been on the ground awhile, wanna get a heli any advice?

[BoredGord]

I have a budget of about 400 for a rtf, I've done some reading, nowhere near the amount of retinal damage I've incurred acquiring crawler knowledge here (speaking of which I should buy a star)
Brushless and lipo are a for sure. Digital is preferred. Apache shell would be teh awesome!(not needed tho) Who's rtf's are the most rugged for an absolute beginner? -or- who's kit is good with minimal upgrades that if it crashed would still fly if I pop a new blade on?

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUSE2&P=7
looks good anyone used this

 

[skellyo]

If you've never flown a heli before, you should look into a coaxial heli to start with. The EFlite Blade CX3 is a great beginner heli. Then you have plenty of $ left over to buy a good sim to practice on before buying a collective pitch heli.

 

[rottenbelly]

I would recommend a flight simulator first.
I used the clear view flight simulator ( 40 bucks) and got a 8 dollar cable so i am able to hook my DX6I to my computer. It helped me alot.

I started with the Blade mcx and a Blade cx 3. I can fly them very good now and am looking at going to the Blade cp. http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1105
The parts are cheap if you crash."thumbsup"

 

[BoredGord]

that's an idea, I could buy a dx6i and a simulator, once I stop crashing the sim I could get a model that is radio ready. That and I could bind my crawlers to the radio as well. so many options....

 

[rottenbelly]

that's an idea, I could buy a dx6i and a simulator, once I stop crashing the sim I could get a model that is radio ready. That and I could bind my crawlers to the radio as well. so many options....

That's what I did! Saved alot on parts . I run 2 copters,1 plane ,3 crawlers and a slash off my Dx6i.

 

[Tupers]

Personally I've never put much stock in simulators. I learnt al lot more flying my CX2 and them moving onto a Blade 400. Sims are fun if you already know what you're doing but I found it a lot easier to learn with the real thing. "thumbsup"

 

[JeepinDoug]

Buy whatever your LHS carries parts for, you'll be needing parts all the time.
For the money the Blade CP Pro flies well and RTF for under $300.

 

[Ripperfi]

Buy whatever your LHS carries parts for, you'll be needing parts all the time.

That there is the best advice you could get. If you break something, last thing you want to do is wait a week for parts. Cant tell you how many times ive gone to LHS for parts only to find they dont carry it. Its very frusterating to need a 5 dollar part and have to order it.

 

[BoredGord]

my LHS is/has E-flite and Heli-max support.

 

[RCCalifornia]

I would go to this site to research the people over there are really helpful
http://helifreak.com
I would look in the classifieds for a used Trex 450 se v1 or v2. Lately with the current economy ive seen used Trex 450 packages with radio, batteries, charger, balancer, PSU, and some spare parts go for about $500 shipped. And you could probably get a better deal with a heli with not as great electronics. And parts are widely avliable for align helis and worst case it takes parts two days to get to me from good venders.

Try to avoid helicopters like the one you posted. I had one and it almost put me off helis it was just so bad. And that opinion about helis like that seems to be the agreement among the pilots who I have talked to.

Also when setting up your heli Watch the Finless videos on there he has step by step on how to set up helicopters from the electronics to the mechanics (there's a lot of stuff not in the manual that is good to set up for).


I would really recommend a simulator it will save you a lot of cash in the long run. Also you will need some basic set up tools like a pitch gauge. Just may want to factor that in to your budget. And remember in helis you always get what you pay for.

 

[JeepinDoug]

I just got my Align Trex 450 super pro flying tonight. This is a bad a$$ heli but not for the beginner, wow.
3D helis are doable for a beginner but the radio set up is very involved. Alot of reading for set up otherwise you get cut, literally! Very time consuming.
I've been working on my 450 for two weeks and today I was finally ready to mount the pinion and mains.
The coaxials are great starting points, blade cx2 (very stable) or the mini heli-max Novous (quick little heli).

 

[RCCalifornia]

I just got my Align Trex 450 super pro flying tonight. This is a bad a$$ heli but not for the beginner, wow.
3D helis are doable for a beginner but the radio set up is very involved. Alot of reading for set up otherwise you get cut, literally! Very time consuming.
I've been working on my 450 for two weeks and today I was finally ready to mount the pinion and mains.
The coaxials are great starting points, blade cx2 (very stable) or the mini heli-max Novous (quick little heli).

