frezel

i have read so many posts i am burned out, i am new to r/c heli and wanted to buy a heli that would grow with me as i learned to fly, i origianally started looking at the walkera 4 and heard horror stories about it, bad electronics and bad tail motors, i than started to look into the eflight CX and CP , i figured the CX would be a good start, but dont thnink it would grow with my experiences and what i want to do in the end (3d flying). so that lead me to the eflight CP, and some compare it to the honeybee cp2, so yet another heli in the confussion, anyone with experience on these helis, please give me no B.S answers about which heli to get, im not scared to fly a eflight cp as a first or a honeybee, just let me know which are better than other, i want to stay under 250 total. and are all heli with tail motors really crap?or are some better than others, i want stick time and not bench time, let me know please respond
thanks

deanwesterburg

Frezel,

I personaly own a Raptor 30 V2 (gas .30 size), a LMH110, and a Blade CX.. You want stick time, get the BCX and 2 batterys! I can't say enough good about the experience I have had with it.. It just works with little maintence, setup, or demands other than a freshly charged lipo battery! No crazy pitch curves, individual linkage adjustments and constant checking for wear on drive gears. Not to mention, no tail rotor to hit on something and jam up the whole system!

You are right about the BCX not growing with you, but before you can do 3D flight, you will have to learn orientation.. The BCX is great for practicing Nose in and tail in hover. It's great practice for learing orienting the sticks to where it goes.. What I am getting at is, it's going to be a long but very acheivable road to learning 3D.. To do it well, orientation is key. The BCX is a very inexpencive way to learn those important fundamentals. I lay out a piece of extention cord in my basement and practice flying directly over the cord while constantly rotating the tail.. Makes for really good practice for orientation!! It's really hard to do!

The heli's with tail rotor are:

a) not as stable
b) more fragle
c) require more setup and "Bench Time"

While that is all true, there are a few things to be said about small electric co-axial heli's. They are very limited in what they can do.. No loops, rolls, inverted flight, tick-tocks, and they are much to easy to hover, but also NO EXPENSIVE REPAIR BILLS!! and very little bench time.. I balance new blades before I put them on the heli after a crash that is hard enough to break a blade (doesnt happen often and i crash a lot!) That's it... for mainanence!!)

I bought my other heli's first and could not learn on them.. It was to costly and I was to scared to learn with them because of how costly and time consuming it is to get those back into shape after a crash.. With the BCX, it does not matter. Even a hard crash rarly cost me more than $5 in rotor blades and I have learned more than I would have with the others in twice the time and 10x the money!

I have a few key pointers to keeping the BCX your best friend.. If you buy one or want to know more, Reply and I will watch this forum..

Happy hovering!

Dean

frezel

hey dean

thank you so much for your imput, the more i think about it , i am most likely to get teh BCX, becuase i want to learn how to fly and not have to spend money onrepairs, i get easily frustrated so maybe thge cx will teach me patience. I understand heli are hard, but i think i can do anything, but all the advise in this forum has helped and will take advise of other beofre me, and when i get the heli finally i will get back to you on what you offered. Thanks so much for the help.

deanwesterburg

No Problem!

I will give you a few key tips to making your BCX as fun and repair free as possible:

1) NEVER raise the throttle trim.. It just isn't needed.
2) If you are going to hit something, CUT THE THROTTLE IMEDIATLY!

I should explain why these 2 things are so important. If you search for BCX problems, you will find most people having problems with the 4-in-1. This is the Receiver/gyro/BEC/Dual Speed Controllers. This is the most fragile part of the heli. Make sure to keep any unnessacary load off it. There is a red light on the side of the BCX. When it goes on, it is stressing the system. If it flickers for a second, that's ok.. But if it stays on constant for more than a second, you need to land and let it cool and charge the battery..

3) Balancing the blades makes it fly much better. Take the 2 blade halfs off and lock them together. This will make sence once you get it.. Gently pinch the balls on the sides of the blades in your hands. Fold a small piece of tape over the Leading Edge of the blade to add weight to a side..

4) The people at e-flite made a design mistake in my opinion. But it's easy to fix! The BCX has a screww at the very top of the rotor head. This screw makes the flybar not move freely and also prevents your flybar from popping of in a crash.. Instead it makes the head break and you need to buy a new $10 inner shaft. Remove this screw and put it back in the box.. It will save you $$$ and make it fly smoother..

