looking to fly

[ZANDOR]

ok i want to buy an nitro heli but first i need a flight sim. witch one should i get.and should i expect to be flying buy the end of summer?how long does it take on the sim.iam a pretty fast learner...

 

[Error401]

There's always Realflight G2. There are a couple others out there, but sims only go so far. I haven't found a good sim for anything that really simulates good. The helis in RFG2 are ok, but don't feel like the real thing. Your best bet is to get a .30 sized heli and get assistance from an instructor with a buddy box. trust me, it'll take a while just to get hovering down.

 

[ZANDOR]

ya I've herd that.i so want to fly just got buggy feaver.now i want real air.so i should get the .03 size. any suggestions on a model???. big is good right lol.i don't wan't to get something small.and turn around and buy a bigger model.and were is a good site to look for helis..if you could links please

 

[Error401]

.30 is a pretty good size. .46's are a tad larger, and have a better power to weight ratio, but are more expensive. The .60's and gas get real expensive are are larger. The .30's are good beginner helis and will last you a good while. century makes the Hawk, Kyosho makes the Nexus, JR has the Ergos.

Tower Hobbies carries Kyosho.
Horrizon carries JR
and you can find Century Helis HERE

just remember to factor in the cost of a heli radio, a heli engine, starter, battery, etc (all the support equipment) and some tools.

Helis are no joke, they can and will destroy themselves, or kill you dead. Maintenance is a high priority too. I used to wrench on mine for two hours for every hour of flight time. And I have witnessed a catastrophic failure in flight, it was not pretty.

 

[ZANDOR]

Originally posted by Error401
[


Helis are no joke, they can and will destroy themselves, or kill you dead. Maintenance is a high priority too. I used to wrench on mine for two hours for every hour of flight time. And I have witnessed a catastrophic failure in flight, it was not pretty. [/B]

i have seen some pretty bad crashes.my cousin has been flying for 25 plus years.nonthing harmful to any one though.i see what your saying.iam like you when it comes to my bugs and maxx.after every run i tweek on them.and every nite they get dissasembled. for cleaning.very anel that way..i whould not take this lightley as iam very intressed in this new venture.I've been look for a very long time and think iam ready.to make this step

 

[kwong2001]

Well i've never actually flown a heli, but I know that it would help you a lot if you got a flight simulator to teach you the basics.

I can tell you, before I flew an r/c plane, I had a month on realflight. Then when I actually flew the plane for the first time, the instructors were VERY impressed at the fact that I was quite capable for flying for the first time.

Even though RFG2 won't be able to FULLY simulate the real thing, it will help you greatly and you'll become more competent as a pilot A LOT faster.

 

[Error401]

True. It will teach you to move the sticks in the proper directions, but the way the plane feels is very different from the real thing.

 

[ZANDOR]

flying

tommarow iam going to order te preador gasser x-cel ghs.just can't wait.iam doing some reserch on the sim rf g2. does this sim have a heli compaired to this heli..

i think i found a budy i can hook up with buddy box.this should make things a lot smother

 

[Error401]

Gas as in gasoline? Gassers are real big. Nice to fly, but big.

 

[ZANDOR]

ya the gas its big but like i said big is better right....is this a good starter.what radio whould you recomend for this heli.i like that saying go big or go home

 

[ZANDOR]

ok i thought about it long and hard and iam going to wait on getting the heli.but .iam looking at the rf g2.sim.i wait till the end of summer to buy the heli.so i can spend the time on the sim.if it was here i whould to temped to take it out.that whould be bad the trial and error thing is better left on the ground.....

 

[Rolex]

Get a SIM !!!

A real heli pilot said, "Once a helicopter is one inch off the ground, it's in an extremely precarious situation."

