New to helis
05-06-2005, 12:13 PM
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New to helis
[size=7][/size] I'm new to RC helis and I want to start out with a micro electric heli... What heli should I buy? my options include Kyosho caliber m24, heli-max rotofly and megatech housefly... please help me with your feedback
05-06-2005, 04:49 PM
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RE: New to helis
I think you should look at the T-rex. It flies great out the box without any upgrades comes with three set of blades and tools to build it. I also suggest if you know someone in your area who flies helicopers that can help you get started ask for help!!!!! That will save you a ton of money...Good luck!
05-18-2005, 07:13 PM
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RE: New to helis
I agree. I bought a Century Hummingbird 3D Pro and have had a lot of problems. The parts have a heavy mark up too (around 160%).
The Trex has a very marginal mark up (about 31%). And I'd say it's well on its way to becoming the most popular electric in the world.... they're just everywhere! And you can get HEAPS of upgrades.
I've just bought a Trex after doing about a week of research. Finally went with:
http://www.modefosheli.com/
Check out the combos.
You can get them a bit cheaper from Asia but the language barrier was frightful so I wasn't sure what they were offering.
I also order the carbon fibre ccpm chassis as it makes them more responsive.
Cheers
The Trex has a very marginal mark up (about 31%). And I'd say it's well on its way to becoming the most popular electric in the world.... they're just everywhere! And you can get HEAPS of upgrades.
I've just bought a Trex after doing about a week of research. Finally went with:
http://www.modefosheli.com/
Check out the combos.
You can get them a bit cheaper from Asia but the language barrier was frightful so I wasn't sure what they were offering.
I also order the carbon fibre ccpm chassis as it makes them more responsive.
Cheers
05-25-2005, 02:05 AM
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RE: New to helis
I also agree. Don't make the same mistake I did with Hummingbirds. I spent wayyyyy too much for wayyyy too little flight time. Now I am flying a T-Rex and finally having fun. I hope to be flying a larger heli soon but would not have gone this far without what I've learned flying the good 'ol T-Rex.
05-25-2005, 10:33 PM
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RE: New to helis
thanx guyz... I saw a video of the Trex and it looks great... but I would also like to consider Rotofly and caliber m24, are they any good?? I would like to start with something cheaper, you know.. plus I like the idea of indoor flying... and to be honest with u, I like to deal with tower hobbies coz so far their service to me is so realiable and their website is greatly designed... I feel more secure that am gonna get the part I might need...etc..
05-26-2005, 05:51 AM
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RE: New to helis
You might want to consider the HoneyBee CP. You can fly it as a FP to learn on and when you get the...well...you can flip the switch and go inverted. Also, the price is right for around $150. It has been a very good heli for me so far, very stable and cheap to fix too.
The Rotofly and M24 anr FP and cost much more.
The Rotofly and M24 anr FP and cost much more.
05-26-2005, 03:57 PM
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RE: New to helis
Do you dream of flying a helicopter or do you want to waste your money on a cheap toy (eg. m24, rotofly, house fly)? And i mean cheap as in less than 600 dollars, yes thats right anything that claims to be "rtf" at less than 600 dollars is cheap peice of crap. Why? Ok I'll need a little leeway here because there are ways around that hurdle, but you will sacrifice reliabile performance.
Let me give you an example. You could theoreticaly fly a gws dragonfly, jaboII, esky, hummingbird(any of which are better than all above) with no upgrades, stock transmitter/rx, bat, motor ect. IF you learn to hover without breaking ANYTHING (next to impos) you MIGHT be able to take it outside and learn circuts. Keep in mind you will have about 5-6 min of actual flight time percharge of stock nimh. If you find youself doing circuts without turning your heli to scrap and yearning for 3D and you think ok I have only spent like 200 bucks, i'll go 3D cheap as well and do hbesky3d(for example cause i have read SOME success stories out of hundres of horror stories). IF you can ALREADY do circuts and dont fragment your heli in the process of learning the nuances of collective, maybey you will have learned to get a heli upside down for around 500$!
