Radio Controlled RC helicopter toy - anyone try one?

[NYHeli889]

Just wondering if you try the Radio Controlled RC helicopter?
- This is the one I am thinking to get one (flying movie)

 

[imacdog]

I couldn't get your link to work so I'm not sure which heli you are referring to. I have a couple helis, a 50 size and a 90 size, both rock but are not for someone who wants to learn on his own. If you are a beginner and are going to learn on your own I'd recommend starting with a Blade CX at www.horizonhobby.com. The coaxial rotor system makes the heli very stable in yaw. The Blade CP is pretty good too, but is a little more difficult to learn on. Once you do learn how to fly it, it is more capable than the CX. Another good one is the XRB Lama from MRC/Altech, which has a coaxial rotor with foam blades and is extremely easy to fly, but is for indoors of calm winds only.

If you are going to join a local club and get help from experienced heli pilots, I'd recommend a Raptor 30 or 50 or a Hirobo Sceadu Evo 30 or 50. I have a Hirobo Sceadu Evo 50 and Freya X-Spec 90 and they are very good machines. You can get beginner packages at www.heliproz.com. I don't recommend the toy-style helicopters, as they are generally poor quality and will lead to more frustration than anything else.

 

[Gorilla]

I saw the vid and the electric helicopter shown is a "full-up" heli with collective, tail rotor, etc. It was being flown by an expert. What the video didn't show was the guys fingers on the sticks adding dozens of super-minute corrections at very high speed. Like Imacdog says, NOT easy to fly. I second his recommendations for a coaxial. I saw one fly at our local hobby store about 4 days ago and it was really cool.

 

[imacdog]

I got the video to work, and although the heli looks like it might be fixed pitch based on the shape of the blades, I used to have one very similar to it and it was a real pain to fly. The motor on the tail has some lag and makes it very difficult to hover comfortably. For the same price I would highly recommend the Blade CX. I have flown one of them and the flight qualities are much better, not to mention spare parts are more available in case you need them.

 

[jdlilfan]

I learned on a Kyosho M24 Caliber...dont go that route. Hard to fly/unstable, parts break easy, parts are hard to find (special order), and the parts are way too expensive.

The new Blade CX is the best beginner copter out. Im going to get one this summer probably. I know a few with them and they said they got it into a stable hover within 5-10 minutes and the battery gives them 15 good minutes of flying time. The Lipo battery is strong and the parts are easy to find. eBay has some for cheap prices.

 

[RoughAir]

Bought myself the Blade CP for XMAS.

Boy what a handful! Crashed many times, but parts are readily available usually at the place where you bought it.

Some lessons learned:

1. Always fly over glass, preferably thick. Never over concrete or tar.!

2. Buy a Lip battery conversion. Buy and use the heat sinks that go on the motor and the tail motor. It will prolong motor life on these brushed motors. Heat is the enemy here. You will also need to change the pinion gear on the main motor. Instructions are included in the kit.

3. Buy plastic blades. They will defintily outlast the cheap wooden types that the Blade CP comes with. Don't spend you money on the carbon fiber blades. At least not yet.(www.jcshobbies.com)

4. Get the training kit with the bright orange skid balls. A must!

5. Don't fly unless calm or very light breeze. As your proficiency grows, you will learn to handle some wind, but not much.

6. Parts that you constantly break so might as well stock up on them: landing gear legs and the skids; the tail rotor, main rotors (use the plastic blades), the main fuselage body, (although masking tape goes a long way until it looks too bad,) the tail boom although I bought a carbon fiber boom from the hobby shop, cut it to size, and much stronger than the stock; the tail motor lasts about 7-10 hours because of the heat; buy a couple of pitch change links(when it crashes hard these links tend to snap).

7. Unless your with someone experienced, keep spectators/kids/ pets behind you while flying.

8. Learn at a snails pace by getting light on the skids then walking or slidding the thing on a hard surfacedwith forward stick. After much practice and over grass, try a hover.

9.Patience, then more patience, and finally more patience to get a stable hover!

 

[Pantherjon]

10. Be steady and LIGHT on the controls..There are constant corrections to be made all the time, just dont over do them then have to correct for those, etc

 

[cobraman]

I mess with these. They are way harder to fly than any airplane. Stay far away from small RC helicopters. You will only beat your head against a wall with them and they are poor machines to learn on. This is a hobby that will require a descent outlay of cash. One of the best beginner helicopters on the market is the Raptor. (and I personally hate the thing) Parts are cheap and plentyful. They have a mass following and everyone somewhere at sometime has messed with one, so it would be easy to find some help. Go to your local flying field and see what the guys there are flying. Ask some questions and for god's sake, do not buy any blade product if your are serious about RC Heli flying. Btw, here is an excellent site that will help you in your quest.
http://runryder.com
Here is a picture of mine. Sceadu 50, 30 sized heli with a 50 engine. goes like mad! http://www.jagboy69.com/images/DSC02335.JPG

 

[A1FlyBoy]

While flying 'indoors' and without wind is fun, save your $ and get a gas model. The electic ones are like comparing a Honda CRV to a Hummer... impotent!

 

[DrewBlows]

I don't know anything about helicoptors, but I strongly suggest learning on RealFlight. I've flown the helos and learned to hover. I don't know if this transfers to real world but I learned to fly airplanes on it and never took any lessons before flying the real thing (RC, that is). Flew my plane for several months before forgetting to pull the antenna out on my radio with predictable results.