ORIGINAL: flyachopper1

Hello all,
I have read this entire thread and feel the need to say some things. First, I am an experienced heli pilot of over 12 years. I enjoy reading the beginners threads to see how many and what kind of people are getting involved in helicopters. I don't often post to them but this time I felt compelled. And, this may just turn out to be an "essay"! I have been flying nitros since the days of making your own repair parts because there weren't many available for sale. I am not a bit ashamed to admit I used a training stand with my very first heli (60 size GP Cricket Nitro). That stand was quite primitive and basic compared to what is available today, but, it served it's purpose. Especially for fine tuning set up. The gyros of that day were also primitive by todays standards (spinning wheels inside a box with separate adjustment module) and the old stand made it easier to set up the gyro than hovering/landing/tweaking over and over again. With the nitros (electrics weren't even being made then) it meant shutting down, adjusting, hooking up the big electric starter to a battery, cranking up the motor again, running back to the tx to hover for about 30 secs. Frustrating to say the least. Sure-sure-all you have gone the route you have been taught and preached to about by others in these forums and probably have hovered or flown a few times, but, that does not give you the expertise to put down an idea (the stands) that has been around a lot longer than most of you have been off your tricycles. If you don't need it, that's fine for you. You don't know that you may have saved a lot of money and stress if you had used a stand. You never tried so you JUST DON'T KNOW!!! You talk about all these pilots you know-etc.-etc. If you are all so experienced and "in the know" why are you posting on a "beginners" forum? I too, have tested, set up and flown helis using the training gear and hours of practice just as all of you have and had my share of crashes too. This is an accepted standard throughout the hobby. I am still convinced the stand I used in the past saved me from some of those crashes though and really take no pride in the bragging rights to a long list of repairs and expenses. I am going to seek info on these new stands and very possibly give one a try. I don't need to learn to fly at this stage, but I think it would simplify and shorten my set up time with new birds and that alone is a huge benefit. I would much rather set up and fine tune a bird in the comfort of my shop than outside risking the elements interferring crashing my bird and costing me even more time on the bench and money. Have any of you "experienced pilots" even read the other threads. Have you noticed the posts about strapping your heli to a lazy susan and using that to fine tune a set up? Some very experienced and famous pilots are known to do this. What makes more sense? A flat round surface or an engineered system that allows even more realistic movement? I'm sure some of you are going to post more hard headed refusals to flex on your opinions and that doesn't matter. You have a long way to go to reach the flying abilities and level of knowledge of some that have used the stands.