Now good luck on that Because anything beyond the exibit of extreem self control and you have a pile of plastic BITS in your possesion that HAVE NO COMPATABILITY with anything and are not reusable on any model at all. You will however be glad you only spent what you did, because you will have you eyes on a TREX.
Now what is the real cost of a beast such as our desires lead us to think "no no, that is much too expensive [drool quiver shake lust] I could never..... ect. blah blah blah "? The REAL cost is the cost of the components it takes to to make it flight worthy, example is these piccolos you see going for 1.$ The picolo is a great heli, do you save money buying a picolo fo 1.$?
ESC 5 to 100$ maybey need two
motor 5 to 150 brushed or not
servos 5 to 100 dollars each
Gyro 20 to 200 $ heading hold all the way
rx 20 to 100 $ make sure freq and shift is same for rx & tx
TX 20 to 500+ Ebay Is best i got FUT 9C for 150$!
bat 10 to 80$ Tiny or Brawny
Charger 10 to 200$ if you dont want to blow your self up
Total: 95 to 1400+ $$
Look at the left side of those numbers for a while compare them to the right and think of every busted cheap thing you have lying around your house or have throw in the trashcan that you can never use again cause they just dont perform like they said they would. Now look on the right and think "Free Heli" as even the cost of a Trex/zoom/ECO/hornet is low compared to the equipment it takes to trick the thing. 600 is close enough to the middle that you could have real fun, and you WILL wind up spending that much AT LEAST by the time you are "satisfied" if you even have an inclination to "hard 3D".
If you have to spend less make sure you get an upgrade worthy frame AND at least SOME transferable components in the deal, like I said the real cost is for the components NOT IN THE COPTER!
Truthfully the power and precison of a good model will save you parts money because you will not crash due to equipment faliure or lack of controll authority. Let me end this buy saying simply heli flying is not cheap, every component on the left is rock bottom the lamest cheapest part they could find and spend and scrape together to sell you a "complete" product, and would not even fully perform to manufacturing specs. A heli is a wonder of science, dont short change yourself up front or you will regret it down the road.
I shall step down from my soap box... and
*duck the flaming arrows*
Let me give you an example. You could theoreticaly fly a gws dragonfly, jaboII, esky, hummingbird(any of which are better than all above) with no upgrades, stock transmitter/rx, bat, motor ect. IF you learn to hover without breaking ANYTHING (next to impos) you MIGHT be able to take it outside and learn circuts. Keep in mind you will have about 5-6 min of actual flight time percharge of stock nimh. If you find youself doing circuts without turning your heli to scrap and yearning for 3D and you think ok I have only spent like 200 bucks, i'll go 3D cheap as well and do hbesky3d(for example cause i have read SOME success stories out of hundres of horror stories). IF you can ALREADY do circuts and dont fragment your heli in the process of learning the nuances of collective, maybey you will have learned to get a heli upside down for around 500$!
Now good luck on that Because anything beyond the exibit of extreem self control and you have a pile of plastic BITS in your possesion that HAVE NO COMPATABILITY with anything and are not reusable on any model at all. You will however be glad you only spent what you did, because you will have you eyes on a TREX.
Now what is the real cost of a beast such as our desires lead us to think "no no, that is much too expensive [drool quiver shake lust] I could never..... ect. blah blah blah "? The REAL cost is the cost of the components it takes to to make it flight worthy, example is these piccolos you see going for 1.$ The picolo is a great heli, do you save money buying a picolo fo 1.$?
ESC 5 to 100$ maybey need two
motor 5 to 150 brushed or not
servos 5 to 100 dollars each
Gyro 20 to 200 $ heading hold all the way
rx 20 to 100 $ make sure freq and shift is same for rx & tx
TX 20 to 500+ Ebay Is best i got FUT 9C for 150$!
bat 10 to 80$ Tiny or Brawny
Charger 10 to 200$ if you dont want to blow your self up
Total: 95 to 1400+ $$
Look at the left side of those numbers for a while compare them to the right and think of every busted cheap thing you have lying around your house or have throw in the trashcan that you can never use again cause they just dont perform like they said they would. Now look on the right and think "Free Heli" as even the cost of a Trex/zoom/ECO/hornet is low compared to the equipment it takes to trick the thing. 600 is close enough to the middle that you could have real fun, and you WILL wind up spending that much AT LEAST by the time you are "satisfied" if you even have an inclination to "hard 3D".
