razorled7

ive been looking around for a heli for few weeks and theres lots out there...but any way.... im just starting out in helis and need to know whats a good heli to buy.. i want to buy a 3D heli not an 2 3 or 4 channel one... im prity good with rc stuff. but never had a heli. herd thay were hard. looking to spend around 2-3 hun. want and RTF... thanks any info will help.....

Druss

For $200 the Esky Belt CP, for $300.... the Esky Belt CP with lots of parts.

You will crash, 99.9% of the ppl crash so getting parts right from the start is a good idea. There are some other helis just over $300 if you want to increase your budget a little. The blackhawk 450 i hear is good.

wyldbill

Hey Razorled7....If your looking for the best possible way to go....for $200-$300.....GET yourself a SIMULATOR!!!!.....believe me, your "learning curve" will be "not-so-expensive", however, I just bought the Blade 400 3D (which is an RTF for about $470; which for a collective headed heli is a real bargain, especially since it comes with a programmable DX6 transmitter that will allow you to program 9 other models, helis OR planks.) The 400 isn't the hotrod the 450 is, it seems to be a bit more forgiving. I've flown the coaxials, fixed pitchers, and currently own 5 helis. Anyway, I hope this helps you out somewyldbill

razorled7

ok the esky belt cp iv been looking and the the wolf 450, exi 450zl, (the dragon fly and exceed g2 at exheli.com) any of the ones i was looking at any good or capable of being any good? dnt would like to spend more money on a rtf but who know if i will like the headach of fixing it all the time or if i like it.... but i think i will.... most likey... thanks and one other thing, whats the diffrence between brushless motor and brushed motors?

RevGQ

Go to Audacity models. The Tiger 50 and the Pantera are well worth the money, parts are reasonable, and the support is extraordinary. The machines will do all you can do and then some, and the price is right for initial investment into the heli world.

razorled7

Ok i looked at the Tiger 50 and the Pantera 50. Thay are just kits right with no Radios, or am i wrong? I didnt see anything about and radios with it. would be a good radio if thay dnt come with one. I seen how much radios can go for and im not going spend 3-6 hun dolloars on a radio no just yet at least...

Skarn

I would recommend you save up and get a kit and radio. The experience you learn from building your own kit will be invaluable when it come time to repair your heli after a crash. Othwise you will be frustrated after a crash since you will not have a clue on how to tear it down, replace parts and rebuild it.

The ONLY RTF I'd personally recommend is the B400....it's a good bargain heli with a decent radio. One thing that is a fact as far as learning is concernded is that bigger is better. ANY micro heli will be very difficult to learn on and crashes will be more frequent. I suggest a 450 size heli or larger.

Good luck!
Skarn

RevGQ

Ditto the good advise on gaining experience with building the kits. Building is not as tough as it seems and there are some videos out there to introduce you to new concepts. Check out the RD 8000 by Airtronics. I fly with both the 6000 and 8000 and they are a breeze to setup both plane and heli.

razorled7

thanks for the info guys.... its helped.

razorled7

Im get an Electric one at first so i can play around inside. Then save for a gas one. Believe im going to get the Cp belt.... what else should i get with it.... like knew ESC, motor, tools extra parts that ill be breaking. haha let me know thanks......ofr the all the help again...

droggy

get at least a 30a esc, feathering shafts, main blades, main gears, and maybe an extra servo or two. I got a dynam 30a esc, seems to do he job well

razorled7

when i get it shold i take it all apart and thred lock all the screws and to know how to fix it before i break things? any pref on a motor for the cp belt...

droggy

didn't threadlock mine. The motor that came wit mine, the stock brushless, seems to be just fine for now. I've only begun in the hobby, so i'll probably upgrade later.

razorled7

k thanks

AZheli

If you have even the tiniest bit of doubt, it may be best to start out cheap, and work your way up. A Honeybee fixed pitch may only be 4 channels, but if you manage to master it, you'll be able to fly anything, plus replacement parts are fewer & cheaper. If you start out with some nice CP helis, like I did, you may as well cut a large hole in your wallet for all your money to drain out. There's nothing like the feeling you get when you watch your nice, fragile CP blades demolish themselves during a light ground strike only 30 seconds into your first flight. The HBFP is much more forgiving & you will at least be able to get in some cursory flight time before needing to place your first spare parts order.

No matter how good you think you're gonna be at the start, an electric heli will prove you wrong every time. There's nothing like having big ambitions to master a $3-400 heli dashed after the first VISA Card bill arrives.

Plan on spending lots of time practicing on cartoon helicopters with a PC simulator. After your first 5 minutes of heli fly time, you'll forget all about 3D flight & just be concerned about getting it into the air & back down without breaking something major.

