Steve Colman

Looking to progress to a 2m motor glider after learning to fly on a Graupner Terry S. I have a spare Spektrum Rx, HS55 servos + others   Which would be my best option?   Graupner Junior S Multiplex Easy Glider Pro Parkzone Radian   or   The title of the thread -  Easy Glider with brushed motor for which I have a brushed 20amp esc.   Not looking for a performance machine, just something to cruise around the sky with.   Thanks in advance for your responses.   Steve.    

Wow, it arrived at 11.00 am. Almost set up, radio installed and sorted, etc. Just some fine tuning to do on throws and should be ready to maiden tomorrow.   AUW = 401g with 800mah lipo              412g with 10000              452g with 1300   Should be a real floater.   Vey nice stylish looking model although I am a bit disappointed with the fit of some of the parts. I expected better to be honest.   Steve.  

Sorted !! Found a good deal on a ready for radio Terry S here in Spain which I couldn't resist. 100 euros delivered.   Steve. 

Update. I must be mad because I ( we ) decided not to get the ES - just didn't like the look of it in the flesh.   Now, it's either the Graupner UHU or Terry S. Still trying to make my mind up.   Steve.

Thank you for your replies guys. Now for some good news! It's my birthday on sunday and my lovely GF has offered to buy me the EasyStar fom the LHS.   Steve.

Many thanks for your reply Stephen. I think I'm going to go with the Easy Star.  My LHS ( not many here in Spain ) stocks Multiplex kits and has a Ready for Radio version for 120 Euros ( £102.00 ) which seems to be a good price. Also, if (when) I prang it getting spares will be convenient too.   Cheers,   Steve.

Hi everyone,   I returned to the hobby about 2 years ago after a very long absence. I was about to buy a MX EasyStar but got sidetracked into helis which I've been flying for 18 months. Now, I wish to return to planes but I can't decide what to get.   I have a DX6i + Rx's + spare servos and a few other bits and pieces.   I am looking for something stable and relaxing to fly and have narrowed my search down to the following:   MX EasyStar AXN Floater Jet, 4ch ( from HobbyCity) Very similar to EZ and has some good reviews but spares availability could be a problem. Graupner Elektro UHU Graupner Terry S - Appeals because I have some suitable brushed motors + esc, and many 2S 800-1000mah lipos which I could possibly use for a basic setup.   Thanks in advance,   Steve.    

Personally, I think something along the lines of a Blade 400 is far too ambitious as a first heli. Every minor crash will require not insignificant amounts of cash to fix and the heli will then have to be properly set up to fly again.   Far better in my opinion to go for something like the Esky HBFP V2. This new version of the Bee almost completely fixes the problems that the V1 had. It is very durable, easy to set up and easy and cheap to fix when the innevitable happens. And, it will happen very often! it is not easy to fly initially but will teach your son all the skills necessary when he wishes to move up to a CP heli.   An alternative to the HBFP is one of the new Walkeras - CB180D/Q. Slightly smaller then the Bee and almost as easy to fly as a coax as it has a 45 degree flybar arrangement much like the Blade msr and Hirobo Quark. However, it won't be such a good training heli as the Bee.   Steve.

Unfortunate about the accident but these little things can take a lot of bashing. Adding a little nose weight really does help with forward flight and is very simple to do. I just roll a small piece of masking tape and push it into place at the front of the canopy using the top of a pencil or something similar and then do a test flight to assess the result......adding a piece at a time until I get the result I want.  

Hi Austen, The S300 arrived today and it's identical to the mcx apart from the aesthetics. Flies the same too but it's certainly not faster than my slightly modded mcx. Have fitted the bottom white blades wcich look good and I do like the little tail rotor in flight ( nice to have one that actually rotates) for a change.   Steve.

Hi Austen, i'll certainly let you know what my thoughts are when it arrives which will be in about a week ( I don't live in the UK ).  It will be interesting to see how it compares with the MCX which I have modded a little to fly a bit faster.   I like the bottom white blades....a neat idea by e-flite. When spares are available i'll get some for the MCX too.

I just couldn't help myself.......just ordered one.

I was thinking of getting one of these. I already have a slightly modded mcx but it would be nice to have something a little more like a real heli.

