alexdman

i am considering getting a hirobo xrb lama? I have never touched an rc plane or heli before in my life. Should i get a flight sim first or is the XRB easy enough to fly so i can teach myself? i dont want to break any heli i get, and i want to learn how to fly so i could eventually get a better heli. By the way, the XRB is a tethered heli with counter rotating rotars. it is supposed to be a good choice for newbies and fun and easy to fly. is this true? any help is appreciated. thanks.

-alex

rc-whirlybird

Hi !
The Sim... is the BIG help for all Airplane or Helicopter pilots.
I think you buy the Sim... first and play with ...
After that spend some more money (about $500 up) to get the real heli, E power like Corona or Glow power like Hawk Sport, Raptor....
I don't have the Hirobo XRB Lama, but I saw one at the local hobby shop. The guy bought it $230, fly it about 2 minutes, and crash it (he said).... can't repair it...???
Wow, look too bed.

If you like to have the good one, skip this Lama....

Good luck in to hobbies...

Click this link to have fun with your left mouse buton;
http://www.seethru.co.uk/games/helicopter.htm

alvin1

I have just started in helicopters and can tell you that the sim will be the most useful thing that you will buy,as it will teach you the basics you need before you fly for real.you need to practice on the sim for a while before you buy a helicopter.when you have learn't the basics then it's time to buy a helicopter and try it for real (but with a training undercarriage attached).I feel i must caution you that in my opinion you are wasting your money buying an xrb lama,this is just a toy and not a proper hobby helicopter,in addition to this it will not teach you to fly properly because it is too small and tethered,it will be harder to control than a 30 size model because the wind will make it drift all over the place(assuming you will fly it in your back garden).your best bet would be to consider a 30 size model when the time comes.If you do buy an xrb lama then you will only end up buying a 30 size model soon after,or get disheartened and leave the hobby.As for the crashes,your not likely to crash if you can be sensible and keep the heli height to about a foot off the ground when learning and using the training undercarriage at all times.common sense prevails when learning to fly these things,if the heli turns away from you ect.then land the model imediatly and reposition yourself.sticking to this regime will enable a slow but steady learning curve

cruiseair

I am new to RC helicopters and bought an XRB Lama as an intro. I fly RC gliders and a little power - so am used to RC flying - but know helis are entirely different game. I have been flying the XRB every day for about two weeks - 10 or 15 minutes per day and am now hovering and can confidently fly the helicopter in simple flight patterns. I broke some blades intially running into furniture - but there are enough extras supplied to keep going.

Once I feel confident enough I intend to move into an RC electric heli.

I do not know if experienced RC heli people consider the XRB an authentic heli trainer since it has no tail rotor. But the control movements on the Tx are the same as a conventional heli - so I would guess you are using the same skills and judgement to fly the XRB as a tail rotor ship.

Besides - the XRB Lama is just good fun.

Jeff Thompson

I have to agree with Cruiseair. I've only flown fixed wing in the past (real gliders & nearly every type of R/C plane imaginable) and am pretty low-time in R/C overall, having flown for less than a year and a half. I was in my local hobby store yesterday, and after being tempted, prompted and taunted dozens of times by the local hobby store owner to the effect that I really should try a heli, when I spied the XRB I thought it would be nice to try something that was completely assembled, could be flown indoors and didn't need batteries or nitro.

After about an hour of intense concentration, I was able to fly & hover for long periods at a time. I didn't even break any of the foam blades (yesterday), and I was flying in a pretty limited area. Today I've been crashing more often, and I've had to replace some of the foam blades. It's not a bad idea to buy an extra box of each set of blades (A & B, for top and bottom). I wouldn't say it's easy to fly, but it would be less interesting if it were, so it should keep you challenged until you move up, should you want to. A quick check on the Internet showed that every replacement part except the motor housing (which should be hard to wreck) is available, and at very reasonable prices. About the only bad flying habit I've found on my XRB is that occasionally it doesn't want to yaw clockwise very easily, usually after hovering in place for an extended time. I haven't figured this out, and I may be able to tweak something on the heli to fix this tendency, though I know very little about heli tuning at this point. I've found that when this happens I can get my right yaw back by rotating the right stick clockwise quickly for one revolution. Go figure. Anybody else notice this?

