considering the hobby

[5hane]

Hil
This is my first post here.
I've dabbled with indoor twin rotor toys and once had a Honey Bee some years ago, although sadly never got it more then a foot off the ground due to then having space issues. Instead it mainly bounced off of my furniture and usualy suffered ground effect issue. I even once tried flying a 30 size nitro trainer heli at a club by way of having a radio hooked up to an experienced flyers radio.... I got it hovering for a few mins but I was verg flustered with the controls.
Anyway, 8 years later i fancy another dabble, and the Blade 200 srx has caught my eye. I just want something to try to see if I have what it takesbut have fun with at the same time. I know some will suggest something larger and with collective pitch but that willbe out of my price range if what I want to do is have a dabble. From what I've read it looks like a good starting point to hopefully peek my interest again.
Any thoughts on this model would be gratefully received. Thanks.

[Holst]

200srx isn't a bad place to start.

You should take it easy to begin with as you will find flying very hard to begin with.

Now you have a transmitter I would strongly recommend getting a computer simulator
If you learn some of the basics before you fly for real you will be much more successful.

Good luck.

[Smarty]

Hi
The 200srx is not a bad little heli to start with, I have one and use it for practicing at a much smaller field than i can fly the bigger collective pitch heli, It is still quiet a handful if you put it into the advanced mode but it makes a great little orientation trainer, Its not the most robust and the tail rotor blades break if you look at it in an angry manor but the are pretty cheap to replace..
There also a little under powered, i have adjusted mine to try and improve this but i don't really notice any difference but that's not really an issue if your just starting out.

Good luck.

[5hane]

http://www.kooltoyz.co.uk/blh2000-bl...rtf-mode-2.htm

Thank you both for responding. Im glad im looking at the right model to start off with. I'm really excited to get started again.
I do hate crashing new models although I know that crashing is part and parcel of the hobby. I'll just try to take things slowly.
A few tips on what spares I should order with the model would be useful and the best online store to make the purchase. The link above looked good to me. I think I'd go for the rtf which includes the radio. It doesn't look like they make training landing gear for this model though

[David Drew]

No don't do it. Please!

Go to HA...Heli Addicts and confess. With the proper treatment and a group of fellow addicts you will overcome any urges and will not get into this hobby.

Believe me. Your family and bank manager will benefit and you'll be able to spend your time and money on knitting, crochet and even gardening if the weather is good.

Go on, sign up. You know it makes sense.

[Smarty]

I buy all my spares from Fast Lad Performance there prices seem pretty reasonable and the service is usually really good.
I have only crashed mine once in a grass field and the damage was Tail boom, Tail boom support, Replacement servo gears and tail rotor.
The tail rotor is really fragile! i must have got through 5 or 6, it only has to touch the ground and it breaks, the spares are all pretty cheap though.

A word of warning if you buy new, They had a habbit of supply this heli with the tail rotor on the wrong way round, its worth checking when it arrives that the shinny side of the rotor if facing outwards, if its the wrong way round the tail will not hold and the tail motor will get very hot..

[5hane]

No don't do it. Please!

Go to HA...Heli Addicts and confess. With the proper treatment and a group of fellow addicts you will overcome any urges and will not get into this hobby.

Believe me. Your family and bank manager will benefit and you'll be able to spend your time and money on knitting, crochet and even gardening if the weather is good.

Go on, sign up. You know it makes sense.

It's no coincidence that im looking at heli's after recently breaking up with my gf. Cost won't be an issue now

[5hane]

I buy all my spares from Fast Lad Performance there prices seem pretty reasonable and the service is usually really good.
I have only crashed mine once in a grass field and the damage was Tail boom, Tail boom support, Replacement servo gears and tail rotor.
The tail rotor is really fragile! i must have got through 5 or 6, it only has to touch the ground and it breaks, the spares are all pretty cheap though.

A word of warning if you buy new, They had a habbit of supply this heli with the tail rotor on the wrong way round, its worth checking when it arrives that the shinny side of the rotor if facing outwards, if its the wrong way round the tail will not hold and the tail motor will get very hot..

Thanks for the advice. I will look at that shop and check the tail rotor when it arrives. I didn't reslise it was so easy to break servos.... I was hoping most of any damage would be structural.

[tomatwalden]

Cheapest one in stock according to RCFerret : Search all your favourite RC stores in one go is : Blade 200 SR X RTF Mode 2 - BLH2000 | Slough Radio Control Models

[tomatwalden]

Hil
..... Instead it mainly bounced off of my furniture and usualy suffered ground effect issue. ....

