Am I losing it?

[Finless]

Or have I lost it?

You decide!

http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...=ramblings.wmv

Bob

[Ozz58]

Great song, but the 20 min. between it ................

Just kiddin, I really understand what you're saying, just look at the hours on my radio on each model, my mCPX has way more hours than all my others together.

It's also good to see the lines getting blurred, I think it will help us all.

The next two years will be some great ones to be in this hobby, I can't believe how far it's gone in just the last few years.

Nice Rant, I think 60 mins is looking for a Andy replacement.

Craig

[Herr_Vorragend]

Thank you, Bob.
Keep going...
... and enjoy !
Greetings from Cologne.

[apper001]

a real man, with a real worthwhile opinion!!

[Blayd]

Wow.... I'm speachless.. almost.
I own 4 Walkera's, and have taken a beating about it since getting into this hobby less then a year ago. Walkera got me into this hobby. I didnt know they were considered to be lesser in quality when I got in.. but sure got educated fast when I came here for help and learning. I'm glad more people are starting to see that its not what you bring, but what you leave with....
If your smiling at the end of a days flying.. its the best heli in the world. No matter what kind it is...
On that point, again, Bob brings up the biggest question I've been asking myself the past few weeks.. do I have fun....mostly.... no. I fly my 500's like they are, as Bob says.. glass slippers, and dont have resources to help me get them better set up, so I've been in perpetual stress since I moved from my Walkera V400's to my 2 500's. No fun. As I posted before in other threads...I've been contemplating selling everything off...because its just not fun. Cant find a place to fly without dogs chasing my heli's, people walking across the feilds, scared to death to crash them...bad set ups, chasing issues.. almost a year, and still just hovering. I WANT the fun... but I may be one of those who just arent lucky enough to have the places to fly, or maybe even the ability to fly.
Great post Bob....and if you only could see the smile when you announced you've been working with Walkera on some issues. Very cool.

Washout Mike

[WessCo]

Great video! I feel like I'm flying a glass slipper sometimes and it took the fun out of it. I've laid the helicopters back for a little while and am enjoying flying my profiles. I'm getting the itch to get the helicopters back out, but until I do....I know I have them in the room ready to go when I'm ready.

[Silver-techie]

Errr... Ummmmm....

I tend to fly my 450's like glass slippers.

And I tend to fly my 200-250 like... smaller glass slippers.

And... my 120's like micro glass slippers.


But... my Genius? More like a flip flops.

[jrumer]

Hey Bob we talked about this at my house and I love the 450' 500's and micros but no one takes them serious but I still love them plus with the economy I am poor so I get what your saying bro and this video has inspired me to fly tomorrow so that's good right ? !!

[rdlohr]

My bigger helis are all glass slippers like you say. The little guy is the beater.

I learn a move on the sim, then the MCP-X, then I do it on the 500.
Finally, if I have the guts, my 600 and Logo do it. I would rather do the cool stuff on the bigger birds, but I have to know how first.

I seldom go to the field with just the little guy though, I still love the big ones. I would not enjoy the hobby nearly as much if I didn't take the big ones up for a spin. They get the adrenalin pumping.

Who cares what other people think? I've been flying my mcp-x with no canopy since I let my buddies 9 yr old son fly it. All the canopy poles broke off the frame and I haven't got around to rebuilding it. Makes it harder to tell orientation though so I will fix it at some point.

How does this Genious compare to the mcp-x? You mean I'm gonna have to buy another little heli?


Rick

[Punkin71]

Bob, I really dont think about what your motivation may be behind your build videos that is not my concern. I do appreciate them and that you took the time to make 'em. Without your videos the learning curve would have been a much steeper hill to climb!

[12/07/41]

+1

[Mercuriell]

Ramble On Bob ! If a hobby ain't fun it ain't worth doing - the hobby needs to recognise a seachange and recognise the 85% of the hobby who are flying micro-mini helis - more flying fields with basic commonsense rather than severe restrctions applicable to turbines and the big helis which, though necessary for the bigger helis, have eroded the fun.

I upgraded my MCX-P to a CNC swash today and am tickled pink fying it in the back yard

[skyhigh]

I have micros helis, 250's all the way up to my new Logo 600. Also do airplanes, cars and even FPV on all three types. I can say I enjoy them all with their own characteristics. But I an empathise with the "pucker factor" of a large heli in terms of potential crash damage and personal injury. It really does at least hinder the fun factor.

