Too many choices

[akstak]

I am very new to helicopters, so new in fact that I have yet to purchas my first one. I am expierienced with airplanes and this is where my question comes. With planes there are definetiely planes for training and planes for fun. I have found that with helicopters there are not realy training helies out there. I have asked arround and gotten a lot of answers on what would make a good heli to start with, coincidently most people that I have asked at the lhs have tried to sell me a heli right there and then and did not really want to answer my question so much as make a sale:arggg:. I do not want to go electric I am a nitro pilot. I do fly the G3.5 simulator and after several hours of struggle I am proud to say I can hover most of the helicopters in that simulator:). There are a couple of helies that I am looking at but I guess I do not know realy the pros and cons to each, I am looking at the Align T-Rex 600 nitro pro, the heli-max Kinetic 50, and the Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 v2. I know that the bigger the heli the more stable it is in flight, but I think that I can afford to maintain and inevitabley reapair the smaller helicopters. So this is my question, if you had to suggest a heli which would it be and why:thinking? Any help would be much appreciated!!

[vera]

Since you mentioned it, and since I bought one, I'll suggest the 600 nitro. But any of your considerations would be ok. I haven't built the 600 yet, but I built a Raptor and it's a pretty good machine and parts are amply available - a key consideration. Unlike airplanes, where the trainer types will pretty much fly themselves, the heli contraptions are not at all stable. The small ones are more figity so larger is better.

Working out on a sim is a real good idea. And once you get the thing built I strongly suggest using training gear and keeping the thing low to the ground - within a couple feet - so that the training gear is able to save you. Spend a lot of time working on the hover. I'd guess that most wrecks come from boring holes in the sky before being able to hover really well. Learn to be attentive to the rotor disk because that's the thing doing the flying. Fly the disk.

[Jim T]

I think the choice of heli has a lot to do with how fast you think you will advance. If you are a fast learner and want to get into big time 3d then get something suitable for that and then just tone it down until you get the hang of it. If you are a slower learner (that would be me) that will probably wear out your first heli just learning to fly around, then the Raptor 30 V2 with an OS37 would be a great choice. Much cheaper to set up.
That's my 2 cents.


Jim