Newbie Questions

[david.l]

G'day from melbourne, australia.

I'm a absolute newbie, never flown anything. At this point I got myself a Phoenix sim and a DX7, no heli yet. I started my hopefully regular practice on the sim. I believe I've set up my DX7 and calibrated the control properly based on the info collected. I have the following questions.

1) In the hovering training, the heli always move about by itself. Is this still the case in real live, assuming a properly trimmed heli in a zero wind indoors condition?

2) On the DX7, next to the sticks, there are up/down and left/right switches, what are these switches for and when do you use them?

3) There are the +/- hover pitch and +/- hover throttle switches which don't seem to be used in the sim. Are these the fine adjustment switches used in real live hover? Basically can you guys suggest a link where I can read about the basics of a radio?

4) The heli? My list: trex 450, mini titan e325, trex 500, outrage g5 (hopefully it will be available in australia). I actually started considering the trex 500, the reason being it is more stable and easier to manoeuvre. Then I started looking at the smaller class of heli, reason being they are lighter and potentially does less damage than a heavier one. The down side is they tend to be more twitchy as I read about the trex 450. I then look at the e325 as people are suggesting that they are a little more stable than the trex 450. Then I read about the outrage g5 which uses 350mm blades, which suggest to me that its my perfect fit. I like the trex's as they are so popular and there is so much info out there. An obvious question is can one use 350mm blades on the trex 450 or the e325?

Your thoughts...

Many thanks,
David

[TheBum]

1) In the hovering training, the heli always move about by itself. Is this still the case in real live, assuming a properly trimmed heli in a zero wind indoors condition?
It's not moving by itself. It's moving because nobody is able to provide the perfect control inputs. You'll learn to minimize the movement with practice.

2) On the DX7, next to the sticks, there are up/down and left/right switches, what are these switches for and when do you use them?
Those are the trim levers. You use them to adjust the center point of stick input.

[Aussie_G]

1) In the hovering training, the heli always move about by itself. Is this still the case in real live, assuming a properly trimmed heli in a zero wind indoors condition?

YES - you will need constant input to keep the heli still - or close to it..

4) The heli? My list: trex 450, mini titan e325, trex 500, outrage g5 (hopefully it will be

Have a look at the GAUI 550 (http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=29_226&products_id=5423), bigger than the trex 500 & cheaper

Gareth..
P.S Im from Geelong originally, I live in the US now. how are things going down there??

[kgfly]

Hi David, welcome to helifreak and your new addiction. If you have not already found it, I recommend you take a look at this thread, follow lots of the reference links there and spend a lot of time reading and watching videos before going much further: Heli Skills and Setup 101 (http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=41692)

There is nothing wrong with not knowing stuff and asking questions, but recognise that almost every question has been asked and answered before so be prepared to use the search feature and dig around a bit, you will learn a lot in the process.

Good move with the DX7 and Phoenix, a great way to start. Phoenix is quite realistic and yes, helis are inherently unstable and require constant stick input to hold position.

Since you do not know what you trim levers are or are for, I recommend you read the manual that came with your DX7 and become familiar with the features, at least the basics of what the physical knobs, buttons and switches do. The hover pitch and throttle switches tend not to be used by 99% of pilots and are sometimes reassigned to other functions. They are used by a narrow band of specialist pilots competing in precision flying competitions. You really do not want to fiddle with them.

As for choosing a first heli, well that one surely has been asked and answered many times. The bottom line is that bigger = more stable, easier to see, easier to fly and generally more expensive to buy, fly and repair. While the450-class is hugely popular, I would suggest that either a 500-class or the Hurricane 550 are a better choice for learning due to their larger size at fairly low incremental cost.

The Hurricane550 really stands out as an excellent first heli. Big, stable, very inexpensive. It costs no more than T450SEv2 to get into the air or to repair. Parts are widely available in Australia and are very inexpensive. Battery costs are more than for a 450-class but much the same as for a 500-class. One big advantage it has for beginners is that decent wooden main blades are only $18/pair. They are fine for learning and sport flying (loops, rolls, flips) and *much* cheaper than any alternative for helis in the 500-class and above. It makes a big difference to crash costs of the blades are under $20 vs over $50!

However an H550 is quite large and a lot depends on where you plan to fly. If it is local parks then a 500-class is a more appropriate choice. If you are in Melbourne and want to see a T450 and an H550 together in real life then send me a PM. I can also put you in touch with a Melbourne-based vendor of both Align and GAUI helis and parts.

Which 500-class heli ? This is an exciting time in the hobby and the 500-class is exploding at the moment. The Align Trex500 is by far the best known, most widely available and supported heli in the class. Price is not bad and you never really go wrong with an Align heli. Parts are available from numerous sources in Oz. It is a bit heavy for its size but that can be an advantage for a learner, making it more stable in wind. After-market and clone parts are already starting to appear which means there will be a variety of interesting and/or lower cost parts available in time.

The MSH Protos is an exciting new heli with a classy design and has an excellent Aussie distributor. One of its big advantges is that it is very light compared to most other existing 500-class helis. This makes it both more efficient (longer flight times for a beginner) and more agile.

There are other options too including the HDX500 (one Aussie vendor) and SJM430, RCT460, Outrage Xxx and more, few if any of which will have local support.