That said, I'm going to invest some money into my T-Rex 250's to upgrade them flybarless for more power and consistency. The T-Rex 250 definitely fits into the small category that even a T-Rex 450 doesn't fit. Yet the 250 handles wind better than my 450s.

You can crash a 250 into weeds or a park with soft soil and the damage is much reduced. The parts are way cheap if you do break something hard. The 250 is still powerful and agile enough to do piro flips and hard core moves. These little micro flybarless helicopters like the mCPX, though a technical breakthrough, just aren't consistent enough -- the floppy soft main blades probably have a lot to do with it -- and the power is not quite there.

So the fun factor of the T-Rex 250 is probably the sweet spot for me at the moment. What you learn on it can apply to larger helis quite easily yet you don't have to fly the 250 like its a "glass slipper" either. Just never fly over dirt or pavement if at all possible.

[tony whiteside]

i love this hobby and i get it, that was wonderful!!!
hardcore love man hardcore love!!!

[ncostes]

This is what I tell people who want to get into the hobby. It used to cost $800+ just to get in. Now you can get in for $169 RTF MCPX package and you just laugh when you crash instead of feeling like you've been punched and ending your day of flying.

The MCPX has really really made this hobby something that is stress free and just plain fun. I mean you don't spend any time fixing it after a crash. That is so awesome.

[Harbormaster]

The "bigger is always better" undercurrent at HF has always struck me as kind of amusingly adolescent, but what the hell--we're boys with toys so that's to be expected. And for a long time bigger helis flew a lot better than little ones. But yeah, the hobby is undergoing a massive change with the appearance of small, flybarless, high performance helis for a reasonable price. The little guys are FUN and they fly great. And I love being able to try new stuff on my mCP X, and being able to fly a CP heli in the middle of the city.

I'm with you Bob--fly what you like, and help people out when you can. (And thanks for all the great videos, dude.)

[Commodore8888]

I love my 600E because of the size, stability and sound.

But honestly, if I were to pick the heli I have the most fun with (at the moment) it would have to be the BL mcpx. It almost has the power to weight of a larger heli with just the C05 motor. The best part is 9/10 times, crashing sets me back the time it takes to walk over and pick it up.

Granted, with a 450, most crashes if you fly over grass and hit TH (and don't do epic 60mph straight into the ground runs) don't cost that much. I'd say it's the sweet spot for performance versus costs if you wanted a non micro.

[pmerritt]

Well, for me, Walkera had the best price/performance ratio.....yes i said it...performance the radio (2801pro) has given me absolutely no problems, does what i need it to do, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg. I use it for my Genius, my 4#3b, my 450, and my 500.

People at the field would talk about me but, you know what? Whenever someone actually took a good look at the radio and my setups. They were actually impressed and I know damned well that in some ways they were thinking wow, i paid all this cash and he's doing the same for way less.

I may sound like a Walkera fanboi but i'm not...really. I simply chose what had the best feature set and was still affordable for me. Personally, i'm VERY glad Walkera is around. Trust me, there would be no mcpx if it wasn't for Walkera.

Happy Flying Folks!!

[el guapo]

I don't know bob.

the little sub micro helis don't interest me, they just don't have the power or the tail authority. not worth a trip to the field. I'd rather fly a foamy.

[krobinson103]

I have a Nine Eagles Solo Pro 328a Micro and a Walkera v400d02 (much modified).
I have to say that when I see a guy roll up with the latest and greatest 700 I sit back and think "What happens if he crashes it?" Low and behold... BAM! Blades bent, parts every where. Sure they are fun and have much more presence but the cost doesn't justify the reward if you ask me.

I don't fly hard core 3d and even if I had the skill set I don't think I want to. The 2 helis I have are great for me. The 328 can't handle much wind or invert, but I have a lot of fun with that thing on soccer fields, in my house, just about anywhere you can get 10 feet by feet.

I fly the v400 like any 400 and while it doesn't have as much power as a Trex or Beam I really don't care. It will invert, it will do aerobatics, it uses 3s 1200mah batteries that are cheap, and if I crash? $40 maximum.

I want one more really good 450 but beyond that I don't see any reason to support "Bigger is better". There is a balance between gambling this months salary on your flight and flying something that is no fun. The guys at the field look at me and suggest that my toys are not as good as theirs, but who cares what others think? I'm having fun.