sims and first heli
 

Well, another noob. Myself and my father-in-law are getting into the RC Heli's after we played with the Havoc toys. I have done a ton of reading on here and all the stuff is still somewhat of a mystery to me. The two main things I believe I come away with is buy a sim program and use Radd's flight school. But I have a few questions before I order our first and some thoughts.

My first feeling is to order Esky's Llama IV and start with that along with their flightsim and the crash kit. Some have also said it is a good idea to get superskids. Then perhaps progress to the Falcon40. The idea is have something I can fly indoors while doing the sim for the next step up.

In some of my reading the co-axial is not the same as FP. That I understand and perhaps there would be a new re-learning curve with an FP, not to mention the normal learning when advancing to more advanced helis. But I have also read you get what you pay for. So questions:

Are these good steps, LlamaIV then the Falcon40?
Superskids, yes or no?
Is it worth it to use their sim (i.e. Esky) or should I purchase the realflight sim?
I thought of using raidentech to order from but they don't seem to have realflight though prices are better for helis etc it seems.
Can you get an add on for models of heli's you are going to buy for Realflight, for instance the Falcon40?
If not, what do you do to practice on the sim for the next step? I thought that while I was learning to fly/flying the current level, I could work on the sim for the next model up.
Tool kit I need to buy?

No clue what to work on after that, haven't looked that far ahead. So I will plan for that step after I complete these.

Pointers?

Thanks!

tk

RE: sims and first heli
 

I did a similar step with the Blade CX2 then onto the Walkera #4, which is identical to the Falcon F40. Yes it's a huge learning curve from coax to single rotor, even months after mastering the coax. What the coax does is get you familiar with your transmitter and orientation. Learning to control the heli in all attitudes, tail in, side in, nose in then progression to fast forward flight. Of course in the learning curve you will break a bunch of parts and it helps get your feet wet with rebuilding and tuning these little devils. Now that's were it all ends, flying a stable coax and a single rotor are two completely different animals. However the step is easier after getting your feet wet with a coax.
Bigtime yes. I just don't have enough good things to say about them.
I have the esky usb tx and run it with the Clearview sim. Clearview is a cheap alternative and it's quality is pretty good. Personally I like the sim to try different things in first then try it for real. It's a great platform to try stupid human tricks :)
Can't comment on raidentech for the Falcon F40. I use USHobbySupply. Michael is a member here and a great guy. He carries the Walkera #4 which as I said above is identical to the F40. Plus he usually has a 2 for 1 on all plastic parts so spares are super cheap.
Clearview has the honeybee FP with superskids and flies super close the F40.
Well the beauty of a sim is that you can fly anything and everything. The skill set does transfer. You will find that once you can hover a single rotor they all start to come around fairly easy. Fast forward flight and 3D is an entirely different beast.
Tool kit, a good set of micro screwdrivers and allen head drivers are a must. Other than that blue locktite, and some CA cover the rest. A dremel tool is invaluable but that's only once you get into modding these guys.
Welcome to the hobby, it's probably the best one I have ever got into, I love fixing these heli's as much as I enjoy flying them.

RE: sims and first heli
 

if you stick with heli,s you will get bored with a coax. start with the HBFP [honeybee fixedpitch] and superskids mike at www.ka-planes.com is a great guy and ships fast and prices are good. i still have and just put down the HBFP youll love the 450,s too

i use markb,s free sim with the esky TX, and mike has a 10 dollar usb cable that will get yoyu hooked up. you dont have to spend a bunch on a sim cause its just for orientation. its funny and makes no sense but i can hover better with the real thing in different orientations then the sim.

dont buy from raiden or xheli nothing but troubles from allot of people here and at helifreak rcgroups and runryder

ive heard all good about mike and ushobby too

RE: sims and first heli
 

Thanks for the comments. I believe I will go the way I outlined above. Already placed the order and nothing about it today. Maybe they were closed for the holiday. If I don't hear something from them tomorrow may cancel and order from Mike. Have seen lots of positive about him. Very little about Raiden, and not good things on the others you listed srouthouse. Really anxious to start this.

@stump3r
Thanks for all the comments and will keep those in mind as a work through this. I guess clearview you get from their site as I didn't find it other places. So will go with that also.

tk

RE: sims and first heli
 

the free sim that SR is talking about is called HeliSimRC.. it's a great sim for the price ( gotta love free).. I looked at clearview and even tried it out... for a few minutes.. once it was past the intial few minutes the demo expired and I just haven't seen a need to buy it.. HeliSimRC does a great job for me..

I'll second SR on ordering from Mike at ka-planes.. when you get ready to move up to a 450 I don't think you can go wrong with the Blackhawk 450se.. I love mine..

RE: sims and first heli
 

Thanks guys for the info. I have received the Llama V4 today. Just fyi I did order the Exceed controller with sim which is FMS I think. I doesn't work so good on Vista so will try and return that. So downloaded Clearview and after playing a min, purchased and activated. Like it. Downloaded the Blade CX2 from Ken's site and it with the E Sky controller work well.

Do have a question. Rudder is on the left. If tail in, shouldn't the CX2 move the tail left if I push left on the stick?

Also one other question. I see videos with pilots who have a neck strap for their controller. Looked on Ka-Planes and the only one I see is for a Futaba controller. Will it work for an E Sky controller?

Thanks again for the advise.

tk

RE: sims and first heli
 

Hi tk,Nope. You fly the nose. Left stick = nose left. Right stick = nose right.

Does your Tx have a hoop in the middle between the sticks? That is what the neck straps hook to. Pretty universal.

Good luck on your flying. You have put a lot of research into this, which is a huge step forward for you. Let us know how you do. Keep reading. Ask a lot of questions. Practice, practice, practice.

Vince