What's your opinion about this one: "e-sky Honeybee cp2" I think this will be the next step...is it user friendly for a begginner like me? Is it stable and forgiving?

Anyone? [&o]

Sorry, I don't think your being ignored, I just don't know anything about that heli.

what budget were you thinking for a helicopter? is this your first heli?

A simulator and blade cx (cx2) would be a good start, also contacting your local hobby shops and finding a local club and checking them out would be great.

If you really want to get into the hobby and know youll stick to it, id suggest the raptor 30 or raptor 50 heli's. these two are great beginner ones, just make sure you have the help of an experienced pilot when you are first starting.

while cheap the cp2 is not the best choice, try to avoid anything with a tail motor. the king2 is a good economical choice but beware that you'll probably have to upgrade the motor to brushless within the first 10 flights.

Well the honeybee costs only 150 Euros. I can already fly the smaller indoor 2ch and 4ch indoor helis. The cp2 is a 5ch heli that also flies upside down. I think It's the best cause it's EXTREMELY cheap here. For example the EP Concept SR-K Schweizer 300C costs 390 euros here in Greece.

best and extremely cheap usually don't go hand in hand.

I have no real experience with that bird, but it seems to have a sizeable following so you probably wouldn't be all that bad on it. Lower cost rtf heli's usually sacrifice quality in certain areas which is why Druss mentioned you will probably need to plan on replacing motors etc....electronics usually aren't the greatest either.

I second druss opinion though, skip the motor driven tail and get something with a belt drive. That was one of my biggest problems starting out. I started with an axe cp, towards the beginning of a battery pack it would be pretty good. As voltage dropped though, the tail and main motors were affected at different rates which meant drift would increase as the flight went on. I was always having to adjust the trim throughout the flight and it really made learning a PITA because I was fighting the tail all the time.

Its usually pay now or pay later, I wish I had never bought the axe and just started out with the mini titan. I would have had about 400 extra bucks to throw away on crash parts with the MT and truth be told I probably would have crashed it a whole lot less while learning.

Hmmm...I see what you say. And you're right but I just want to learn fluing and then buy a good heli for my flying apetite! So is it ok to go for it?

Hey man! If thats all the money you can dedicate right now, GO FOR IT! Even if you burn out a few stock motors @6 or 7 bucks each, a few skid bits (if it doesn't have the super skids) and the odd drive piece (usually less than 5 bucks a part), you'll be learning and having the time of your life! You'll be doing alot of wiping out in the beginning any way, so may as well screw up the cheaper one first and start looking for your next dreamcopter. Heck, why not build your own from scratch or get some good used parts from the great dealers on this site? I don't think any of the regular users you see on here would ever sell you a bad used piece or machine. I haven't even got to a steady hovering phase yet and I've already started building a set of wooden blades for my HBFP on my own. There are some great resources here and on other sites. Welcome to Heli's and the greatest hobby of them all,"learning by having fun"

Hi there! I'm new to this hobby, but after ordering a "cheaper" heli online, I learned my lesson. There's nothing worse than crashing, then waiting days for parts to arrive because the LHS doesn't stock your brand! I finally went to my favorite local shop and bought a trex450. It's awesome, but probably the coolest thing is that I can buy any part I want with just a 15 minute drive! Most replacement parts are relatively cheap, so any money saved will be modest. That's what I think anyway, I want to fly, not wait for UPS!

Cheap isn't always bad! After reading so many posts here on this site and others, I realised that most of the problems people were having with control and command of the machines were from poor setup and balance after they uncrated their birds. It takes time and trial and error to find out where that sweet spot is. My HBFP was awful out of the box as far as having much real command of the machine and I did a pretty good job of setting it up first, or so I thought! Then I read and downloaded the great manual offered for free on this site from SSG Scott Helmann dealing with balancing the machine and each rotating component to eliminate as much vibration as possible. Put yourself in the position of your gyro (cheap or otherwise). You are lashed to this frame that is vibrating and bouncing around all over the place. How much extra work is this causeing your servo's and/or tail motor? How long will the cheaper gyro last?
I went through Scott's step by step procedure (learned some new things about my copter too) and balanced the bird better. WOW!!!! It is a new machine!!!! Much better to work with now. The difference was amazing!!! I still have a long way to go but I haven't broken anything new lately and I am practicing every day. Something worked!?!?
Cheap has more to do with longevity I think, and if you take the time to make it easier for the machine to do it's job from the day of its first launch, the longer it will live and the happier you will be with your purchase and what you learned.

WOW...thanks for your replies guys! I REALLY appreciate it! Next time I get paid I'll go for it and let you know! Once again thanks a lot for your time.