Sell, Keep As-Is, or go FBL?

[mgrennie]

Hi, if anybody is left here.

I got started in this hobby a few months ago with an EBay Belt CP V2 with an upgraded head. It was good (or very, very bad ) for getting into the hobby. I was a bit un-impressed with the control I had hovering in wind as a new pilot, so I ordered an iKON unit. While the iKON was on it's way, I realized I didn't want to put a $100 item on an $80 heli, so I built a Warp 360 using the skills I got from fixing the Belt and replacing parts as they broke. The Warp has been great, and I loved the belt drive so much, I bought a HD500 to have a second good heli. I was going to give my sister and brother-in-law the Belt CP, until I realized they wouldn't be able to afford the hobby. Most of the parts are new, except the motor and gyro, thanks to my learning ability.

Now I have a conundrum. Do I :
-Sell the Belt. Get a small amount back for all the replacement parts I put in it.
-Keep it as-is with the flybar. Not sure how much I would fly it, though.
-Upgrade to FBL. Not sure again how much I would fly it, even as a beater, the Warp is probably cheaper to crash. But I would use a cheap FBL unit and convert my head.

Looking for advice, but based on the activity here, most people must move on? Thanks.

[copterboy]

If anything, I wouldn't recommend selling to someone so close to you personally, as I beleive officially the Belt-CP is discontinued. OEM E-Sky parts are increasingly harder to come by, so you don't want to sell something which is no longer supported.

I would either sell on e-bay etc. for spares, or do the FBL conversion cheap as possible and keep it as a shelf queen, so you have a backup heli when the Warp360 is out of action. Hope that helps

[mgrennie]

Thanks. That does help. Only original Belt parts are the frame, gyro, motor, and swashplate anyway. I may as well continue...

[copterboy]

No probs. not saying don't do it. Just be aware of selling a heavily modded heli with some parts hard to source to a noob. Some won't thank you for it, as it may become over complicated to quickly. It's a steep enough learning curve as it is

And good luck with the warp, have considered one myself, but may end up a size bigger!!

[mgrennie]

My Warp is down with a broken servo arm, so I got the Belt fixed up and flying for the snow. I actually had a really good time flying it. And it is much easier to use with the skills I have added since November. I am still at close to 100% damage rate, stripping a servo after touching snow. But I had enough fun, new metal gear servos are going in. It's nothing like my FBL helis, but still enjoyable in its own way. Not worth doing anything with, but certainly not garbage.

[Tomstoy2]

Yep, she can be fun, on those rare occasions everything works.
The real positive of the Belt is it will teach you how to set up and repair, and can be done cheaply enough.
She's a slow pig, but one of the guys a while back was doing mild 3d with one. Pretty impressive, really.

Back when I got into heli's the Belt was about the cheapest kit out there, they sold a ton of them.
Today, the real treat is to find or restore one to stock condition, crappy gyro and all.

[mgrennie]

I bought it to learn as cheaply as possible, it was the best 450 I could find for less than $100, which was my limit to blow if I didn't like it.

Not only did I get to learn setup, but I got to learn peculiarities of all the different 450 models. I got it with an upgraded trex clone head and tail rotor. So I have parts on it from the Blade 400, 2 types of Trex 450, as well as the Esky parts. Even my Trex 450 EX canopy I got cheap had to be modified. I also have a couple bags of parts that don't fit. Forums are great for that kind of learning.

The slow is what I like for backyard flying, might even try to get my wife to fly it on buddy box some day.