e-sailpilot86

Well, I just got Reflex XTR, and I must say I'm shocked as to how difficult it is to fly, on a simulator! I've flown almost every heli, and the only one I can fly comfortably (well, not that I'm concerned about crashing... lol I've probably gone through $40,000 helicopters and planes.) is the Raptor .50 V2. It's so much more stable than the others. The only exception is the Robbe Eolo Spirit, and the Vario R22 (gulp). Wow, they're real hard to fly. The Raptor is the most capable of the three, and it's incredibly hard to fly. I've still got a lot of dumb thumb to work out. I'm not likely going to get a Corona or an LMH, they fly horrible. I'll brave my dislike of glow fuel and get a .50 in a few years, maybe a Raptor .50 conversion to electric. But otherwise, you guys were right. I felt that I'd be more comfortable with being able to fly something I can repair cheaply, but it turns out to be the opposite. Wow. Unbelievable change in opinion.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

If you are going to wait a few years, watch the electric market if you want electric. I bet there are some huge breakthroughs in electrics as time goes. They have made huge leaps in the last few years and are getting better and better. I bet you will see some 40 to 60 size electrics rival glow in the next 3 to 5 years.

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

I hate to tell you but sim is about half of the real thing and so I would not make a decision on just a few hours of sim time,I did over 100 hours on the sim before ever touching a heli and I skipped fixed pitch and went right into collective pitch and now have no problems with my Trex and if big is your thing I also have a JR Voyager E that runs on a 6000Mah LiPo battery.But I don't recommend what I did unless you are sure of your self and have the cash to back it up.

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

There are electrics that rival the 50 glow now The Joker,The Logo 24 Bionic and the Logo 20 all will do as good if not better than a Glow.But you had better have a deep pocket full of cash the joker is around $1200.00.[&:]

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Ok, so they were faster than I thought, but I bet they will get a lot cheaper too!

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

I hope so because I would like to have a heavy lift Joker that is one bad Heli.[>:]

Radd

Norbert says He is going to release two more 3d electrics soon as well.....But he lies......LOL....

e-sailpilot86

BTW, the Joker is around 3000-4500 fully loaded.... It's just the kit that's the cheap (1200 dollar) part. The RappyE 50 conversion is pretty popular on E-zone. But still far from cheap. The minimum motor you need is a Mega motor, I've seen it done on E-zone and it really did well with aerobatics and general flight. However, it didn't compare to the C50 Hacker powered Raptor in duration and power. It's popular due to the availability of parts, as many have stated before. If anything, I'll spend more money on trying to get a high quality muffler for the Raptor 50, and make sure the slime is kept clear from everything. Since the prices have suddenly started to plunge (you can get a 35-45 amp BL ESC for 70-80 dollars now), I'd expect in 3-5 years the prices will be close enough to reasonable.

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

Thank you for that smart shopper tip and you keep the slime clear!!

Radd

Betcha I could get a Joker in the air for less than 3000

rusirius

Couple of things. First for Moe. I'm not sure what simulator your talking about, or are you just talking about their sim for the micros? Reason I ask is I have owned G2, and tried G3.. I don't care much for them, though the G2 wasn't too far off, but I'd agree with your 50% accurate.. I'd actually probably have to say 60%... I also own both Reflex XTR and Aerofly Pro Deluxe and I have to say, as far as the helis go, they are both right on... Reflex XTR out of the box (if you take the time to set your radio up correctly) is about 95% accurate in my opinion. It actually errs just a bit on the "difficult side. The raptors are all just slightly less stable (out of the box) than what they are in real life. I can't comment on the micros though since I have only had about 30 minutes of stick time on a real micro (by REAL I mean something other than a cheap ebay rip off). Aerofly pro deluxe takes a little work for the helis out of the box... Took me at least a day to get the "raptor" tuned in to fly realistic, and it's still not exactly where i'd like it. I'd say it's about 70% out of the box, and with my constant fiddling and tuning it's probably close to 85% now...

In all honesty, I'm not sure the accuracy of the sim is really that big of a deal anyway... Well, assuming we're not talking about something like FMS where you can damn near fly blindfold with one hand behind your back.. (sorry FMS guys... It's just WAY too unrealisitc for my tastes).. Really I think the "muscle memory" is what's being developed and probably the most important thing to develop. I was telling a friend of mine who is trying to get started in helis... You have to get to a point where it almost becomes a reflex.. If you see what it's doing, think about it, decide on a corrective action, then do it.. It's already too late... You've got to develop the reflexes so that you automatically react to various situations WITHOUT thinking about it. I think just about any "half decent" sim can teach you that. Long as you don't let your ego get in the way and think you can go straight from the sim to the air with no "step" in between.. Still gotta take things slow..

And sailpilot... I use the stock TT muffler on my raptor 30 and to be completely honest... It really doesn't get slimmed up too bad... The skids get the brunt of it, and a little on the underside of the canopy... If I do a lot of inverted the chassis takes a bit, but still I'll tell you this... the clean up of my heli is FAR quicker and easier than the clean up of my planks!!!

I'm one of those folks that's kinda divided on the electric / nitro line... Though I'm definately jaded toward the nitro... Honestly, I love the sound and smell of nitro. Yes it is more expensive UP FRONT to buy electric... In the end, I think you'll find it's just about the same or maybe just slightly more than nitro... Unless your buying RedMax in 55 gallon drums... (works out to about 14.50 a gallon for 30% helo) That's the way to do it if you have enough people to do it, but otherwise you'll most likely be paying $20 to $25 per gallon at least, if not more... A gallon doesn't last too long running through a .50 size engine.. And remember the helis suck fuel MUCH quicker than the planks cause your running so rich... Me though? I pay minumum payments on my credit card bills... I like to stretch things out over time, not pay it all up front..

rc_lurker

RADD, it wouldn't surprise me if you could get a brick to fly funnels! BTW, your flight school thing ROCKS! Thanks.

RCelectrichelinut

Lol yeh my 7 year old flew FMS perfect his first time ever flying on a sim. I knew something wasn't right. I have truflight now it is a good sim.