well for any beginner setup tools are a must.

i havn't desided which heli i want to buy yet, cost is a factor so its either a hawk 4 or a rappy

i seen a pic of a rappy inverted bacily cutting the grass bone stock with woodys...thats impressive

but not to stray from the original question what are some good quality tools?

century has a good deal on set up tools , pitch gauge, ball link pliers,and a blade ballancer for 54.95+shipping

if i go with a rappy can i use standard screw drivers? i heard some ware that japan standards were what the screws were made for. true?

what other tools will make life easyer with out costing me a forune?

centurys deal sounds good, you will need a hex set in mill. additionally to that.
that should get you pretty much started, more tools (and toys) to follow of course...

dont mind to have a brain fart but, what is a hex set in mill.?
the hex adapter that goes into the starter to start the heli?
just basic hex drivers?
a tool that i can't think of what it does?

sorry my fault, meaning a hex driver set, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4mm sizes

I really don't like the Century ball link pliers. They are curved at the tip, which means you can only use them one way. They are also hard to get under the links for removal. I disliked them som much that I sprung for the green handle HeliMax pliers from HeliProz. $28 bucks is a lot, but IMHO worth every penney. Also, I do have a set of Japanese Industrial Standard phillips head screwdrivers and believe me, there is a big difference. They fit the Japanese screws perfectly and you'll never strip a head. Well worth it. My favorite pitch guage is the Miniature Aircraft. I went with the cheap one from Century when I was starting out and (just like the pliers) I found that the Century guage was mediocre. For one thing, there is a big gap between the indicator and the pitch scale, making accurate measurements more difficult. Also, the clamping mechanism is cheap and inconsistent. The MA guage is really great for accurate pitch setup. Finally, I think you will want a 5.5 mm nut driver if you go with a Japanese machine. Very helpful tool. Of course, a combination plug wrench and ball link driver is also a good thing to have. Re the hex wrenches, you will find that cheap hex keys round over eventually. I invested in a nice set of hardened machined hex drivers and they are truly a pleasure to work with. I have a Koll Rotor Pro blade balancer and I love it. Probably the best balancer on the market. Having said tat, all these tolls will cost you a lot more than the Century set (the Koll alone is $75), so you may want to start cheap. Personally, I found that after a few months in the hobby, I was replacing my cheap tools with good ones. I hate buying stuff twice.

buying twice sux, you'll spend twice what you would have if you just spent the cash up frount

the pitch gauge does look a little "cheesey"
well ill be tallting up the cost of the tools that you listed

what charger can i use if i go with a 1800mah 4.6 battery? i have the futaba carger that came with my radio...will that work?

i agree, working with good tools is a joy that makes the hobby better

thanks for the warning

I just bought the Sirius Charge Pro Series charger on flmgrip's recommendation (we belong to the same club). WOW, great charger. It is a fast peak charger and batter conditioner that eliminates memory and allows you to charge from your field box gel cell between flights. You can fly all day with this charger and it does a much better job of conditioning your batteries than the stock trickle charger included with your radio. Charges both Rx and Tx simultaneously. I use a 12v power supply to power the charger from a wall outlet when I am home, but you could use your gell cell exclusively, particularly if you attach a charger to your gel cell while the Siruis is being used at home. (I already had the power supply from my RC car days). I highly recommend the Sirius. The downside: $117.99 at HeliProz (What can I say, I had some heli money burning a hole in my pocket and I wanted to be able to quick charge on the fly so I would never miss a flying opportunity due to a failure to plug in the night before. Also, the battery conditioning circuitry was important to me.)

totally agree with you adam... thanks for the more in depth post, i was just tight on time...

5.5 mm nut driver?
i have a ratchit(sp?) handle socket nut driver, would that work?
also where can i find that combination plug wrench and ball link driver?

are the century and raptor helis japanese?

Last one first: Yes, they are both Japanese. The metric thing would also apply to any European heli, and may even apply to USA helis like the X-Cell (I'm not sure).

A 5.5 mm nut driver is not a rachet, it's like a screw driver with a socket head at the end for a 5.5 mm nut. You will find that this is the most common size nut used in helils, and that your trusty socket set does not have half sizes (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 mm, etc.) Thus, you really need the special nut driver.

I got my combo ball link driver and glow wrench at my LHS. Come to think of it, that might be the one Century tool I still use :stupid:

OK, my .02 for ya.

I Don't have a Koll, But get a decent one.
I have a Du-Bro Hi-point with the extra bits for balancing blades.
It does a good job. Take your time, get it right.
Get a good set of ball-link pliers, you won't like the cheap ones.
I started with Hardened Allen wrenches and now have good Ball drivers too. They speed things up. Do final tightening with the wrench for consistent results.
My X-Cell is mixed English and Metric - BUT I bought it used, all the parts I've bought for it are metric.
And yes, Get the Japanese screwdrivers!
I buy one new tool or set with every major upgrade, It's getting there!

I too have ball drivers (hex drivers with a hex ball at the tip, rather than straight machined hex shafts), and they're great for those hard to reach places (you can drive the hex bolt at an angle). Still, I'd get the hardened hex drivers first, for the same reason RamJet stated--more consistent.

how about numbering the tools from Most needed to just nice to have.
i added up everything i could possibly think of for tools and its a good $200 for just tools!
add in a gyro and a heli and other stuff and its like 850!!!! hmmm
i guess this hobby isn't cheap! man if i dont get a job some were this is all calculations and time a wasted
looks like im going to need to go for less stuff if i plan to get this project anywere near going

is there anywere i can cut cost? the gyro is either $200 for the gy401/digy or $100 for the gy240 basicly its a 100/100 gyro and digy which i can move in to the next heli as with all the tools
i guess what would be nice is a list of the bare minimum that i would need to assemble ballance a heli, i have the general plank stuff so its the "heli only" things ill be needing

i spend $1000 on servos, gyro, receiver and other electric stuff per heli, not even heli and engine calculated.
no it is sure not cheap, but if you skimp now you will pay later double... it's your choice.
look for used stuff, but be careful with what you get (use escrow for e.g.)

1. Blade balancer (it doesn't have to be the Koll, but get the Koll if you can afford it)

2. Ball link pliers

3. Regular old metric hex keys will do for now

4. If you can find a screwdriver in your tool box that fits, you can dispense with the JIS set for now (note that different brands of screwdrivers you can find at the hardware store may have different fits, so you might want to bring a screw with you to the store and get one that fits the best. Also, you can modify an old screw driver by grinding down the tip to achieve a better fits with the JIS screws.)

5. Your regular trickle charger will do for now.

in have most of the stuff you stated, maybe after i finish my 1/4 super piper cub ill be buying a heli.

now if i could only get fms working properly enough to learn some flying skills. . .

Lesson #1 for getting into Helis:

NEVER COUNT THE MONEY!!! This is one hobby where if you cant afford it you should not be in it. Do not take this the wrong way, I am just trying to be honest. You can not go cheap. It will just end up frustrating you. Cheap Heli + Cheap Gear + Cheap tools = Disaster, and a shot live experience in the hobby.

Not to brag, but I invested over 2000.00 for my first setup, that was heli, good equipment, radio, and field gear. I just spent over 1700.00 on my last heli, that was just the helicopter and the radio gear.

If you are trying to pinch your way in you will be dissapointed. It was much cheaper when I was flying planes. I think I spend more now on just the gyro, than I did then for a fully equiped plane to fly.

Helicopters are precision machines that defy physics, and take an extrodinary amount of time(money) to master and maintain. That is the real truth of it, and it will not change.

The cost of the helicopter kit is just a fraction of the "Real" cost of flying these machines. Anybody who tells you you can get away "cheap" is not letting you in on the whole story.

Lest be honest here, we have all spent way more that we origionally thought we would, am I the only one who is honest enough to admit this? Ring in people, lets be straight with this guy on what he is getting into.

I didn't mean to imply otherwise, and my prior posts demonstrate just how expensive tools can get. However, I did not go out and buy everyting I currently have at once and I bet you didn't either. I stand by my post.

ergo60
i thought you didn't count the money, but then you state how much you spent.

give this guy a break, he is trying to FIGURE out how much this will cost him, if he can afford it and that is very smart.

once you bought a good heli, radio etc. you do not have to spend much more if you don't want to, but most of us want...

and a crash is not doomed to happen right away... and let's make this not a "rich man's hobby". that's why companies like TT, JR and others came out with cheaper helies. the electronics still might be the same price, but the repair (running costs) are cheaper.

Right. It can be very expensive once you are in it -- no disagreement there. But I didn't star out with hardened hex drivers, JIS screwdrivers, and a Sirius peak charger, etc. It's a lot easier to spend $2000 over 6 months than all at once. That's my only point. Once you are drwn into it and in the air, the additional expenses for nicer tools and equipment are easier to take. As I stated above, in a perfect world, you would do it right the first time and not buy stuff twice. But some stuff, like the screwdrivers, can still wait while avoiding such double buying. I think the more people in the hobby the better.

Woah,,,,, I did not mean anything negative in my post, nor did I mean to say that anyone was wrong.

All I wanted to get across is that this is a rather expensive hobby, and I am by no means a rich man (2 mortgages, wife, 3 kids, 1 horse, 2 goats, 3 chickens, you add it up)

I am not putting anyone down here, and I am not trying to make this a rich mans hobby. Look over all my past posts, I try to be as honest as possible.

This is one thing that I hate about the forums, is that you can not tell the persons attitude or meaning by reading the text. I am a very friendly person, and will never tak part in flaming, or ridiculing anyone on these boards. I may occasionally give a little friendly poke at the Raptor, but never in a harmfull way.

I still dont even own a set of JIS screwdrivers!!!

flmgrip:

When I said Do not count the money, I was just trying to get the idea across that if you actually thought real hard about how much you have spent, and what it could have go towards besides helicopters, you may think twice, and in reality when you are starting out it is going to cost some money.
And as stated before I was not giving this guy a hard time, I just wanted him to know that, Yes it does cost, and maybe I should have also mentioned that it is worth EVERY penny,and every hour of overtime I have to work to pay for it.
ANd since he is trying to figure out the cost, I was telling him how much it could cost if he went the route I went.

Quote from flmgrip
"i spend $1000 on servos, gyro, receiver and other electric stuff per heli, not even heli and engine calculated.
no it is sure not cheap, but if you skimp now you will pay later double... it's your choice.
look for used stuff, but be careful with what you get (use escrow for e.g.)"

I actually agreed with what you said. My statement was not that far off from yours. With the newer low cost helicopters you can spend twice the cost of the kit on the rest of the stuff to get it in the air. Does anybody disagree with this?

Once again, no hard feelings, and I was not out to deiscourage, or flame anybody, I was just putting in my 2 cents worth.

no offence taken and no hard feelings, we are all just trying to help.
"With the newer low cost helicopters you can spend twice the cost of the kit on the rest of the stuff to get it in the air"
sure agree !

I have to agree paying for the basic tools needed at the very least is the smart thing to do. I spent the first year of the RC airplane hobby jerry-rigging repairs and using the wrong tools for the job. Luckily I knew what I was doing and knew that my frustation would end when I did things the right way, so I stayed in the hobby.

Now I fly correctly with the right tools and it has been a very satisfying hobby.... and in some cases CHEAPER.

I really have to disagree with the defy physics statement. I know what your getting at but one of my pet peves is when someone deems something amaizing to be magical, for example... Men in space, how a PC work, and the internet. I think that letting things be magical leads to bad things, like the darkage and people getting burned alive by the church for talking about little green men. I'm the type of guy that likes to know HOW things work.
Keeps the brain busy. :stupid:

IFLY...This may be a little off the exact subject but I can't help but consider one of the most important tools, and probably the most cost effective (money saving) tools would be a simulator. Much cheaper to crash the sim while learning and you don't even need ball link pliers to reset!! (Ha) For any newbie, like me, I think a sim should be formost in the tool stable and you can get one for free (FMS) or spend up to $200 for the RealFlight G2 USB version (just got mine and love it). I am positive the sim has paid for itself 100 times over compared to crashing and feel it's the most important tool I could have purchased. You can change and experiment with the set up, winds, models etc. etc!

Jim

i have fms which i have been learning on for the last few days

yes i think helis would be a much more costly hobby if sims were not avaible

i made my own cord to go from my t8uaf to the computer

some say its not at all good, you can get it hovering and leave it there all day, not my version!
i get it hovering and the nose drops and it goes in to foward flight and it was a real hand full the first few time but now im getting the hang of it

nose in not fun!

as many have said get a sim...ware it out thats what i plan to do
since getting a heli will take me a while any way i have nothing better to do