first heli

[bren]

what would you recommend for a first heli ive been flying trainer planes through the summer and now the weather has turned id like to keep a heli in the car and practice where i can so whats the way to go

thanks

[Dylan Reynolds LaserCraft Services]

The blade 130x is a good starting point, its what I I used under instruction and cheap to fix.

[bren]

ive been offered a t-rex 250 at a good price would this be too much to learn with

[Dylan Reynolds LaserCraft Services]

I'm not exactly an expert on helis and others would be able to advise better than me, but I would guess a T-Rex 250 would be ok, but you will have to bear in mind repair costs, which will be higher than a 130 but not as bad as a 700 lol. I would recommend some training legs for it if you are a complete novice.

[Peter Christy]

Smaller helis are usually more difficult to fly than bigger ones, but they do bounce better! The 130x has quite a good reputation for robustness. You don't indicate what kind of size you are looking for or where you intend to fly it.

If you are looking for something ic powered to fly at the club, then the Hirobo Shuttle (still available!) is an excellent trainer and has taught many of today's top pilots. If you are looking for something small to take into the park, then the 130x is as good as anything else.

However, please bear in mind what I said about smaller ones being trickier to fly. Helicopters may not be particularly fast compared to fixed wing, but they ACCELERATE much quicker. You would be surprised how quickly one can get away from you, and even a small heli can cause a nasty injury. So please be careful if you are intending to teach yourself in a public place. Try and get some tuition first, so at least you know what you are facing!

Best of luck!

--

Pete

[bren]

im only really looking for electric power and yes looking to fly on my own just for fun so the 250 would be ok you think,, it comes with several batteries and the training legs included too

[John F]

This would be perfect for you with lots of spares to keep you going.

E-Razor 250 XFP

 

Edited By John F on 20/10/2013 12:15:47

[Robin Kearney]

Hi Bren,

I'm self taught on a Blade 120SR, its a lovely little heli. Lacks full collective pitch, but if you are self teaching you have other things to worry about, he says from experience

I've since bought a 130X, it isn't as stable as the 120SR, and is harder to fly but once you've mastered the basics it makes for a lovely bird. It is more fragile however.

I've also got a Trex 250, again a nice little heli but a complete pain to work on, lots of very small (1-1.5mm) hex bolts, with heads which round out all too easily. Some of the guys on helifreak/heliaddict suggest buying a complete set of replacement bolts, I've not gone that far but have gotten close to it at times Of course if you don't crash it, repairing it isn't a problem!

If I had my choices again, I'd still start with a 120SR again and then move onto something bigger, maybe a 450 3d. Which can be bought amazingly cheaply if you can still find somewhere that has them in stock.

Hope that helps a little.

r.

[bren]

thanks the that robin ive been looking all day at helis and ive skipped the smaller one and gone for a 450 might be a bit too much but will see lol,, ill let you know how i get on

this is the one

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/sale/102487-hk450-pro.html

Edited By bren on 20/10/2013 22:25:48

[Robin Kearney]

Ah yes, that's a HobbyKing clone of aTrex isn't it? That's how my trex 250 started life. One thing to keep an eye on, although this might have been specific to the 250, is some of the allen bolts were imperial and some were metric! Easy enough to deal with but quite enfuriating when you first discover it

r.

[John F]

Waaaaay too much bren. A 250 is ideal. The 450 pro isnt really suitable at all. Don't forget he has also removed the gyro, for some bizarre reason, as well as other bits. It sounds like he's damaged it so is selling it on. The 250 xp I linked to would have been perfect

Mind your face. Take it easy!

 

Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 30/11/2013 08:35:31

[gliggsy]

Hi fellas, well my thoughts are that the 250 is impossible for a newby to learn on, far too twitchy and responsive, I fly, reasonably competently, 450 size electric, both clones and the original Trex. I have persevered with the 250 size and can tell you, it will break your heart Bren as well as your bank managers. Now I don't own one but there are plenty of heli pilots out there that swear by them........MCPX.....bind to a speccy Tx, if that's what you're on and TJD are doing them for £64 ATM......G

[WolstonFlyer]

Here is the link, they are great fun for flying in the garden / park on a day with no wind or inside a big meeting room at work!