Good Luck!

frezel

man thats so sweet, the info is awesome, and of course u live in ohio and i live in philadelphia lol, i would love to hook up with someone like u to get pointers from or even have a fly buddy . you will definitly hear more from me. Only thing im concerned about is that me and the 2 other brother inlaws are getting helis and i think they leaning toward the CP and i hope i can resist the temptation to get that one, after all they are the same price. and that little demon in my head that says to ditch the trainer and go for the real heli.... Oh well i can only let future unfold...

Demon Talking : I want CP LOL

deanwesterburg

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!

I wanted to go that way too.. Sometimes I wish I would have, but the fact is, you will learn more for a lot less $$$ with the CX.. In the long run, I would venture to say you could by a CX and a CP for what you will pay in the cost of the CP and the crashes to get to the same point.

I am personaly saving up for a CP now, but I have no intention on flying it untill I can put the CX into an exact spot, stop it sharly, at any orientation to the tail.. That will make my costs go down and my satisfaction go up!! I am impatient, but that is exaclty why I have 2 other heli's sitting in my shop that rarely ever fly.. I am to impatient to keep digging through the problems, making a list of repair parts, ordering them, putting them on, rebalancing EvERYTHING, then crashing it the next time I fly.. It's a costly hobby at times!! The Blade CX has really helped me curb those costs!

I am in Cincinnati, so I am pretty far from PA!! I am also a Private Pilot ( I fly Cessna 172N's and R's and a Katana DA-20). I like flying to Portsmouth, ohio near the WV border. Not sure how far that is from PA..

Happy Flying!!

Dean

frezel

Do you think its wise to buy a used heli from ebay, or is it better to pay full price from LHS?i think its a matter of like 60 bucks and some extra parts different, but also taking gamble on what that heli has been through.[:'(]

deanwesterburg

Hmm... My personal thought is I would not buy a heli from ebay, or even used unless I knew and trusted the person selling it to me. Starting equipment for gas heli's, tools, NEW batteries, New Equipment, I would.. But not used.. Who knows what the first peron did to it..

Another thing of HIGH importance to a newbie is the setup. I bought my first Raptor PRE-Built so It was built by people who understood it and that way I knew it was right from the start. That gave me a reference point as to how I expected things to act and I could later tell if something was wrong. Otherwise, I probably would have just thought it was me!

Sometimes you might save $10 or $20, maybe even $30 by buying it on ebay.. on a $200 item, I don't mind supporting my local hobbyshop by giving them $20 extra bucks, especialy if they stock parts based on how many of a particular brand/model they sell!!

Again, Heliproz is a great place online too.. They are trustworthy and knowledgable. They will help with problems as they arize if you are a customer. Maybe even if you are not..

frezel

yeah i guess so , i know when i didnt buy my rc nitro truck and had problems they charges me for every little thing, where my friend bought from there and the mechanic did so many things for free for him. yeah i guess i dont mind keeping local shops in business and i was leary as to what i would get smashed in my door when i got back. Anyway thanks AGAIN for the helpful tips, and if you have any stock tips let me know too lol..thanks again really..

deanwesterburg

No Problem.. It's great to see others getting into it.. Just recently with the lipo batterys, small yet fun and affordable electrics have become available! Have fun! Keep your local hobbyshops in business and more importantly, HAVE FUN!

On another note, I flew my BCX into a coutch on purpose to see how much damage I would do. I know.. Sounds Crazy. But I was ready to spend a few bucks to find out what would happen... I tried 4 times. I cut the throttle every time before hitting at full forward speed.. Never broke anything!! Popped the flybar off twice (Which would have lead to damage had I not removed the screw on the top of the head) The blade CX is just amazing! Happy flying! and DONT FORGET TO PULL THAT THROTTLE if you are about to hit something!! Also, inspect the Lipo battery after any good hit.. Minor nicks have been know to burn down cars and houses! Always stay near your LIPO batterys when charging!

Dean.

deanwesterburg

Frezel,

I just bought my own CP PRO! Let me tell you, this is no beginer heli! It is WAY more sencitive and unstable than my Raptor. My LML-110 is more stable. The Cost for performance is amazing, but it is difficult to handle! Definatly not a indoor flyer unless you have a VERY large space.

