Newbie looking to get into the hobby, just a few questions on first purchase

[Peteski]

RC Heliguru is based in MK Pete so not far from you. Well worth the trip to see Johnathan. As said above all the usual suspects are good reliable retailers.

As for sim take a look at Next which I believe is native MAC

neXt - CGM rc Heli Simulator

MK is pretty convenient for me, so will definitely check out RC Heliguru.

I downloaded the demo neXt sim last night, along with the demo version of Heli-X. I like that the neXt one is native Mac, so will probably go with that. Heli-X runs on Java through a Mac so not sure about that. It looks pretty, but can't try it without a transmitter. The neXt one has keyboard shortcuts so I could give it a quick go. Definitely need a transmitter!

Many thanks for the suggestions

[Peteski]

I can confirm that neXt is very good. Better than Phoenix and Accurc IMO. It feels much more realistic and dynamic. Plus it is a fairly reasonable price and you can download it straight from their website.

Okay great. I did download the demo version of it last night and looks good. Just need a transmitter to play with it now.

[Peteski]

RC Heliguru is based in MK Pete so not far from you. Well worth the trip to see Johnathan. As said above all the usual suspects are good reliable retailers.

As for sim take a look at Next which I believe is native MAC

Great stuff, many thanks for the info.

[Peteski]

Any thoughts on the Heli-X sim? There is a mac version of this too, running on java which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. I've downloaded the demo but doesn't look like it works without a controller. Obviously I'm looking for the best flight dynamics, but impossible for me to judge that without any feel for the real thing. But looks like the neXt option is good in this respect.

[Planehazza]

My thoughts when recommending or advising any newcomer is to ask how much you really want to get into the hobby. IMO the micro helis are fun, but can be very twitchy and hard to control. As said above a sim is great, but it won't give you any of the buzz that the real thing will. If you know you're going to enjoy the hobby, and stick at it, invest in a good radio and sim to start, then maybe look at a 450. Problem is, you're looking at £1000 already which is where the gamble is - do you go cheap and not enjoy it as much, or invest more upfront? The bigger ones are much more satisfying in the air and are a lot easier to learn on, but they often cost 10x the amount the build, and unfortunately, crash.

I'm a Futaba user, but the DX6 and a blade 300/450 would be a good starting point.

[myxiplx]

At this stage, any sim is going to be fine. It will typically take a year or more before your skills progress to the point that you start to notice issues with the sim, and they are all going to help you with the basics which is learning your orientations and building up your reflexes so that flying becomes automatic. It's like driving, confusing as hell to begin with, but with enough practice you stop thinking about what you need to do and just fly.

There's a great training thread on Helifreak which uses Heli-X. While it's probably a little geared towards 3D flight, it's a routine that has helped an awful lot of people become very confident with flying in 9 months or less. It would be ideal for you to work on over the winter, and would let you move straight to a larger model in the spring.

The sim is a great training tool, especially in the winter, but you do also need to practice the skills you learn on a real model. The skills do move across, but there is a difference between the sim and real life and it is worth practising both early on. Also, while you're keen on helicopters, don't let that dissuade you from the Nano QX quad. At this early stage it's all about learning to fly as cheaply as possible, and once you've got the basic skills down you move on to whatever you need. I started with a bunch of micro helicopters, but nowdays the smallest I fly is a Trex 250 in my back garden, and at the field I fly my Trex 600N. I'm not even two years in and I've sold off all the micro helicopters I had, and it would have saved me a lot of money if I'd just started with that one quad!

Ultimately, whatever you buy you won't go far wrong if you start out with:
- A reasonable TX
- An indoor micro heli or quad
- Any sim

[Slobberdog]

+1 above

I have gone back to a Hubsan X4 for the winter to try to nail my turns in the one direction that I have trouble with, good fun in the living room

[myxiplx]

Whoops, forgot to include the link to the thread I mentioned!
From tail-in to all 8s and funnels in 6 months - HeliFreak

[gobby550x]

There is a blade 200SRX new condition on the BMFA for £100 BNF which is a deal as typically they are £160

[Peteski]

Whoops, forgot to include the link to the thread I mentioned!
From tail-in to all 8s and funnels in 6 months - HeliFreak

Thanks for this link, looks like an excellent read. Still thinking about the quad v micro heli for indoor use or possibly both. The larger helis interest me most for outdoor use. I'll ask more about that as spring approaches.

[EddyP]

So I got an indoor "toy" helicopter (the U4 GYRO RC HELICOPTER) to learn with before I pay out for a good one. Is it worth learning on this, or will I basically be starting again when I move up to a more professional RC heli?

[Peteski]

Eddy - I've got a very similar indoor toy helicopter (Syma 107) and while still fun to fly, these only have 3 channels of control i.e. forward/back, left/right rotation and up/down. They are also very stable in hover and have a tendency to self-level when you let go of the controls. The more serious hobby helicopters have 4 channel control with an extra left/right roll channel. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but it makes a huge difference to the control you have in flight. The control layout is also a bit different on the 4 channel models, so in short yes you do need to effectively start again. I'm looking at getting a Blade mCX2 4-channel model next, which is also very stable, but has the all-important 4th channel. This should be a much better intro to the more serious rc helis in future and can still be flown indoors with relative ease.

[myxiplx]

Its also worth bearing in mind that the 4ch helis usually have swashplate control, and are much more responsive and precise. They're significantly better to fly than the 3 or 3.5ch models.

[Peteski]

Its also worth bearing in mind that the 4ch helis usually have swashplate control, and are much more responsive and precise. They're significantly better to fly than the 3 or 3.5ch models.

I would have thought that all 4ch helis would need to have swashplate control. Or is there an alternative method of achieving 4ch control?

I can see that swashplate control of the rotor is completely different and a more precise method than the simplistic horizontal tail fan used on the toy 3ch helis to control the pitch. I find the Syma 107 is very precise in yaw rotation (I was surprised how good it is) but disappointingly vague in fore/aft movement due presumably to the crude tail fan pitch control. You can see it takes time for the tail rotor to spool up and down and so it doesn't really give you much control.

As a total beginner I can already see the big limitation with basic 3ch helis, which I guess is a first step on my learning curve.

[Peteski]

Thanks again for all the good advice.

I've just ordered a Blade mCX2 RTF and a Nano QX BNF to get me started on some proper indoor flying. I'm holding off on a better radio until after Christmas, will probably go with the new DX6 as advised. In the meantime, the RTF version of the mCX2 was only £11 more than the BNF so thought it was worth paying extra for the basic radio and I can use it with the Nano too.

Any idea if these basic 4ch RTF radios can be used with simulators (neXt on an iMac)? Would be a bonus if they can.