If you just want to go out & fly without the Zen aspects of heli flight, consider starting out with any one of numerous coaxials. They do really practically fly themselves, and you can soon be putting in enough stick time to actually wear them out before they break. I found out the hard way that FP & CP helis are a discipline and more hard work than I want to put into the hobby at this time. I have several helis and hundreds of dollars of spare parts in the back room waiting for me to someday change my mind & decide to try to fly them again...

razorled7

thanks man.... bahh dunno what to do know..... that 4 ch falcon any good the 89 dollar one.... ??

bluecnc

I started out with a coaxial and believe me even they can get expensive to learn on. If you have never run anything RC learning how to to control something coming towards or beside you is tough. You have chosen one of the hardest things in the world to fly. My next door neighbor had a nitro heli and all he would do was hover it three feet off the ground. Now I know why. Like others have posted. Go cheap at first. Find out what is available locally. You will be buying parts. And if your like many others you will not want to put your TX down. Right now I am waiting for my battery to charge. Can't wait to get in the air. BTW. I have a Blade CX2 with mods. For right now it is all I need. I see a B400 in my future. Happy air time.

Rob

dodgemcopter

I started off with a Walk 22e and it near turned me away from heli's, then I went back to basics, I bought a cx2. Got borred very quickly with it and instead of chuckin cash at it to make it do more I emptied my wallet on a King 2 and a Walk 4#1, after 200+ flights with the 4#1 it is now dead but I replaced it with a HBFP. Looking back IMHO the cx2 could have been skipped as coaxal/fp/cp are 3 very different designs of helis, its like learning to fly again after each upgrade and the only thing I learned from coaxal is orientation. The 4#1 helped me learn controled hover and forward flight, it also helped waking my dead brain up as its no where near as lethargic as a coaxal. As an added bonus the head design design with 4#1 allows it to pop off, Im not sure if its just a cheap design on Walkera"s part but after lots of crashes including a few kick ass head ons lol I never BROKE a thing. It is this practice that allows me to fly my HBK2 without crashes, I have a sim but only used it once, found it easier to learn on the real thing. I think you could learn to fly any helicopter but it just comes down to $$$$$$$$$$, they are designed to fly and land without crashing......its just finding one that can crash for less cash[ I have had RC boats, cars etc but soon found out when something goes wrong they don't just stop and sit there waiting for you to go pick it up like boats & cars.......heli's come DOWN next time ya got your RC car out and it stops grab it and throw it as far as ya can in the air, that will give an idea of what your up for lol. Go the FP regardless, you'll have a ball, you can chuck em round and they are super cheap and easy to repair.....plus you don't spend hrs setting up again when you replace a broken bit as you do with CP.

droggy

hey razor,

I started with belt cp. Crashed it, ordered parts and a falcon 40 from xheli, great to learn on. Like AZ said, very twitchy, and after flying that for a while, it was alot easier flying the belt cp. Then I ordered the coaxial walkera 5 10, just for pissin around the house. I seemed to do buy them all backwards. If I was to do start all over again, I would skip the coaxial and go straight for the fixed pitch( falcon 40 or honeybee FP). Now I'm waiting for parts for all three, so I ordered a blackhawk 450se in the meantime, should be here tuesday. Have fun in whatecer choice you make and happy flyin'.

Gord

Skarn

Bro, you say you want to fly around inside for a while.....a Belt CP is not good for that! It is a larger heli with a very fast headspeed.....you want to fly them oustide or in a large indoor aread like an empty garage for just hovering. But I would NOT fly it around the house!

Skarn

razorled7

will the falcon 40 be ok to start with then? any thing i should buy to go with it???? upgrades extra....

UfcGuy39

razorled7, I have been into heli's for just over 7 months. Went from the Micro, to a 450 class. It was a huge jump. I crashed after my first two hovers. The hard part, , waiting on the cash to fix. This was the problem with every crash. I got smart, and purchased a simulator. Spending a lot of quality time on a sim really teaches you discipline. You hover in front of you, to the left side and back, to the right side and back, and if it gets away from you, set it down and put it right back in front of yourself. You know what, you will crash. Even the pro's crash. You have to figure out how much $ you are willing to part yourself with to fix and get back up in the air to get past the learning curve. I'm not going to pretend that I am an expert here, but in 7 months, I can hover, do figure 8's and a little FF flight. Would not be able to do at all if it wasn't for the simulator. Takes the fear away a bit, when you hit that thing for an hour or so, then go outside an put that exact practice to the bird. (A FP honeybee) wouldn't be a bad bird to start with - - It is cheap, really cheap to fix in hover crashes, in comparison to CP heli's.

Forgot 1 more thing,, shop around - - you will find that some places are good with low prices, bad customer service. Some have higher prices, but Great customer service. This can be frustrating. Hit the threads for each heli you are interested in. There is great advise on Heli's and the Sellers... Just browse around and read, read, and read some more.

razorled7

ok.... will a cheap sim work though b/c my computer isnt the best out there.... prity crappy though.. and ill will post later on witch helis i was looking at... i get diffrent awnsers from dif people... but everyone got there oun dis likes and likes about diffrent helis... and were i live i dnt think thay have any helis that i was looking all online.... I live in Sand spring Ok. theres a coulple of hobbie stores here but dnt have the helis i was looking for.... looking to buy one this weeknd.... for sure.... got extra money from work.... budget is still around 2 hun dollars to purchase one... some aslo come with sims right???? yea i think thay do but are thay worth practicing on... thanks and sorry for some missed spelleds works trying to get this done... im at work

UfcGuy39

Pm Sent

razorled7

any other info anyone wants to add would be greatfull and helpfull thanks......