tomcatguy74

My Feedback: (4)

Hello Everyone!

I have posted here before and I still have not a clue as to what heli to get.
I have been doing some more research and I think I am just getting more confused.
This is what I am looking for.
Budget just went from $600 to $800 due to the possibility of getting a Sim.
As for the sim I am lookin for a decent sim that comes with a controller to practice with instead of crashing my new heli. I know they are out there but I read conflicting stories about them. $200 budget for that.

As for the heli I am looking to get a CP that I can fly indoors and outdoors. I want something decent not something that RTB or BOB(Ready to break) or (Breaks out of Box)!!!!
I would like it to come with its own TX or radio.
I am not sure wheather I should get a build kit or a RTF or a ARF.
No gassers, electric only.
There are are a few Helis I am looking at and maybe you can tell me about them

Ikarus ECO-8
Shogun
T-rex

Please help me out.
I want to enter this fasinating hobby but I want to walk through the right door.
I am a strong believer that the first impression is always the most important.

Thanks

Robert

RabidRacer

for a sim. the real flight g3 is good. it even has helis.

i know im getting a mrc xrb mini heli
its about 300 bucks so you save some money and can buy brushless and lipos for it.
and i hear is very easy to fly

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

I'll put a plug in for the Shogun. My first helo, and was a lot easier to learn to fly than I thought. G2 did help, for $800 you could get G3 a Shogun, a lipoly charger and still have cash for a radio.

Andy

ChopperMike

I hate to say it but none of those are going to be an indoor heli. The high head speed is going to make for some very hairy flights indoors. Just lightly touch something and you'll break the blades and then some. Problem is, anything that will fly well indoors is not going to fly outdoors unless there is virtually no wind.

As for being confused, welcome to the wonderful world or R/C helicopters. I started flying heli's almost 20 years ago and in a way it's a worse time to fly than when I started. There are so many more choices today. Electric (which weren't even around then), glow engine powered, gas powered, turbine powered, and everything from the $70 dollar Blade Runner to a $3000 heli and $2500 radio. I wish I had an answer for you but unfortunately I don't. From all accounts the XRB is a good choice for indoors. The Shogun or the TREX would be good for outdoors. With a brushless motor and several LiPo packs I have about $600 in my Shogun, not counting the TX or my support gear.


Mike

VinceHerman

I would separate the indoor/outdoor requirement.
Perhaps get a fixed pitch heli like the Hummingbird FP or the Piccolo FP for indoors and learning about heli setup, and then consider a second heli later for outdoors, like the T-Rex.

Some people start out ont a more advanced heli like the T-Rex, and after a ton of sim work, you will have a better chance. Have an experienced pilot look over you bird before you try to fly it. We have 4 or 5 of us who all fly Rexies here, and it greatly reduces crashes due to ignorance of a potential problem. With several sets of eyes, we catch a lot of problems in the setup before they casue a crash.

spinnerbug

Robert,

I am new to Helis too now 1 month. I started out by purchsing the REFLEX sim after much research and conversation with other pilots. I made mistake and bought one with a radio that they supplied 4 ch, and that is not good. When I finally realized it, I purchased a new JR 9303 radio, got connected, and have now set up radio for the heli on the sim, a Raptor 30, and I have shown 1000% improvement in the first week. I now can hover and keep the heli where I want it and am practicing on right, left and nose in hovering. What a great tool and I know I have saved what would have been $5k in crashes during the first 2-3 weeks. Pixels don't cost when crashed, but helis do...

I have researched and purchased the new Centry 3D Elite PRO CP heli with upgrades and in process of putting it together while i continue to practice each night on the sim. Looks like it will b e great indoor and outdoor bird, with low or no winds. By going CP I am learning thre right way the first time.....FP is not the way a real heli flys....

Your first purchase should be a sim, followed by a good radio, the most you can afford with a minimum of 6 channels...then look for a CP heli. Ask alot of questions from the great guys on this site as many of them can really help you out.....and that is most beneficial!

