Hey guys & gals!

I just purchased a new E FLITE BLADE CP, and have repeatedly attempted to sustain a steady hover, as directed by the salesperson. So far, I've had no luck in doing so. I've broken the landing gear, cracked the canopy, bent the flywheel, and bent the main shaft. This is getting expensive. I've always had an interest in RC heli's, and I'll try to keep at it, but am I doing something wrong? I know patience is key, but how long did it take you experts to at least master the hover routine? Is the BLADE CP, a good beginner heli to start with? Any advice will be appreciated.

If your plaining to stick with the heli hobby get yourself a good simulator (reflex, AFPD or G3), it will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Most people that learn to fly on a simulator are hovering the real thing with in an hour.

I agree with the simulator. You can even use a freeware one FMS and there is a direct cable available to even use the supplied Blade radio as controller.

you can't learn to hover on FMS, you only have to give a little pitch and you're hovering, no corrections required.

I never said that you could learn to hover. The poster is new and obviously having difficulties along with some breakage. A Sim will help he improve from where he is at now even FMS. The models provided are extremely docile, you are correct. The disc I received with my cable has several models that are a lot more to handle than the standard FMS models.

You can get a free simulator FMS to learn how to fly - [link=http://www.flying-model-simulator.com/]FREE FMS SIMULATOR DOWNLOAD[/link]

- Try to trim the helicopter to make it fly more stable. For me, it took me couple days to first try to learn how to fly.

Thanks everyone for the advice, and the added links for software downloads. I truly appreciate the help. Does anyone know where I can get the cable / software for the flight simulator. I saw a guy on INSIDE RC (TV SHOW) showcasing the simulator, and it was as easy as hooking you transmitter to the television via cable, and practicing in no time.

Once again, thanks for everyone's help and input.

http://www.milehighwings.com./usb_cables.htm

Hello

I just purchased a E Flite Blade Cp and Iam new to helis. I have heard that this a difficult heli to learn on. How much easier is it if I were to use the training gear when trying to learn with it.

Thanks Scott

Two things...get the training gear if you don't already have them and read the instructions on how to set it up...a properly set up heli will hover with less inputs, but ut will still need them. The training gear is the 2nd thing you will need to start off with before hop-ups. You will need the crash kit for about 19 bucks nd the training gear for 12 bucks. A sim will work to develop the brain to hand reactions, but stick time for me is the best because the SIM flies like a perfect model.

Thanks for the advice. Actually im already I am getting the heli off of a trade. It already has the hop ups and spare parts. It has alread been flown before and they are getting rid of it becaus it is too hard to fly for them. Is their another good heli website so i can get some set up tips and stuff like that.

Thanks Scott

By the way if your practicing with the simulator, try ading wind to the sim, like that is more like the real thing. Since the helies in the sim are so easy to hover, the wind and gust action gives the little extra training your going to need.

honestly here is what I would do.. I would get the sim and practice.. I had a cp but took it back and got a coax blade heli the XRB.. I was frustrated and upset with the blade cp and was rdy to quit, even with the sims and able to fly fine on the the cp just wasnt working for me.. (turns out mine was messed up). However, I bought the XRB and I love it.. Its so easy to fly and really gives you a great feel for the heli. I have been playing with it for about a week and love it to death. Now e flite is comeing out with a cx which bascily is the XRB just better looking and cheaper pricetag.

Now with that said, I want to add with just a week of flying the XRB, I went to a lhs where they were flying heli's and a friend let me try his cp.. I was a little nervous but tried it anyways. I was able to fly it pretty good. I was able to get a short hover and I could land it.. *I know not very exciting but makes you feel good to know your flying it.

So if I were you I would get a sim and play with that. Then get the CX when it comes out.. After you master the cx go back to your cp.. Try it out again. You should be more confident and able to fly it around a bit, if not alot.

cheers and have fun..

