Do large helis crash less???

[Full Montee]

Bigger helis have been great to me. When I fly my smaller ones like my 450 and 250 I'm doing way better. But I still get into sketchy moments with the smaller models doing the same maneuvers. My experience is if you have the skill to complete the maneuvers with a 450 the same maneuvers are easier with the larger helis.

[seanh]

people are simply more careful on the larger birds. With the smaller birds there is the mindset of it doesn't cost much to crash, so people do.

Think of it this way, if the 450 crash that cost say 50 bucks to repair today started to cost 100 bucks tomorrow, would 450's be crashed less often. I'd say yes.

[jakalope]

Speaking for myself...A) I can see my 700 easier than my 500. I don't lose orientation with it. B) I fly my 500 like there are 20 more just like in my basement, because I have about that many parts. I fly my 700 like it's carrying $2000.00 around, and if it goes in, the money is going to blow away (ok, I'm not that conservative, but you get my point)....hey, what can I say, it's a tough economy right now. I do all my beating and learning on my simulator, then the 500. When I can do something second nature, I do it on the 700.

[kavic5150]

Just want to throw this out there. Alot of those loss of orientation problems can be solved with some color on the blades. Rather than all white or all black blades, paint a few stripes so you have alternating colors on the length of the blades. Good size stickers will do also, just apply them over the leading edge of the blades.

Like these: http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=131212

[dannylightning]

between the 450 and 550 size i fly them the same, i dont really crash either. but the bigger they are the more time you have to fix a mistake due to all the extra stability and hang time in the air. the smaller ones will fall out of the sky allot faster than the bigger ones.

most people do crash less with the big helicopters as long as they are not flying above their skill level. the smaller they are the easier they are to crash.

if your not a good pilot yet than they will both be very easy to crash but you will have more time to fix your mistakes with the bigger ones.

[thefrog]

Originally Posted by seanh

people are simply more careful on the larger birds.

+100.. Especially if you're paying for it, which you usually are. I'm also more cautious with the bigger ones because it could get ugly if it goes wrong; and I don't want it anywhere near myself or anyone else if it comes down.

[shadco]

Originally Posted by drdispatch

Pilots crash helicopters. I don't think large crash less than small because they're large. It's because they're being flown more carefully or crash threads are not created for them.

I've been told TDR's are so superb that they simply can't crash, they just move the earth out of their way.

So that wasn't a TDR we thought we saw getting totaled last weekend.

Phew.

[CrazyHeliDude]

Originally Posted by mombawamba

I have seen quite a few threads about crash cost for a small heli (450 - 500) vs. a large heli (550 - larger). The thing that seems pretty prevalent is that a lot of people know the crash cost of a smaller helis but not larger ones.

This has spawned the following question in my head: Do larger helis crash less than their smaller counterparts?

I know if I had a 600 I probably wouldn't do anything crazy like I do with my 450... at least not until I had it well practiced. Even then I'd probably mess something up.

In my opinion I believe it's largely psychological. The less expensive the helicopter and the less expensive it would be to repair, the more likely we may be to fly with reckless abandon.

I have a few small indoor helis. I fly them around in a limited space like a madman. Given that, I push the envelope ... I end up hitting things and/or crashing quite a bit. And when I crash I can just set the heli upright on the skids and take off again. Sometimes I might have to do a minor repair and it's back in the air.

Compare that to flying the 600. When I'm flying the Trex 600 I know how much it will cost (and the time it will take) to repair it if I crash. Thus I tend to be much more studious and "professional" while flying.

Money not being an object, another factor could be the simple pride and sentimental value you have in your aircraft. For instance, if you build a turbine ship for $10,000, odds are that you also have the $$$ to repair it easily should something happen. But who wants to crash a bird that they have put so much of their labor and love into? In this instance it's not a matter of money so much as a matter of pride in your workmanship and achievement. Same principle with highly detailed fuse scale flying.

To answer the question I would have to say yes, large helis tend to crash less than small helis for some of the reasons above. I can surely say it's true for me.

[Commodore8888]

Originally Posted by Full Montee

Bigger helis have been great to me. When I fly my smaller ones like my 450 and 250 I'm doing way better. But I still get into sketchy moments with the smaller models doing the same maneuvers. My experience is if you have the skill to complete the maneuvers with a 450 the same maneuvers are easier with the larger helis.

1- Get 450
2- Put on KBDD paddles and remove flybar weights if present. Keep expo below 25%.
3- ????
4- If you haven't crashed by now you can fly anything

BONUS: Add 25mph winds