Newbie Here

[condar]

Hey guys,

I know you get questions from newbies all the time but, I hope someone will be able to help me. I am new to the helicopter scene but, have been trying my hardest. Here is the situation. I am really interested in AP but am in the newbie stages. I have only flown a cx-2 micro electric. Can anyone suggest what I should move to next? I would like a heli with some sort of payload so I can start lifiting equipment but, I also understand and I'm not good enough to jump in with the "big boys" yet. Being that I'm located on the beaches of Florida, I need a heli that can handle some wind and breeze.

The little e-flight I have now will barely lift a few oz. or even fly in a light breeze. Please help point me in the right direction. I have looked (over and over) at the Bergen's but, I know I'll be jumping in over my head.

I would just like to get a few photos and keep learning.

Thanks for any help you all can give me.

[AZ ChopperCam]

get yourself a simulator like G3.5 and then get a Blade CP. Once you can handle a micro collective pitch heli in forward/sideways flight and nose in hover you'll be ready for something like a Logo 10 or E-Raptor.

The simulator is going to be the best investment you can make. I've been flying heli's for a very long time and I still fly my sim weekly and find that it helps fine tune the skills.

[condar]

Thanks N74DV but, will the CP lift any payload? I'm going to take your advise and purchase a simulator. I honestly believe your right. This will help me ALOT!!!

[oscillator]

The CP isn't going to lift much of anything, and it isn't very stable either. But it is cheap and once you learn to fly it everything else will be easy.

DJ is right on regarding the SIM. There are lots of good sims out there. I use Reflex.

If you want a "learning heli" that can lift some payload, consider a Trex. It is going to cost you a good bit more than the CP, but it will lift a small point-n-shoot camera. Askman even makes a nice camera mount for it. Figure about $1k to set up a Trex w/ radio and electronics. You can do it for less, but don't skimp on the electronics. The Trex will also handle a lot more wind than the CP.

Eventually you are going to want a bigger bird, but the sim and a CP or a Trex will keep you going for some time.

Oh, one more advantage to the Trex - once you move on and have a larger AP ship, the Trex is still a top notch 3D bird to help you keep your skill sharp. The CP will probably wind up being sold once you fly something nicer.

[kgfly]

Hey Condar,

You will get a variety of opinions, here is mine to ponder.

Get a simulator Any sim is better than none. FMS is free but since you already have a BCX to learn the basics, you need something better. ClearView at $30 is outstanding value. Almost as good as the market leaders at a fraction of the price. At the high end are RealFlight G3.5, Reflex/XTR and Phoenix. All these are excellent and have their enthusiasts. Phoenix is the newest and cheapest and is getting a lot of great reviews and many converts. G3.5 is the most expensive by far and has the advantage of coming with its own USB Tx-style controller. Whatever you choose will pay for itself very quickly.

Next heli Hmm, so much choice. Since you mention that wind is an almost constant factor, I would recommend something larger than a 400/450 class. Larger is more stable, easier to fly, easier to learn, easier to see and carries more payload. Larger also means more expensive to buy, more expensive batteries/chargers and more expensive parts.

Personally, given all the feedback, I would not recommend a BCP/3D ever over a TRex450. In your case I think you should look for something like a QJ-EP8v2 or Swift or Logo10. Any of these will handle wind much better than T450 and has a good payload capacity for AP, especially the L10 which is a popular AP platform. Look into the price, availability and *spares* pricing for these helis.

If you still feel you want to start smaller, then I recommend a Trex450S (or better, the 450SE if you can afford it).

Power system For AP your optimisations will be different from those for a wild 3D machine. Typically the goal is stability, smoothness and duration. That often translates to longer rather than shorter blades, lower headspeeds and well thought out battery/motor combinations. You might want to do some research into using A123 batteries. These have significant cost, safety and durability advantages, can be safely charged (with the right charger) at ~4C but are heavier and lower voltage than conventional lipos of the same capacity.

