dent

Hello, I have been reading this forum, because I am intristed in RC, and I knwo a chopper is what I want. I have experince, in some simulators. Microsfot Flight Sim (hehe) but I know basic movements, and controls. (Sorry if this is nothing like RC, If it isnt then assume I have no experince except with an RC car few years back), anway I want a chopper. What is a LMH. I am on a tight kind of budget, so if I spend alot of money, I am going to want it last. I have oh say $400 saved up now, mind I am only 16. So, what should I get, any tips? Thanks, oh yeah I also have an uncle who knows alot about RC choppers, he could help me out. He's lives kind of close, and he would help me out.

Thanks

Hivoltage

My Feedback: (3)

OOps...did I say that outloud??? They dont really suck, they are just no comparison to a nitro collective pitch heli. I bought one because I wanted my wife to learn to fly and I sold it right away. Some people like them. My guess is you will want to sell it and get a heli with collective pitch very soon. But it could also be a cheap way to see if you are interested in heli's.
Do some searching on this forum, there is a ton of info on here. Look for a used setup for sale.
I wasnt much help was I?

Bluto

LMH helicopters do fly well but they are a bit hard to set up properly and the motors can be a real bugger to get running. Talk to your uncle and see what he thinks. I recommend going with a Raptor or Venture.

Joe K

My Feedback: (1)

I LOVE mine I had a concept 30 sold it after i got married.(no time & money)
I did some reacherch to find the cheapest heli to keep in the air.
Yes it was the winner. What realy suppised me was that pilots that moved pu to a biger Machine still flew there LiteMachine. One person sold there LMH GOT a new one because he missed it so much. You will have more than one. Make it the first to your fleet.

duelist

My Feedback: (7)

Had a LMH, sold a LMH and never looked back.

It is small therefore very surirrely (sp)
the mech gyro vs. any new Futaba gyro= no comparison
very sloppy controls- all those z-bends in the head get sloppy quickly
The engine does make a better paperweight than a powerplant

Darkstar-RCU

Its all in the pilot.

Tim.

Charlie

I think thay are a great little heli(I have one). IMPO thay are great to learn on.Thay are cheap to fix(if you can break it). You can bet and thrash them and they come back for more. Good trainer.

flmgrip

My Feedback: (2)

even the best pilot will not fly as well with sloppy controls... and why don't you fly for me a inverted backward loop or do an autorotation with a LMH? (ups... you can't do that with fixed pitch, i forgot... )

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

LMH's are great for what they are intended. I have had two of them now, I sold mine but my brother still has his and I have flown the heck out of it and enjoy it. He learned to hover on it and is 14! Take off the mechanical gyro, put on the smallest and cheapest piezo and you have instand heading hold. Put 30% fuel in it and enjoy! Its a great trainer, they are hard to break.

Darkstar-RCU

Quote:

"even the best pilot will not fly as well with sloppy controls... and why don't you fly for me a inverted backward loop or do an autorotation with a LMH? (ups... you can't do that with fixed pitch, i forgot... )"

My controls were never sloppy...It flew great. I guess I must be better than the best! As far as aerobactics are concerned, its was never designed for that. It performs very well for it's intended use. As far as autos are concerned, who cares? I've ran out of fuel many times and just it just fell from the sky, bounced a couple of times and I simply refueled and off I went. The LMH is a great, relatively inexpensive way to get started. Many people was had great success with this model.

Tim.

flmgrip

My Feedback: (2)

darkstar, good for you if the controls were never sloppy, but your response was in regards to fling with sloppy controls and sloppy controls, means less control. even the best pilot out there will perform less that way.
and you really must be a hotshot pilot if you let your heli "fall from the sky" and have it bounce around...

Hivoltage

My Feedback: (3)

You guys are killing me here.!!! I wish helicopters did bounce off the ground and I could pick them up and fly them.

duelist

My Feedback: (7)

Buy cheap, buy twice.

If you stay with choppers, a LMH will never satisfy you.

flmgrip

My Feedback: (2)

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

The LMH's will bounce! I tried to do a roll for some reason one time, full throttle about 100' up, it got as far as inverted and came in full tilt. I thought for sure it was toast!! I put a new mainshaft in it and flew it the next day. Top that.

If your controls were sloppy you should have fixed it, both of mine were tight. Again, the LMH is a great machine for learning low cost. I do think that forward flight is harder than a bigger machine though, only because it wants to pitch up, but it is very easy to fly.
I recommend one.

PHI flyer

I built one for my 12 year old nephew. He has bounced it a few times and broke nothing. There are some linkages that come of now and then in a hard crash but the cost is so cheap it doesnt matter. I put a cheapie helimax gyro in it and it failed and he is managing to fly it WITH NO GYRO. The only problem he is having is overheating. Richen it up and it wont lift off. He is running cp 15% with some castor in it. Maybe I'll give him some 30% and see what happens.

flmgrip

My Feedback: (2)

where is this going? just because this thing is un-destroyable, doesn't mean you have to bounce it off everything and crash more often. it is quite possible (and i think a good thing) to learn flying without one crash.
same kind of concept: why don't we put the 16 year old kids in a rubber car and they'll learn to drive, bounce of here, bounce of there, bounce off a pole, ah... who cares this is rubber, let's just keep on going...
first you still really can hurt someone by flying with that attitude, second, our hobby is not about crashing, it is about flying.

yes i understand accidents happen, but 95% of the people and rc-heli guys i know did not crash in the hover and FF learning phase and yes, a good bunch of them did learn it without help from others...

so to just buy a heli because it is cheap to repair (if it brakes at all) is a very strange decision.

