golfingguy27

Hey Guys,

I am a fixed wing pilot that is starting to entertain the thought of picking up heli's. I want to get some opinions on what heli I should look into for my first setup. I have actually had a heli a few years ago, but only did a little hovering with training gear, then ended up selling it. I have been flying heli's on realflight for a while now, can hover nose in and out, and am pretty decent at forward flight. I picked up fixed wing very quickly, and I'm sure I will do the same with heli's. If I can afford it, I'd like at least a 50 sized heli that is stable and easy enough to learn on, yet upgradeable. I get bored with my planes just flying in circles and I'm sure Id get the same way with heli's, so I want something that can be made aerobatic and possibly 3D capable down the road. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Todd

paulsen

My Feedback: (2)

Check out the raven. 50 I just ordered a .30 although I know the .50 Is superior in many aspects, I needed a good home for my ENYA .35. People are going to have all kinds of opinions, but you sound like me if its boring wheres the fun. This heli has all the features that can make it fun e ccpm for fast cyclic responce centered mass for fast response fully symmetrical composite blades w/ kit.radius and thrust bearings on all four blades,And I believe an aluminum torque tube w/kit they advertise carbon tube but someone was talking about them just upgrading to aluminum.

There are so many good choices out there this just happens to be my choice.

Ike,Fly it like you stole it!

okw

I'd suggest checking what the local pilots fly. You'll want to have something that they know and can help you with. Pretty much all of today's major-brand heli's are very good machines and will suit you fine ... although you are about to be bombarded by people telling you which is "the best".

Also, do a search on RCU for something like "first heli" as this question is asked at least once a day.

Good luck,
Keith

flyerdarren

I'd suggest the Caliber 30 or 50. Very stable and 3d capable right out of the box. Thre's plenty of upgrade parts available, and it looks great.

WhtBronco

Well golfingguy27 you have asked a question to which you'll get a million answers. There a lot of good heli out there right now. I was in your position recently and ended up getting a Raptor 50. I'v ebeen flying fixed wing for years and find it boring to fly circles. So I wanted a capable heli as well. I spent a great deal of time flying helis on G2 before I got a heli. I have advanced very quickly. In fact on flight # 9 I started doing loops and rolls with my Raptor. I had narrowed my descision to the Venture 50 and the Raptor 50. I really wanted an X-Cell heli, but the 60 size was out of my proce range and the X-Cell 50 is a bit heavy for 3D flying. If anyone at your club is flying helis get what they fly. There's only 1` guy at my club flying helis, well since my pruchase there are now 3, but all 3 are Raptor 50's. My LHS, not so local realy at 65 miles, stocks all the parts for the Raptor's and the owner flies a Raptor 50. That made the descision an easy 1.

Truth is get the heli you like the best. The Raptor is a nice heli easy to build, stable ad low parts cost, course so are most of the others out there though. I would suggest a kit over an ARF so you'll better uderstand the heli and when things are not quite right you'll have a better idea what the problem is.

Good luck. Have fun.

Prophex

People really have to stop asking this question and do a search on the forum, this question comes arround every week.

It's simple: Either take the Raptor 30 or 50 if you want to start on your own. The 30 when you are low on cash and the 50 if you can afford it.
Or you look what pilots in your neigberhood have and choose one of those.

rob10000

People need to stop jumping on the newbies for not searching first.

Reprimanding him isn't going to stop next weeks newbie from asking the same question.

Anyway, ideally you should get into the machine that your instructor recommends.
If your going it by yourself, then the Raptor is the best choice. You can learn set up and other topics on www.raptortechnique.com
It's the most popular machine because of cost, performance.
For those who don't agree, show me www.evotechnique.com, or www.calibertechnique.com, or www.raventechnique.com
Raptor information is all over the web, and they even have a dedicated store! www.onlyraptors.com
Again, try and show me www.evosonly.com, www.calibersonly.com.....

syclic

Rob1000 - good point on the raptortechnique site. IMHO that is a requirement due to the relatively incomplete instructions that come with the kits.

IMHO, if a kit comes with adequate instructions, then further info is not as important. Setting up a Raven 50 as per the very comprehensive instruction manual that it comes with is very easy and has proven very successful. Consequently one may not find as many posts relative to it on the various news groups.

