JasonJ
07-15-2007, 08:33 PM
So this is more for the fellow noobs that might stumble across this site before they lay down the coin and watch all that loot get wadded up in a complex ball 0' plastic and metal.
It all starts on a fateful day in April 07 when my ever thoughtful and loving wife says every budding rc heli pilot's dream phrase: "I want to get you a helicopter for your birthday". I can't even fathom how many poor bastards have entered this joy-fest due to loving wives/husbands/families.
Bear in mind, I am 38, and have had a private obscene fondness for all things helicopter, and was intrigued by the thought of an rc helicopter when I saw some while in Germany back in 87. I also have a very strong mechanical background and a strong understangin of helicopter flight. The price tag, followed by the shop keepers tales of horror made my mind up for me: I'll pass. I still wanted one, though, and in the last few years had started sniffing about the 'net, and seeing fascinating cheap electric helicopters on Ebay. I would watch the vids, be intrigued, but since they lacked true "helicopterness" (coax, no true controlled flight, 2 channel, etc), I was less than impressed. I also did not do nearly enough research, and this was a few years ago anyway.
So out of the blue the loving wife says that previously mentioned deadly phrase, followed by the next deadly phrase: "I saw this cute little one on TV". Now, I think to myself that if it is on tv, it has to be bollocks, and sure enough, it was, so I told her if she was serious, I would do some looking and tell her what to get. This is where the story heads south. I did not do enough research, and this is what most budding noobs end up doing. Instead of looking for what works well and what does not, I started looking for a heli based on that most wretched of techniques, price. We are not made of money, but we are not starving either. That being said, I did not want my wife killing herself for what might end up being something I might not keep doing anyway. I have other hobbies such as bass fishing with boat, home theater, firearms, and mountain biking.
Pay attention here fellow noobs, this is where it gets bad. I decide that, based on what I want the helicopter to do, that at least a 6 channel is what is needed, with collective pitch. I start the search on the 'net, and within minutes I come across this "great for beginners" 6 channel known as. you guessed it, the now infamous Walkera 22E. Inexpensive, looked like it was something that would work well, showed the wife, and a week later it was at my house.
Within 24 hours the tx failed. Once the tx was replaced, I found out very quickly how difficult this was, and without getting an inch off the ground, I ordered something that I found out was a "training kit" composed of balls and rods. Got those, took it outside, and within minutes crashed. Put new blades on, crashed, replace a broken bit in the main rotor head, crashed, fixed it again, and the tail motor died. Wife felt bad, I was frustrated, but not discouraged. This is where I started perusing any forum I could find, and found out about the horror show that was my poor little helicopter.
Because once I start a hobby, I immerse myself, I started buying any magazine I could find, and burning countless hours on the net. I found out about simulators, but quickly found out that my 7 year old laptop would not be able to handle the sims, so that was out. I also found out about this thing called a "trex 450se". I looked at the price of entry and quickly placed it in the back of my mind as a "maybe down the road" deal. I started reading about this other helicopter called a "Falcon 3d". It seemed okay, despite its low cost, it was rtf (which I also found out is a false term that should be abolished from this hobby). Anyway, I bought that, and despite what some have said, it has proven to be very useful in teaching me this hobby. I managed to progress from crashing a Walkera 22e to actual hovering, no training gear, staying in control and deciding where the thing hovers instead or reacting to it and ending up in the "pendulum of death". Yeah, I had a few heli/ground interactions, but the damage was minimal, and cheap to fix.
I have since replaced the stock tx with a Futaba 6exhp which proved very helpful in that I could program in throttle/pitch curves and expo that helps with flying the darn thing. The Walkera sits on the shelf waiting for what will be the third tail motor but will be a direct drive ducted fan meant to replace those cheap tail motors. I just want the darn thing to fly. It is unfortunate that I can't use a sim because I demo-ed a Realflight G3 and an FS-one, and they were great. I also live in an area where there is no one else doing this, and anyone who is lives 40 miles away, same as a field to find these people. So, here is where I am at: I live in the boonies with only the internet to learn on, I can't afford to get a new computer to get a sim, so I have to use that Falcon as a learning tool to gear up to a Trex 450 or even a nitro maybe. It is progressing though, thankfully.
What I am saying is, make sure to do a ton of research before dropping the cash. I would be into a Trex had I just bought one in the first place, but I don't regret the Falcon. At least the darn thing will hover hands-free for a couple of seconds. Now, to master that whole nose-in thing....
