Jeremy450

Hi,

I was wondering as to if the T-rex 600 nitro would make a good first heli to get my wings with and hopefully start some basic 3D with later on? Is it a good starting point? Would it be too complicated or difficult to fly?

Thanks,
Jeremy

raptor fan

Do you have any previous exspierience? If you dont get a msr or something.If you have flown before a 50 size nitro would probly be good.

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

Before the "electric revolution" everybody had to start with nitros. So in reality, if your budget can afford it, there is nothing wrong with starting with a 600. I do suggest that you get face-to-face advice from a local pilot at a local club. He will be able to teach you stuff that cannot be taught by typing........

Then regarding the brand of the heli, If you can wait, I would suggest getting the same heli that your mentor has, that way both of you can share spare parts and he will be able to teach you all the tricks of that particular brand. Otherwise, if your heart is set on the Trex 600, i'm pretty sure you can find somebody that has a 600 close by.

Rafael

500 lb. koolaid man

+1

Very stable for learning 6 ch. heli's, the hardest, it makes plenty of sense if budget allows

TakeshiSkunk

If you have no experience on helis a sim will save you so much money it's absurd. But yeah if you can get some sim or buddy box or something before buying it then it will be a great heli to start with, the bigger they are the easier they are to fly. I'd definitely suggest spending some time around them to be ready for what they look and sound like flying, I found my little blade400 a little intimidating initially and I'd imagine a big nitro is going to be even more intense :P

Just try to get confidence up a bit before going in, with sim time you won't have to worry about your first however many flights being less than half a minute long. While the big helis are a lot more stable the parts are also a lot more expensive to replace, so try to get over that initial learning curve before your first flight.

techrtr

I agree that there's nothing wrong with starting with a big nitro. If it's set up properly, it will be very stable. Just make sure you have an experienced pilot with you when you start out because a 600 size heli is way more dangerous than something like a CP Pro. There also a lot more involved with firing up a nitro heli than an electric (if you want an adrenalin rush, start one in idle up).

mydartswinger

As long as you can afford it and have a large field to fly it in without (or with minimal) noise restrictions, a T-Rex 600N is an excellent starting heli. They are very stable, easy to work on, and easier to see at a distance than the small helis. I will re-itterate, however, the importance of a sim and/or local help when going for that size heli.

They are absolutely right about the intimidation factor as well. With a 600N, you essentially have an unshielded, 4 foot diameter lawnmower blade spinning at about 1800-2000 RPM. As with any heli, you will need to take some basic safety measures to keep from hurting yourself or anyone else. It is more imperative that you follow them with such a large machine. Some of these safety precautions are:

1. Ensure you have a proper throttle hold setup on your radio and use it while starting the heli.
2. Always hold the rotor head by one blade grip to keep it from spinning in the case of a "hot start" (the "adrenaline rush" that techrtr mentioned) either by having it in idle up or with the throttle stick high.
3. Keep the radio within arm's reach while starting the heli to quickly rectify a "hot start".
4. Always stand AT LEAST 20 feet away from the heli when the blades are spinning.
5. Use a fuel shutoff clip on the fuel line to allow quick shutdowns of the engine when needed.
6. Be cautious while doing #5 (do #2 here), as the engine will begin to run lean for a few seconds, which will give the engine more power and possibly spin the blades.
7. Inspect your heli's condition before each day of flying and after any repair work has been done.
8. Perform a range and control check to ensure there are no problems with the radio and that you don't have any reversed/improper controls.
9. Use training gear (2 dowels attatched to the skids in an "X" pattern with wiffle golf balls on the ends of each dowel) until you are comfortable with hovering (this will reduce, but not eliminate, the number of "tipover" crashes).
10. Take it slow. Don't step too far out of your comfort zone.
11. Once you start the heli, spin it up to about 1/4-1/2 throttle to get used to the spinning blades without lifting the heli off of the ground. This will reduce the intimidation factor in the early stages of learning.
12. DO NOT OPERATE IT AROUND PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF RC HELIS. Save the "show off" phase until you have learned how to control the heli.
13. See #12. Don't want to be the unlucky one.

These are just a few of the main concerns.

If you cannot get local help with your heli, get a sim and learn the basic controls and orientation on it before taking to the skies with your real heli. Also to aid in your learning, follow a method such as RADDs School of Rotary Flight on both the sim (it'll be a bit harder on the sim, as the helis don't like to "scoot" too much on the sim) and on the real heli. Keep your first few flights relatively short (no more than 8-10 minutes at most). You will easily get mentally fatigued and get into trouble quickly once you've reached mental fatigue. I've gotten mentally fatigued several times while flying a heli. It's no fun trying to get an out of control heli back in control while mentally fatigued (been there, got lucky and saved it).

To aid in setup if you don't have anyone locally that can help you, look up HF's Finless Bob Heli Tech videos. Though they are geared more towards the smaller 450 class electrics, the same basic setup principles apply. Before you begin undertaking your first training flights (or slides if you go with RADDs), ensure that your heli is vibration free. Check your blade balance, blade tracking, head and tail slop (there should be little to no slop), and gyro setup. Double check EVERYTHING. Read the instructions before the build, and follow them to the letter during the build/setup. If you run into any issues during the build/setup, you can get some help with it on here (I believe that there is an Align specific forum that you can get help from other T-Rex 600N pilots at).

I know all of this may sound daunting, but once you get to doing it, it's not all that tricky, it just takes a bit of patience. In the long run, it's all well worth it. A well setup 600N is a GREAT learning platform. It will get you into successful hovers and forward flight quicker than a smaller 450-500 electric.

Enjoy and welcome to the hobby.

chevyv8

how do you prevent the "hot start" i'm new in this heli stuff. I have a sim on the way, so thats check 1!
i dont want to hijack a thread, but if 2 people in the same thread are new to nitro heli's my question may be helful to both of us. If you want me to start a new thread, ask, and i will comply!

thanks

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

Have you heard of check lists on real aircraft? Well, we all have a short check list for our aircraft too. Before starting, always check that your switches are in the right locations and the throttle is at its lowest position. ONLY move the throttle trim to start the engine. The trim should be completely down before you start, since that is the way you should have killed the engine the last time you flew.

Rafael

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Set your throttle hold for a reliable idle and get in the habit of starting the heli and carrying the heli in throttle hold.