Good Luck, hope you see the tremendous value to a sim when starting out and learning what is not intuitively easy.
Harry

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

G2 sim will do a lot for you. I would get that and start learning to control it. Its a good sim and will get you going in the right direction. I am not a fan of electric helis, so I can't give you much advice there, but I will say go with the LI Po batteries right off. We use them on planes and our blimp and they are way way way better. Get a good Triton charger to go with them so you can take good care of them. Li Po batteries can be more dangerous if you don't take care of them well, so keep them clean and charge propperly.

As stated by others, I would probably look more at the out door helis. They are built a little better and will last longer. Don't go to the cheapest ones you can find. You will have a lot of problems and it will cause you to quit the hobby as fast as you got into it. Good equipt is a huge plus in this hobby.

ChopperMike

I've seen this heli fly outdoors and it does a very good job in the wind. The same with the Hornet II CP. A FP micro will definitely not fly very well outside in the wind. There are advantages to the FP however. They do much less damage and cost much less to repair after a crash. This is due to the lower head speed and the simplicity of the FP heli.

A CP heli definitely flies better than the FP. It's just a choice between flight performance and cost. Some people start with a FP and then either get a new CP heli or upgrade their FP. I believe the Century Elite FP is capable of being upgraded to CP. The standar FP model is not.


Mike

kab1sg

I know the feeling Spinnerbug. I bought a Schluter Heli-boy years ago and was unable to do anything but crash. I recently purchased the Reflex sim. I am doing well with the included radio but I found out the hard way that it's much better to use your own transmitter with it. I am awaiting the arrival of my new radio and hope that it will make for more improvement. I have spent far less than I would if I had tried another helicopter. I want to find someone to help when I finish my project this spring but my job doesn't allow very flexible hours. I WILL find help this time, as there are considerably more heli pilots out there now. Until then, the sim will have to suffice.

tomcatguy74

My Feedback: (4)

Hey guys,


I really appreciate all the feedback you are giving me. Spinnerbug, I am thinking the same as you about going sim first then radio then heli. Are there any decent 6ch radios out there that don't cost an arm and a leg. See I am figuring about $200 for the sim and $600 for the radio and heli and basic tools. Another thing is that I am not sure if I should buy full build, ARF, or RTF.
Also if you buy a separate radio and separate heli how hard is it to get them to work together?
How much did that Reflex sim cost you?

Thanks

Rob

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

I mostly fly a JR 6102 radio (6 channel) pretty decent radio for the price. ~ 250$ with reciever and standard servos. standard servos are too big for most of the electrics.

The most popular one in my area is the Futaba 9C . Just got one recently for a littel over 400 without servos. either of these radios will do a very nice job.

you will want a littel help getting your radio and heli properly programmed and set up. Heli guys know beginers need a bit of help, and are generally pretty cool about lending a hand.

warren52nz

I bought two XRB helis, the 2nd after the first one developed an electrical problem of some sort. Had a HUGE amount of (indoor) fun with it but now the 2nd one has also gone up in smoke (literally). Mine are the cheap rip-off versions of the Hirobo Lama untethered and I hear the Hirobos are much better so I'd recommend them. Or, at least the upgraded XRB by Megatech (I think), the "Housefly".

I agree with the others that you need to decide on indoors or outdoors. My experiences

Anyway, I've just taken delivery of a Century Elite 3D Pro with brushless motor and 1320 maH Li-Po battery. Mmmmm..... nice.

However, just playing around in the back yard in freshly mown grass, a few not so hard landings have bent the tail boom and stripped the front plastic gear that drives the tail so I'm awaiting parts already. Seems very fragile compared to my XRB which once fell from about 30 feet on to concrete (motor off) and only broke a skid. Still flew!

So, maybe I don't know what to expect from a "proper" helicopter but I'm worried now at how little it takes to damage them.

Still, my first experiences were big (nervous) fun as the helicopter is SO responsive compared to the XRB. Even with the positive pitch wound way down, it can still LEAP into the air at high speed!

I bought a Hitec Optic 6 from Tower Hobbies and it was quite cheap from what I've heard. Fully programmable and I also bought the "Spectra" option which allows me to use any 72 MHz channel by just flicking switches.

Pity it takes about 10 days to get parts from the US to New Zealan where I live so I'm just a-waiting for the delivery.

*sigh*

Warren