trying to come back...

[rotor head33]

So iv been out of the hobby for about 5 years and I just have that itch to build a heli again.

My oh my how things have changed. I remember the days of manual timer chargers and letting fellow pilots know what channel you were on. Gosh I miss those simple days. Anyways technology has changed even in the last few years so I'm at a disadvantage.

My question is what should I build now? What is most efficient, reliable, best performance, best part support, power to weight ratio etc all in one bundle?

I was looking at the following

Align 700e dominator*
Mikado 690*
Mikado 700xxtreme*
Rave 700 balistic

As for fbl controller my only choice in my opinion is the silver line vbar. However have things changed out there? Anything better?

For tx I was thinking of going with a futaba 10cg or snatch up a jr9303 like I used to have or 9503 but not sure which is the most reliable out there today....input?

For survos, the last set I used were brushless torq servos from outrage on my velocity 50 and 90. Are they still all the rage?

For esc I was thinking kosmic? Or castle creations. Does cc still pretty much dominate the market?

And finally, battery/charger questions..... when I last flew, thunder power pretty much had the most solid battery but gens ace was on the rise, what batt should I look for that will give consistent flights and have a large cycle life? And what charger? I had probably 6 before I left and don't have a clue what's the most reliable out there today. Cell balancers built in now? Or is the blin balancer still the way to go lol.

Any insight will be appreciated. I'm leaning towards the align but I was always an align hater because I felt they were a bandwagon type brand hence why I ran mikado and outrage and curtis Youngblood helis so I'm leary now....


Thanks in advance!

Rotor


Ps. Almost forgot about blades! Radix? Rail? Edge? They still the top comoetitors? Whose better now?Power is nothing without control

[craigdieselmac]

Kontronik over castle, ease of setup and active freewheeling in the kontroniks makes them win.
Any JR 2.4 is a good radio, I use an 11x
Vbar, but only because it's all I have ever used, I didn't like the beast x or 3gx
Those are all good blades.. dH are up there too.
I am particularly fond of Torq's myself, so much so that I modified a set to go in my Diabolo S, and I am the only one out of the 50 made that runs them that I know of.
I am slowly moving all my batts to TP, I like Gens Ace as well, but good luck finding what you want in the US. Now that TP has there new line of lightning batts, and a buyers club that saves 25%, I see no reason not to go with them.

[rotor head33]

Thanks for the input. So I'm kinda on track. I agree about the batteries.

So why won't I find it in the us?

[jhamel]

Welcome back to the hobby!

Lots have changed over the past 5 years. New kits are designed as FBL only. There is plenty of enthusiasm for nitro and even gassers, but LiPo powered helicopters dominate the market. Multirotors and FPV technology are now quite ubiquitous, and there is a claim that these technologies are diverting money away from the pod and boom market. Institutions like Miniature Aircraft, HeliProz, and ReadyHeli are no longer in business. There are now multiple FBL units manufacturers besides Mikado. Heli Command made some serious improvements to its FBL system and rebranded to Bavarian Demon. Simulator physics and features have also made major improvements.

When it comes to helicopter kits, Align now has very serious competition. The first SAB Goblin was released 2 to 3 years ago. It was a 700 size kit. At this time, SAB Goblin has released several 700 size editions, and the kit sizes include 380, 500, 570, 630, 700, and 770. With the exception of perhaps the 630, all the Goblin kits sales have been quite successful. Synergy kits are considered modern and top quality. Synergy has enjoyed a steady 10%/year growth over the past few years. Synergy heli kit sizes include 550 and 700, both in electric and nitro versions. The Synergy electric version are excellent. The Synergy nitro versions are generally considered the best in the industry. The Synergy helicopters come with top quality components, so there is very little to upgrade or improve to the stock kits. Align has improved substantially in both quality and design, but there is a reason why Align enjoys a substantial after-market industry for upgraded components. Blade released their Pro series of helicopters with 550, 600, and 700 sizes about 2 years ago, but it is my understanding that some if not all of those models have been discontinued. Gaui has also been quite successful with their X5 and X7 models. I don't know much about the Curtis Youngblood kits. The Radix blades are generally considered amongst the best in the industry, the Stingray enjoys a following, but I don't know how well the Rave helicopters are doing or what's in store for future support.

As far as FBL units, Mikado is still a leader in the field. I currently own 5 Silverline units, and they work very well. However, their high price has always been an issue, and the extra cost for the Pro firmware does leave a bad taste. Mikado now has a VBar specific radio, the VBar Control. You make all the adjustments within the VBar Control radio, and you no longer need a computer interphase or field terminal. I owned the VBar Control for a while, but ended up selling it. Others feel that the VBar Control radio is the best there is. Following along the VBar Control, Jeti offers full integration with a new FBL unit, Spirit, and has allegedly partnered with Bavarian Demon to offer full integration with the new version of the Bavarian Demon FBL unit which is expected to have new and improved features. Jeti has also reached out to other FBL unit manufacturers to offer full integration with its Jeti radios. The Jeti radios are generally considered the best radios in the industry, but their high price puts the Jeti radios out of reach for many of us. However, with full integration with several FBL units, this could be a game changer. Spartan, the leader in tail gyros, now has 3 FBL models released under the name of Vortex. Spartan partnered with Bert Kammerer, whose been actively testing and improving the firmware. The Vortex now incorporates an internal governor. Considering that the higher echelon Vortex units have top of the line hardware, currently great and constantly improving firmware with free updates/upgrades, neat features, excellent support, and an attractive price, these Vortex units are worthy of consideration. Other units to include the Skookum SK-540 and SK-720, MSH Brain/iKon offer many features and have been quite successful. The Spektrum AR7200BX and BeastX units do not have lots of features, but are generally considered very adequate and may be easier to set up for those folks who prefer not to use a computer or just keep things simple.

Best wishes with whatever helicopter and electronics you decide to get.

[jhamel]

Due to a favorable combination of price, performance, quality, and sales support I prefer the Glacier LiPo's over the competition.

[rotor head33]

Curmudgeon that is by far the best cumulative breakdown of the hobby I have seen yet. You sir, have my utmost rappreciation.

[atkin]

I don't think anyone chimed in on the charger.

I'm a fan of Revolectrix products, but the iChargers are ok as well. If you're not on a budget, get a dual powerlab 8X2

Whatever you do, be sure it's over 1000 watts, and your power supply is 24V (or more) and matched with what the charger can handle. Many can do up to 30V, some do more.

Especially if you're buying a larger heli like you listed.

http://www.revolectrix.com/cat.chargers.htm