I've been looking at electric r/c helicopters on the web, and I'm just getting more confused. I'm a beginner, and I have a ten y.o. son who is interested also. My local shop recommended the e-flight blade. I saw the megatech house-fly on diy network. If anyone has advice or recommendations, it would be gladly welcomed. Thank you.[8D]

Walkera 4. Off Ebay.

Then refit it with decent Servo's.

The Walkera 4 is cheap. The quality of the recent ones I've seen are as good as anything else in it's class. It comes with a transmitter and receiver and everything needed, and if they sort out their servo quality issues, it will be a fantastic Heli.

Personally, I recommend replacing the servo's with PFS-09s which are a cheap servo you can get on ebay. But everyone has their own recommendation. PFS-09s are very good with this model however, and the response is, in my opinion, better than HS-55s. They also are more resistant to noise.

A lot of people on this forum have flown them, and there is a lot of knowledge here to help out when you get stuck. They are quite resistant to damage when you crash, and they are easy to fix and cheap to rebuild. You can buy a complete chassis and rebuild from scratch for the same price as a cheap repair on a more expensive heli.

They also come with a serial cable to run PPJOY and FMS, which as a beginner is critical. If you can fly the heli through the numbers of FMS, you should be able to hover the Walkera 4.

The rotor head-speed is low, which will not only minimise the danger to furniture and objects you crash into, it will minimise the danger to your son and yourself as well (I've flow a Walkera 4 into my bare shins once under full power... It stung, but only drew a pinhead size drop of blood and left a scratch.). The blades are also super-light and even if they do break, they don't get flung far.

You should also buy a tube of CA glue and 1m length of 2mm carbon rod to repair it... Just file it to cut it.

This is a cheap option, and you will learn a lot. You also won't have lost much of an investment if you decide you don't like Heli's later.
Also, the Walkera 4 is harder to fly, but this will probably result in learning to control it better.

I have 2 other 3D Heli's, and I still fly my Walkera 4. And I fly it inside and in my bedroom. It's great.

David,

Get the XRB lama, it was SOOOOO stable and easy to control belive its ausome

If niether of you have any previous heli experience, the Blade isn't exactly a beginners helicopter. While you certainly could learn on it, its probably going to be a handful for both you and your son.

I also would recommend the XRB as a great beginners first heli. Its extremely stable, and is very forgiving for new flyers. Once you learn on the XRB you should be able to move up to FP or CCPM helis fairly easily.

The XRB's stability makes it easier for beginners to grasp the concept of how heli's fly. There are two main things you'll need to learn. One is directional controls. You'll need to learn how, when and how much controls to apply to move the helicopter around. Then you need to learn correctional controls. This is how, when, and how much control to apply to correct the helis movements as a result of outside influences, like wind, gyroscopic, etc.

If you start with a FP or CCPM heli like the blade, you will have to apply both directional and correctional controls to keep it in a hover. This can be very daunting for a beginning pilot.

The XRB has a special X-rotation rotor head design that allows the heli itself to apply correctional control making it easier for beginning pilots. This way you really only have to concentrate on directional controls with minor if any corrective control.

Since the XRB is a micro fixed pitch heli, it is not really suited for outdoor flying. It is better suited for indoor flying. Its small size allows you to fly it in a decent sized indoor room with little obstructions.

The blades on the XRB are also foam and designed to break on impact. This reduces damage to surrounding furniture, walls, etc.

I learned on a XRB. Within a week I was doing piroettes, and other simple aerobatics. I now have a E-flite Blade. The blade is far more difficult to fly, but since I learned the directional skills on the XRB, it makes it alot easier than it would have been if I just jumped right into the CCPM helis.

Yes, get the XRB. I too am a beginner just starting out. A friend of mine who owns a local RC hobby shop told me its REAL STABLE which makes it a good beginner heli. We flew it around the shop and was amazed at its performance. I'm waithing for mines to come in as my friend had to backorder more because it sells so fast.

Have you also considered starting out with a heli simulator too? Good Luck on your new hobby.

Thank you all for your help. I'm still undecided, but you all gave something to think about. Thanks again...

The new thing on the market is the Blade CP and so far I've heard (almost) nothing but good things about it. I wouldn't recommend the XRB because once you master that heli and decide to go to something bigger, aerobatic one (such as Trex, Shogun, XRK400, ..ect.) then you will have to "learn" to fly it again due to having a tail rotor instead of counter-rotating main rotors.
That's just my 2c but I've never flown an XRB (which I'm sure is a great heli).

this is off the subject but here goes, can anyone help me with the set up of FMS to match the controls of my CP blade? thanks!

Shard, the tail on the XRB operates just like a full heli. While the XRB doesnt have a tail rotor (probably a good thing) , it still turns just like a heli that does have a tail rotor. You press right on the rudder stick, the heli turns right. Left, and left. All the controls work just like any other fixed pitch heli. The only difference is that the top rotor head on the XRB, keeps the heli stable and right side up, where as with a single rotor head heli, you keep it stable and right side up by flying it.

This is what makes it such a great teaching tool. It "flys" like any other heli, but without all the instability.

You should try one, you might like it.