PS. Start outside! The 200SRX for a beginner is realistically speaking an outdoor machine. Indoors if a village or sports hall, but your lounge will be a recipe for a crash!

[French Paul]

Hi all,
i actually started out with a blade mcpx v2 I bought second hand from evilBay,a dx6i transmitter and some extra batteries.
i also bought a Phoenix simulator and within a week I could hover around.
i read a lot of reviews tips and tricks on forums,videos on YouTube and learnt a lot from others experience.
ive had a blade 120sr but I felt that the collective pitch mcpx was far more stable and a heli of a lot more durable than the fixed pitch 120sr.
Parts are cheaper on the mcpx plus it's as easy as flick idle up and the next stage awaits.
i personally never tried to hover indoors until I gained some expererience,plus a breeze actually helped me learn to correct faster as I had to do it more!
Now an mcpx v2 rtf On evilbay is around £75,a dx6i transmitter around £70 new on evilBay and a Phoenix sim on evilBay for £35-£40
I beleive that's similar cost to the 200srx rtf but your getting much more useful kit to learn from and also the dx6i is good for anything apart from a nitro running an rpm governor.
from my own experience learning alone this is the route I would suggest but I will say that the 200srx is a great learner heli and I couldn't say a bad thing about it as it is currently the top fixed pitch heli to buy.
The Phoenix sim will be the best learning tool you will ever use and you will gain lots more confidence to try new things with your helicopter.
i hope you enjoy whatever you end up with

[Holst]

I would also consider buying it without the included transmitter.

I would look at getting a slightly better transmitter that will allow you to expand intommore models in the future.
You may be able to pick one up second hand for close to the supplied transmitter.

You will crash, 100% guarantee.

I would still recommend a simulator before you start.
Getting some basics down on the computer in advance will make things much easier.

Fastlad always get me parts next day so don't buy loads of spares, just order what you break.

[electricsceadu]

Mr David Drew
as you sound an expert please can you knit me some very warm gloves,hat and scarf for winter flying
and then sort my garden out in the summer so that i can have more flying time



to the op
you have made the best first steps by seeking advice
the next step is to decide what model you wish to own
and then enjoy
learning to fly is not easy but it can be very rewarding once you have mastered it

[tomatwalden]

I would also consider buying it without the included transmitter.

I would look at getting a slightly better transmitter that will allow you to expand intommore models in the future.
You may be able to pick one up second hand for close to the supplied transmitter.

You will crash, 100% guarantee.

...

All things being equal, I would agree with this sentiment .. but in this case I'm going to say seriously consider going with the RTF package including the transmitter.

The reason being is that the 200SRX has a neat trick! It has 3 different flight modes, from self-stabilising beginner mode through to expert mode that flies like a collective pitch helicopter. Also, it has a "panic switch" that will save the heli if you get into trouble - it rights the heli, and climbs to a safe height.

The RTF transmitter is pre-setup with the switches correctly assigned to enable these flight modes, and has the panic switch all tested. If you get a separate transmitter, there is a chance that you'll get this setup wrong, or worse, the setup won't work properly. For example, the most common "first proper TX" is the DX6i. This transmitter cannot fully use the 200SRX flight modes and panic switch - or at least, not without a bit of a bodge.

So in this case (200SRX) - get the RTF package so you can concentrate on learning to fly - not worrying about transmitter setups.

The "panic switch" should help limit the accidents - although not fully eradicate them unfortunately! But, fly somewhere sensible - eg. over long grass - not concrete! with lots of space, take it gently - don't walk before you can run and you should be good!

Perhaps check out the flight school vids on RC Helicopters - A Super Fun & Rewarding Hobby

[5hane]

I buy all my spares from Fast Lad Performance there prices seem pretty reasonable and the service is usually really good.
I have only crashed mine once in a grass field and the damage was Tail boom, Tail boom support, Replacement servo gears and tail rotor.
The tail rotor is really fragile! i must have got through 5 or 6, it only has to touch the ground and it breaks, the spares are all pretty cheap though.

A word of warning if you buy new, They had a habbit of supply this heli with the tail rotor on the wrong way round, its worth checking when it arrives that the shinny side of the rotor if facing outwards, if its the wrong way round the tail will not hold and the tail motor will get very hot..

Strange, I already replied to this so sorry if a duplicate message appears. It looks like I need to stock up on lots of spares then.... How does a servo break? Must have been a hard crash?