Ive been around and flying the LMH helicopter for a few years now. The Lite machines heli in a sense does pay for itself if you would caculate the crash factor. i had the same gripe about the cost of the LMH heli when i first started flying it. My attitude was really bad about it. I stated the same thing about the Hawk Sport . But then I started fiddling with the heli and I found it to be one really tough helicopter. Ive crashed all kinda ways. Ive even put the helicopter into the ground upside down on an asphalt road which I couldnt believe it suffered no damage. I have broken blades sliding around in my garage and striking something with a sharp corner. Im still using the original tail rotor blades amd most of the mechanics. Now Im pretty proficient in flying, doing very aggresive maneuvers. My thing is I like realistic flying. Ive done loops rolls (more like barrel roll) extreme banking maneuvers. precision maneuvering such as between and around objects (sometimes not intended. If you are starting out I highly encourage the buying of the LMH heli over any other as a first helicopter. Over at the EZONE (RCgroups.com)
you will find alot of people are not satisfied with the micro helis such as the hummingbird and the piccolo as a first helicopter. Almost everyone say it is much harder to fly than the LMH Heli. you will go through alot of parts. And for the Hawk and the Raptor many find they are much easier to fly only after they have learned to fly the LMH Heli. Though parts may be cheap for the Hawk and or Raptor, in a crash you will definitely have to replace more parts thus you really cant say that it is cheaper as far as crash survivability. If the wind blow you over with one the the hawks or raptor you are basically guaranteed you will be replacing blades and even a flybar.$$$ Dont even think about flying in any wind conditions with the Micro Helis, especially as a beginner. If you were to go with the LMH Heli, theres one thing I would change about buying a package deal. Buy a six channel radio with Heli mixing for when you do go to a larger helicopter. I dont regret getting my LMH Helicopters and even though I move up to another bigger heli, it will take a surgical operation for me to let go of my LMH Helicopters---Yes, I have more than one.