***Link***

[Mark Stevens 1]

I would tend to agree with Peter Christy's comments re the Hirobo - this is more a 500 / 550 sized machine but is a brilliant machine to learn on. In fact this came out after my first Heli, which was and still is, A Kalt Baron 20 - That is it on my profile pic bought it in 1983 so it is now 30 years old & still flying.

A 450 size machine is not a bad size to start on either, they are certainly very popular these days with lots of upgrade options open to you at this size. This means you should be happy with this one for a while until you either crash it and give up or decide you want to move up to something bigger.

Have a shop around though as there are many 450 sized machines on the market now.

Mark

[Vecchio Austriaco]

First of all I would buy a decent flight simulator, I suppose for helis this would be either Phoenix or Real flight. I suggest using your own transmitter (also with real flight) as it is easier later. If you manage to fly around a bit without a reset every 30 seconds it is time to think about a heli.

The TR 250 which is mentioned several times in the posts is a little devil and I would not recommend it as a first heli. For sure bigger is better but also expensive.

So I would go for a 450 of a good company - the latest flybarless version is absolutely not necessary - and the older flybar versions are now quite affordable. Or for a 500 - for instance the Protos doesn't kill your budget.

After you have built the heli (if it was a kit what I would recommend, as then you know what the parts are and how to fix them) you need to find a guru (I used heli-guru ) at your club who could help with the set-up. Of course you can do it alone, but it can be frustrating.

And after that - a few days of hovering and then you need to take all your energy and just try to fly a circle. Not too low - not too high and not too far away. And this is where I am. Not very good, but I bring mine home in one piece (so far... )

VA, long years of experience in building and repair of his sons helis and little experience in flying them....

[Mark Stevens 1]

Fully agreed with VA's post above - get a simulator and learn to fly on that first. Phoenix will also work with your existing Tx and comes with the relevant leads supplied. I use this all the time now to keep in practice.

I had no such luxury back in 1983, I didn't even have a tail gyro then !!

 

Mark

Edited By Mark Stevens 1 on 26/10/2013 03:31:02

[Paul Marsh]

I crashes my 130x inverted, no damage, but broke the skid once, but that was only £4 and a minute to fix.

[stuey]

I have Blade 120 which I have used to start learning to hover, and Phoenix. I have always flown and driven cars with my thumbs on the end of the sticks. It seems to me that most heli fliers use thumbs and fingers and a tray or strap. Is that a better way to learn, or am I ok sticking with what I know?

[Mark Stevens 1]

Posted by stuey on 02/11/2013 16:19:32:
I have Blade 120 which I have used to start learning to hover, and Phoenix. I have always flown and driven cars with my thumbs on the end of the sticks. It seems to me that most heli fliers use thumbs and fingers and a tray or strap. Is that a better way to learn, or am I ok sticking with what I know?

Stuey, I can only say if you are comfortable flying with holding the Tx as you do now then stick to that. I do use a strap but like you I do r/c cars as well where I don't use one.

Quite Often when flying my Heli's I actually find myself holding the Tx for better control rather than let it hang on the strap. Here a Tray would be better if supported right.

Also with using a strap or tray, You can actually concentrate on flying rather than worrying about dropping the Tx & if anything goes wrong, you can let go of the Tx and it will not fall to the ground.

Mark

Edited By Mark Stevens 1 on 30/11/2013 04:26:59

[Eric Hartley]

Hi

After many years of flying fixed wing rc (mainly acro wot and x'tra wot) have decided to have a go at helicopters. Dtring the last 12 mths. I have built and flown several Quadcopters which are ideal for aerial photography (Arducopter MPX 2.6 control board) which virtually fly themselves. I am looking for a helicopter that I will be able to use my existing radio gear with (Futaba 14SG) and after some time exploring the web have decided that the TREX450 Plus dfc (btf) seems to meet the criteria. Any advice would be welcombe.

Eric

[stuey]

Thanks Mark