Ok, i need to vent a little 'cause a previous post just rubbed me the wrong way. [:@]
BIGMIG:
You are just a beginner, you said it yourself. What gives you the right to give advise in 1 1/2 months of flying a toy helicopter? Everything I am saying is backed by 18 years of experiece in RC helicopters, several books on helicopter flight theory, and discussions with several real helicopter pilots. If you have a question on my experience, just look up my profile here, in RCU or look up my profile and gallery here: [link=http://www.runryder.net/helicopter/gallery/1469/]My Gallery in the "Other" Forum[/link]
I am the instructor pilot in my club for both airplanes and helicopters. I have flown everything from the Picco Z to a Zenoah 23 powered Gasser. I own a Picco Z, a Trex, a Raptor 50, a Raptor 70, and a Bergen Gasser. The only thing I have not been able to fly is a turbine heli, and I have a friend that i'm helping to set one up, so turbine flight could be just a few weeks away.
Like their $300.00 dollar to $900.00 helicopters are not toys???
Some of the "toy" helicopters have safety measures built in. Softer plastics, nylon gears, ect. That is not the case with a REAL RC helicopter spinning carbon fiber blades at 2000 rpm. Have you seen what a 600mm blade spining at 2000 rpm can do to human flesh?\
And, no, I'm not sponosred by a hobby shop, neither I own one. continue reading the rest of the post to find out the reasoning behind the suggestions.
To all:
From now on instead of giving advise right away, we need to ask the poster what part of the hobby they want to pursue. If the ansew is the cheap "toy" route, then we can advise on buying the cheap "toy" coaxial helicopters. If the answer is they want to enjoy the hobby and do some of the tricks we've seen on the net and on videos, then we can advise acordingly.
This crap of suggesting toy helicopters as a learning experiece is all that, CRAP. At some point I was even hesitant on suggesting the Trex 450 as a learning tool. The stability is NOT there. If you want to have stability with the option of maneuverability in the future, you have to go big, a 30 size is the smallest I would suggest. After flying a TRex for almost a year, and looking at the price tags of repair parts, I have been able to change my mind and start suggesting a Trex for a begginier, but it is always accompanied by the stability warning.
I'm not saying that the little helis don't have their place in the RC industry. It's just that it's a waste of time and money if you want to really pursue this hobby to the maximum. Coaxials are a good learning tool, and a lot of fun (for a few hours). BUT THEY ARE NOT THE TICKET TO LEARN TO FLY BIGGER HELICOPTERS. At the end of the day your budget will be over-spent, by the price of the "toy" helicopter.
Rafael