I am also finding that it requires quite a bit of tweeking right out of the box. My Paddles were WAY off the blades were not tracking right. Have not checked balance yet.

I am having problems with my Tailboom rotating so that the tail rotor does not stay verticle Also, it can not be flown on carpet with any Pile (Thickness) to it. The tail rotor hit the carpet and will not spin. That is a BIG negative to me. I wanted the BCP for both indoor and outdoor use. Indoor is not an option in my house!

I know my friends like them, but they are more experienced than me. It is VERY VERY VERY sencitive. I now can say with 100% certanty, this is NOT a good idea fora beginer!!!

I have mixed feelings on this heli.. I really like the price, but it is difficult to fly and not at all for indoor (House) use.

Hope this helps!

shhhhucantcme

Hey Frezel,
New to this sight but have been flying a bcx for 6 months, and learning on my new bcpp. If you want to be able to fly the pro a little easier start with a heading lock gyro. As for getting better with the cx start by shortening the fly bar and practice your hovers from point to point. No matter what you accoplish on the cx the helis with tail rotors are a new beast and you will have to learn how to fly all over again. I can fly the heck out of the cx now even nose in and so on, but flying the tail rotor models will stop you in your tracks. The key Practice practice practice and check out this web sight. I swear by it and this has already made me a better equipped/ newbie to tail rotors.
http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html

shhhhucantcme

Hello,
My turn for a question. I would like an opinion on what simulator to purchase. I would like one that will be benificial in bettering myself with the blade cp pro and eventually a trex. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Keep it in the air, not in a garbage can!

deanwesterburg

shhhhucantcme ,

I have played with the Great Plains RealFlight G3 in my Local Hobby Shop and really like it.. They did a nice job of trying to give you some perspective of distance.

I have only played with the RealFlight, Dave Brown, and FMS simulators. I have used the FMS a lot. It is very simple, but Free! You can get an interface cable for about $20 that will connect to your Trainer port. I just setup another model on my 662 and call it "FMS".

FMS = Free. (my favorite Price) but RealFlight is really nice!

Let us know what you pick!

shhhhucantcme

Hey Dean,
Thanks for the response. I will look at both of these really hard. What wories me at this point is that all of the simulators I have looked at so far say you need a 3d graphics card in the computer. I have tried to figure out what I have and all my system tells me is that it is a pro savage. The cpu is a compaq, about 4 years old that I just had the hard drive replaced so who knows. It does have all of the other requirments.

I will be doing some more reasearch on the cpu and hopefully come up with some good news, or this will be a very expensive simulator LMAO!

Do you think my wife will understand when I tell her we need a new computer ?

Well I will keep you updated
Thanks, Mark

Keep it in the air, not in the garbage can!

deanwesterburg

Well, I am an IT guy so I can help you out! IT is the only way I can afford my expencive hobbies! (I am a full size pilot too!)

goto http://www.crucial.com/ There is an option to "Scan My computer" on the lower right. It will scan for memory and Video Card. Post that info and I can give you some details..

I have run the FMS Simulator on an old Windows 98 machine with a P3 333 Mhz processor and 128 meg of ram and it ran fine. The Real Flight has much better graphics, so it may take a little more power..

kidcorsair

Hello, I got the blade cx about a month ago. I never thought I could fly a heli. I have been flying airplanes for several years. I have a G2 Realflight simulator and a G3 that I bought a few months ago. I first tried to fly helis on the simulator with absolutely no luck. After flying the CX for several hours I tried the simulator again. I COULD FLY ANY OF THE HELICOPTERS ON THE SIMULATOR!!!
I am now very interested in helicopters and will get the CP pretty soon. Please, any infor on what would be a good gas heli to start with would be appreciated.

deanwesterburg

That's Great! The CX is a great aid in getting the fundementals and getting started.

I personaly have a Raptor 30 V2 and it is great. I bought the ARF one since I was new to helicopters at the time and it flew great right out of the box.

I think the most important thing about what heli to by is Parts Availability.. After a while, the heli might be good still, but if you can't get parts your just one crash away from putting it in the Trash Can! This Happend to me with 2 previous hellis.. A Cricket and a Shuttle...

