Alright, I got a question for everyone. I can go to the LHS and get a jr378 for 369+tax, which will be around 400, or I can get a 8103 and 811's from heliproz for 429 flat. I would like to give my LHS the business but this is big difference in price, but if I don't buy from them who will help me set it up and trim it out. My question is......How actually hard would it be for me to put the finishing touches on my Venture and have it flying by myself. I don't mind helping my LHS if they help me, but I would also like to get the better radio and servos. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Invisible1,

If you are willing to take your time and not rush...which is real hard to do sometimes, you will be fine if you pay the extra money and go with Heli Proz. I am in the same boat with you. I come from a city of 200K and none of the LHS carry any Heli's. I take that back. There is one that does carry (1) Venture and that's it. My wife went to by in at Christmas for me, but it had sold the day before. Anyway...it worked out fine. I used the money she would have spent on the Venture kit and I purchased the Venture, engine, radio from Heli Proz. Now, I am all for helping my local hobby store out, but a buck's a buck. I have spent around $1,5oo so far just to get started. $1k was from Heli Proz and the rest was spent at my LHS. I also purchased the JR 8103 which came with 811's. Not having any prior experience with heli's and very minimal experience with planes, I can tell you the 8103 is a damn nice radio! If you take your time and thoroughly go through the manual that comes with the Venture, you will do just fine. I have done everything by myself within the last 2 weeks. TODAY....I hovered for the first time on my own! I hovered that "bad boy" for 19 minutes solid (well, I did have to touch down a few times). I used a hula hoop as training gear, but all in all, I did fine.
All the literature on the Venture claims that you can be in the air within 5-10 hours of assembly time. I believe that is true if you do have prior experience. Or if you don't, you certainly could be in the air...then quickly on the ground. I spent about 1 week off and on working on my Venture before I even started it. I guess I could thank Heli Proz for that. Seeing how they forgot to ship my engine and gyro the first time (I had to wait 5 extra days for the 2nd shipment to arrive). But, that was not a bad thing. It gave me time to look everything over and really understand it. I guess what I am saying is, if you take your time you will be alright. If you rush it and go too fast you will certainly not have a good experience. You have taken the right step by joining this forum. You can learn all you need from these guys. That's what I did! I wish I could have relied on the LHS, but there was no one that was interested or flew heli's. So I was on my own. I still support them, but you have to do what you have to do. I was driven to learn this sport and come "hell or high water...I was going to do it". Today, I did! Heli Proz is really great about answering any questions that you may have along the way. Just give them a call or send them an e-mail. They truly want you to succeed and have a good experience. I ran into a few problems with my Venture, but every cure was listed in these forums. (Hint, Hint)
Just take your time and enjoy it. Good Luck!

I bought the same radio combo from HeliProz but decided to get my Venture from the LHS (not actually local, 40 miles). I have never built or flown a heli before and I had mine together and flying in about 10 hours. Most of the time was spent on confirming the setup. It has flown perfectly since day 1 - I haven't even touched a trim yet.

Good luck!

I too had the same debate, however, since I have no R/C experience, I decided to go with Heliproz and got the 8103 and venture package. I think that will save me some money to get started and then I'll go to my LHS for items such as battery, charger, fuel and other incidentals such as repair parts after a crash

I've just started to put the venture together and the manual provided seems very thorough, including radio set up.

PS. I also have a question.
I got Ray's Authoritative book and it kinda seems over my head or perhaps to detailed and going the extra mile. Now should I make an effort to follow Ray's or should I take the simpler aproach seen in my manual

200k??? Try 5k. I live in THE STICKS. My LHS is over an hour drive. The dude at the LHS made it sound like he was doing me an incredible favor by trimming the copter when I got everything. Listening to you guys it doesn't sound that hard. I'm not exactly rich so every bargain or deal I get counts. Anyone else got any opinions?

Invisible 1,

You may want to use this in your favor. If he truly understands heli's and is not just blowing smoke to get a sale, you might want to take him up on his offer by having him trim it out. That is, bargain with him! Tell him that you would like to support him and his business, but in turn you would like his help/advise in exchange. Obviously, he will be aware that you will need spare parts and misc items along your journey. Develop a rapport with him if you feel this would benefit you. Sometimes good "hands on advice" can help you the most.

-Just my opinion.

The 8103 would be your best choice. I too support my lhs. But some things the lhs can't do is match some prices. You do have all rights to get the most out of your hobby dollars. And the 8103 will serve you much better in the long run.

I fly helis, park fliers and a sailplane all off the same radio.

just something to do between heli flights.
AT

I have a venture with an 8103 and it was very easy to setup, however, I have built and flown 3 other helis.

I try to support my LHS whenever I can but if there is too much a difference in price, (like in your case), I usually go the mail order route. Fortunatly for me, the shops in my area have very good prices so it is usually not an issue.

As for help in setting up, I would look for a club in your area that can help you. The LHS is great, but if they are not out there with you when you fly, then you are screwed. You need the support of other pilots to check things out, help you make adjustments (at the field), and help you when you're flying.

Only two constants when you fly helis:

You'll have a blast.
You will crash.

Best to have some help when you do both.

Jim!