The 450 can set up for a pretty stable set up. Watching the finless videos the set up takes two-3 days and since he takes you through step by step the setup is pretty easy and parts are pretty cheap.

And judgeing by his link it seems he wants a non coaxial but if he doesn't have a preference i agree get a cx2.

 

[BoredGord]

wow, that site/forum is sweet. been reading a bit, soo much new knowledge I'm stoked. I'm going to get a DX6i, a simulator, and a cheapy blade heli to practice with. Then who knows.
Thanks a tonne for that link!
Those Align Heli's look amazing. The t-rex 250 is nice...
http://www.align.com.tw/shop/product_info.php?cPath=22_25&products_id=2542
looks like this might be my 2nd one in a few months after I figure out not to crash them.

oh yeah, and as far as the co-axial ones, I don't like the look of them, but schmeh

 

[4VRYNG]

Coaxials are very stable and a good training aid for nose in hovering.
I learned with a fixed pitch GWS Dragonfly(POS) then practiced a lot on Reak flight Simulator, Then I got a Raptor30V2 form my wife and put it together from a kit, I had a guy in the airplane club I was in help me set it up. He flew the first tank through it and then rung it out really well with the second tank. I was ablt to hover it and worked my way up from there. Without the sim I would have surely killed it right away. Now over 50 tanks through it and it still flies great.

I also have a Helimax 400. I wish I had spent the money on A T-Rex.

 

[62 bugzilla]

eflight mcx

The eflight mcx is an awsome heli to fly around the house and uses the same controls as a larger one. They are awsome for there size and is like a real simulator in the house. Helped me a ton and is very acurate for it's size and after getting use to it on a calm day I can fly it outside.

 

[BoredGord]

so, I ended up grabbing a Helimax Novus FP. It was cheap and my LHS thru in an extra battery. I've run both packs thru it and still really can't get it off the ground. I prolly shoulda got a coax but I hate the look of them. I think however, that my main problem is I can't get the tail rotor centered, whenever I push up on the throttle it swings in a direction so I set it down and adjust the trim slightly and it goes the other way. I have made sure everything is tightened up and the rear blade spins freely but it just swings when I'm not wanting it to. Ah well more wasted money I s'pose...

 

[JeepinDoug]

CP helis are not easy to fly.
First off, I'm sure you may know, always connect your batt on a flat surface and wait for it to initialize.
If you plug in the batt, grab the heli and walk with it it will initialize badly, not knowing it's true bearings.
Secondly, a fully charged lipo is like an over-filled water balloon, it's excited and waiting to release energy. They usually rudder one way or the other in the first minute of the battery and the first minute of fly time is when the heli is the most sensitive to any corrections.
Make trim adjustments after one minute of fly time and you'll be as close as you could get. Also don't try to hover less than 3 feet off the floor or near tables. The rotor wash throws wind around effecting how the heli flies.
Collective pitch helis never fly idiot-free like alot of coaxials, continuous inputs by the flyer are needed.
You got a good little heli, actually made by Walkera, expect a cool brushless upgrade soon that will fly in inverted.
Have fun, my new Align Terx 450 Pro is a blast to fly, it's my first CP heli.

 

[BoredGord]

Got it going a bit about half an hour ago, was fun, I noticed that when I gave it more throttle to lift faster it wouldn't sway tail out as fast and I can sort of stabilize it in flight. I cannot land it yet. I also broke the battery carrier so it's in the repair hangar getting a small dose of CA glue. I noticed that replacement parts are really cheap for this lil guy so I think it's going to be a fun learning curve towards my TREX

 

[NeXt559]

never flown a heli and not starting w/ a coaxial blade type heli?

2 things are a must

1. simulator - ive heard real flightwas really good

2. extra blades, and lots of em

 

[dirk379]

I started out on a axe ez because my dad has one, and i recently bought an E-Flight Blade 400 RTF minus battery on ebay with tons of spair parts for $275, it's a lot more difficult to fly than the coaxials but it's a blast. I've only flown it twice and still suck with it but learning!