I hear a lot of people talk abut the TREX. My Local hobbie shop carrys all the Raptor stuff and Trex, but I think the Raptor is on it's way out.. I better stock up on parts!! I would strongly recommned you you at www.heliproz.com.. To work there, you must know how to fly a heli.. They are in it because they love it, not just to make a buck. They can help you decide and sometimes even talk you out of spending more money when not nessacary! I trust them..

BTW.. Flying the 30 sized gas is WAY easier than the Blade CP! I have both. The CP cost less to repair, but the Raptor is easier to fly and much smoother..

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Its the most popular heli on the market and they still support thier very first versions for parts, what makes you say they are "on thier way out" ??

deanwesterburg

Just keep hearing and seeing more of the TREX and less of the Raptor.. I personaly love my Raptor 30 v2. It's the first really good heli I owned..

Having a "Crash Kit" available that covers most of what goes in a crash was very helpfull as a beginer. It helped me understand what I needed to look for after a crash.. I took Heli's from a dream, to a possibility for me.

My LHS are carrying less and less raptor, but as always, Heliproz still has it all.. The Electric stuff is becoming the majority of what my LHSs sell.

I would recommend the Raptor if parts are easily available to you. It has been a great heli for me. Buy a good Gyro, like the Futaba 401 with Digital servo.. it's amazing how well it does. A Computerized radio, even if a basic one, is a BIG plus. Makes minor adjustments a few second thing rather than a spin down, stop engine, adjust linkages, fire it up, spin up, try again. I have a JR 662 and it's computer functions are cryptic on the screen, but with the cheat sheet it's fine. Much better than No computer!

-Dean

shhhhucantcme

I think what Dean meant by they are on there way out meant ( correct me if I am wrong Dean ) is that with the Raptor as well as every other Gas heli, it is getting very expensive nitro wise to run them. The lhs looks at the decline in interest and the up swing for electrics. This seems to be a no brainer for them. With all of the possibilities on the internet they
( lhs's ) need to carry what is selling.

With nitro upwards of 30 dollars a gallon why not fly electrics. Some of the bigger birds like trex 600 and so on come really close to the nitros for flight with less expense in the long run. (Power wise )

Mark
Keep it in the air, not in the garbage can!

deanwesterburg

I would agree with what shhhhucantcme said, but it's not quite what I meant! It is very true as well!

It seems like through the years, there is a new heli that is the "Got to have" heli, and others drop by the wayside. Hirobo shuttle was the BIG heli and everyone had parts for it.. Then the LHM-100 (For entry level budgets), then the JR Venture?, Then the raptor.. Each time, the hoby shops stopped carrying parts for the previous model and started carrying parts for the latest and greatest.

It seems like every couple of years, another heli comes out, and another older one goes to the great helipad in the sky and parts and support dry up.

I would relate this to the computer industry.. Every few years, even if it still works fine, it becomes obsolete and hard to get service and parts for.

Just what I see as a consumer looking through the catalogs and local hobby shops!

shhhhucantcme

Well put Dean

Mark
Keep it in the air, not in the garbage can!

deanwesterburg

Thanks Mark!

I wish it wasn't true.. Anyone out there got a clutch for a Cricket? [] LOL!!! if not I have EVERY part but a clutch!!

-Dean

shhhhucantcme

Hello Dean

I tried the web sight and when I try to download the thing it goes to a gage that say crucial is scanning then the window disappears. I copied this from the computer from system information. DOES THIS HELP AT ALL ?

Name S3 Graphics ProSavage 8A26 (Microsoft Corporation)
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_5333&DEV_8A26&SUBSYS_005B0E11&REV_03\4&9AEDED5&0&0008
Adapter Type S3 ProSavage KM133(TM), S3 Graphics, Inc compatible
Adapter Description S3 Graphics ProSavage 8A26 (Microsoft Corporation)
Adapter RAM 32.00 MB (33,554,432 bytes)
Installed Drivers s3gnb.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.0012-13.94.12
INF File ps5333.inf (S3SavageNB section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1024 x 768 x 85 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0x80000000-0x800FFFFF
Memory Address 0x88000000-0x8FFFFFFF
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\s3gnbm.sys (6.14.10.0012-13.94.12, 163.00 KB (166,912 bytes), 7/12/2006 8:43 AM)



Mark
Keep it in the air, not in the garbage can!