I echo the thoughts above. I've just spent the weekend doing some simple mods to my MCX to give it a bit of individuality as I like to put my own stamp onto things. I've trimmed the canopy and tail to give it a sportier look along with a new paint job. Total cost zero! And, now it looks less like a toy and more like a proper heli, and I knocked off half a gram of weight too.   My next project is to do an autogyro conversion using "Little Nellie" as my inspiration.   Will try to post some pics soon.   Steve. 

Hi Kevin, Sorry to hear about your accident after such a short time airborne; a real downer! No pun intended. I was reaaly looking forward to hearing how things were going with the big beast as i'm wating to receive one myself; I just couldn't resist it. In fact I was planning to get a HBFP as a first single rotor trainer before moving on to something like a Belt CP so in the end I ordered them both. Now, when they arrive my dilemma will be which one to play with first. Hope you manage to find some spares soon. Steve.

SMC have a limited stock of the Lama500 for only £89.95 so get them while you can. I just had to order one. Will let everyone know when it arrives. Steve.

Hi Kevin, I would be interested to know how you get on with it because I fancy one of these myself.

Hi David, and welcome to the MCX club! When the light on the charger remains on without a lipo charging the the batteries in the charger need replacing. Another sign is that the lipos take an age to charge although I don't think any harm comes to them. I have used rechargeables and essentially your assumption is correct re charging times because of the lower voltage of the batteries. Also, you do not get so many charges from each set. I think Robotbirds have the lipos in stock. I can't answer your question about the transmitter because I use my MCX with a DX6i. Hope this resolves some of your questions. 

I have now sorted the problem and it lies with the connector pins at the end of the lead and not the lipos. Because of my hamfistedness in attaching the lipos I was bending the pins upwards each time. I have since bent them carefully back into position and everything is fine. Just extra careful from now on.

Has anyone experienced a problem when connecting batteries to the MCX ? I have 4 batteries and only one of them now makes a reliable connection with the lead. The other 3 just don't seem to make a connection at all which is a bit of downer to say the least ! Kind of makes a nonsense of getting extra lipos and cycling them to keep them in good order. Steve. 

Thanks for the advice guys. After lots of dithering I think i'm going to go for the Belt CP as an all in package for starters. Then, as I progress I will save some pennies and when the innevitable prang happens I can get some upgrades step by step; might even treat myself to a Spektrum DX6i combo also. Apart from the fact that Esky helis are built down to a price are there any specific weaknesses the the Belt hes that I should be prepared for? Many thanks Steve.

Hi everyone, After a month or so now with my Esky Robins and more recently with the Blade mcx I am considering buying (well my better half is as an xmas pressie for me ) my first outdoor heli, but as is always the case I am stumped as to which model to go for.  I've narrowed the choice down a litle and i'm hoping that all you experienced heli pilots can help to point me in the right direction. I do not ( she does not ) wish to throw loads of cash about at this stage as I want something that is cheap to maintain and repair while i'm progressing on what i'm sure will be a steep learning curve. The one decision I have made though, after reading many forum posts, is to go CP. My shortlist is as follows; Esky Honey Bee King2 - I can get the 2.4g model here in Spain for about 125 smackers which seems a good deal. Esky Belt CP - Does bigger mean better ( more stable ) in comparison to the King2? RC System Pro CopterX - Don't know much about this but it's sold with Esky radio set and is similar to the Belt CP Fusion Solaris 3D - Again don't know much about this model either. If any of you guys out there can share your experiences with these helis or any others that i've not mentioned but should consider I would really appreciate it. Many thanks in advance, Steve.

Alan, Thanks, you've just helped me to make the decision to go for one of these as opposed to the Walgera5G6. Steve.

Having recently caught the heli bug with the purchase of an Esky Robins I am finding things a little cramped in the house for anything but simple hovering and a few spot landings etc. Therefore i'm thinking of getting a micro heli in order to increase my flying options but, the question is which one? I have been looking at the Walkera 5G6 and the Eflite Blade mCX.  The Blade is currently about 60% more expensive than the Walkera but does seem to be a fantastic little heli. The other side of the argument is that I live in Spain and spares are not readily available here for Eflite, whereas they are for Walkera. If anyone has any experiences with these 2 helis or Walkera / Eflite products in general your advice would be greatly appreciated. Steve.

Thanks guys, I have now sorted the problem; it was only the top blades out of alignment and unbalanced ( pretty basic huh ). Two new replacements and everything is in order again.