heli newbie

[dannyd]

I've been thinking about getting into a different part of the hobby. i want to get a helicopter a micro RTF type. while searching i found this one
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKZV6&P=0
is this one good?

also is it true i need some kind of lisence to fly planes and helicopter ( the larger ones). a month or so ago i was at the H.S and one of the guys told my mom that when she asked him about some of the planes they had.

 

[beason]

the blade cx seems to be a popular rig on this forum. no tail rudder so its easyer to learn on. check it out also. its about the same price.. also redbullrider has a rotofly for sale pm him about it.

 

[dannyd]

thanks beason. ill ask redbull also.

 

[truthseeker]

i think the cx is a good heli just to play around with. it's easy to fly and you can actually fly it around the living room. if you want to get something more like the bigger helis then you might try one with a tail rotor. they will handle completely different from the cx.

 

[Candyman]

OK, my .
I'm knee deep in the same process. I'm dying to get into helis. But I'm finding 2 simple rules are constant. They are very complicated. And they are very expensive.
Without a doubt, most everyone you talk to will recommend a simulator. I certainly do. I have Reflex XTR which I practice on and it helps a ton. The only exception I can see to this advice is if you do get a coaxial chopper. They are a little more simplified in that they don't have a tail rotor to contend with. Because of that, they are a bit easier to hover. Rocknbil has plenty of info on his Blade CX in the forum and he's doing tons of cool stuff with his.
I guess it depends on what your goal is. The copter you looked at is a fixed-pitch machine. Lift is dependent solely on throttle. More throttle=more lift. The pitch of the blades doesn't change. That's ok if you want to learn to hover and learn some basic forward flight. However, if you plan on doing some more advanced stuff, a collective-pitch machine will give you the ability to fly inverted and do some basic 3D stuff.
Right now I'm researching a decent electric setup. I'm thinking of starting with the E-Sky Honey Bee CP2 which is a 6-channel collective pitch machine. It's selling for about $200 on ebay and is comparable (some say better) than the Blade CP. It comes standard with a li-po battery and charger. I'm thinking that's where I'll start. But I really would rather build an Align T-Rex. It's a bit bigger. And the general thought is bigger=more stable. But bigger=more expensive usually and a decent T-Rex setup including radio, copter, electronics, batteries and li-po charger will be at least $700 and could be more if you pick high quality equipment.
And the last thought is a nitro bird. They cost almost the same as some good electrics. You could probably outfit yourself with a Raptor 30 for under a grand and it's huge compared to the electrics. But with that size and power, the danger increases.
Anyway, just my rambling thoughts....

 

[Revo Rancher]

But I really would rather build an Align T-Rex.

Great heli, but good luck getting it off the ground for $700.00! I looked into one but just too much forme for now. I am still flying Combat Wings.

 

[dannyd]

i just want a regular micro type heli that i can fly indoors or out side. this will be my first flying anything. want one by the time i graduate (june). my budget will be 200 bucks and rtf. i found another one i liked
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJDJ1&P=0

oh can you guys post links to the ones you talked about please? thanks

 

[truthseeker]

here is a link for the blade cx. the blade cp can also be found on the same site. i would caution you about the cx, though. it doesn't fly in the wind well at all. i think rocknbil said "the wind chimes are moving, but not ringing". it's just too small and light to fly in any real wind. however, it can be flown indoors with no problem. i've been flying mine around the house a lot. i would never have even tried to fly the blade cp like that. it's just too big, too fast, and too hard for me to control. maybe in a big garage or a gym, but not the living room.

 

[Revo Rancher]

dannyd, the two you posted are the same. There is about 5 or 6 copies out there. The Hummingbird and Sabre are also the same. All can use most of the same parts. I have the Hummingbird. As pointed out, they are not collective pitch, but there is a new 3d Night Ranger model outthat is. The Blade Cp is.

 

[Redbullrider111]

i have a rotofly for sale. here are some pics
http://photobucket.com/albums/c304/Redbullrider111/ROTOFLY/
i know they arent the best quality but they are the best i could do with the camera i was using.
i have done afew things to it. i got the motor heatsinks on both the main rotor motor and the tail rotor motor. i also did the rotor head strenghting mod. i have only flown this heli a total of 2 battery charges. one of those charges was on the ground learning the controls, 2nd one was bairly hovering
it will come completely RTR so all you will need to do is charge the Lipo batt(charger included) and your ready to go. will come with everything it origionally came with(manual, training DvD, training gear,decals). now as for price goes I'm asking 200 RTF

 

[dannyd]

i was wondering why alot of these thing look alike. if i fly inside it wont be nothing crazy. it will be like going up and down or back and forth. can these do some kind of tricks? I've seen some people use the nitro ones to cut grass stalls in the air. the best I've seen was when some guy flew up and had the helicopter start spinning and the prop to almost come to a hault. can these thing be hoped up like the bigger ones? like faster motors and stuff like that.