It all starts on a fateful day in April 07 when my ever thoughtful and loving wife says every budding rc heli pilot's dream phrase: "I want to get you a helicopter for your birthday". I can't even fathom how many poor bastards have entered this joy-fest due to loving wives/husbands/families.
Bear in mind, I am 38, and have had a private obscene fondness for all things helicopter, and was intrigued by the thought of an rc helicopter when I saw some while in Germany back in 87. I also have a very strong mechanical background and a strong understangin of helicopter flight. The price tag, followed by the shop keepers tales of horror made my mind up for me: I'll pass. I still wanted one, though, and in the last few years had started sniffing about the 'net, and seeing fascinating cheap electric helicopters on Ebay. I would watch the vids, be intrigued, but since they lacked true "helicopterness" (coax, no true controlled flight, 2 channel, etc), I was less than impressed. I also did not do nearly enough research, and this was a few years ago anyway.
So out of the blue the loving wife says that previously mentioned deadly phrase, followed by the next deadly phrase: "I saw this cute little one on TV". Now, I think to myself that if it is on tv, it has to be bollocks, and sure enough, it was, so I told her if she was serious, I would do some looking and tell her what to get. This is where the story heads south. I did not do enough research, and this is what most budding noobs end up doing. Instead of looking for what works well and what does not, I started looking for a heli based on that most wretched of techniques, price. We are not made of money, but we are not starving either. That being said, I did not want my wife killing herself for what might end up being something I might not keep doing anyway. I have other hobbies such as bass fishing with boat, home theater, firearms, and mountain biking.
Pay attention here fellow noobs, this is where it gets bad. I decide that, based on what I want the helicopter to do, that at least a 6 channel is what is needed, with collective pitch. I start the search on the 'net, and within minutes I come across this "great for beginners" 6 channel known as. you guessed it, the now infamous Walkera 22E. Inexpensive, looked like it was something that would work well, showed the wife, and a week later it was at my house.
Within 24 hours the tx failed. Once the tx was replaced, I found out very quickly how difficult this was, and without getting an inch off the ground, I ordered something that I found out was a "training kit" composed of balls and rods. Got those, took it outside, and within minutes crashed. Put new blades on, crashed, replace a broken bit in the main rotor head, crashed, fixed it again, and the tail motor died. Wife felt bad, I was frustrated, but not discouraged. This is where I started perusing any forum I could find, and found out about the horror show that was my poor little helicopter.
Because once I start a hobby, I immerse myself, I started buying any magazine I could find, and burning countless hours on the net. I found out about simulators, but quickly found out that my 7 year old laptop would not be able to handle the sims, so that was out. I also found out about this thing called a "trex 450se". I looked at the price of entry and quickly placed it in the back of my mind as a "maybe down the road" deal. I started reading about this other helicopter called a "Falcon 3d". It seemed okay, despite its low cost, it was rtf (which I also found out is a false term that should be abolished from this hobby). Anyway, I bought that, and despite what some have said, it has proven to be very useful in teaching me this hobby. I managed to progress from crashing a Walkera 22e to actual hovering, no training gear, staying in control and deciding where the thing hovers instead or reacting to it and ending up in the "pendulum of death". Yeah, I had a few heli/ground interactions, but the damage was minimal, and cheap to fix.
I have since replaced the stock tx with a Futaba 6exhp which proved very helpful in that I could program in throttle/pitch curves and expo that helps with flying the darn thing. The Walkera sits on the shelf waiting for what will be the third tail motor but will be a direct drive ducted fan meant to replace those cheap tail motors. I just want the darn thing to fly. It is unfortunate that I can't use a sim because I demo-ed a Realflight G3 and an FS-one, and they were great. I also live in an area where there is no one else doing this, and anyone who is lives 40 miles away, same as a field to find these people. So, here is where I am at: I live in the boonies with only the internet to learn on, I can't afford to get a new computer to get a sim, so I have to use that Falcon as a learning tool to gear up to a Trex 450 or even a nitro maybe. It is progressing though, thankfully.
What I am saying is, make sure to do a ton of research before dropping the cash. I would be into a Trex had I just bought one in the first place, but I don't regret the Falcon. At least the darn thing will hover hands-free for a couple of seconds. Now, to master that whole nose-in thing....