ORIGINAL: soloboss

Somewhere in my piles of stuff I've lost your first name. I apologize for that.
I actually put the budget third. My first question is where do you want to end up? My answer is always, ''Before I can tell you what to buy, I need to know where you're going.'' I did struggle with what to lead with and money kept coming to the top, but in the end I decided that the expectations that a flier has for his final destination might win. Somehow the money thing does seem to keep moving up the list, so I'll go with your thought on that one.
I can move the budget item later. First we need a good list of things to consider when a new flier asks where to start - or what's next?

DESIRED END RESULT - there's no reason to talk about a 500 class 3D heli if the flier wants to fly scale patterns in the back yard of a tight residential area. For some fliers a nice coaxial will do very nicely. No reason to be embarrassed about that if it’s what you want. For many, this is a second or third hobby and that will make a difference in the choices out there. What looks cool on the shelf may actually be a determining factor if the flier is only going to fiddle with this hobby.

WILLINGNESS TO PRACTICE/SIM - a flier who won't practice is doomed. It really makes little difference what you want to fly. Gotta practice or get good at building static display helicopters.

FUNDING - ''I want it'' doesn't get you very far. And as the hobby sucks the flier deeper into the sport, the FUNDING may change as your priorities change. But funding must be dealt with at the time the ''What to buy'' decision is made.

NATURAL PHYSICAL ABILITY –this will be the frustration that sidelines a lot of fliers. It can be overcome with a willingness to practice, but it should be part of the “Where do I start” as well as the “What’s next” decisions. Many do well with a 450 CP as the first bird. Some never progress beyond a nice coaxial. It's a cruel fact of life that ability is a determining factor as far as final success and budget.

FLYING AREA – when you have achieved your final goal, where do you want to fly? And if you have to transport a 500 class CP on the subway to get to an open area that might become a barricade to you success.

GEAR THE FLIER HAS or WILL PURCHASE - relevant for the ''What's next?'' question. I have no idea how to build this into the decision making process. If you aren’t going to get a computerized TX you are limiting yourself no matter what you fly. You can do it the hard way. It wasn’t that many years ago there were no Gyros and helicopters did get flown. Those guys were good. And several of us fiddle with helicopters using the RTF radio gear.

VANITY – if the results of this show you should have a Big Lama, suck it up or get better. If you feel the need to buy something cool that you can’t fly you’re in trouble.

RC HELI EXPERIENCE –any experience is good and can be reinforced by any stick time – real world or simulated. This item may be a determining factor, but it’s low on my scale.

MECHANICAL ABILITY - I pushed it down because most can learn and the forum will explain endlessly

TOLERANCE FOR DAMAGING YOUR HELICOPTER – this is what killed my spirit. If it were more wide spread it should be first. Perhaps it should be no more than a footnote. But if breaking a perfectly good heli will ruin your day, find a new hobby. It’s a psychological dysfunction that I have. It hurts me to wear things out and it just kills me to break things. I can’t survive this hobby without psychiatric help. I found that I can mess with planes OK but my helicopters have always found terra-firma to be a bad ending to a good movie.
Soloboss (aka Mark)