Hi and advice please

[tomatwalden]

Come to the AIR comp this weekend! Kyle (rc-hero.co.uk) will be there. He's even got a "pick up at AIR" shipping option!

AIR 3D Heli Competition - 3D RC Heli Competition held at the White Horse Country Club – July 2014
RC-hero-co.uk - 200SRX ... Blade

Come along, watch the best in the world fly and pick up your heli - the perfect weekend!

[Bamboo]

i have seen these ready to fly copters. I feel very 50/50 about them as you learn nothing but then atleast you get up and running instead of screwing the bird up as you have set it up wrong!!

[Alfie]

There is a lot to be said from building your own model from a kit, whilst they are very easy to build. theres plenty of silly pits to fall into if youre new to the hobby!
Learning those pit-falls will help you understand not only how they work, but how to fix them.

And you will be fixing them, believe me!!

col.

[tomatwalden]

i have seen these ready to fly copters. I feel very 50/50 about them as you learn nothing but then atleast you get up and running instead of screwing the bird up as you have set it up wrong!!

Sorry, but totally disagree!

When you say you have seen them .. may I ask where? If you mean the ones you buy in toy shops around Xmas, then they are NOT like those - 100% different, nothing like them! If you mean you've been to a proper RC heli shop like Midlands or Fast Lad's, and have seen a (non-toy) 4-channel or 6-channel ready to fly, then I still believe you're wrong. (meant in the best possible way! )


You learn HEAPS from RTF (proper) RC helis. Especially the 6-channel collective pitch, or flybarless 4-channel helis (like the mSRX or 200SRX) which behave like a 6-channel heli in flight. The 200SRX has the advantage of having "beginner" and "intermediate" modes that allow it to behave like a beginner co-axial insofar that it will remain inherently stable. Full collective pitch (6-channel) helis do not self-level - and neither does the mSRX or 200SRX (in advanced mode).

To kind of prove a point - here's Bert Kammerer - one of the world's best pilots, flying a "ready to fly" 450 ( a Blade 450x )

[helijohn]

Oh gosh, dozens of replies already. Posts like this always do generate massive responses so here is mine. Go larger. Costwise I have found 550 to be fairly reasonable as it is the 700 size that hurts the pocket. Stabilitywise the bigger works better and you are less likely to bend it. Itchy titchy 450s are gonna need repairing more often cos they crash more easily.

[james_2k]

You need to fly a 250 if you think a 450 is twitchy haha. My 570 is more twitchy than my 450l. Possibly due to the hv servos

[tomatwalden]

I honestly don't think size is so much of an issue as it was a few years back. Roll back three years. FBL is still expensive and most are using flybars. At that time, small helis ARE twitchy indeed! The little flybars and high headspeeds make them a handful and wind sends them all over the place!

Come back to modern times. Flybars are all but gone. Even little fixed pitch helis like the mSRX have flybarless controllers. How twitchy a heli is, is now much more influenced by how responsive you want it to be to stick inputs. Wind influence is almost nullified by the onboard computer (within reason!).

The 200SRX takes the concept to the ultimate level for beginners. Defined stability modes from complete newbie through to advanced with panic button. The next model up that would offer something similar would be a 450 using the Bavarian Demon BD3SX.

[PorscheBoy]

Personally my first ever CP heli (I had a SYMA Co-Axial) was the Align Trex 550v3 and I found it very comfortable as my first build and to learn on, although the first time I spooled up with JimmyHorns (Thanks James lol) it frightened the bejesus out of me, but it is very stable and can handle easily the windiest days you would likely fly.

As said earlier, by building it you learn how the thing functions and what to adjust. I did have the benefit, due to a car accident :-( of spending 3mths on the Phoenix SIM (2hrs a day ave') before I got the heli; which I'm sure helped loads as my eyes/brain/thumbs were somewhat together...... but nothing prepares you for that first time....

Do some time on a SIM, and then you pays your money and takes your choice; but for me, I would say go with the 550. Loads of spares, easy to build/rebuild but with loads of room for you to improve without out-growing the heli (not that the 450 couldn't do that as well). But for sure get an experienced pilot to check it over and test fly and also join a club. You will improve so much more quickly with a good support group around you.