Hello!

Well (obviously) I want to learn to fly a heli but need some help getting started! I really want to start with a simulator so that I
dont crash and waste a lot of money right off the bat! I found an ebay auction which includes a futaba controler and uses FMS as a simulator.

Auction here

Being a rather poor college student I really dont want to spend a lot of money if possible and thought this auction looked like a good deal but wanted another opinion. I have also considered just buying a controller to use with FMS first and then buying the heli once I learn to fly....also that way if the simulator sucks and I dont like it Im not out of too much money.

This one here..

The only problem I have in doing that is the difficulty in picking a good control now and then buying the heli/servos/receiver/crystal stuff later. (By the way I dont even know what most of that is or how it works....I just know its needed and has to work with the controller I buy!)

Well I think maybe I have rambled enough and have asked enough questions!

Thanks in advance for your time!
Kevin

Your links didn't work, but isn't FMS a free program? Why pay for it on ebay?

Look at G2. It is $200 and comes with the controller. It works well. There is no such thing as cheap when it comes to helis. You can get a used raptor with radio and everything for under $500 sometimes, but if you crash, it can be upwards of $100 to $200 to fix it. You will crash. You can learn on a sim a lot cheaper, and then fly the chopper. It will save you tons. I have been flying 27 + years and still use the sim a lot to learn new things. Invest in a good sim, then down the road look at the heli.

Amen that,

Ive used the G2 sim for a couple years. fun stuff, good graphics relativly accurate model of the real models. Beware though, helis are not cheap to buy run or maintain. i go thru almost 2 gallons a weekend (of course i fly a lot) @ 15-18$ a gallon. Its weird that i spend 30$ or more to fuel a 6 pound chopper, and about 15$ to fuel a 3000 pound car every week.

The FMS software is free. You have to buy the interface
cable for the radio you have. They may offer a controller
by now. Its been so long sense i dealt with FMS.
I have it but its nothing compared to the G2 realflight that
i bought. I no longer use FMS any more.

Geez, I gotta get a new car! I spend about $50 a week to fuel my truck

The auction was for an Aerohawk with a Futaba 4 Channel control and the cable to hook up to FMS. It came with an extra battery, a crash and training kit. It was buy it now for $245. I dont know but that sounded like a good deal the only thing was it was being sent from Hong Kong and I heard somewhere not to buy from out of the country.

I really dont want to throw down $200 for Real Flight because there goes a large portion of my budget. I have read that FMS is pretty decent learning wise and I can hook any controller up to that (I just need to build the interface but Im an electrical eng. student so it should not be a problem)

Anyhow like I said....I guess my budget is around $300 to start out....maybe this hobby just is not for me

Thanks,
Kevin

I built my interface cable for FMS and it worked fine.

I hate to see anybody that is interested in this hobby get
discouraged do to the expense. You can have fun in this
hobby with lower cost helis. You don't have to rush out and
buy ever thing at once. Buy something when you can and
don't when your budget is tight. LOL

You don' t want a 4 channel controller, it takes at least 5 at bare minimum to fly a chopper. you can get a good deal on the JR 652 or 662. easy to program has all the helli features. everything you will need for minimum cost.

FMS simulator is a free download, and a cable can be bought to use with a real radio for about 40$ i hear.

Or maybe not for now. there is no way i could have done this when i was in school. i lost 20 pounds my fresman year, because i couldn't afford food. Had holes in both my shoes about 2 inches in diameter. yes really. toughest times i ever had. Best thing i ever did for myself though.

A few of the colege folks here have gotten into slope soaring. They make their owm planes out of foam and wierd stuff for a couple bucks and run out to the slopes for some fun. Its actually a blast. They roar around like the nitro planes! i bought a glider myself recently to give it a go. No engines or fuel, no broken rotors to replace,,,,, it might be the sport of choice for a couple more years. most heli radios also work great for planes.


Good luck!

One thing I thought about doing to keep cost down was starting w/ just a controller to use with FMS. Can you recommend a decent one that will work with FMS (after building the cable of course) and that I can later buy a decent Heli to use with it?

Im looking for something in the $100 - $150 price range if thats possible to do.

Thanks for all the help!
Kevin

I am a JR guy, so i don't know about other brands, for JR the 662 is the one you want. It is the JR or choice for helis, it is the lowest one you can get that does helis, but it has every function i will ever need. 269$ with reciever and servos.

There is a newer one of these listed on an RC auction site but it sayd that

"Everything is in good shape with the exception of the Dual Rate Aileron switch (the lever broke off during transport). "

It is listed pretty cheap right now but I dont know how big a deal this is...is it easy to fix or unfixable?

The model is: JR 6 Chanel Airplane Computer Radio XP-662 with reciver

just for reference.

I think I will try to pick this one up if you say that the switch is fixable.

Thanks again!
Kevin

Everything is fixable, but it is a special switch, so you probably would end up sending it in for replacement i f you want to fix it. I have a friend who had the same problem with a similar radio, worked fine anyway you just use it as is without the ability to switch rates. A lot of us almost never do anyway. seems to me you can program both elevator and aieleron to run from the good switch. (not completly sure though) If you can get a good price go for it. I bought my 652 at an airplane swapmeet at a local club for 60$ (TX only , no crystall)

I can't confirm that this will work with the free simulator so you will want to check on that first. the JR conector is very different from the Futaba, airtronics and others. take your time, there are lots of these out there.

That switch is very fixable. I would think about a heli radio if i was you.

hey i am in the same boat as you. for 350 i just bought a slightly used RTF hornet and downloaded FMS. basically i just practice using the keyboard seeing as my remote doesn't have a hook up port but it is still an invaluable resource. you should look into the RTF piccilo setup that i believe hobbytown has for sale for $300. i mean everyone including me will tell you a micro heli is not always the best to learn on but it is alot cheaper, they are alot cheaper to fix as a major crash will only cost you $30 and thats a rly rly major crash, and once you get proficient with a micro heli you can fly just about any large heli. plus the piccilo is a fixed pitch setup which allows you to use a 4ch radio

Randy:

It says it is good for a helicopter also....do you think that is wrong?

I am looking for info on this controller and FMS.

I will let you guys know what I find out!

Kevin

Well I found out how to build the interface for the XP-662 for FMS but I still would like to know if it is ok for a helicopter. The auction says it is but Randy seem's to think it is not.

The model is JR XP-662 and the auction describes it as: 6 Chanel Airplane Computer Radio

So I dont know if that means it is for a plane only or is ok for Heli's also!

Thanks,
Kevin

It can be used for a airplane or heli. The difference is some of
the switches on a airplane radio is in different locations
than a heli radio. Also the throttle on a airplane radio has a
ratchet affect to it when you move it. The heli radio does'nt.
I used a airplane radio to start out with and didn't like it for
helis. One click one way or the other just seemed not to be
what i needed. You can use that radio on helis. I now use
my heli radio to fly my airplanes with. I was just
making a suggestion for you before you bought it and didn't like
it. LOL

Randy,

Thanks for the suggestion....I might reconsider!

Thanks!
Kevin