monkeybox

Foolishly, I ordered from TrendTimes without doing enough research. It's only been 2 weeks, and they have one more day before they reach the maximum of their delivery estimate (and, unlike others' experiences, they have been answering the phone and responding to email, though refusing to provide a tracking number for what they assure me has been shipped, so I hold the slightest flicker of a hope that tomorrow I'll be retracting this post). After reading the threads here and elsewhere, it looks like that company is scam. I'll be disputing that charge as soon as the delivery time is up.

I fell for their scam because the package seemed perfect (too good to be true, maybe?). [link=http://trendtimes.com/drrchebabopa.html]This is the package I ordered[/link] (DON'T ORDER IT!). It seemed great: A pre-assembled helicopter "ready to fly", cheap replacement parts available on-line, and a simulator and cable included. Seeing as I'm pretty shy and hesistant (afraid even) to talk a local helicopter guy (there's one nearby, but why should I trust him?) about learning to fly it, I thought I could just fly the simulator lots, take the very slow approach when trying to learn to fly the real thing, and learn to repair it piece by piece when I (inevitably) crash.

So, after reading these forums and others, I now know that there are lots of you who think that fixed pitch isn't a good idea, that these inexpensive electric helicopters are not suited for beginners as they claim, and that I was a sucker for a too-good-to-be-true deal. So what's my next step?

(1) Give up? I don't want to spend $800 to get the RC helicopters I've seen recommended when I don't really know if I'll be able to fly it or even enjoy the experience of trying. While I think I'll have the dedication required to take it slow, it was a lot easier to spend a couple hundred then nearly a grand on it.
(2) Buy a transmitter and cable to play with FMS more before I decide? I pretty much figured I'd have to spend hours on the simulator to get consistent before I even attempt the real thing, but I know myself enough that not having that physical goal in front of me will hurt me.
(3) Find an alternative? Are there any? The dragonfly seems to be available many places for the same price or cheaper, but I can't find them on any "reputable" sites, and I'm a little disillusioned by the trustworthiness of random on-line RC sites now. Further, most everything that seems to be around the same price seems to be lacking the pieces that made it most attractive to me (computer hook-up to a simulator, pre-assembled, everything included).
(4) Bite the bullet and spend the extra money to get something of great quality? Not likely to happen, as I don't even know if I'll enjoy it as much as I think I will, and more expensive starter-kits lead to more expensive repairs.

I'd really like #3, but I haven't been able to find anything. While there are other helicopters that seem similar for around $150 more, they either don't include a sim cable, have also received bad reviews, or require assembly (while I'm comfortable tweaking somebody else's assembly, I don't have the confidence to build my own). I'd really like to stay below $400. If I love it (which I expect), but hate the copter (which is probable as I'm looking for cheap), then I can move into more expensive options.

Any advice?

deli_conker

I bought a honey bee on ebay. Fixed pitch RTF, opened but not used. I got it about a week ago.
Today I picked up a Trex 450XL deluxe at the LHS. They sell it for a few dollars more than most websites.

The intent of purchasing the honey bee was to see if I wanted to get into this hobby. I can get it off the ground just fine, but trying to trim it to stay still is difficult. I can't say that I've had a "perfect" hover with it yet, but not all of my landings have been hard ones. Anyways, I wanted to see if I liked it. By the looks of today's purchase, I guess it looks like I do. I know my costs will be fairly high, but I'm going to take my time putting it together and pick up the pieces here and there, the radio being last on the list (more time to decide).

I tried using FMS for a simulator, but it really didn't work out as I only have a 4 channel radio to use with it at the moment (great for planes though). I went with Radd's School of Rotary Flight. Just do a google search, you'll find it.

My advice is to buy something cheap knowing that you'll either like it (although not be good at) and have to count it as a loss when you upgrade to something good OR if you can't get into it and it only sounded like a cool thing to do, you can be glad that you didn't sink any major money into it.

This is only from my experience from being a heli pilot for 8 days...

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

I feel for you I got it in the back side by trend times about a year ago and man was it a PAIN use the search button and see if you can find my old post it will tell you all about the crap I went through with them THEY ARE THIEVES and WILL RIP YOU OFF,I would cancel the order and demand my money back if I were you because they sell junk and you will be stuck with it.TREND TIMES SUCKS.[:'(][:@]

monkeybox

This is the route I'd really like to take, but the path is unclear. Should I be looking for a hummingbird on ebay? Is there another cheap, get-the-idea-but-probably-want-to-upgrade option? While I hear the dragonfly is crap, it doesn't seem like a bad throw-away introduction.

There's also the part of me that wants to go out and buy a nice higher end transmiitter [to grow on]. sim cable [to practice with], and then figure out a model to build.

aknitroguy

My Feedback: (82)

You can get a hummingbird RTF test flown package for a little less right from centuryheli.com. For $200 starter micro maybe try the E-flite blade cp, They stand behind their stuff and it is collective pitch with a 6 channel radio for under $220.00 as far as the fms sim you can download it and play it just using your keyboard until you get a transmitter to plug into it. Hope this helps,
Jay

PJSims

I've had the Blade for a few weeks now and love it.

I was hesitant in getting the Blade CP because it didn't come with the FMS simulator or cable. After reading zillions of posts about how important learning with a sim is, I almost didn't buy the Blade.

I'm glad I did...I love it!

Unless you REALLY feel the need to spend hours in front of the computer, forget the sim. BUT...you must resign yourself to a strict regimen of learning to fly SLOWLY.

