Currently flying my 1st heli, an MCX2, which I love. It's blast to fly and incredibly durable. After lots of crashes in the beginning, some pretty bad ones too, the little heli kept flying. So after 2 months of flying my MCX2 daily I think I've progressed to the point where it's time to move up and I'm thinking of getting and the SR RTF. Your input/suggestions/guidance on going this route are appreciated

I say don't get the sr . you should get a nano or mcpx, then when you get good with one of them. go for a 450 or bigger

Understand I think E-Flite and Horizon have been a blessing to r/c aviation, and I own andd will own more of their products.
Also understand the SR is a p.o.s. The tail rotor motors fail regularly, even when ok a little breeze outside renders them pathetic. It's just not a good heli.
If you were my neighbor/friend/brother you'd be getting a Blade 450 or an Align 450 RTF PLUS and setting it up with training gear, throws exactly like what John Salt says on www.rchelicopterfun.com. (check out his instructional videos on YouTube too.)
You'll succeed, save money, and get a good 2.4ghz multi model radio that'l be very useful for years. Doug

well, you are right, i have the same thinking as you

Also consider that nitro powered helis are far,far from obsolete or irrelevent. What they have that electrics don't is amazing 15-20 minute flight times....invaluable when learning, big-time. ThunderTiger offers one thats a heck of a deal on one of their 30 sized Raptors thats pretty darn close to the same money as a 450 thats ready to go. You'll spend a hundred bucks on the field supplies you need but they'll last you for a ton of future products too.
There is no good argument that a 30 sized (550 electric equivalent size) is 'too big". Nonsense. The parts are cheap,they're easier to work on, they're tougher, can fly in wind that'd ground a 450, are flat easier to fly than a 450......and look and sound *****in' Doug

I'd say get the 120SR for the next progression. I mastered the coax heli's .. and thought I was ready for the next big step and got an AXE CP.. which is very similar to the SR.. I wasn't ready for it at all.. it sat for a few years, and I really didn't fly anything other then fixed wing planes, and a small coax heli every now and then..

Then I ran across the 120SR.. fixed-pitch non-coax heli... its making me a real pilot.. or thats my perception at least.. I highly underestimated the learning curve.. and thought that because I had alot of experience holding a transmitter for various RC stuff I could handle a full-on collective-pitch heli.. I was wrong.. and it took me a few years to realize it.. but now I've got my trusty 120SR thats just a gas to fly around my backyard.. and I actually just got an mSRx too.. for indoors.. it should perform WAY better then my coax heli's.. once I learn it.

I'm a ways from the SR though.. but feel like I'm totally going the right direction.. and having a blast doing it. Good luck to you though... The SR is a very cool looking heli, and it really performs too.. do a search on YouTube and check out what that thing can do.. I did.. and that alone told me I wasn't ready.. its a great goal though.. in any case though it sounds like you're on your way. I wish you well.

I have the MSR for the house, Love it .
A Raptor 50 for out side, love it. Still learning training gear is off.
I bought an SR,Great looking bird, POS IMHO, tail motor burned up.Very temperamental, Does not take a crash well at all.It could just be me.
Just got a 120 to fill the void and its a blast.
Helps me build confidence when I take the nitro out.
Some love the SR and some hate them.
I was disappointed.

Please save your money, do not waste your money on this bird! Almost any other Blade or T-rexx would be better.

Lots of good advice that I tend to agree with..

Don;'t waste your money on an SR.. i have one and mine has been reasonably OK..

Problems with the SR..

My servos were irregular at best. i replaced them all with Hitechs ($100 extra)

Despite many reports, my tail motor has never failed.. It has been going strong for over 500 flights.. I had the main motor fail and replaced it after about 400 flights

The stock colour, blue and white is terrible for visibility, so I changed my canopy and tail fins to orange (another $70)

Plus, the gyro simply isn't that great and the SR suffers a lot of tail wagging. Here is a vid of mine with the new motor

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U-1Phszaqc[/youtube]

I completely understand your logic for thinking of an SR because I was the same and I got my money's worth.. But it is terrible for aerobatics and very sloppy to fly compared to a good 450 TREX or even the Hobbyking Clones.

Don't let anyone tell you the HK helicopters are junk.. I tried the Blade 400 and it failed me 3 times in the first 20 flights (servos - tail belt failure etc) I have since moved to the HK clones and some of them have over 1000 flights without a single issue.. These helis are much more precise than the SR, much more reliable (in my experience) and much more capable..

The kits are so cheap.. IE under $60, so buy two and you already have a full set of spares in the event of a crash..

A single crash in an SR will cost you around $60 anyway.. perhaps more..

Some vids of my super cheap HK Helicopters.. don't be daunted by the build process. its not so bad and you actually will learn a lot..

I was very intimidated by building my own heli but after the first one I loved the build process just as much as flying so i ended up with 12 450 helis...

All still flying perfectly..

Bypass the SR and get yourself an MCPX or a Nano CPX.. when you can fly one of those try a decent 450..

Both of the helis below cost less than half the cost of a Blade SR and are far more powerful, stable, manouverable and capable

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRaI0t4n5Do[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfXW9vw8Qq8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVH_T1cvm5s[/youtube]

Holly Smokes man !
Very impressive !
Thanks for the videos.
Getting my carcass to the basement for some wrench (spanner ?) turning.
Thanks for the motivation.