Other than the blades and the landing gear, the XRB is surprisingly sturdy. I've done some hard landings onto a hardwood floor & have only had to hot glue the landing gear, which is a softer plastic than the rest of the heli. I don't know if there's a real Lama counter-rotating heli or not, but the looks are more scale and realistic than most of the nitro helis you're likely to see at your local hobby store. All in all, I like it. And if you try e--- you should be able to find one for about $200 new. Just remember to keep the tail pointed towards you at all times until you become proficient at flying it this way, and you should have a blast.

--Jeff

bdphil

My Feedback: (26)

If you're serious about learning to fly model helicopters, get the simulator. You will be able to progress much further and much faster with the sim than the lama. Once you're confident with basic controls you can get in to a 30 size glow heli with a better chance of success. The sim will also allow you learn forward flight, aerobatics and even 3D, where the lama will be of little use once you can hover.

I would also recommend staying away from the micro heli's until you're a reasonably proficient flyer. The inexpensive ones (the ones attractive to beginners and often marketed toward beginners) are very limited, and more difficult to fly than a larger model IMO. Local heli flyers (hopefully you can find some) will be able to help you choose a model, set it up and help you get flying.

Ben

hedgehog23

Sim for sure. I just picked up the G2 and i think it will be a great training tool. It was expensive but may save me money in replacement parts when i get a heli

Hotshot Charlie

I'm also a newbie to heli's.... RealFlight G2 is the only way to go. I can't tell you how many times I have crashed a heli on the sim and it didn't cost me a dime. I have only been using the sim for about a week and already hovering in all positions. I even successfully completed several attempts at inverted flight last night.

The learning curve is fast and it will save you a lot of money and repair time. I plan on spending another month on the sim before firing up my heli. I have a Raptor 30 waiting for a test flight.... but want to be totally, 100% ready for that day.

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

Ditto that,

The simulator is the best money i ever put into this hobby.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Sim first, then get a real heli, not some teathered POS that will be in the garbage in a week. If you are serious about wanting to fly helis, the sim will pay for itself many times over. Then get something like a raptor 30 or equivelent and learn to fly it. If you just want a toy, get the teathered heli and fly it till it is trashed and throw it away. That won't take long.

bdphil

My Feedback: (26)

Well said. I got a chuckle out of that one.

Ben

FlyingFish

My Feedback: (17)

Getting a Sim is a Good Idea, But I've Been using the Tethered LAMA as my Simulator and it has helped me a great deal to Fly micro helis. Others are saying the LAMA is a stupid toy not worth bothering with, But don't be Fooled!!! If you use the lama to try and land on various objects in the house, (like small end tables or perhaps using a mouse pad on the ground to zero in on a target) It then becomes obvious how much consitration and skill is needed to pin point your landings to one particular spot! Any kind of practice is another stepping stone toward achiving your Goal.............!!!!!!!!! P.S. I've been flying the lama for 5 months now, and it still works fine and helihobby.com has all the parts you need for it!

pilot77

Simulators are wonderful !!!!!!!!! it will make it that much harder and the duration longer to learn to fly helis if u dun have a sim.
I am assuming that those lamas are non collctive so i doubt that woudl have an exact real feel to a collective pitch anyway woudl they ??? well i could b way off.
Simulators are great, i would have had no hope without mine.. i used the fms until i coudl afford a better one then bought tru flight 3d its been great and the shuttle feels very realistic to what it does in actuall flight. the only hurdle i had was confidence,and once that grew, my flying progressed rapidly. I think get a sim then save for a 30 size, u will have to spend some good time on the sim to make it worthwhile... its been said many times but they pay for themselves over and over again..

James

KiwiPilot

Have got countless hours of joy (and frustration) from my CSMv10 sim - tailored to my Raptor.

Looking to be in the air before the UK Summer.

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Just my .02. Get G2, or an equivelent sim, and save your money for a "real" rc heli, if you're serious about this hobby. I almost ordered one of those until I saw it in my LHS. To me, it looks like a piece of cr@p (just my opinion). Personaly, I would spend the money on the sim, instead of the lama. If you just want something to play with, get the Lama. I read a couple of reviews on it, and read its mostly for "rainy day flying".
Joe
PS and yes, my sim has paid for itself many times over

Hotshot Charlie

I have hit a learning curve on my sim, seems that I am hovering and doing basic forward flight ok, but any 3D or just plain ole' "hard" flying isn't going well.

My point is... If I had been doing this with a real heli, I would be broke right now. heheheee

Get the RealFlight G2 and have fun (and get frustrated) while you learn.