But if perchance one does need further assistance, one can easily find help on any of the Century forum here on rcuniverse, or on www.runryder.com , or on www.rotorworks.net or on www.rotory.com

This heli is more a mini 60 then a bigger 30 like many others. I love it

okw

rob,

I agree completely. However, he may do a search when he has another question and save the time spent waiting for someone helpful (like yourself) to reply.

Just because a couple guys create websites dedicated to a particular brand doesn't make it "the best choice." It means that it's what they like. Just so happens that it's also what you like (I'm guessing here). If I go out tomorrow and create calibertechnique.com, that won't instantly make it equal to the Raptor. And just because that website doesn't exist (yet), that doesn't automatically make the Raptor better than the Caliber. By the way, [link=http://www.raptortechnique.com]RaptorTechnique.com[/link] is an excellent resource for information regarding RC helicopters ... and not just Raptors.

Anyway Todd, welcome to the world of RC helicopters! It's an exciting diversion from fixed wings that I think you'll enjoy. As you may have gathered, just like every other endeavor, you will find that people you talk to have their own opinions as to what is the "right way" to do one thing or another. What you have to do is talk to as many people as you can, read as much as you can, take in all of the information, weed out the BS and decide what is right for you.

Again, good luck,
Keith

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

Any good 50 will do what you want. Raptor, Sceadu, or Raven

I prefer the Raptor - most popular heli by a large margin. Very easy to find experienced help for. In my area we have maybe 30 pilots, only a couple of them that i am aware of do not own a rappy. Heli folks are generally pretty helpfull, and will assist even if it is an unfamiliar heli, but it does make it easier to work on one that is familiar. check on what people recomend in your area.

Rappy 30 and 50 use same frame and mostly the same parts, which i can get from the local shop. I broke one on friday, by friday night it was ready to go again. local parts supply comes in handy now and then. Check on what parts are stocked at your local shop.

rjmdubois

Get a Raptor 50 w/ TT50 engine and wood blades, a good gyro (futaba 401 w/ 9254). For servos, choice are Hitec 475 (low cost but will do the job), Hitec 635 (best bang for the buck) or futaba 9202, if you like to pay for brand. I'm sure JR has also some nice servos.
Get also a Crash kit, a simulator (I like Reflex XTR, but Real flight G2 will do the job) and a few gallons of 15% fuel.
While you build the heli (take a couple of weeks, don't hurry) practice in the sim. I bet in one month you will be hovering and doing basic manouvers.

evan-RCU

I think WHTBRONCO said it well and supported his reasons with good info. There are many helos out there and while I fly a different brand it's an excellent idea to get what others in your area are flying and what your hobby shop supports. After that most people will have a reason to stay with that brand or go to another. Too many times the people here say brand X is the best and it turns out they have never owned any other brand, kinda like the experts that tell you how to fly when they are lucky to hover but because they can fly inverted on G2 they think they know it all.

jplodato

My Feedback: (2)

I need Help. I just got back into the hobby and originally 10 years ago was flying 6 different types of planes. My helicopter I started with was a concept 30. I am getting back in and I would like to know what the best starter heli would be as well as a kit with the ability to serious upgrade. I am looking for a 50 or 60 size machine and I am in a toss up between the venture 50 or the raptor 50 or 60. Or unless someone else has a better option. ALso what upgrades are recommended from a standard kit if any?

jplodato

My Feedback: (2)

I need Help. I just got back into the hobby and originally 10 years ago was flying 6 different types of planes. My helicopter I started with was a concept 30. I am getting back in and I would like to know what the best starter heli would be as well as a kit with the ability to serious upgrade. I am looking for a 50 or 60 size machine and I am in a toss up between the venture 50 or the raptor 50 or 60. Or unless someone else has a better option. ALso what upgrades are recommended from a standard kit if any?

WhtBronco

jplodato you sound exactly like me. I flew, tried to fly, a Concept 30 12 years ago. Never got out of hovering. I recently got a Raptor 50 and was in forward flight on flight # 3. Loops and rolls by flight 9. Flight 11 will begin inverted. This heli flies so much better tan my crappy Concept it's amazing to me. Course everything is better now compared to then, helis, engines and radios by far. The G2 sim has done wonders for my ability and confidence of course. I'd bet in the last 2 years my sim has saved me at least $2000 since I know how to react in a situation with my real models that I would only regularly get into on the sim. Here's a clip from my above post that explains why I got the Raptor 50 when I had mostly decided on the Venture 50.

I had narrowed my descision to the Venture 50 and the Raptor 50. I really wanted an X-Cell heli, but the 60 size was out of my price range and the X-Cell 50 is a bit heavy for 3D flying. If anyone at your club is flying helis get what they fly. There's only 1 guy at my club flying helis, well since my pruchase there are now 3, but all 3 are Raptor 50's. My LHS, not so local really at 65 miles, stocks all the parts for the Raptor's and the owner flies a Raptor 50. That made the descision an easy 1.

Truth is get the heli you like the best. The Raptor is a nice heli easy to build, stable and low parts cost, course so are most of the others out there though. I would suggest a kit over an ARF so you'll better uderstand the heli and when things are not quite right you'll have a better idea what the problem is.

Most important have fun. It can be frustrating at times. You'll find help here so relax, fly and have fun with it.

loadthis

My Feedback: (3)

Another Heli Newbie here, has anyone heard of the Quick 30 made by Quick Heli and HHI?
From what I saw on www.quickheli.com it looks this would be a great beginners heli.
I already have a GWS Dragonfly and want a CP bird.
Opinions?...

Flaps2012

I haven't heard a whole lot on the Quick line of helicopters. I remember talking to a guy in Omaha NE that had a couple of them. I know that there are very few plastic parts on them and the instructions used to be on a CD ROM. No paper! I don't know if it is still this way tho. But I understand it is a very good flying heli. I would still go with what the locals fly and whatever your LHS has parts for. Probably a Raptor.

okw

I have a Quick 46 and it flies great. However, I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. While it is very stable in both hover and forward flight, it is made to be more agile than the average "beginner heli" which makes it a little harder to learn on. Having all metal parts makes the linkages nice and solid, but also makes the heli more expensive to repair. Sources for replacement parts is very limited as well. I bought mine in July or August and as Flaps said, it only came with a manual on CD but if that helps keep the cost down, that's fine with me ... I've got a printer.

One other very important point is the customer service issue HHI. While it seems to be getting better, the history has been shaky at best.

If you are set on getting a Quick heli, you should check out the guys at [link=http://www.helicopterhobbies.com/]Helicopter Hobbies[/link]. They are going to be the new importer for Quick of Japan with a new Fighter line of heli's. Unfortunately, the only information on the website so far is a phone number and e-mail address, but it might be worth a phone call to check them out.

But before you run out and buy a Quick (or anything else), I'd take Flaps advice and check to see what other local pilots are flying and what the LHS carries and seriously consider going with that so you will have experienced help when you need it. You will find that not a lot of people are flying the Quicks ... at least not yet.

Keith

loadthis

My Feedback: (3)

There is only one other heli pilot in my club and he flys a Raptor. Not quite sure what the LHS carries, but I assume the most popular brand. I have been deployed for the last two months so all my info is from the internet. I have been flying the GWS dragonfly for a while now and feel confident that I can handle a more responsive heli. In fact, the dragonfly is really unstable so I'm thinking it will be easier to fly a larger CP Heli.

MadRCPilot77

You're 100% correct - if you've mastered flying the DragonFly, you'll find a CP machine is so much easier to fly!! IMO the Veture 50 is a great way to get into this aspect of the hobby - it's got everything you need for 3D, and yet it's a stable flyer. The Raptor line is also a good choice, as both are easy to get support and parts for.

Happy Flying!

roy55

There are many excellent helis out there. All I can say is I started on a Caliber 30, did not have any instructor, went from a complete newbe, to little hops, to hovering , to forward flightwithout any crashes. The Caliber 30 comes with all the controll rod pre-cut to the propeer lengths, excellent instuctions. I used the Futaba 7C radio with eccpm set-up. The radio also comes with instructions specific to the Caliber. Also I would reccommend the heli-max training gear, but take it off as soon as yoour skill level allows. It induces some wobbling because of the extended legs.