Yet another newbie looking for help moving from a basic co-ax to "proper" heli's...

[proffalken]

Hi all,

I've been flying a very basic toy co-ax heli that I bought for £11.99 from my local garage and it's great fun, however I want to move up to something more powerful that I can use outdoors.

At the moment, the criteria are:

1) Outdoor flight (I don't have any large areas to fly in)
2) Between £50 - £80
3) Single rotor (i.e. not co-ax)
4) More than just "up/down/left/right" - I have that already on my toy heli!

I'm completely realistic that I will crash and I've read the FAQ on this forum which was a help but not quite what I was looking for.

I've looked at the E-Flite Blade MSR X RTF Combo BLH3200 as a possible option however I'm not convinced that this is for me either because it appears to be mainly catering for indoor flight.

I've managed to get the hang of hovering my little co-ax and flying it slowly in circles, but I'd like something that's more "fun"

Can anyone help me meet this criteria?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

[Ritchieme]

With your price range i would say your extremely limited even for the used market

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[DanWright]

As above, your going to struggle to find something for that price. But what you could buy is a simulator like Phoenix to practice on. It'll teach you a lot, and it will save you money in crash costs.

You out would need to get a transmitter to go with it though unless you already have one.

[Delarado]

if you really want to go outdoors in this country with any degree of control you need collective pitch (Fixed pitch helicopters behave like a kite with a steering wheel in the wind)

If you get a collective pitch helicopter I can pretty much guarentee you will crash it within 5 seconds of taking off I'm afraid. I'm not trying to be disheartening, its just a fact.

Unfortunately I think the best thing for you at this point will be an MSRx; it will go outside on very calm days; But the only rememdy as I say that will allow more outdoor flight than an MSRx is a collective pitch heli, which you are not ready for.

If you want to "test the water" and do something fun, get an MSR X. If your sure you want to take up helicopter flying as a hobby, you can buy a copy of the phoenix simulator instead. A word of warning though, its nowhere near as fun as flying the real thing! But it will save you a lot in crash costs. Within probably two weeks of having phoenix, you may be ready to get a small collective pitch helicopter and take it outside (depending on how much you practice)

Going straight from a coax to a collective pitch helicopter is a recipe for disaster im afraid; Many people I know have been flying nearly a year and are only just getting in to flying collective pitch helicopters.

[Guest]

People seem a little negative, I agree that flying outdoors with a small heli is not easy, bit there are some good offers on at moment mSRx at only 71.99 including everything you need to fly, safe enough to use in your living room or any larger indoor space and not too challenging for a starter

BLH3200UK2 | Blade mSR X RTF Electric Helicopter

Will give you better practice than a toy co-ax, not a massive investment and when you feel more confident, upgrade to a 130X, collective pitch heli...

[proffalken]

Thanks all for the replies.

I did wonder if I was a bit too optimistic and it seems that is the case.

My house is quite small, however we back onto a private-school field and as a result of their holiday lengths it's vacant for about 1/4 of the year!

The heli I have at present is this one:


Apart from the single rotor (instead of the co-ax) and the tail-rotor, is there a massive amount of difference between the BLH3200UK2 and the one above?

The one above literally only has "up/down/left/right" and is about the same size as the BLH3200UK2 as far as I can tell. It also can just about fly outdoors.

I'm sure there are many differences, however from reading the specs on the site posted above there's no indication to battery life or how well it would fly outside (although it does mark it as "indoor/outdoor").

I guess I just managed to find myself yet another expensive hobby along with Computers, Guitars and Model Railways - my wife will be pleased...

[tomatwalden]

...
I've looked at the E-Flite Blade MSR X RTF Combo BLH3200 as a possible option however I'm not convinced that this is for me either because it appears to be mainly catering for indoor flight.

...

I would suggest this is your best option. Don't be fooled by size, the mSRX is quite capable outdoors due to the flybarless controller. It will be significantly better outdoors than any co-ax, or larger helis that use 45-degree balance bars (like the 120SR, or even the mSR). Sure, it won't fly in really windy days, but on a calm day with light breezes, it'll handle outdoors just fine.

I've never owned one, but I've flown one (outdoors). I did relatively big (~20 metre end to end) figure-8's with it no problem. Fast little sucker for its size.

PS. Before anyone mentions this - NO fixed-pitch heli will ever handle outdoors like collective pitch, so don't expect the world. BUT, the mSRX can fly outdoors, and is very good indoors too. With the exception of the Blade nano-CPX, most collective pitch helis are really only good for indoors if you're a very good pilot already. A newbie trying to handle CP indoors won't last very long before a big crash, generally speaking.

