Which heli for newbie to outdoor flight?

[smokinbarrels1971]

Hi All,

Sorry, this has probably been asked a million times before...what r/c heli would you recommend for my 12yr old son, as a newbie to outdoor flight?

I have looked at the Syma S33 and the MJX i-heli T40C as these are around the size i'd prefer and budget I want to spend, but I know nothing about them (or any others).

A customer in one of the shops I visited overheard my conversation with the shop staff, and then afterwards tapped me on the shoulder and offered a bit of advice regarding the battery, in that I should try to find a heli with the ability to replace / change the battery 'in the field' to overcome short flight times compared to charging times.

Obvioulsy would like something stable, relatively easy to fly / control, good battery, reasonable quality, available spares, etc. etc.

Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

[kieranar]

Go for a blade something like the cx range or this msr x cheap , easy to get parts , if you want to fly outdoors you need a day when there's no wind !

http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/prod...ducts_id=17834


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[MarkG_R1]

A semi decent transmitter like a dx6i and a simulator for your pc will be a wise investment to get the basics of control without damaging anything or anyone at all

A dx6i can be had for about £80 new or s/h for £50ish and Phoenix sim for £35-40 s/h

[tomatwalden]

Check out http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/ for some good advice and intro to the hobby.

Personally, I started with a Blade 120SR and found it a good entry level heli.

Honestly, iId avoid the cheap stuff as you will struggle to find spares for them. Blade parts are available everywhere.


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[teeny000]

hi I am new to this I have a t40c helicopter got it before Christmas had it out twice ran out of flying time and had a crash I have tried to fix it but it will not take of I live in Scotland does anybody near Dumfries that could fix it for me thank you

[bcphill]

HI. I am also a relative newcomer but for my two pennyworth if its for a young lad I would get him a Co-axial one which will be very stable and easy to fly. A co axial can be easyily identified as they have two sets of rotors one above the other which rotate in opposite directions. like the syma you mentioned

If he wants to fly outside then get the biggest one you can afford as this will be less affected by the wind.
Your first flight outdoors should be on a calm windless day otherwise he will probally crash it and become upset and disheartened. The syma s33 fits all of these. You should also price up batteries of the one you buy as having spares already charged when you take it out increases your flying time. Fot the syma they are about £8 each. They are usually easy to change


As others have said you can also get a simulator so he can practice. A good one is Phoenix and you can actually get this with its own transmitter as the transmitter you get in your heli may not have a port to connect to a simulator or trainer.

They go for about 50-60 quid like this one shown here

phoenix flight simulator | eBay

which is second hand or here

phoenix 5 Flight Simulator with controller and cable (USB) - From The UK | eBay

which is brand new.


If the transmitter in your heli has a trainer socket then you can use this to run with the simulator by just buying phoenix on its own with the cable like here
Phoenix 5 Model Flight Simulator | eBay


whatever you do dont be tempted to buy one of the cheapo sims shown for 5-10 quid as they are a total waste of time. I know i bought one

If he is really enthusiastic and this is not just a young lads whim then its best to take it slowly as its very difficult to learn how to fly helis and its easy to become disheartened.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Try joining a local club if he really is up for it but make sure that you get a helicopter only club and not a plane club that just alows them as usually (as i found out) they might not really like helicopters.

Cheers
Phill

[tomatwalden]

hi I am new to this I have a t40c helicopter got it before Christmas had it out twice ran out of flying time and had a crash I have tried to fix it but it will not take of I live in Scotland does anybody near Dumfries that could fix it for me thank you

I'm afraid most of these "toy grade" helis just aren't built to be fixed. That's why they're so cheap. Sometimes you can find parts on ebay, but if you really want to get into flying helis - check out the Blade range. Take a look in the "beginners" subforum on this site for loads of threads of people talking about good beginner helicopters.

[Peteski]

The Blade mCX2 is great for complete beginners. Very stable and has 4 channel control. Spare parts are cheap and easy to get hold of if you break it and spare batteries are about £2.50 each. None of these co-axial helis are suitable for outdoor flight unless it is dead calm. But they fly great around the house. For outdoor flight, something like the Blade 120SR that Tom suggested would be better. A little harder to fly but should be no problem for a keen 12 year old!

The 3 channel Symas are okay, I have a little S107G that was £15 new, but the batteries cannot be removed (unless you want to get your soldering iron out). It's very stable and easy to fly, but the simple 3ch control is very limiting. For £15 it's a good disposable intro to the hobby if you're not sure yet. The S33 is basically a bigger version, but I doubt it would make a good outdoor heli. Any wind will just blow it away.

[Red five]

How about a syma x5c it is a camera quadcopter with the same controls but far more stable and has easily changeable batterys

[hunter_heli]

There is also the Hubsan - Very cheap for lipo's (and charge via USB), props and spare frames have good availability. Great thing about the Hubsan is being 4 channel, so the controls are basically the same if/when progressing to Collective Pitch. I started on a Blade 120sr and had so much fun.

[tomatwalden]

Agreed. TBH, I'm in the camp that if you want to learn helis, then learn helis - not quads. But if somebody prefers the quad route for whatever reason - I'd suggest the Hubsan or one of the small Blade quads that can then bind to proper transmitter.

Avoid Syma / Double Horse etc. at all costs IMO.

[Hartley2]

I'm a beginner aswell and I bought a second hand helicopter trex 450 on for-sale for only £85! Works well and very easy to manipulate, even for a child. My son of 14 years old is doing it no problem

[EddyP]

My first flying vehicle was the RC Quadcopter which I found quite tricky to handle at first but after getting used to it, it was great fun. Also it's pretty stylish with the black and red propellers and LED's for flying in the dark so I would definitely recommend it for a teenager. Here's a picture below:

RC Quadcopter.jpg

In addition there is a good range of RC Helicopters that are suitable for teenagers and beginner flyers at RED5 here:

Remote Control Helicopters & RC Radio Controlled Flying Toys | RED5 Gadget Shop

Of these I think that you should go with the Viper 3 Channel Water Jet. Firstly it is in your price range and as it can fire water whilst in flight which could make the heli more fun for a young teenager.

Also the controls are very similar to a Playstation's so it may be easier for him to get used to controlling the helicopter (if you have a PS of course).