which way to go?

[whaase]

I hate asking a question that gets asked so many times, but I'm a little lost. I went to 3 different LHS to ask advise and see what they have/support.

First one told me to buy a CX2 and practice. But with it being twin blades I'm a little worried it will give a false sense of sucurity?

Second store said to get the Blade 400.

Third store said to just buy a flight sim and use that for a while to get the feel of it. Are the flight sims really that accurate? I don't want to waste money, but I also don't want to spend it in the wrong places either. My lhs's deal mostly in Blade and Trex. Trex's are really nice, but $$$$ for a beginner lol.

Any advise?

[darkchiild]

My advise is if you just want to get your feet wet, start with a simulator (yes it's pretty accurate to the real deal). If you like it after putting a few hours in playing around, decide what YOU want. If you still want to ease into it, you can go buy the cheapest belt driven heli you can find and get an hh gyro for it if it doesn't come with one. OR you can spend an arseload of money up front because you know you will in the long run anyway.

Skip the CX2 altogether, you'll learn more and faster with a sim and heli with a belt driven tail. I think you can pick up a Belt CP for < $200 ~same price as a CX2.

I know others will balk, and say just get a trex and you'll thank yourself, but personally I would've never spent that much money on a hobby I didn't know whether I'd stick with or not. A cheaper heli will tell you just as well if you'll enjoy the hobby or not as an expensive one.

On the other side of the fence, if you already know you're going to like it and you'll stick with it, just spend some money and get a better heli now, and I bet you'll be better off.

If you ignore every word above this line, walk away with this. Don't buy a heli with a tail motor. Chasing the tail makes learning a pain and more expensive than it should be. Even an hh gyro won't hold the tail well. That is my only regret so far (albeit I'm pretty new to the hobby too).

That's my two cents.

[TheBum]

Don't knock the CX2 too much. It does have its merits. I was able to roughly hover my Diablo on my first flight, something I doubt I could have done had it not been for the CX2.

[whaase]

This is a tough decision! I went through just about every rc truck/truggy's until I got to what I liked. Cost me a small fortune lol I don't want to make the same mistakes with heli's. I'd rather buy good now and pay a bit for repairs while learning. I think it would still be a lot cheaper in the end? :lol: I've found a few used Trex 450 SE's complete rtf for around $450-$500.

Some older XL's for cheap. I just don't know :confused:

[Pinecone]

If you are really short on money, get the sim, then get a Trex when you can.

If you can afford it, the CX2 is nice starter, lets you start learning orientations, and can be fun to fly all the time. But it doesn't fly like a CCPM heli.

[widower]

I've been having good luck with a sim and blade 400. With lots of sim time, I still have sweaty hands after flying the real thing. Crashes will happen. The blade400 is all over the place so parts are easily accessible. Also, parts are cheap. My repairs would be a lot more expensive if I had a cnc head. Plastic parts flex instead of bend, and if they break, then it helps save other parts from breaking.

After a crash or 2 with the blade, you will be replacing servos. At that time, you can upgrade to a better tail servo. If you strip more than one servo, it would be a good time to replace the cyclic servos. Once I'm more proficient with the blade, then I will go for a copterx or trex450 but for now, I've gone through a lot of batteries and am just getting comfortable with all orientations of hover and a little bit of forward flight.

BTW: the blade400 isn't a bad deal. You get a decent radio, balancing charger, 1800ma lipo (5min of flight), you will want to get 1 or 2 2200ma packs (9-10min of flight).

[whaase]

Thanks for the input! Its not so much the money as it is where to spend it. I don't want to buy something and end up having to buy everything again 6 months from now because its time to upgrade :lol:

I'm leaning towards a Trex. I have a line on 2 that are local. I just have to decide which one :lol:

[jgoodwin]

This is a tough decision! I went through just about every rc truck/truggy's until I got to what I liked. Cost me a small fortune lol I don't want to make the same mistakes with heli's. I'd rather buy good now and pay a bit for repairs while learning. I think it would still be a lot cheaper in the end? :lol: I've found a few used Trex 450 SE's complete rtf for around $450-$500.

Some older XL's for cheap. I just don't know :confused:If you can, buy a cheap sim and then soon after (a couple of weeks?) buy the SE. You spend less on crashes with the SE (usually) than if you bought the XL. If you want to start with a good heli and just spend on crashes (and not upgrades) this is also the way to go. Let me warn you though, you will still 'upgrade'. It is an addiction. You think you heli is good enough, but then you notice something that could be better. Servos, more power, 4s?....

Take care,

J

[istandalone]

if i had to suggest one thing or the other, a sim or a co-axial i'd have to say a sim. the coax will train you on orientations, but it really can't be flown outdoors except on the calmest of days. the sim will train you for orientation, and when you crash (not if) there is no damage. plus the sim is something you'll always use, assuming you like and stay in the hobby. even when your very skilled the sim will come in handy. so my .02 is get the phoenix sim and if you can afford it a trex. if you don't want to drop that much jingle on a hobby you might not stick with, get the sim and a belt cp or maybe the hbk2 with a decent HH gyro (not the esky HH gyro, that's total shite). between the phoenix and the belt/hbk2 you'd be around $300. that's a pretty small initial investment, and if you start with a cheaper heli you can make all the newbie mistakes on a cheaper model, not on an $800 450 sev2.

[Pinecone]

If you know you are going to a Trex, just go there. Otherwise the time and money you spend on the Blade 400 is somewhat wasted. The Trex will fly better, and you will not have tpaid twice for servos, gyro, etc.

The Blade 400 is fine for the person who wants to get their feet wet, for less money. But if you know you are hooked, just skip that step.