Hitting 40! The next step

[Uaelaelil]

Not long till I hit the big 40, and have talked to wife into letting me get a new rc heli.

The 3 helis that I have ATM are

A toy 3 channel indoor heli
4 ch buzz flyer
6 ch wltoys v922

I love the v922 as gives a lot more fun and the 6ch is great plus it has the cheat inverted mode so can fly inverted but controls are still same as normal flight.
All these come with there own radios, but to progress I have to look at getting a new radio for bnf

Thinking of going for a Blade 130x and a dx6i radio plus some software to practices indoors.

Any recommendations

Pete

[Jez N]

Sounds like a good plan with the 130x. Although if you can afford it then go for a trex 450. You'll never look back

Just sold my 450, but reckon I have spent more on my 130x than I did on my 450. More of an initial outlay but worth it in the long run.

[electricsceadu]

the recommendation is don't reach 40 its all down hill from there

the 130 is a popular choice
the dx6 is fine but if you wish to progress onto bigger helis then it may be wort looking at the dx7 or 8 to future proof the radio

phoenix is a good sim to go for, free updates as and when they are released

[waveydavey]

Prepared to be shot down in flames (me not you ), but you've got some toy helis, a 130 in whatever incarnation is another toy heli and you've had permission from the one that should be obeyed to buy a serious heli. The 450 is a good choice although a little big for the living room, maybe consider something a bit bigger that, a 550 is another good choice, can handle wind and the bigger the machine the more stable. Yes, I know the bigger the heli the more expensive when you crash, but the hobby is expensive so get used to it if you're going to get serious

[electricsceadu]

dave i'd go for a 550 upwards every time
a chap in my club has a 550 that he's learning with and doig very well

[dillwhacker]

Well, FWIW, I'd say forget the toys and get something that is at least repairable.
Over long grass a Blade 130 is a great robust learning tool, along with Phoenix sim and a DX6i.
A 450 is great if you have the cash but needs more space as it has a dangerous rotor if it comes toward you.
Anything bigger is quite intimidating if you are a noob, and is a 'club only' size.
HTH..
Trev

[one life fly it]

40¡ I started trying to fly these things at 41 and I'm still trying 600 nitro is a great learning tool ,lol or the blade 450 is cheap alternative.

[pug907]

I started flying at 47, started with a 450 pro for a month, then found 2 gauis cheap, a 425FBL and a 550FB. My flying came on leaps and bounds, although I did prang the 550 3 times, and the 425 nil, make of that what you will. I do wish I had stuck with the 450 a little longer, as my "close control" is not as tight as I'd like. On the upside, after 15 months, I can do flips, loops, barrel rolls etc, and am working on inverted circuits. All thanks, in my humble opinion, to the extra confidence I got from bigger helis AND flybarless ( I converted the 550 after 3 months). You're never too old to enjoy the heli buzz it seems .

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[MarkG_R1]

I'd forget the 130x and get an mcpx v2 for half the price, this will get you going with collective pitch heli's, will take a fair beating, And you can hover indoors when the weather is pants, once you're comfortable with that, start building a 450 or 500 sized heli, and before you know it, you'll want a bigger one

[Ritchieme]

Re: Hitting 40! The next step

And here's me well chuffed at my first loops and flips recently with a 450 at 54 (i can just remember 40) although my first loop was with my toy 130x which i don't fly indoors. As its only a toy maybe i should along with the 450, that's it i will attempt a loop with the 450 in the kitchen, or shall i try the 600? :-) horses for courses

[NoFixedAbode]

Re: Hitting 40! The next step

Another vote for mcpx v2. Taught me nose in hover and landing and got me over fear of circles. They crash very well and you can charge 6 batteries a time.

[ditonics]

I am learning on a Trex 500 which is lovely. I tried on a Esky belt, don't go esky is all I can say.
I have a 130x for a bit of fun in the park/drive and it is not the best bird to learn on in my opinion, its twitchy as hell and does not have the stability of a larger model. I can see that the 130x is going to end up costing in ongoing repairs. The 130x is not exactly the best made machine in the world and has already lost part of the tail servo due to vibrations :-(
If you can afford it go for a Trex 450 or bigger, the quality of a trex is far better than Blade products and the parts are nice and cheap for trex. The E-Flight stuff is cheap to buy but the parts seem expensive. Getting a good second hand one with a radio is a good option, its what I did to get started.
Good luck either way fella

[BavarianRob]

+1 on the MCPX V2 or a Nano CPX for indoors (I think the nano flys better than the mcpx but not outside) and a DX6i and sim. Once you can hover, get yourself a 450 or even better a 500, not much difference in crash costs but the 500 is a lot bigger than a 450.

Practice your 'moves' on the smaller heli then work up to the bigger one when you've 'got it nailed'

A 130X is a pain to keep flying well if you're still learning (and crashing) the mcpx and especially the nano will take a beating.

[Uaelaelil]

Thanks for all your feedback, still undecided but a few months to decide

[Mike Sanders]

Don't worry about being 40 young whippersnapper. I started learning two years ago at the age of 63. I am now able to do nose in hover, some rough circuits and figure eights.

My personal experience is that I started (after the toy heli) with the 450. I have crashed it a lot and it costs £20 to £60 to repair. It is lovely to fly. I was advised to buy a bigger heli so I got the 600. Crashes are very much more expensive so I am still a bit nervous of it. It is much more stable and easy to see. The 130 is a right little buzzer but it is cheap to repair, although very fiddly to work on. I have increased in confidence by flying it but because I throw it around a bit I crash it a lot.

I can't really make any recommendation as to what you should buy as I am not a good pilot myself but there is a lot of good advice on this forum.