Looking at maybe getting into RC HELIS...Heres what you need

[hlebec]

hi there,

i bought a t-rex 450 and Reflex XTR simulator for a start. Is that a recommended stuff to flying rc heli, or it will be hard to learn on that equipment. tx.

[pauls_boat]

hi any advice on electric helicopters to start with?
i dont want to go the way of nitro powered as i have no room for all the extra items i would need with nitro helicopter as i live on a sail boat.
i bought a E_SKY Lama v4 but if i need a difrent one i can buy a new one to start off with.

regards paul S/V Bear Necessities Puerto Rico

[pauls_boat]

Originally Posted by JoeFlyer

FMS is a great *FREE* simulator...with many plane, heli, and other models to download from all over the Internet. I've got other some simulator info on my blog.

Hope this helps,

Joe

hi joe i tried your blog but only get through to a site trying to sell the webb address, is your blog still there or not .
also have you tried clear view sim

http://www.rcflightsim.com/index.html

i did a search on the web and found it i did the free trial and liked it so i paid it (i dont pay for many programs that are free unless they are good)
they have loads of models and flying sites and you can adjust any aspect of the models for what your helie flys like.
regards paul

[Paintrain]

I've seen many questions regarding this hobby from a very new point of view. With so many options out there it is easy to get lost in the mix. I've put up a decent post for beginners by beginners to understand some options and the breadth of this hobby. Might be worth checking out for some of you.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1111511

Hope it helps.

[MKlinkerRC]

My advice.... when you make your first heli order... just buy 2 kits. build one with electronics, crash it, then use the second kit for parts. Works flawlessly.

That and when you are learning don't spend a lot on blades or other fancy stuff. CopterX and EXI parts (experienced people please don't kill me!) are much cheaper and keep your heli in the air. Once you can hover one foot above the deck, start throwing those Align parts back in.

[christinedwrds]

Originally Posted by flyoz

Bart you forgot:
Understanding wife, kids, friends and boss
Your own Pvte shrink online for when you get "the fever"
Understanding Bank manager
Unlimited access to funds
Plenty of storage space for the next heli, next heli, scale fuselage, next heli etc
Powerful PC for those great Sims and online chat boards
Comfortable PC chair for hours online
Camera equipment to capture your new addiction and on and on and on

Loved it! In my case, I need an understanding husband. I can't find too many women "playing" rc but I've fallen in love with it ever since I saw my dad's rc tank, I think it was a Panzer

[Robertwav1]

I started off with the smaller FP's, still have them. Moved up to a 450 RTF. Now with the 500 Trex build and DX7, boy I found out there is some work to do. This thing can get deep. My whole basement looks like a hobby shop now and it's a big basement. Interesting, Fun, Relaxing, but it is definitely an addictive thing. I think it's just great that the Ladies can get into this also. My wife gets a detailed description of upgrades and she likes to watch them fly....

[timewerx]

Got a 2.5 channel Picoo Z for two weeks. What I learned from the Picoo Z was mostly non-transferrable to my next which is the Walkera 4#3b which I got only 3 weeks ago.

My what a very difficult heli to learn to fly from a small room!! Good thing it's very durable - but don't always count on this, I got bent flybar, cracked canopy, bent skids, and one tiny component from receiver getting lose from the solder from simply crashing from a height of 5 ft! Nothing that would replacement though, all damage was repaired with quite ease!

And as others claimed and perhaps me too. The Walkera 4#3b is a very good beginner helicopter to get. It handles quite like the bigger models - only harder and best of all, it's cheap and usually won't be need repairs if you crash it, unlike the big ones!

Okay, if you did get the Walkera 4#3b, I did something to help me learn without doing further damage.

So Check the link in my signature to find out!

[opkin]

What size ?

Ive had my 1st heli a trex 450 se for about a year now and havent flown it a great deal but can hover around and do slow fig 8s but am not confident yet and have had a couple of crashes so am practicing alot on the sim. But I keep asking myself as 95% of the time fly outdoors, should I get a bigger heli or just stay with the 450 ?

I guess options would be stay with mine, an electric 500 or 550 (how different are these to fly ?) or a Niro 600 (no waiting for batteries to charge) ?

