Newbies advice to Newbies :)

[Spikey]

Well after being at this for a few weeks here is my advice for some newbie's (for what its worth) yes I am still fresh but have learnt a lot!

First off don’t get anything too expensive as you will crash, go for a 4 channel, something like a Lama V3 or Bell 47 (Medevac) is ideal, the Blade CX is very good as well but more expensive. Anything more and it will be very hard to learn on and costs for repairs will soar. The mentioned craft are pretty cheap and parts are very cheap on eBay! One word or warning, buy from the UK and ensure any product is a genuine, not a cheap import copy!

Second budget for repairs in your initial budget! If you have £100 spare don’t blow the lot on a heli, keep some in reserve! You will find you can end up buying very quickly blades, tail, shafts, skids, canopy, swash plates, links, motors etc

Learn your heli, learn all the parts, what they do. Learn the correct settings and how to trim. This will help ensuring it is set up well. Also fly on full batteries, do not get too impatient and fly too soon, also never drain the batteries empty!

Unless you have a good mind and can resist the urge, budget for upgrades quickly! I have already spent over £100 on new parts to get improved performance and that custom look.

I have seen tons of posts on many forums saying my heli is not working, it spins on the ground, slides to the side so they panic and power down, look at it and cannot see anything wrong, try again and same thing happens 10 times in a row and then they give up!!!!, chances are there is nothing wrong with it, you need to get a good clean lift off the ground to about 3ft. Any lower and the down draft from the rotors creates turbulence and the heli gets caught up in this. So don’t dither or panic if it starts to slide or rotate, just get it up in the air as quick as you can (under control of course). Once your past the 2ft mark its 100 times easier!!! I think most new flyers are very nervous about cranking up the thrust and hover far too low. Crank up the thrust until it starts to just lift, then push the throtle a bit more until it comes clean off the ground, now just wait till it hits the 3-4ft mark and level off, this is prob the most valuable lesson I have found!

Crashes etc… don’t let this put you off, it takes time but you will quickly learn to get it airborne and hovering, don’t get over confident and try daft things, that’s when crashes happen!! It helps if you are relaxed and well prepared. If you do crash you will learn from your mistakes. In fact learning to repair your heli is not a bad thing, you will learn how it goes together and how it works, you may even learn how to improve it!. Always have spares at hand, there is nothing worse than a crash and waiting 7 days for your parts to arrive.

Lastly enjoy it, if you don’t understand something ask the questions, once you have your heli(s) and spare parts its good fun, if your into tinkering, upgrades and building opens up a new dimension. Oh yes... get a flight sim, crashes dont cost a penny!

Hope this helps some, I had a basic Lama V3 and a Walkera 5#6 to start, I am already fitting a full xtreme conversion for the Lama and am tweaking with the tx and receiver for the Walkera. I have also got a project on the go for a full Hughes 500 fuselage which I hope to build up with all my spares! Within a coupe of weeks I can hover in one place, rotate 5-6 times quickly, complete full circuits of my living room and have managed a few outside flights (on nil wind days) stick with it and you can improve quickly.

Another crash last night, but all repaired and ready to fly again within 20 mins!!

Last warning, this is very addictive.

[David Drew]

Sounds about right. Good advice.

[jboweruk]

I would be wary about a lift if it's just spinning on the ground it will just spin in the air and crash. Spinning like a top shouldn't be happening in my experience. Yes as you say it will be very unstable near the ground, so when you know there's nothing wrong get up out of the turbulence, don't expect to be able to fly it just because for instance you've had a 2 or 3 channel jobby. A 4 channel is vastly different, and consequently harder to control than the 2 channel. If you're coming from a 3 channel it's a bit easier, but they do tend to move a lot quicker, so be ready for it.

You're right about budgeting for spares, you'll crash a lot. And don't upgrade to something else until you stop crashing pretty much altogether. I made the mistake with a Twister Skylift, and it's still a b**** to fly as all the crashes have ruined it. So moral is stick with what you know, by all means pick one you'll like and enjoy, but make sure it's small and easy to fly. If in doubt, check with ppl on here, somebody will probably have the one you like and are looking at, and can advise.

Above all, have fun.

[Tim Procter]

Very good advice Spikey.

[xygax]

Dont get a scuttle.... £100 a bang and 2 weeks to repair and they fly like a brik...

Steve

[Blahblahman]

oh and another thing, once you've mastered your 4ch from Maplins, get the Pheonix SIM and try something a little more expensive. Suddenly, your first 'coptor seems like the best of all worlds... easy to fly, slow, cheap to repair, it only stings when it hits you rather then taking your limbs off and when your mates come around, you look like a Heli God flying the thing around the lounge !!

[Dougie]

good advice

only £100.00 on spares lol

if your mad about heli's you will just spend and spend.

best ever advice is sim time. it cost a lot less in the long run. plus you will have much more fun with the real thing

[Mike W]

Some good advice there ... It does not matter what ya spend or what heli be it nitro or elec that u own as one thing above all u adhere to " ENJOY IT !! " This is what this hobby is about ... Me i crash alot and always rebuild, buy new and try again ... Ah the joys of flying ... Time to nip to the field in a bit and see if i can crash again lol ...