Futaba 501 vs 401 Gyro

[Kiwi]

Guys,

Dumb question I suppose but is there any advantage or disadvantage going for the Futaba 501 gyro over the 401.

Are there benefits of any kind at all.

Reason is on Ebay you often find the 501 for a good price or at least equal to the 401. So should I go down that road or just get a 401 and servo combo and be happy???

This heli is not going to be thrashed and 3D'd. It's likely going to be a circle flyer with a roll or loop maybe but I wont be into any of the Curtis Youngblood stuff in this lifetime, thats for sure.

Kiwi

[Rolling Thunder]

I went back and read the manual. Even though they just call it a rate Gyro it has the heading hold features.

[Kiwi]

Tony,

Thanks mate, that clearly answers my question.

One 401 and servo coming up.

Kiwi

[Nitrohuffer]

Stick with the current 401. Easy to setup, bullet proof, and does it's job perfectly for 80% of the flyers out there. The only thing I don't like about it (and it's a very minor thing) is that you can't set asymetrical limits.

[Kiwi]

Nitro,

I fully understand mate, its like getting too much Vegemite on your toast in the morning. It makes me asymmetrically intolerant to the Y factor of the inverter valve after its been been inadvertently over stressed in the G mode function as a result of hydrocarbon intolerances from the night before.

I think a 401 will do just fine for me then.

Kiwi

[Flyinfool]

The 501 is a heading hold gyro.
I am still using one on one of my old helies.
I think it was the first HH gyro that Futaba made.
The 401 is noticeably better at controlling the tail in fast backwards maneuvers.
The 401 is a LOT smaller and lighter in weight than a 501.
The 501 was about the same price as a 401 but the 501 has not been made for many years, so if you are seeing it on fleabay for the same as a 401, then it is way over priced for old technology.

Now if you had a typo and were referring to a used 601 at near the same price as a 401, then this a whole different discussion.

[Kiwi]

Jeff.

Nope it was a 501 and thanks a ton for clearing that up 100%. I was just wondering if the 501 was supposedly better in some way to the 401. 601's seem to sell for some serious coins and yes these were on Fleabay.

Kiwi

[Flyinfool]

The 401 is more accurate than the 501, but the 501 has the same configuration (ie. separate sensor and control box) as the 601, the setup options are very similar to what is available in the 601/611.
Just the sensor for the 501 is huge compared to any other futaba HH gyro.
But my 501 still works well in the heli that has it and will not be replaced till it dies.

[Rolling Thunder]

Kiwi,

there are 2 different 501 gyros. The GY 501 is a rate and heading hold gyro. The G 501 is just a rate gyro.

[Flyinfool]

Oh poo, I forgot about the G501, I never actually saw one of those.
I have the GY501, so all of my comments were about the GY501.

[RappyMan]

If you find a 502 - they are nice. I've been flying one on a Raptor for 6 years or so

[Flyinfool]

And if you are good with a soldering iron and itty bitty parts, the 502 can be comverted into a 601.