BTW, i did the same mistake, i bought a craptor because it is "cheap" to repair, but all i have is problems every time i take this thing flying. do i regret it? yes. will i sell this piece of crap, no, because it is not worth it, in regards to how much money i put in and how much i would get for it...

cheers, peace and happy FLYING...

Johng

My Feedback: (4)

Flmgrip, why the rant? And it is a rant - I don't think anybody is going out planning to crash. Assuming the safety attitute people are taking because of the chopper they fly?? What kind of crusade is that? And this bit;

>but 95% of the people and rc-heli guys i know did not crash in >the hover and FF learning phase

- is just BS. Either that or you live amont the most blessed group of RC'ers ever. I don't know anyone who flies a heli that didn't spend more than $100 in parts while they where learning basic, upright flight. Worst crash I had with the LMH, it had rolled up in a ball but only cost me $25. You need to re-read the original post, the kid is on a limited budget.


Dent:

The LMH is very comparable to a duraplane. It's the durachopper. Gets the same response too. Some people like them, some hate them, nobody claims that they can do it all, or even most of it. They do basic flight well, without alot of maintenance or parts replacement or worry.

Get with your uncle. Maybe he'll teach you on one of his. If not, LMH is a reasonable way to start. Follow the manual and it'll go fine.

For me, I have one that I left sitting for ??months now. Probably close to a year. It's been sitting in the corner, almost forgotten. Last night I cycled the batteries a couple of times - today was hovering out in the parking lot. Just needed the piezo gyro neutral point adjusted.

I fly mine with foam "floats" on it because it adds profile area below the CG, which makes it respond to gusts more like a larger heli without tipping as much. Plus, you can do touch 'n goes on a pond. That's usefull in Florida

flmgrip

My Feedback: (2)

johng, what's wrong with a rant? and don't tell me what people i know or don't know and don't tell me that it is BS. it is a FACT. maybe the people i know are just more disciplined in the learning process. you see guys here fly loops and "hover" inverted on the second gallon, of course they crashed already and will plenty more times... good for them. of course you can start flying around on the second gallon, but is it smart or the right way to learn it? NOT IN MY OPINION.
[B]I am on a tight kind of budget, so if I spend alot of money, I am going to want it last[B/]
of course he wants it to last... all the way through 3D... do you want him to get out after 3 months (or earlier) and buy an other heli, because he pushed the limits of the LMH? no (and least i would not hope so)
so i'd rather encourage him to buy a "good" heli and be cautious about the learning process (but hey, you call it a rant), and with the uncle knowing a lot about helis, he might be even able to hook up on a trainer cord.
i just see not much use for this thing ESPECIALLY if you are on a tight budget and you won't be able to buy an other heli for a long time...
possible a sim, would be a good start and save a bit more money for a couple more months...

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

I am one of those people that didnt crash, in fact, in the 4-5 years I have been flying heli's, including inverted and mild 3D, last week was my first dumb thumb, on an auto

BUT, we must keep the thread on track, the LMH IS a good heli, It wont do aerobatic or 3d or anything like that, but it is a good heli to learn to fly, and is fun and inexpensive.

bigbri

My Feedback: (287)

I had one it is GREAT....it was stolen....I miss it
Brian

Joe K

My Feedback: (1)

Its a good first heli.
dont take my word for it . go to www.rchelicopter.org and read the reviews.

Johng

My Feedback: (4)

Rant all you want chief, just destroys your own credibility...

Funny coming from a guy whose been making assumptions about other people and putting words in other people's mouths (or keyboards) on each of his posts here.

Quote:

it is a FACT.

Hey, it's a fact huh? Did you run the poll, or how did you arrive at the 95% number? I'd like to see the tabulation. In order to accurately arrive at 95% you must have polled at least 20 people and had only one who damaged his heli. When you start pulling numbers out of your gazunkas , it's a rant - and the advice isn't worth much.

Again, you are making assumptions way past what Dent asked about. With this kind of reasoning, I suppose plank flyers should start out flying a P-51 or and Edge540. I mean, that trainer 40 won't do 3-d, so what good is it?

Scotty740

OK guys,

This has gone far enough. There is far too much of this "my Ford is better than your Chevy" BS going on with these boards. You can post till your fingers are blue but you won't change a diehard LMH, Raptor, X-Cell, Shuttle, Nexus, etc etc owner's opinion of his machine.

Don't post attacks on another person just because his preference doesn't match yours or if you don't agree with him.

Feel free to post your experiences with your LMH or other machines. Just don't take it out personally on another member. Do that by email or PM if you really feel the need for that kind of attack.

I've been letting you guys have your head with most of these threads but further posts of that nature will result in the thread being closed.

Raydee

My Feedback: (3)

Just the plain facts here: I bought one for a first heli and learned to hover with it. I crashed it a few times with minimal cost to fix it! After I got good with it I decided to buy a 30. Now I have two 30's and I still have my Lite Machines for running in my small yard. It does fly different than collective heli's but the concept is still the same. I never regret buying my LMH.

Get rid of the stock gyro for a small Piezo gyro, Run 30% fuel with Castor oil in it, not synthetic. Run it as rich as you can and it will last a long time!

Just my 2 cents, don't cry and whine please.