Do you have to be a pro

[EBCooper]

Why is it that I keep hearing that people with Excels (spelling??) have to be pros and rookies have no business messing with them? Obviously its not something you want to learn on but when your past that initial learning stage and can fly around no problem, hover nose in, and rarely crash but haven't learned 3D yet why not get one? Are these reserved for the pro's, are they really hard to set up, or is it making a statement that you think buying the best heli makes you a pro? :dontknow

I had a raptor 50, nice bird but to me it seemed a little on the cheap plasticey side. I now have the new Trex 450 SE V2 and absolutly love the way it flys and how well most of the parts are made and fit together. I'm basically looking for the same thing but in a nitro heli. I know I don't need it but hey, its a hobby and for me part of it is cool shiney aluminum and carbon fiber parts that fit together perfectly that floats my boat.

Should I get one or are the Ex cel's way over my head still. :dontknow

[j.8]

Hi EBCooper

Xcell makes differend powered helis, electric, nitro and gas

What they all have in commen is, quality,
buy one, you will not be disappointet.

BTW I am not a pro

I have a Spectra G/ TRM 231


Bo Denmark

[DebianDog]

I do not think so and they also make a "Fury Basic" helicopter that you can upgrade later.

[stevejr72]

I am by no means an expert flyer, but I recently got into a Fury Expert & so far I really like it. The one thing that I have found with the MA is that it seems to be more tempermental than my Raptor 50. What I mean by that is that the set-up needs to be pretty much spot on where as with the Raptor you tend to have a little bit of wiggle room.

[WayneBrown]

It's said for a reason, and it's not intended to make you feel less 'special', MA helis are a setup intensive bunch, if you get something slightly off, You'll hate it.
As they are setup intensive, they are also expensive or more so than the 'run-of-the-mill' chopper. People suggest from experience that you know how to build, maintain, and fly to avoid getting discouraged over the expense and time of repairs to get it back to the pre-incident state.
As one of the 'Premium' manufacturers out there, quality is high, but so is the price.

BTW: If you want one or two, I'll hook you up with mine, I'm looking to other things. :wink:

[EBCooper]

Thats good to know. I just like high quality toys and the setup doesn't scare me if there's good info on them. Building and tweaking is half the fun for me.

[Alfred]

Don't let them scare you off.
If you can hover and do a circuit without crashing....your ready.
The instructions are very explicit and assuming that your building tools don't include hammer and chisel or pipe wrench...your good to go.
These birds fly great...you don't have to be a 3D nut to appreciate quality in material and flight performance.

[Reaper26]

I was told the same thing that I had to be an expert to fly one. But I dont listen to the negative side of this hobby I like a challenge. I bought a Fury Extreme. I say if you want it buy it.

[Mercuriell]

I'm no expert pilot (or anything else for that matter) but I didn't find the Stratus difficult to set up and flying it if anything is easier than some of the smaller models - like many helis you can set it up to be domesticated cat or feline from hell ;)

[Michael211]

I learned to fly on an X-Cell 60 ST. I knew absolutely nothing about heli's or how to set one up (I briefly had a micro fixed-pitch heli previously that never really went anywhere).... I've never had a crash with my X-Cell, 2 1/2 years in now. It's great!

I can't imagine learning to fly on anything else. It's easy to maintain, I can pull the engine out in 15 minutes flat and put it back in, 10 minutes to pull a mainshaft out, things of that nature.

I never had a mentor, everything I've learned has been from my own reading on the net and online forums. For the first 2 years I was the only heli pilot at my r/c club. The other members seem impressed that I can fly a heli in fact. LOL!

There's nothing wrong with learning to fly on an MA heli IMO. Just take it slow and easy and don't get wild with it... I must've spent some 6 months or so with training gear on the skids just learning to hover well. Now I can't remember why I ever needed the training gear it just feels totally natural.

Of course if you just want to learn how to crash then get a Raptor... they break up well (lots of plastic) and the parts are cheap I'm told. I prefer to fly however.

Regards and best wishes!

- Michael

[Ray Fernandez]

After my initial flying with the so-called "plastic fantastics", the Xcell models were my next choice. I've owned models ranging from the 1001 series to the Stratus' and can tell you that if you build it right, you will be one happy camper.

Do not be discouraged by the nay-sayers when they try to steer you in a different directions. Miniature Aircraft designs are proven.

[Hrob2Ate]

It's said for a reason, and it's not intended to make you feel less 'special', MA helis are a setup intensive bunch, if you get something slightly off, You'll hate it.
As they are setup intensive, they are also expensive or more so than the 'run-of-the-mill' chopper. People suggest from experience that you know how to build, maintain, and fly to avoid getting discouraged over the expense and time of repairs to get it back to the pre-incident state.
As one of the 'Premium' manufacturers out there, quality is high, but so is the price.

BTW: If you want one or two, I'll hook you up with mine, I'm looking to other things. :wink:

I totaly agree. The X-Cell is a wonderful bird, but make sure you know your way around the mechanics of it. They are top quality machines and leave verry little room for amiture errors.

Be "on your game" and you will love the X-cell experience.

[Carey]

I am not a pro and I couldn't be happier with my stratus.

The shape the thing is in after 100 flights, when compared with my 600n, is another area code.

I think they use actual hardened metal instead of that stuff that is 'technically' metal.

[bkervaski]

The only thing hard about a Stratus build is getting the fan runout set and once you do that a couple times it's easy too (or just buy an aftermarket fan and be done with it). The quality is top-notch.

[Alexander01]

I'll probably open up for some critisism here, but here is my short story on MA adventure.
I bought a Stratus for approx. a year ago. Back then it was one of the hottest 3D birds on the market, if not the hottest. Have been into this hobby for some years, I can both built and maintain my helis.
Building was not a problem, but I've discovered that this heli dosn't tolerate any slight miss. I've had huge vibrations on it's maiden flight, fan runout was ok, engine alignment as well. I had to redo many steps before it was vibration-free.
In the air, it was crisp, light and fast. It definetely requires correct C of G to fly true 3D.
Still, I could never get comfortable with it's behaviour in the air, I just couldn't do piro maneuvers with the same ease as e.g. my 600N. Currently, I fly 700N which was kids stuff to set up. It has been vibration-free from day one. Flies definetely not worse than Stratus, I'd say better (IMHO).
I chose to abandon Stratus (current version) due to it's overall complexity and "different" engineering solutions regarding stiff engine mounting, clutch system flexing (I even had BW kit on mine), fuel tank and fan shroud. I believe that the new design, which will be released soon, will be a huge imporvement over the current one. I'll may be tempted to get one then:)

Cheers!