I'm in a lot of the same situation you are. I originally learned to fly on a Concept .30 DX many years ago. Then after being out of it for several years I've gotten back in recently. The new electrics are amazing compared to what was flying even 5 years ago. I love flying electric,... no messy junk to clean up,... nice and quiet, less stuff to carry around with me. Batteries are not cheap, but neither is the fuel the nitros use. I'd even say the batteries are cheaper in the long run.

Anyways, in my case I just recently picked up a Blade CP pro. It's a pretty small heli, but I'm having a blast with it. For just over $200 I took it home and was flying in less than an hour. It's proven to be a bit more touchy than the larger helis I've flown, but nothing too extreme. Since its so cheap I'm not too worried about it and repairs are really cheap. (So far my most expensive repair has been a spindle ($10) If I would have read the forums before buying it, I probably would have avoided it due to all the people complaining about tail motors and whatever else, but so far so good. I don't plan on putting anything special into it so it will remain a cheap heli. I think some people are so caught up in the latest upgrades that they forget about the flying aspect. I figure as long as it works well, why change things?

I'm already planning for my next heli, which will be a TREX 450. That seems to be where most people are going around here, and maybe that's a better one to go to first. The larger size will be more stable, and I'll spend the money to get a decent brushless setup from the start. In the mean time, I'll be having fun with the little CP Pro.

Yeah I'll give you that madbob, the stock electronics are crap. However, when you consider that a stock walkera is like $200, with crappy electronics, and a trex kit with no electronics is like $400... Yeah, not so bad for a beginner. I've upgraded most of my DF36's electronics and I'm still cheaper then just the trex kit. Just sayin.

Casey:
Check out the Hurricane 550 if you want a 30 size electric that flies very well and is inexpensive and very good quality. Runs on two 2100 MA lipos although I'm running mine on Makita drill batt. packs.

I would look into a thundertiger minitian or a dragonus II (which is a real deal at $150 with motor & controller). I have a minitian I fly around the yard and if the budjet allows, I'll soon have a dragonus. Both are super stable. I use DN power batteries as I bought a package deal that comes with 2 batteries a decent charger for $150. Another good one is a package deal from heliproz. For $500.00, you get a trex 450 with batteries and a spektum radio. Everything needed to get in the air.

As far as the walkeras, in my opinion, I would steer clear of them (quality issues) and don't even think about blade CP's unles you like radio glitches and replacing the tail motor every 10 flights. I have one that I am totally frustrated with and it sits on the shelf now.

Because that's how they are built. If you get a bad one, there is no amount of money that can make it fly. If you get a good one, then you might love it. I might be biased, because I've only seen 3 Walkeras (not mine) and 2 of them were complete crap. The last one was flyable, but problematic.

Rafael

I have upgraded every electronic component on my walkera DF60..... I have learned SOOO much in the process. So, I am happy with it, for that reason. Over the past 8 months since I got it, I have had 4 crashs, 2 from glitching radio, one from dead battery, and one from pilot error, but none the past 6 moths. All my repairs where cheap, less then $30, and most of the cost is replacing damaged blades. (OR BUYING NEW ELECTRONICS). I would say I got something new for it about once a month.... but I concider it lay away for a better heli, and it allows me to fly in the meantime.


That aside, I would say it is problematic, but its great for the learning.... the frame is really flexible, so its very sensitive if the head is out of balance, or blades, or tail. My heli eats pinions, get about 60-80 minutes of flight before the pinion teeth fail, not sure what the deal is, cant find anyone else with this problem.

But now that I am flying with more confidence, it is actually pretty stable, even in 8-10mph winds. I can hover hands off in calm air for 8-10 seconds, thats stable! Its all plastic, and flys fine. I think the thing I hate most is the motor and battery I have are too weak.... I have little to climb out of a drop.... so its not safe for 3d, but its great to learn forward flight.

I am gonna get a new motor and battery, BUT, I am not gonna mess around with this DF60 anymore, ALL of my nice electronics are going on a new TREX 450..... Its time to jump to the next level.

And thats what this heli is good for, novice pilots. If I didnt have a $139(rcexpert) heli that was RTF, I would have never started this hobby, there is NO WAY I would spend $1200 outright to give it a try.

But if you are an experienced pilot, Of course you would think one of these heli's is a joke. But even so, I will always fondly remember my first

I guess I was a little odd then. My first heli was a .30 sized nitro. I feel wierd going to something smaller personally.