If you have to spend less make sure you get an upgrade worthy frame AND at least SOME transferable components in the deal, like I said the real cost is for the components NOT IN THE COPTER!
Truthfully the power and precison of a good model will save you parts money because you will not crash due to equipment faliure or lack of controll authority. Let me end this buy saying simply heli flying is not cheap, every component on the left is rock bottom the lamest cheapest part they could find and spend and scrape together to sell you a "complete" product, and would not even fully perform to manufacturing specs. A heli is a wonder of science, dont short change yourself up front or you will regret it down the road.
I shall step down from my soap box... and
*duck the flaming arrows*
05-27-2005, 09:17 PM
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RE: New to helis
ORIGINAL: swashplate
A heli is a wonder of science, dont short change yourself up front or you will regret it down the road.
A heli is a wonder of science, dont short change yourself up front or you will regret it down the road.
and what about the shogun 400??
05-28-2005, 05:58 AM
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RE: New to helis
Start saving to get a SIM and a radio first. I got G3 and the 9CHP 3 months before I got the Trex and when it was built I was able to nose in hover with no problems the first pack. I was FF by the 4 pack the SIM was invaluable
Tony
Tony
05-28-2005, 07:30 AM
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RE: New to helis
SWASHPLATE:
Your words are very harsh.... But you do have "SOME" valid points. However I will STRONGLY disagree with your comments on the GWS Dragonfly. I started out on a GWS dragonfly coming from Fixed wing aircraft, Thought I'd give it a try without spending lots of money. NOW-- I have the Gws Dragonfly and I flew it right out of the box and I currently have somewhere in the area of 150+ flights. I spent $169.00 on it, everything included except the TX. I still fly it when I break something on my Trex or Shogun as its still going strong. I have currently spent maybe- MAYBE- $4.00 on a few tail rotors, and I think under $10.00 on a tail motor. So unless you dont have the skill to fly a FP and unless you own one and cant fly it I would not give people advice on something you dont or cant do. Im not bashing you I just think most people start out buying a Trex or a Shogun and then not having the help and they have difficulties and they fail in the hobby. I would strongly recommend a sim and then a trex or shogun. But some people cant afford a good sim and a trex or shogun. So the next option is- as you put it- ( cheap pieces of crap that will never fly RTF out of the box) is to get a FP. I have had several and I mean SEVERAL mishaps that my shogun or trex would never had survived. SO I do recommend a sim then a trex or shogun, or a FP then a trex or shogun. I currently have a FP a Shogun and 2 Trex's. I love all 4 and enjoy the hobby. Looking back I would have gave up on it if I started out with just a Shogun or Trex and went thru the crashes I went thru with my Gws Dragonfly.
SWASHPLATE- Please dont get me wrong we are all on hear looking for advice and I think most people will get excellent advice. Your advice is good advice to start out with a trex- BUT only if funds are not an option.
TO : HO0JOKER.
I will say this if you want to start out with a CP heli I would recommend a SIM and then a Trex. I love both my shogun and Trex however I do have better luck with my trex its more stable and easier to work on than the shogun. I use my shogun to try new skills before trying them on my trex and I use the Shogun as training aid.
If your going to go with a CP make sure you get a good sim. I have the Reflex XTR and The trex flies the same way my real one does. You will not be dissapointed with the Reflex.
Also get a good book on helicopters I recommend RAYS AUTHORITIVE HELICOPTER MANUAL. This book will explain EVERYTHING you need to know about helis in words people can understand.
One last piece of advice- get help- get into a club or make sure your hobby shop will give good advice and help you when needed.
