and work well, just put a small drop of thread lock into the screw hole before fitting the grub screw.
The motor shaft size is 2.3mm, make sure you get the right pinions for this shaft size.
If you are a beginner and upgrading your own King 2, fit a 9 tooth pinion to start with. This will keep the power requirements within the ability of the original battery, so you can keep using it! The 9t size will also give a lower head speed which is easier for a beginner to cope with. (I can vouch for that!)
You can easily change to a bigger pinion and battery later.
That brings us to the battery.
Supplied with the King 2 is a 1000mah Lipo. This will work fine with the 3900kv motor and 9t pinion. If you go up in pinion size, you will probably exceed its safe ability so don’t use it then.
If you buy more batteries even to start with, go for the larger size so you can use them later when you go up in pinion teeth.
What I use are, Hi Model 1300mAh 3cell 15c Lipo that I get from BRC hobbies. These fit the HBK 2 and are able to supply the max power draw the motor can take (17 amps) They also charge fine off the standard Esky lipo charger supplied with the King 2
I currently have two original 1000 mah Lipos and two of the 1300mah ones. I have added a little lead to the front of the 1000 mah batteries to make their weight the same as the 1300 mah ones. This means my C of G trim doesn’t change when I change batteries.
So, to recap –
Esky 3900 motor/ESC combo with a 9t pinion to start with and a 10t or possibly 11t pinion later.
(The Motor/ESC/10t pinion set is listed under EK5-0081 – Google it - you will have to get the 9t pinion separately though – save the 10t pinion you get in the combo for later.)
Hi Model 1300mAh 3cell 15c Lipo (or similar – don’t go lower than 15c as you will draw too much power from them later when you go up in pinion size.)
You will find pics and a bit more info at the bottom of the main HBK 2 page
While it is not strictly an upgrade,
I also advise anybody using Lipos to use a volt detector when you are flying. This will prolong the life of your batteries by making sure you don’t over drain them.
I use the HRPoly-X low voltage warning device and I find it works fantastically straight out the box. Any similar device would do though.
And that is it!
There are a couple of other possible upgrades but in all honesty I cannot say they are essential. Upgrade the power system as described and your Esky Honey Bee King 2 will work fine! Right from beginner to basic 3D.