Gareth Child

Yes - the final choice I had was between a Falcon/MiniPred and an Esky HoneyBee King 2. I went with the advice of the local club and rejected the HoneyBee, and then bought the one of the other two that was available - there were no decently priced Falcons when I was shopping. I have to say that the support from Century (who make the MIni Pred) here in the UK is excellent - next day delivery on parts. Mind you, in a month of flying I have only needed a new tail boom, two main rotor blades and a feathering shaft. In the same period my Medevac had needed at least two complete rebuilds that cost twice as much in parts as the original heli... I know what you mean about the stress relief, though. Two full batteries with the Mini Pred adds up to about 25 minutes of flight time, plus another half hour of fettling. It's a great way of relaxing. And then I go inside and buzz the kids with my PicooZ...

Is pedal trim the same as yaw trim? If so, and the gyro is already maxed, then you might have a bent shaft. This will slow down one of the rotors, (inner shaft turns the upper rotor, outer shaft turns the lower rotor,) causing the turning. Replacing the inner shaft is relatively easy: the outer shaft is a bit more complicated. But when I had the same problem with mine, a new shaft fixed it.

If it's any help, the Century Mini Pred is the same heli as the Falcon 3d.

I flew my Medevac (which started life as a Twister Bell 47 and was rebuilt in a Medevac body after a crash because the body was stronger) for about 100 hours before upgrading, but I still fly it now - it is such good fun! I upgraded to a MiniPred. I have been very cautious with it, but still whacked it a couple of times while learning. It is harder to mend than the Medevac (I am trying to work out how to replace a bolt that isn't on the parts list) but actually pretty easy to fly and, unlike the Medevac, can survive some fairly violent manoeuvring. It's actually easy to avoid crashing this machine because when you lose control, you can keep it in the air - if you have space - until you get it back under control. I thought very seriously about the Falcon 3D, but ultimately followed the advice of a friendly club flyer. When someone with 50 years of model flying experience decides to take you under his wing (so to speak) it is very wise to follow his advice unless you have a VERY good reason to reject it, and are prepared to lose his tutelage.

To be fair, I started with a contra-rotating Twister and it does say in the instructions that while the model is capable of hovering 'out of the box,' it takes a pilot a lot of practice to reach the point where they can do it. In the words of the instruction manual, 'if you don't want to spend the time learning how to fly, then this model is not for you.' And when a friend bought a Medevac, and was convinced that it was faulty, I had a go and yes, it was capable of flying out of the box. With no adjustments whatsoever, I was flying figure 8s in his sitting room. I think that the bottom line is that there are two legitimate ways into the hobby now. Instead of having to learn by building whether you liked it or not, you can now learn to fly first.

Hmmm.... if I could persuade all the model builders that my way was better, then I would agree that would be a problem, Martin. But what are the chances of that? Plus, I have to admit that when my MiniPred just sits on the ground not budging at full throttle, it's nice to have someone around who can point straight at the control rods and show me how to adjust them.

There's always some git with something bigger, isn't there? I was happily hovering my Mini-Pred in my garden (after replacing the tail boom and balancing the rotor blades) and feeling really proud of myself because I'd removed the training undercarriage... ...when some bloke passes about 75 feet overhead in a Bell 222 and lands it in the school fields next door...

I agree with Dave - even rtf needs tuning. And whatever level your own expertise is at, anyone starting from scratch deserves a little respect and encouragement even if they are having it easier than you did.

Yeah - maybe I should have disobeyed the 'all Tx crystals to the administrator' rule and shown him how little control I have over my heli... at very close range... Thanks, Timbo.

Sorry Timbo - I think I should have been clearer. It's nothing that I have read here at RCME - just a generally snide atmosphere of patronising-the-rtf-hobby-flyer that I have encountered a few times. And yesterday was blatantly insulting. I was invited to visit a club about 40 miles from home, which has a very nice r/c airfield on a farm on the edge of the fens. I arrived after work with my brand new Mini-Pred, which I keep locked in a case I bought from Century at the same time. It has to be locked away as I have an autistic son with infinite curiosity and no awareness of danger. And yes, at the moment I cannot fly the Mini-Pred very well. It should have L plates on it. Anyway, another member, a well-respected man with about 40 years of model building behind him, could not stop making insulting comments about rtf, unskilled learners, or hobbyists without engineering knowledge and skill. He didn't just say that he personally got more pleasure out of flying machines that he had built as you did Myron, he actually attempted to ruin any pleasure I would gain from flying an rtf. As far as yesterday was concerned, he succeeded. I would get absolutely no pleasure out of building a model - but I do get immense pleasure out of learning to fly. I have learned how to push my Twister Medevac to the limit and have upgraded to a better machine. Yesterday I had to face a grown man as he attempted to prevent me from enjoying a fascinating and challenging hobby. Anyway, I was boiling with fury when I got home last night. Sorry if I implied that I had read something here that had triggered it. As for finding the time - I teach disabled kids, I have a family, and I can't quit without losing my house. And if you want a machine that is easy to repair, check the internet for spares, plans and YouTube repair guides before you choose your model.

Eric said, "Indoor type heli's don't like the wind, no I'll rephrase that, they tend to blow away very easily in the wind!" If I'd known that in August, I'd have saved myself a fortune. However, in respect of Bravedan's OP, with experience and skill, wind is much less of factor. My MIniPred is far safer in the wind, simply because it is more powerful, more manoeuvrable and less likely to suffer a tail-boom strike under hard manoeuvring - although I am currenty grounded after bending the tail boom with the blades during a hard landing. (Much respect to carbon fibre blades, BTW - not a mark on the blades, but the steel boom was almost cut un half!) But a good pilot can counter that - especially with a proper heli. My MiniPred is less sensitive, and more adaptable. So what I have learned is that pilot skill can be pretty much rated by the windspeed thay are able to cope with. In fact, I think it would be a good way of grading pilots: a six-knot pilot would be one who could perform a set routine of manoeuvres and a safe landing in a six know wind.

I want RTF. I have the cash to buy RTF, and I don't have the time needed to acquire knowledge, build or fettle. I am quite prepared to learn how to fly my machines - I fly helis, and I know that I won't be able to fly like Alan Szabo without about a million hours of practice. In fact, I am even prepared to spend the next year learning how to hover and land without damaging my heli. That, as far as I am concerned, is a good goal to aim for. But to be honest, I don't want to listen to club (or forum) old hands telling me that this hobby is not for people who don't want to spend a couple of thousand hours building a scale model from plan. So, lifetime fliers and pillars of your local flying club, I don't want to be rude, but I will be if it is absolutely necessary. I don't want to build a machine. That is boring. I want an RTF that is easy to maintain, challenging to fly, and easy to repair when I break it. Because I don't want to spend what little spare time I have building my own swashplate - I want to spend it flying. If you want to be elitist, then come and play my game - I will happily teach you how to translate seventh century Arabic philosophical texts, and we'll see who is clever. But hard work is my job, not my hobby. Just stop giving me a hard time because I want to fly and can't be bothered to build!

So he gets paid fifty grand to fly a state of the art machine, and I have to buy my own MiniPred spares. Life just isn't fair, is it?

The first powered flight was made by Richard Pearse in New Zealand. Link here. As for Whittle - yes, there were other people who thought of the concept of the turbine - in much the same way that Da Vinci came up with the concept of the helicopter. Link here. In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, thinking "Wouldn't it be a good idea if..." doesn't make you an inventor.

Phew! And people say electric is complicated...?