i have a rotofly for sale. here are some pics
http://photobucket.com/albums/c304/Redbullrider111/ROTOFLY/
i know they arent the best quality but they are the best i could do with the camera i was using.
i have done afew things to it. i got the motor heatsinks on both the main rotor motor and the tail rotor motor. i also did the rotor head strenghting mod. i have only flown this heli a total of 2 battery charges. one of those charges was on the ground learning the controls, 2nd one was bairly hovering
it will come completely RTR so all you will need to do is charge the Lipo batt(charger included) and your ready to go. will come with everything it origionally came with(manual, training DvD, training gear,decals). now as for price goes I'm asking 200 RTF

thanks for the offer bro but I'm just gathering info at the moment. i have to start saving up. right now a months of allowence (160) is going into my hpi nmt and my 18b

 

[digger]

I've look at the roto fly. I would really like something to fly off of the deck.

I'm more into fixed wing aircraft and fly a little.

Have any of you made the transition from a "simple" helicopter to a real serious one?
When I was learning to fly planes, I figured it would be easier to learn on one with ailerons to start with.
Not learn on a rudder only. And then go to one with rudder and aileron.

 

[robriguez]

From when I've heard for beginers its easiest to start with a Blade or Humming bird. Then possibly a Dragonfly, or go straight to a dragonfly as long as you understand your learning curve will be a bit steeper. If you do go Dragonfly get the kind without the tail motor, I've read nothing but bad things about them burning out fast.

I'm in the same boat Candyman. I've been looking and looking then researching then looking some more and the T-Rex, MX400, and Z400 keep popping up every time. I just cannot make up my mind or decide just how deep into this I want to go . I want a collective pitch, belt driven, 3D heli but i dont want to drop 1k either.

 

[akmadmaxx]

I have a blade CX and for the money it is a very awsome beginer heli. Parts are cheap enough and it comes ready to go with a lipo batt. My friend has the cp and it is nowhere near as stable. So for starting out the cx is the place to start it will be the same controls when you move on the a rotor heli. And when you get use to controling a heli then move to something like a T Rex those things are BAD!!

 

[Candyman]

It's a tough thing to break into gently. I bought a GWS Mini Dragonfly a couple years ago and just beat the hell out of it. It doesn't even fly anymore and it's not worth pumping money into. So I'm looking for the next step. I've priced out a fair T-Rex setup and if you're conservative you can do ok. I have seen a nice Rex combo (T-Rex 450XL HDE, 430L brushless motor with 30A ESC) for $235. 4 HS56 servos for $89. Align HH gyro for $80. You can find reasonable 3S1P 15C li-pos for about $40 each if you hunt. Figure 2 would be good enough to start with. I was going to grab an Ice charger for $120. That just leaves the radio. I was thinking an Eclipse 7 w/Spectra. That's the pricey part. They're about $200 right now on Ebay. But might be able to get on cheaper. So that parks us at about $800 ready to fly. If you opt for an Optic 6 or JR 6102 tx, you may be able to cut that down a little more. Although I'm also thinking of the Spektrum DX6 Park Flyer system....sweeeeeet...

Anyway, back to the topic.
If you're thinking of $200 only, you may have trouble. Yes, you can get fun copters for that $$$$. But there will be repair costs. Because you will crash. If you want something to just hover and toddle around with a little bit, I think a coax will be fine. They hover great. You can get some good forward flight with them. That would be good for flying indoors or outside on calm days. If you're wanting to do 3D, you're gonna have to rethink it because it will be hard to get a decent 3D capable for under $200.

 

[dannyd]

200 is just for the heli. i will have more $$$$$$ for parts and stuff. for the first few weeks or so i will be practicing hovering and any other basic moves.

oh yeah whats 3d? is that when you do all the techical moves and stuff?

 

[Revo Rancher]

Candy, the Spektrum system came out about a month after I bought my AT VG 6000 system. I still like the AT Tx expecially the easy to use menus, but the 2.4G set up would have been nice, especially for flying the Combat Wing at over 80 mph!

 

[Candyman]

I have my initial reservations about the DX. The 2.4GHz is a great treat, but that seems to be it's real draw. The radio that it's built upon doesn't impress me. However, I have seen numerous threads about guys who have easily grafted the 2.4 GHz module into their 6102. For helis, that's killer. The DX only has 3-point throttle and pitch curves. The 6102 has 5-points. My other concern would be the limited range. Good for helis and parkers, but I'd worry about losing signal if you're ripping your wing over a lot of real estate.
I'm still leaning towards the Hitec Eclipse 7 Spectra. I've seen the tx dipping below $200 so they're getting more affordable.