Heli question

[Karl M]

I found an RC smart 3D 400 space on ebay for $230. It comes with extra blades and a flight sim. The question is, is this a good heli for the money? I am a complete newb to helis, I know how they work but have never flown. If nothing else, is the sim worth it? Thanks guys.

Sorry, I goofed. I meant to put this under the aircraft thread.

 

[HeartBreak]

To be honest with ya, the Venom line of helis is a much better choice. I have a nightranger 2, and I can't tell ya how many times I've smacked it into something. It's literally the savage of helis.

However, it won't take a high velocity rear-bound impact into the ground at full pace . It will, however, fly almost 100% perfect out of the box, after the blades are centered, and the flybar paddles are aligned (takes 5 minutes, the book covers how to do this).

Oh, and if you do break something on it, the plastic it's made with is one of the few that I've come across that is glue-friendly.

You can get the Nightranger 2 for about $165 RTR, or the 3D version for about $240.

Parts are easy to get and cheap (most expensive part on the heli, aside from electronics, is $15.

 

[Candyman]

OK, now here's a can of worms. There are a lot of heli threads here to browse them to see what advice has already been given.
That being said, if you're going to pour $230 into a micro heli, at least get something that can be supported. The Blade CP or CX are decent places to start. But if you want a collective pitch in that range, look for the Honey Bee CP2. It's almost identical to the Blade CP (and a fair number of parts are swappable). And it comes standard with symmetrical blades, upgraded motor and lipoly battery.

 

[Karl M]

OK, now here's a can of worms. There are a lot of heli threads here to browse them to see what advice has already been given.
That being said, if you're going to pour $230 into a micro heli, at least get something that can be supported. The Blade CP or CX are decent places to start. But if you want a collective pitch in that range, look for the Honey Bee CP2. It's almost identical to the Blade CP (and a fair number of parts are swappable). And it comes standard with symmetrical blades, upgraded motor and lipoly battery.

OK, I hear what you are saying and it makes good sense. Now I'm going to ask a question that could really be debated, would I be better off learning to fly with a tail rotor or counter rotating? I know the counter rotating is easier to hover but I probably will want to move on to bigger and better.

 

[rocknbil]

It's not just easier, other than the functions of the sticks it's a completely different flying experience. A single main blade rotor heli does not hover on it's own, even with a tail rotor to keep it pointed straight it requires constant input to maintain a hover.

Long story short (who . . . ME? ) if you want to move on to bigger and better, learn on a collective pitch heli, not a fixed pitch or coaxial. It's the collective pitch that gives you the negative pitch you need to do 3D aerobatics. Many like flight sims to help them, I didn't find them all that helpful.

Lighter helis, like the Honey Bee or Blade CP, are more skittish because of the lighter wieght, which makes learning harder, but if you learn on one of these you can fly anything.