Different things work for different folks.
I'd never touched an RC aircraft before I got my Blade CP, but I started right away with the training gear, and spent a good dozen flights skittering along the gound in my garage tail-in before I got it more than 2 inches off the ground.
I spent no time or money on a simulator and am now at the point where I can hover and maneouvre at fair speed comfortably tail-in up to 8-10 feet off the ground whipping around my driveway and am practicing nose-in and sideways hovering the same way I started the whole thing off.
The key is having the patience to spend a lot of time on or right near the ground until you can keep it truly under control before you heft her up.
I'm not saying the sims are useless, but I don't think a sim's essential provided you're willing to spend some time doing some really unimpressive flying
I had more fun skittering on the ground with the real RC heli than I do when I try out something like FMS or Flightgear and so far it's only cost me 4 pairs of blades and a flybar.

I want to get a CP also but is there really anything i can get under 250. my christmas money will be limited this year

I got my CP over a month now and I already paid over $200 for parts and blades and just be able to lift 5 or 6 feet and can keep that stay
up on the air until the battery got weak (15 minutes). This CP is very hard to fly and I think i will get the Walkera36 next time. I also agree
with grosporina about the SIM, I rather try to fly the CP then fly with the SIM

Tom, and this is no way meant to be an insult, but if you've killed 200bux worth of parts in one month, i cant see another heli being the answer...200 more bucks towards a sim would probably really be a good idea for ya...

you are doing nothing wrong, this what you are committed to:

it's a game....
RTF CP heli = much harder to fly and very difficult to learn on, but cheap to fix because you will crash.
the objective is to figure it out without spending more in crash damages than to buying a real heli like a trex in the first place.
or you can quit now and be down $250 or you can keep on going

my 2 cents:

download FMS anyway, it's free. it taught me how to hover in all orientations and i was only using the keyboard. it isnt the best, but it gives you an idea of what motions it takes.

definitely put some training gear on. even bamboo sticks will work.

i started off with something a little better than a walkera36 (belt drive shogun), and i binned it. got myself and x400 and i was able to hover for good 15-30second periods on the maiden flight. that's how much easier to fly a real heli is...and i recently learned that mine wasnt even setup right when i 1st maidened it. the only reason it was able to fly good was because i put near top shelf components in it and it compensated much for my noobness. if only i knew what i knew back then...

everytime you crash your blade cp you should be learning how to set it up properly. CP heli's are dependent on proper setup and wont fly correctly if it isnt. so if youre just slapping on new parts and trying to fly you are digging yourself in a deeper hole. the BCP came most likely very close to properly setup out of the box. what condition is it in now?? what is your definition of setup correctly???

The Blade CP is not a good beginner heli, I have 5 yrs of flying fixed wing, and hovering 3D ships and this thing is a real challenge. I got it to hover nicely after 10 hrs. of adjustments, one small hard landing and I was replacing all kinds of those nylon pcs. (they do however have good parts support at all the shops so you're back in the air). When you cut this loose in foward fligh,t it's as fast as a sport e-plane and one screw-up and it's basically totaled. It's a nice copter, but if you're a raw beginner get a slowflyer aircraft ore one of the coax blade ships.

I had a feeling that flying a heli shouldn't be this difficult. I was thinking that it may be due to my inexperience and impatientence. But after doing a little research and getting a lot of feedback from these forums, it make me feel a lot better and I don't feel as discouraged as I was before. Do you think getting a larger heli will make it any easier for me? Something like a Shogun or MX400, or should I just tough it out with this BCP?

Thanks for the feedback and advice. I greatly appreciate it.

The blade is the only heli I own, from my experience with planes a larger copter might help, but the expense will probably be up around $1000, one small crash and you're probably looking at $150 and a lot of time. I'm going to try the Blade CX when it comes out, the little Lama's also have good reports as well. The heli's are enticing and good pilots make it look easy, but like anything else, ask them and they have paid their dues in practicing,building, and repairing, same as the airplane hobby. Heli flying business is not like tooling around RC cars, like some have made it sound like.

Norhing worth really doing is ever easy.