[proffalken]

I would suggest this is your best option. Don't be fooled by size, the mSRX is quite capable outdoors due to the flybarless controller. It will be significantly better outdoors than any co-ax, or larger helis that use 45-degree balance bars (like the 120SR, or even the mSR). Sure, it won't fly in really windy days, but on a calm day with light breezes, it'll handle outdoors just fine.

I've never owned one, but I've flown one (outdoors). I did relatively big (~20 metre end to end) figure-8's with it no problem. Fast little sucker for its size.

PS. Before anyone mentions this - NO fixed-pitch heli will ever handle outdoors like collective pitch, so don't expect the world. BUT, the mSRX can fly outdoors, and is very good indoors too. With the exception of the Blade nano-CPX, most collective pitch helis are really only good for indoors if you're a very good pilot already. A newbie trying to handle CP indoors won't last very long before a big crash, generally speaking.

Thanks Tom,

So just to confirm:

1) The mSRX will happily fly indoors or outdoors as long as the wind isn't too fast
2) If you're flying indoors, CP is probably far worse than FP
3) Just because it's small doesn't mean it won't do the job...

I've just watched mSR X Review & Flight Demo - YouTube , Rookie Pilot's First Flight Of The Blade MSR X - YouTube and BLADE MSR X DX6i unboxing and first flight and crash - YouTube and I'm sold on the idea!

Out of interest, is the controller that comes in the combo pack at E-Flite Blade MSR X RTF Combo BLH3200 easy enough for beginners? I see a lot of those videos using DX 6i controllers and I can't afford a controller as well as a new Heli, so I'm hoping that the one in the box is ok.

Also, can I buy extra batteries for this as suggested in the FAQ? I assume I could then have one on charge and one in the Heli to maximise "playtime" - One of the things that I'm currently spoilt by with my model railway is that it runs from the mains so I don't have to charge the batteries. Looks like you'd need a hell of a long lead to plug this in whlist flying!

I'll start saving now...

Matt

[proffalken]

One more question - what limits the "range" of the heli? Is it the controller or the circuitry on the Heli itself?

I work in IT and I've had wifi (2.4GHz) links working from 10m to over 1km away depending on how you align the receiver or transmitter arials.

I notice that on the horizon hobbies website it says "enough range to fly around your yard", but is that 20m, 50m, 100m?

Thanks again,

Matt

[proffalken]

Hrm, that last post will make much more sense once the two that are held in moderation are released...

[Guest]

Simple answer is, with the size of the heli, range is limited by how far away you can safely see the model, with an mSRx 20 metres will be plenty of range, as a beginner you need to keep it close and under control, if you let it get too far away you will lose control and inevitably crash.

As your skills improve you will learn 'instinctive' orientation and you can fly bigger circuits, but to start with tail-in hover at several metres will be plenty....

From experience with mCPx and 130X range is well within the range of 'safe sight'.....

[Varelco]

Put it this way, you will pretty much lose sight of it before it goes out of range

[proffalken]

Simple answer is, with the size of the heli, range is limited by how far away you can safely see the model, with an mSRx 20 metres will be plenty of range, as a beginner you need to keep it close and under control, if you let it get too far away you will lose control and inevitably crash.

As your skills improve you will learn 'instinctive' orientation and you can fly bigger circuits, but to start with tail-in hover at several metres will be plenty....

From experience with mCPx and 130X range is well within the range of 'safe sight'.....

Put it this way, you will pretty much lose sight of it before it goes out of range

LOL, thanks both, I've got no intention of letting it out of my sight unless it could fly itself using GPS and feed back using a camera. I know heli's like this exist and ultimately I'd love to build one, but I'm also very realistic about these things and I know that I'll need to learn to fly a heli first before I can program a computer to fly one for me!

[ltaylor88]

I fly my nano a good 100 meters away outside with no probs. It gets pritty hard to see any further away. There has been some bargins on used blade micro helis on bmfa classifeds this week becase of the release of the trex 150 everyone is selling theres. If I was you id go for a blade nano cpx. It will be a steep learning curve but they are incredibly hardy they will take a lot of hard landings before you bust something. With the right transmitter setting you can get them to fly like a coaxil anyway. Plus it will fly out side in calm to mild wind easily. For it to be fully programable you would also need a spectrum transmitter you can pick up dx6i for as little as £40 now used and that would last you right up to big helis. I agree with others tho buying a sim like phoniex will save you alot of money in the long run as it dose not cost anything to crash.

[SaneAdam]

I fly my nano a good 100 meters away outside with no probs. .

100 meters…??! A Nano..?! That is some super human vision right there