I got a Century Falcon .46 a couple of years ago, and at the flying field I started learning the basic hover. My knees shook and my palms would sweat till I could hardly hold the radio. Don't EVER think that learning to fly a heli is as easy as a plane.
On my way home from the field I stopped by my LHS and bought Real Flight G2. Wow, it's wonderful. I'm a member of their forum. I spent 2 solid 10 hour days teaching myself how to hover and fly without wrecking. Weeks of daily practice, and then after perfecting the basics I worked on auto rotation "engine out" landings. I had hundreds of wrecks on G2, but they didn't cost a nickle and didn't cost any time in repairs. Fuel is also free on G2. Add the cost of fuel and repairs, and G2 pays for itself. Now I can hover without drifting, and auto rotations are my preferred landings.
Most of the helis in G2 are really "Twitchy" but if you can fly them, your real one will be easier to handle. Even the trainer heli is a pain to hover.
The only stock heli that's close to real is the Spritzer 4 stroke.
The G2 site has downloads that members submit of planes or helis that they have edited to perform differently than the stock versions.
I spent almost 100 hours editing a Jet Ranger to behave better than anything in the program, and as close as possible to the setup I have in my Falcon. Friends who have G2 have tried it and love it. I'll be sending it in to the download page soon. It's called Rotor Floater. I edited it to behave smoothly and gently in a hover, since all the heli complaints were from new flyers who couldn't control the stock helis. If you can control the heli in a smooth hover and NOT fight the sticks, you won't get as frustrated learning to fly.
With a plane at the field, and a good instructor, you can solo after your third tank. Not so with a heli, and not easy to get someone willing to spend so much time with you. You'll burn 2 gallons learning to hover before you can fly, and before you can fly you need to learn autorotation landings.
VERY expensive if you fall from the sky and don't know what to do.
I ABSOLUTELY recommend Real Flight G2 for learning or perfecting any R/C maneuver with a plane or heli.
You get used to stick movements so you don't have to give it a thought any more, and you learn about the switches on the radio also. There's also 'virtual instructor' who talks to you with a radio on screen so you can watch the sticks as he explains a maneuver.
You can also fly against other members on line.
Good luck...Check out their site and the forum.

 

[ZANDOR]

hey thanks iam going down to buy it on saterday the g2 that is.thank for the input and iam sure we will be back in touch...zandor

 

[Rolex]

You got it.
Tell them I sent you......you'll get no discount.

 

[backtrailsx2]

i always wondered what happens when u run out of gas when u r flying a heli nad who do u start 1 without getting hit by the blade

 

[Rolex]

When you run out of fuel, or have the engine stall, you drop your throttle full off. The throttle stick also controls the collective. Collective is the amount of pitch you give the rotor blades. More positive collective, more lift.
Below zero collective you start with negative collective. Zero collective is what allows a real heli to sit on the ground at full RPM without lifting off.
At FULL negative collective with engine off, the heli falls, and as it falls the air is used to keep the rotor spinning. (like holding a pinwheel out the car window) The air spinning the rotor keeps the head speed up, and as it gets closer to the ground you start to add positive collective to a controlled landing. It's called an AUTOROTATION. There's only 'so much' inertia in the spinning rotor, so if you try to slow it down too soon, you use up your head speed and then you have a very hard landing. Done right, they can land as softly as a powered landing. If you are less than 50' up when the engine quits, you have a problem. Barely enough time to react. Beeper timers let you know when you are down to about 3/4 of a tank.
They are started with an electric starter and a hex shaft from the top. At idle, the rotor doesn't spin. Raise the throttle and a centrifugal clutch engages.

Take notes....this WILL be on Friday's quiz.

 

[lykan]

I knew how the collective worked from an old (slow) C64 sim. I had no idea about auto rotation.

Now that you explained it, it makes perfect sense. Can , or has this been done on 1/1's if so, I imagine not often and only by accident lol...

Not many survive engine trouble in helicopters, so I am curious.

 

[Rolex]

Not only has it been done, it's practiced regularly. When an airplane engine quits, the pilot is in a glider. Without knowing how to autorotate, a heli pilot would be a big hollow rock. Full sized helis need an absolute MINIMUM of 100 ft. of altitude, or 30 MPH of forward speed in order to land successfully with engine out. Gotta' give those police heli pilots a lot of credit for hanging out with a minimum safety margin.
Helis that crash usually have suffered some catastrophic failure such as loss of tail rotor. Then there's nothing to stop it from spinning. If the transmission comes apart, everything locks up, and there's nothing they can do.

It's been said that a helicopter rotor is nothing more than a fan to keep the pilot cool. When the fan stops, you can see him start to sweat.