Good Deal

[Gsquared08]

I have finally done it. I have made up my mind and am now getting a Swift 16. I have been bouncing back and forth between getting a Blade 400, T-Rex 450 or a Swift as my 1st heli. I know, it's like finding similarities between apples and lamb shanks as far as comparing the Swift against the others but the $$$ signs were scaring me into the smaller class. But now my vision is clear and am ready to accept the challenges of the Swift and gaping hole my money will pass through in my wallet.

I know it's a lot of heli for a first timer but I really don't want to waste $800 or more on a smaller heli just to gain real world flight experience. I have Real Flight for that and so far, I am very good with my hover and forward flight abilities and now getting comfortable with nose-in. I have no plans to ever get into 3D and really only want to fly on a sport/scale level.

With the help of Finless Bob's Swift build videos (which I have already watched a few times) and the people on this site, I want to take my time and build one from scratch. I want to get into the hobby because it's been a life-long dream to fly one and besides having fun with the hobby, my main goal is to get into aerial photography for fun and maybe even make some hamburger money on the side. Wait, I have 3 stents so make that a veggie burger please.

So, I saw this link below from another thread and wanted to know if it's a good deal. I would rather buy and support my LHS but they only carry E-Flight so no hope there. I am not familiar with any digital storefronts so any advice on which places are reputable would be nice. Right now, I only have plans on buying the kit that includes the heli, motor, ESC and pinion. Once I get those built, I'll get the servos, gyro, etc. Also, I'm assuming besides the batteries, the servos (metal gears of course), 401 gyro and such I was looking at for the T-Rex 450 are the same I will buy for the Swift right?

http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=8680

Thanks in advance,

Greg

[JustPlaneChris]

Greg, I think the Swift is a great heli, and overall it won't cost much more than a 450 class to get it going. Parts are cheap too! As for that combo, I'd personally go one step further to this one:

http://www.heli-world.com/detail.aspx?ID=9051

It includes a separate BEC, which you'll need anyway. For batteries, you might want to check out www.truerc.com. Right now they are out of stock on their 5000 mah 6S packs, but I've seen some pretty impressive data logs from guys who are using them and the price is quite a bargain.

[Gsquared08]

Sweet!!! Thanks and hey, I've seen you on YouTube:noteworthy

[JustPlaneChris]

Sweet!!! Thanks and hey, I've seen you on YouTube:noteworthyLOL! Oh jeez, my "reputation" precedes me. :)

[centuryman]

You can't go wrong with a swift.I have one in a 6s setup and one in a 8s setup, and a new 620se on the way ina 10s lipo setup , like chris said the price is a bargain but the performance is awesome.and the parts for the swift 16 are dirt cheap especially if you stick with the stk blades witch work just fine for learning.the average crash is 30 to 40 dollars or less.I learned 3D on my first one so i know all about crash cost:)With a good flightpower 25 or 30c battery they have awesome power with a set of 550 carbons.You're right to skip the 450 heli's the bigger they are the easier they are to fly.and you can spend more money on a 450 then a swift 16.the only thing cheaper with a450 is the batteries.Plus you ever work on a 450,they must have elves assembling those things.they suck to work on, every thing is so small,and you're allways working on theme it seams.with my swifts its charge fly.repeat, adjust the belt once ina while .They fly good on a123's to i have 2, 8s a123 packs for my 6s swift, nice thing with the a123's is you can charge them in 20 min or less.bad thing is they wheigh more and they're only 2300 mah unless you run a parrelell pack and then you're talking serious weight.

[Gsquared08]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Hey by the way, what does the "S" stand for in 3S, 6S, 8S?

[JustPlaneChris]

"Series", meaning that number of cells wired in series. You'll sometimes see someone say they are running (for example) 4S2P. That means they have a total of 8 cells in the pack, but they are wired 4 cells in series, then 2 parallel. If they are 2100 mah cells, this would give you the same voltage as a 4S1P, but double the capacity (4200 mah).

[aramsdell]

Gsquared08, what are you thinking of for a battery? A 5 series pack and 9 T pinion will serve you well for learning and for sport flying. A good high discharge pack(25C) rating will let you move up to 550mm blades too.
A little bit pricey ,but worth the peace of mind , I fly Kong-Power 5S5000mah packs. $235 . A little heavier than most but very had to hurt the cells. The heli won't fly long before you hurt one.
That's just one option , there are tons of bats out there now.

[Jamesppp]

Gsquared08, did you ever get a Swift up and going?