I sorta flew glow heli's back about 5 years ago..I never got very good at it do to space issues..and it was a hassle to pack everything up and drive to a place where there was space..so I tried electrics. I had a small generic 4ch..was a ton of fun but very frustrating..recently was given an Air Hogs havic heli. I had seen the dual rotors in a towerhobbies mag a long time ago, but I have to tell you I'm amazed at how stable and fun this little thing is to fly..

I'd like something to graduate to. Something I can still fly in a tiny area-indoors of course, but something that has more control(those of you who have tried the heli I'm talking about will understand). I also love the stablity of the design..not sure what they call it, but it works great for what I like to do.

Thanks for your suggestions...I've read a little bit, and it seems the Blade CX2 is hard to beat..looks nice too But all other advice will be taken into consideration. I'd even be willing to try another single rotor if I could find one that was more break resistant than the one I had..crashing is a part of flying afterall :P

Budget..forgot that, as it's important..thinking around 200$. If we're thinking some kind of kit or something..I have a radio already.

I would say go with that one. It's stable and proven... I've made alot of posts on this heli lately... you can read some of those for more comments. You could get something for about $100 bucks... but it wouldn't be near the quality or have near the support and availablity of parts.

the havoc is nice, but like you said there is only so much you can do with it... and after a while it gets boring because you've done it all. If the 4ch FP was hard to tame, then I would say really your only option is a coax heli, and the cx2 is hard to beat like you said.

They might have an arf for the cx2, because they do have one for the pro.. you could look into it because it would save you about 100 bucks

edit: here is one post for more info
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5692632/tm.htm

Small + Stable + Indoor = Blade CX2

Sounds good. I read that thread you had linked and I think it's for me. Where's a good reliable place to buy one and what parts are suggested to upgrade immediately? I really liked the generic 4ch I had..but I just don't have the indoor room to fly it..and it is ALWAYS windy where I live, usually >10mph...

Thanks again for the good advice.

Well, the best price on them is about 179.99 right now. That is what my LHS sells it for, and that is what I would do, but for you I would check out your LHS and see how much it is going for, if it's going for $200 or less I would get it there. That way if you have any troubles with it you can just take it back there and they can fix it, so you don't have to pay the shipping. If that doesn't work something like www.horizon.com would be a good place, but all warranty will have to be done through the mail.

As far as upgrades, I wouldn't really do any. Mostly the upgrades for this heli are for looks. The things that you will notice the difference are extra batteries (I would get 2 or 3 additional, and make sure to rest the batteries for 15 min before you charge them, and also the chopper), and possibly a better charger that gives you more info than a red and green blinking light (you can still use the stock charger too so you can charge more than one battery at a time). Make sure if you get another charger that it balances. I would make sure to get some blades (upper and lower are different) and some shafts, and make sure to burn in your motors =). The one upgrade I would really highly recommend is the main motor heatsink, and possibly some airflow vents in the canopy. This will help your motors run cooler and last alot longer =)

If you find you are breaking the swash or the rotor head cores too often, then you can upgrade them to the CNC parts, but I would only do it if you break them alot, unless you really want the bling.

Hope that helps, and as always feel free to ask q's =)

After watching a lot of videos of the CX2, I think I'd like something a bit more aggressive. Is there something available that has more aggressive flight capabilities but is still stable when you'd like it to be?'

You know, maybe I might need to look into a different option. Maybe I should look into something I can fly outside in some wind...I have a decent sized backyard and I don't have a lot of trees..my only problem is it's windy almost constantly where I live...and my current budget is pretty small : / Any options..I'm just thinking I will get bored with the things you can do with the CX2.

The problem is once you get away from the countra rotating rotors, flying becomes much harder and there is less inherent stablity. To get to the next step in size and stability you really need to go to a standard main-tail rotor setup and none of them are nearly as stable as the CX2. If you want to fly in decent wind, you probably need to move to a 400 scale electric.

Steve

Outdoors + Windy + Electric = T-Rex 450
You might be able to get away with a Blade CP Pro. But the T-Rex is a better performer. A good solid Head Hold gyro like the Futaba GY401 makes the tail behave as good as it can be. The CP Pro could be used indoors depending on the size of the room. Both the T-Rex and the CP Pro will damage walls and furniture.

Now, neither of these models are anywhere close to the coax models in terms of stability. You have to fly these models constantly, and there is a steep learning curve. I would highly recommend getting a simulator and putting in a lot of practice time before spooling up any single rotor model.

Vince

I've been looking into either the Blade CP or Axe CP. The Axe looks like it's more beginner friendly and not quite as 3D capable as the Blade..but I'm not looking into that right now. I happen to have a GY401 sitting on my nearly extinct Raptor. I might just suck it up and buy a micro heli now, then later look into getting a T-Rex if I find this is something I really would enjoy getting into.

What transmitter do you have? If it is a decent, heli capable model, and you already have the 401, then you can add a receiver and servos to a bare-bones heli. That will behave much better than the all-in-one controllers.

Did you fly the Rappy?

The general rule of thumb with helis (both full scale and models) is: The bigger it is, the easier (more stable) it is to fly...

If you live in a windy area, and want maximum stability, you should get as big a heli as your pocketbook will allow. For electric, get the T-REX 600... If you don't mind dealing with glow, then get a .50 or larger heli. The Raptor .50 is a very popular choice for beginners...

I did fly the Raptor...not as much as I would have liked to..was in college and crashes were costly. I could hover without any problems and forward flight wasn't that big of a deal, orientation was what screwed me up..I have a package of cheap simulators that have helped me with orientation. I don't remember the TX I had, something like a 6VH..not 100% sure. It came with the heli : / I don't think it's a very good one. It's not here with me right now so I can't tell you for sure.

I feel bad because it's just sitting there....I just don't like messing with glow fuel..and where I live now gives me no opportunity to fly it...I'd have to drive awhile and I just really hate the mess with it. I'll tell you though, being able to just refuel to get back up in the air is nice...and in the short run it's cheaper than buying a bunch of batteries....

Yah, battery cost is an issue with the larger helis... Of course, it's like buying all your fuel up-front, rather than a bit at a time as you go...

There are pros and cons to both EP and glow. Personally, I have completely abandonded glow for all of my RC stuff... I like the convenience of electric MUCH more...