I'm on battery number 6 and still scooting around on the ground learning what I'm doing. I'm able to hover a few inches off the ground, but not stay in one place.

GroundMagnet

I bought the 9CHP only want to buy once, and G3 used it for 3 months before I get the Trex. Was hovering nose in first pack thanks to the SIM. By the third or fourth pack I was FF but this is also where the crashes started. Would have been a lot worse without the SIM but either way your going to crash.

deli_conker

I got my honeybee for a little less than $100 on ebay. I plan on selling it on ebay after I get my Trex put together (there's a lot of parts in that sucker). I'm not rushing it though. I guess it really depends on what you consider cheap, and if a difference of $50 makes something expensive or bot. I think the advice on the Blade CP might be the way to go for you.

My logic was that if I have fun with a cheap-o-fixed-pitch-almost-impossible-to-hover-copter then I'll like the hobby enough to get a Trex with real electronics.

there's tons of threads about the Blade CP right now. Maybe you should read up on it and go from there...

monkeybox

Well, I may have been premature on slamming TrendTimes. There is a package on a mail truck right now, which unfortunately won't get back to the post office before they close, so I don't get it until tomorrow. And judging from others' experiences, I may still be in bad shape, but at least they appear to have shipped the product. I'll let ya'all know what condition it's in when it arrives, and reading the other threads, I'll definately consider the blade if this one turns out to be ****e.

Thanks for the recommendations and support. I'll let you know what's actually in the box.

Sawdust48.5

I clicked on the link you supplied. Seems to me that the same spy cam is on ebay for a third [X(]

monkeybox

Well, I do have to take back some of what I said.

I received the helicopter earlier this week, just over the estimated 2-week ship time. While they wouldn't provide me a tracking number, TrendTimes was pretty responsive to emails and did answer their phones. The package is a Dragonfly v4. I still won't buy from them again because of (a) the long ship times, (b) the prices, and (c) the slight inaccuracy of their product page (They call it a Dragon, not a Dragonfly).

But I'm happy with the heli. I practiced a bunch on FMS (the included sim CD was scratched, but included Tru-Flite, which appears to be junk). And finally charged it and took it out yesterday. I mostly skidded across the ground and tried not to crash it, but everything seems to be working correctly. A few balancing/vibrating issues, but I'm sure I'll figure those out.

Two questions about balancing: Are the fly paddles supposed to be evenly weighted at rest? It clearly leans toward one of them. There are metal "weights" that look to be adjustable, though I can't get them to slide along the shaft, so perhaps there's a different way to balance these?

Second: the rotors are supposed to be 90 deg from the paddles... Is this referring to the straight edge of the rotors or an imaginary line from connection point to tip? The difference is minor, but is it insignificant?

Jtrux

Fixed pitch is not for beginners. plus the package you showed was 199.99, for twenty dollers more you could have gotten an extreamly good collective pitch heli. check out the Blade CP by e-flite. comes complete with 6ch radio collective pitch, CCPM, batteries and charger. good luck

credence

My Feedback: (2)

You can get the Walkera #4 off ebay for $80, thats with FMS and a flight sim cable, plus training gear, some kits even come with crash kits at that price.

You really got gouged from trend times. It sucks, especially if you're new to the hobby, when you get disreputable companies like this selling you cheap products that are rediculously overpriced to those who simply don't realize it. Many people are afraid to use ebay, but the feedback system ebay has is one of the best features of any online system, and tells you right off the bat wether you're dealing with a reputable person or a scammer. I buy almost everything off ebay if I can, and have rarely been burned by anyone aslong as you research your products first.

You can look at this as a lesson.. an expensive lesson, maybe, but you won't make the same mistake twice, that's for sure . It's also a good idea to either do a search, or make a post on these forums in the future before purchasing anything from unknown websites, as you can really save your self alot of money and headaches.

It's good to hear that you DID get your helicopter, anyways.

As far as the flybar, if the leading edge of the rotor (the straight edge) is at a perfect 90 degree angle with the flybar, the whole head assembly should stay straight if it is balanced. If the flybar lops to one side, it's probably unbalanced.

The weights on the flybar head are there to slow down cyclic response, NOT to balance the head. Moving these around will cause you more trouble. To balance the flybar properly, it needs to be loosened from the rotor head and perfectly centered. Typically, you need to have the exact same ammount of distance between the flybar assembly base and the paddles on each side, however, if the paddles them selves are not balanced (due to moulding mistakes, etc.) this may not work, so you may need to offset one side to achieve a proper balance. The only way to know for sure is to play with it till you find the happy spot. This should help alot with shaking and vibrations. You will need small allen keys to move both the flybar weights and loosen the flybar so you can move it around. Flybar weights should be at an even distance on both sides so as not to off balance the rotorhead. These make the helicopter more docile in flight. If you prefer more snappy and quick movements, you can remove them to improve cyclic response.

Another problem with fixed pitch helicopters is that because of their low head speeds, the "loose, but not too loose" mentality for the blade fixing doesn't work as well as it does on CP birds. Personally, I put my blades as tightly as they will safely go, then align them to a perfect straight 90 degree angle with the flybar before each flight. This has solved all major vibration problems for me and my helicopter remains very steady in the air (not even a slight vibration of the landing skid can be seen, as is common with so many FP helis).

There are many posts in these forums on setting up and configuring these little birds, just be very thorough and take your time with them, and you will eventually get something that can hover and fly around decently.

No micro will ever be easy to fly because of their size, but they CAN be flown, they just require a huge ammount of concentration and quick reflexes