OH YEA almost forgot- If you buy off ebay and lots of people do ( I do ) Make sure its new unopened and NOT from overseas.
If you want the worlds worst nightmare order from overseas- These are usually knockoffs and you cant get parts for them.
Your words are very harsh.... But you do have "SOME" valid points. However I will STRONGLY disagree with your comments on the GWS Dragonfly. I started out on a GWS dragonfly coming from Fixed wing aircraft, Thought I'd give it a try without spending lots of money. NOW-- I have the Gws Dragonfly and I flew it right out of the box and I currently have somewhere in the area of 150+ flights. I spent $169.00 on it, everything included except the TX. I still fly it when I break something on my Trex or Shogun as its still going strong. I have currently spent maybe- MAYBE- $4.00 on a few tail rotors, and I think under $10.00 on a tail motor. So unless you dont have the skill to fly a FP and unless you own one and cant fly it I would not give people advice on something you dont or cant do. Im not bashing you I just think most people start out buying a Trex or a Shogun and then not having the help and they have difficulties and they fail in the hobby. I would strongly recommend a sim and then a trex or shogun. But some people cant afford a good sim and a trex or shogun. So the next option is- as you put it- ( cheap pieces of crap that will never fly RTF out of the box) is to get a FP. I have had several and I mean SEVERAL mishaps that my shogun or trex would never had survived. SO I do recommend a sim then a trex or shogun, or a FP then a trex or shogun. I currently have a FP a Shogun and 2 Trex's. I love all 4 and enjoy the hobby. Looking back I would have gave up on it if I started out with just a Shogun or Trex and went thru the crashes I went thru with my Gws Dragonfly.
SWASHPLATE- Please dont get me wrong we are all on hear looking for advice and I think most people will get excellent advice. Your advice is good advice to start out with a trex- BUT only if funds are not an option.
TO : HO0JOKER.
I will say this if you want to start out with a CP heli I would recommend a SIM and then a Trex. I love both my shogun and Trex however I do have better luck with my trex its more stable and easier to work on than the shogun. I use my shogun to try new skills before trying them on my trex and I use the Shogun as training aid.
If your going to go with a CP make sure you get a good sim. I have the Reflex XTR and The trex flies the same way my real one does. You will not be dissapointed with the Reflex.
Also get a good book on helicopters I recommend RAYS AUTHORITIVE HELICOPTER MANUAL. This book will explain EVERYTHING you need to know about helis in words people can understand.
One last piece of advice- get help- get into a club or make sure your hobby shop will give good advice and help you when needed.
OH YEA almost forgot- If you buy off ebay and lots of people do ( I do ) Make sure its new unopened and NOT from overseas.
If you want the worlds worst nightmare order from overseas- These are usually knockoffs and you cant get parts for them.
05-29-2005, 12:42 PM
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RE: New to helis
Hi, I'm new to this site and flying (or crashing). How do I get a new tail boom On.
All I got is the Mini dragonfly and I spend more time fixing it then flying it. I can
get it to hover, but not for long and it always comes down HARD. Please help me
before I give up. Do I need a different machine? Or is it me.
All I got is the Mini dragonfly and I spend more time fixing it then flying it. I can
get it to hover, but not for long and it always comes down HARD. Please help me
before I give up. Do I need a different machine? Or is it me.
05-29-2005, 07:05 PM
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RE: New to helis
I started with the Hirobo XRB. Very easy to fly and will teach you some basic controls. I'm now going to get the new Blade that Horizon Hobby is selling. I know alot of hobbyshops have this new heli coming in.
It will be my 2nd heli but I don't really know anyone that has just one electric heli. So for me I will have 600 in two helis but my 2nd one will be able to do some 3D once I have the skill to do them. I still will fly my XRB in the house and just to have fun.
It will be my 2nd heli but I don't really know anyone that has just one electric heli. So for me I will have 600 in two helis but my 2nd one will be able to do some 3D once I have the skill to do them. I still will fly my XRB in the house and just to have fun.