Hmmm Any views welcome

[Lunchbox]

Bigger will be more stable, but it's also much more expensive to fly and to crash. The 450 is fine though. It'll do fine in 15 mph winds. Just make sure you have your TX set up comfortably. If you're crashing a lot, you might even want to get a smaller, cheaper heli to practice with on calmer days.

Nitro has its own set of things to worry about. Louder, dirtier, requires a lot more maintenance, longer to set up. You don't have to charge, but you can get 5C charging batteries that charge in 10 minutes on hobbyking.com for like 20$ for the 450.

If you're going to buy another heli, make sure you do some research before you spend. Really easy to get ripped off.

[blkjk262]

And to repeat an"Understanding wife" ... do they make those???

[WingzOverBagdad]

Want to build my own RC Heli bit by bit but have no way of knowing how to do it. Anywhere i can go for instructions or a guide?

[nsconductor]

See this forum on HF:

https://www.helifreak.com/forumdisplay.php?f=60

Finless' videos are awsome!

[slamdance]

REALLY, you need to spend $,$$$ just for "thinking it"? THBRTM...you do have a great detailed list, but it's specifically for someone who's FULLY COMMITTED. A newbie just thinking should never go into it like that. My advice for newbies:
1.) Don't waste any money yet until you learn more.
2.) Go to your local hobby shop and play with their simulator for free.
3.) Go to your local ama flying field, and talk to the flyer's. Who know's you can get a used fully build trex 450 complete with rx, servo's and even tx for only $300.
4.) Don't believe that bigger is better. True that big heli's are stable. They are also noisy, scary and dangerous.
5.) Don't believe you need nitro for longer flights. Yea, they can go 15 minutes but your concentration span is usually about 5 minutes. Electrics have a build in advantage to stopping before you get sloppy or lose concentration. Also in the long run it's cheaper, but I'm talking a thousand or two flights.

[suomynon]

I was cleaning my office / heli workshop today and I ran across a piece of paper where I'd scribbled some notes about this hobby after 4 weeks of flying fixed pitch helis and a week after getting my T-Rex 450.

Here's what I was thinking at the time:

Respect the Machine
Performance helis bite hard

The Forums are Your Friend
They know what the manual forgets to mention

Work Precisely
An extra millimeter can fry a servo, eat a belt, or grind a main gear

Invest in a Good Transmitter
Programmable radios can tame an unruly bird or unleash its full potential

This Hobby is More than Flying
For every minute in the air, you’ll enjoy some more time as a mechanical engineer

Ready-to-Fly Means You Don’t Know How to Fix What’s Wrong
Build your first CCPM heli yourself and select one with easily available spares

Don’t Spend All Your Money When You Buy Your First Heli
You’ll need more when you “let the smoke out” of the servos and break blades

Buy a Fixed-Pitch Heli First
Enjoy easy flying and inexpensive crashes while you learn to hover a CCPM heli

Be Patient
Yes, Justin Jee soloed an r/c heli at 4 years old, but only after 2 years of practice

Buy a Good Simulator
You’re going to spend $100 – Either on software or in crashes

[fordman1282]

what is a good beginner 3D?

[mbsteed]

I don't think there is a good beginner 3D helicopter. Okay I speak from frustration of building and rebuilding and never quite getting my heli to fly right. I went to a Gaui 330X quad copter and think it would make an excellent starter heli - get you used to the controls before getting into the complexity of a 3D heli.

[ideas]

I am just about to get into the hobby an was planing on getting a HBFP V2. Is that a good choice ?

[rob56]

one thing everybody left out
you absolutely need a shipping address and time off from work to receive
shipments from UPS
OR
you will need to buy every thing from China
AFAAIK none of the U.S. vendors will ship to a Po Box
please PM me if you know of one

[dankcincy]

Originally Posted by rob56

one thing everybody left out
you absolutely need a shipping address and time off from work to receive
shipments from UPS
OR
you will need to buy every thing from China
AFAAIK none of the U.S. vendors will ship to a Po Box
please PM me if you know of one

You could get it shipped to your work place.