soloboss

Hey Stump3r. This is turning into another good thread for those of us at this stage of progress. I got an informative PM from Dave (Chopersrule) and I'd like him to repost that in this thread. He gave me some good information and it does give me a sense of direction. His recommendation - Honey Bee King 2 - brushless. Simply, it's an RTF with brushless, lipo, belt driven tail, CP and it's a good deal larger than the Falcon. Size can be a good thing.
To compare the Falcon to the HBK2;
HB rotor is 3 1/2" larger, 2 1/2" longer overall, 120 grams heavier, 11.1 x 1500 mah LiPO with 3800 brushless power, Esky Pro Gyro. That makes it darned near the size of the Trex 450.

Thinking about how this heli might fit into my plan, the first thing that comes to mind is durability. If it has plastic blades that will take an occasional whack, I'm interested. I can't do $12 every time I mess up. And I'm gonna mess up.
What is the HB similar to - as far as breakable bits? My LHS doesn't sell the Esky line, but I'll bet the blades and bits are similar to something else.
The really good news is that the Bare Bones kit with motor (probably not brushless motor) is $65 + $15 = $80. So if I have really beaten the bugger up by the time I get it figured out, putting it back together is not cost prohibitive.
I have heard a lot of good stuff from the HBK2 folks. It gets compared very favorably with the B400 and the smaller Trex. No, it's not a Trex, but it does compare favorably by those who fly them.

Who among us has one each of all of the above for a comparison?

As much as I'd like the Trex, I'm not gonna spend the money. I'll worry this to death over the winter months, then it will be motorcycle season and my budget will be redirected. I just want a machine that leaves me being the weak link. OK, I'm the pitiful link.

Stersman - how large is the pattern that you have illustrated? I'm hoping for something about the size of a a baseball diamond. I know I can't do that in my garage. The walls get in the way.