Back in the Saddle from Colorado

[b1m2d3]

Hello everyone,

My name is Brandon and I'm from Colorado. About 7-8 years ago (2009), I got into RC helis. I bought the E-sky Honey Bee King 2, practiced flying on FS One, read as much as I could about the hobby and how to properly setup your heli. My maiden flight with my HBK2 lasted about 5 seconds before crashing. I rebuilt the rotor head, replaced the boom and put it back in the box, never to be heard from again. It was a pretty demotivating experience. And while I had good intentions I just never got back around to flying again.

So here I am today, having been bitten once again by the bug. I've since purchased the WLtoy V977 and have been successfully flying (mostly all orientation of hover, some pirouetting and circles/figure eights). Though I did start flying FS One again, I also purchased Phoenix 5.5 and have been spending pretty much every day flying in that for the last month. Phoenix really is a pretty sweet heli sim!

I'm currently trying to sort out if I should pull the ol HBK2 back out of its box and give things another shot or go the FBL route with the 230s. I've been doing a lot of research on this seemingly new tech and FBL appears to be more stable, has less parts and is relatively speaking, easier to work on. I say new tech b/c I sure don't remember FBL helis being around back in 2009, unless you saw it more on the bigger birds.

Anyway I'm back and re-learning a lot of what I had learned before and a lot of new things as well. Having to learn how to fly on the sim again really made me realize how challenging and fun it can be flying helis. Even more fun when you can fly one for real!!

Cheers,

B1

[NSFlyer12]

Welcome back to the hobby and HF!

[b1m2d3]

Originally Posted by NSFlyer12

Welcome back to the hobby and HF!

Thank you!

[Waxxingibbous]

I'm in colorado, I usually fly down at the soccer fields at Parker and arapahoe.come fly with us sometime. Pm me!

Fbl is way easier( Istarted with the same type of bird) I recommend you go fbl route it's much easier to setup and fly. That's what got me back in he hobby. The 230s is the perfect upgrade for you. It has safe and 3d modes and is the best in its class as far as product support and available parts. Can't go wrong there with dual brush less

[b1m2d3]

Originally Posted by Waxxingibbous

I'm in colorado, I usually fly down at the soccer fields at Parker and arapahoe.come fly with us sometime. Pm me!

Fbl is way easier( Istarted with the same type of bird) I recommend you go fbl route it's much easier to setup and fly. That's what got me back in he hobby. The 230s is the perfect upgrade for you. It has safe and 3d modes and is the best in its class as far as product support and available parts. Can't go wrong there with dual brush less

Hey, yea I just might have to check you guys out, though I'd be coming from Reunion (Commerce City). I've heard the same about FBL. I'm pretty set on the Blade 230s to be honest. I might just wait until I get more experience and pull out the HB at a later time.

How windy has it been for you guys down south lately? Its been pretty crazy up north and always seems to be its windiest on my days off...lol

[FlatCrank]

Hey b1m,
Glad to hear that you are back in the saddle again. I'm in the Parker area and would be happy to help/guide if needed. Just PM me.

[b1m2d3]

Originally Posted by FlatCrank

Hey b1m,
Glad to hear that you are back in the saddle again. I'm in the Parker area and would be happy to help/guide if needed. Just PM me.

Thank you FlatCrank! I've pm'd ya.

[Spencerkey]

Welcome back! I did a hiatus too and then came back. We always do.

I would go with the Blade 230 or 250cfx. Small and can fly anywhere (main reason I bought it), has SAFE technology and batteries are inexpensive. I have the 250 and it's a great beginner heli to learn on. Flip a switch to iu1 or 2 and it comes alive for stunt/mike 3D. Also crash costs are little and repairing it is not a huge ordeal. Some micros are hard to repair imo.

[b1m2d3]

Originally Posted by Spencerkey

Welcome back! I did a hiatus too and then came back. We always do.

I would go with the Blade 230 or 250cfx. Small and can fly anywhere (main reason I bought it), has SAFE technology and batteries are inexpensive. I have the 250 and it's a great beginner heli to learn on. Flip a switch to iu1 or 2 and it comes alive for stunt/mike 3D. Also crash costs are little and repairing it is not a huge ordeal. Some micros are hard to repair imo.

Thanks Spencerkey,

I did decide on the Blade 230s and so far its been a great bird. I still fly the v977 to. Admittedly I need to get more stick time on the 230s, so barring the weather here in Co, I can hopefully become more proficient before the winter hits us.

Cheers,

B1

[Wargamer]

Originally Posted by b1m2d3

I still fly the v977 ..

Whatever you are working on, try it on the 977 once you can do it on the sim. When the 977 is comfortable, the 230 will feel easy. And once your skills improve, it's just plain fun to whip it around in a way you wouldn't try on the 230. When you're flying the 977 like crazy and crashing it less than once a flight, it's a great sense of accomplishment, and also gets you feeling a lot more comfortable with the bigger heli.

[b1m2d3]

Originally Posted by Wargamer

Whatever you are working on, try it on the 977 once you can do it on the sim. When the 977 is comfortable, the 230 will feel easy. And once your skills improve, it's just plain fun to whip it around in a way you wouldn't try on the 230. When you're flying the 977 like crazy and crashing it less than once a flight, it's a great sense of accomplishment, and also gets you feeling a lot more comfortable with the bigger heli.

Hey Wargamer - Thats pretty much what I've done so far. I've been able to work in figure eights, hovering in all orientations and pirouettes on the sim and have gotten quite proficient doing all of that on the v977. As for the Blade, I'm just taking things a step at time, e.g. working on hovering in all orientations first. My goal is to be able to get through at least one battery (5 minutes) without crashing. After that, its clockwise circles on a battery, then counter clockwise for a battery - after which I'll start to work in some figure eights and can move on from there. The whole idea behind it to not only practice what I've learned on the sim and can already do on the V977, but also to get used to the controls on the Blade and focus on keeping the bird in the air.

The biggest difference I find between the v977 and Blade is the Blade is pretty touchy/sensitive in comparison, which I actually do prefer over the v977's softer controls (which I cannot change). I've got 25% expo for aile, elev, and rudder on the Blade which feels good (and also as per the manual). I'm also just flying in stability/normal mode for the time being, but have, 'SAFE', disabled so I've full authority over the cyclic.

Was hoping to fly some tomorrow (Tuesday), but forecast for tomorrow is snow....boo!

[Wargamer]

You are doing all the right things - keep it up!

If you're finding the 230 touchier than the 977, I wonder if the latter is in 6g (stability) mode? The quick way to test is to try to flip it.

You can adjust the 230 DR and expo to tame it down a bit until you get used to it. Something like 50/50 will make it feel more like you have SAFE (stability) enabled. Then gradually dial up the DR and dial down the expo (about 5% at a time) until you get comfortable at something like 75/25.

[Steve Graham]

If you PM me I can give you my contact info.

I fly at MAS which is near you. 8 miles east of tower and 120th. We also have a little FB group that about 30 of us use to stay in touch and fly together on the front range.

[Waxxingibbous]

i was at work today and one of the guys i fly with says hes gonna come fly.. brings me my own plane to fly since i didnt gear up, he said he will come on sunday... anyone else wanna come, more than welcome?!
theres plenty of space and runway for planks..

Dynam sbach rc airplane (0 min 56 sec)