Charger You need to think ahead to where you might be going. If you see a 50-class eHeli as a likely member of the fleet then you need a high end charging solution that can cope with up to 12S LiIon/LiPo/LiFe (aka A123). The TP1010 charger together with the TP210 balancer is very well regarded. The eStation e902 with a pair of PB6 balancers also looks good.

If the next phase is uncertain you could choose a charger one step down rather than trying too hard to future-proof for an uncertain future. In that case the eStationBC8 looks good to me as it is an integrated true balance charger (charges each cell individually according to the US distributor) rather than using a separate discharge balancer like the TP210.

If you only want to start small until you know if you are really going to continue, then the FMA CellPro4S or eStationBC5 are good options to consider.

Radio I am a big fan of the many safety and reliability benefits of the new 2.4GHz spread spectrum R/C technology. Right now your best choice is a Spektrum DX7. For basic AP that will give you one or two channels to operate the camera (eg if you use a gyro that doesn't need remote gain control you will have two free channels). While a DX9 is known to be in the works, there is no known target release date, could be a month (unlikely) could be a year (certainly before Xmas07 is my guess). Some people use two Tx, one for piloting the heli and one for operating the camera. That's probably something you would consider much further down the track. There is also the XPS/XL solution for existing modular Txs if you have your heart set on a JR9303 or F9C but it's release has slipped from Oct06 to maybe Feb07 and there is no certainty about that yet. Certainly take a look at it here FYI: http://www.xtremepowersystems.net/index.php

Happy exploring :)

[condar]

Thanks guys for all the great advise. I am went out today to the LHS to get a sim but, they were all sold out being "right after Christmas". :arggg: I'll keep looking.

I must admit that you guys are the most friendly group I have talked to yet. I'm sure you all will also get to know me. :lol:

I'm a mechanical engineer so.... If I can pass on any knowledge to any of you please feel free to let me know. I will be more than happy to help any of you out as well.

[kgfly]

Condar - FMS and ClearView can be downloaded online if you want to get started, but you will need a controller of some sort. Phoenix can be ordered online and will ship within a week (usually) including it's USB cable but you will need to specify the Tx connector type.

I am guessing you went to buy RealFlight G3.5 at your LHS. You can fly FMS from the keyboard just for giggles while you are waiting for your LHS to restock.

[catfight]

You can fly Clearview from the keyboard also, even in demo mode for a couple helis! Worth $30 just to play with!

[condar]

Realflight also offer the keyboard option. I've been tinkering with it. They had a demo setup of G3.5 at the LHS that I got to play with for about 10-15min. I'm not so sure that I'm really like the USB Tx included with it. Any other stand alone options out there?

I've been looking at the SmartPropoPlus interface but I'm unsure if it will for with my new e-flite LP5DSM controller. I do have a 1/8" phono style trainer port but it appears to be a 3 conductor "stereo" plug vs the 2 conductor plug that Smartpropoplus indicated that is needed. I'm not sure if E-Flite is using a new or different trainer port technology being that this new tx is 2.4GHz DSM.

[Tonystott]

There is an advantage of G3.5 coming with its own controller... I leave mine hooked up all the time, so I can open the sim on a whim, leaving my Txs in their cases. It is possible to get the controller configured fairly similarly to my 9303, and the ready access overcomes any differences. You won't find a sim heli which flies totally like the real one anyway, but you can certainly improve your flying....

[kgfly]

For FMS or ClearView you can use a $10 USB gamepad or for about $40 get an Esky USB Tx-style controller on Ebay.

[bullaculla]

There is an advantage of G3.5 coming with its own controller... I leave mine hooked up all the time, so I can open the sim on a whim, leaving my Txs in their cases. It is possible to get the controller configured fairly similarly to my 9303, and the ready access overcomes any differences. You won't find a sim heli which flies totally like the real one anyway, but you can certainly improve your flying....

Yep! mine is plugged in all the time, and I practise daily! sometimes till 2am :twisted: but I have FSone :oops: