Back after 15 years or so away from hobby - any advice welcome

[Steve_T]

Hi,

If you have read my introduction in the new member intros section will see I have flown RC helis before, and crashed them , but I would not say I was particularly good. I could hover a Nexus 30 pretty well so long as it was facing away from me, I could struggle when facing me.

I still have my Nexus 30 and is in pretty good condition, on first viewing looks like only the tail fin needs replacing. In essence I have not been really active for 15 years or so but I have resurrected my Nexus a few times and just had a bit of a hover in the garden. However after almost 10 years of not flying I would really have to strip the whole thing down and check everything. Also I guess it would be wise to replace the main rotors.

I still have my JR X-388S transmitter. In it's day I believe it was the dogs do-da's and wasn't cheap. But again can I still get receivers for it (i do have one). It seems to work (needs a new back-up battery, so needs replacing then re calibrating, but otherwise seems okay). It looks like there are a lot of new radios now that are probably much better and generally seem to be less than I paid for this 20 years ago.

So I guess my first step is to decide is it worth resurrecting a 20 year old heli?
My instinct says no. If I can get spares I would guess there are far better new models and I sould save the money it would cost and put it towards a new model.

Secondly what do I get. So many are electric now and I initially I did not want to go this route as I have IC engines already that are in good condition. But essentially I am still learning, and so far do not know how much I had learnt is still retained - could be I am starting all over again.

Then do I keep my Tx or buy another ?

For definite I will get a simulator for the PC so any recommendations welcome.

One though I had was to get a cheapish indoor heli, thinking of the Blade nano CPX (RTF)
Then I can have a practice inside and see how I get on before splashing too much cash, but essentially I did want to go nitro - but I can be persuaded to start with electric if there are advantages.

Anyway, before I launch into a multitude of questions to what do I do next I will troll round the forum a bit and look at what's new in the hobby in my absence (lots I can see already). But whilst I do this any advice on the above will be welcome..

Thanks
Steve

[myxiplx]

First of all, welcome back :-)

There are a ton of option these days for getting into RC Helicopters, and as you say it's likely going to be cheaper to start afresh than repair what you have, so new TX and helis.

But then as you say, micro's make for a great way to start, they're cheaper and more durable and are a great way to learn. A micro and sim mean you can learn all the flying skills, and crash dozens or hundreds of times for very little cost. And as well as being cheaper to crash, if you can crash without breaking things it means you can keep learning, you're not ending up with days or weeks or missed flying while you wait for parts or for the time to repair it.

The route you want to take is up to you, there's no one right way to do it, and there are a few options for micros:

WLToys v911: It's a fixed pitch model, but dirt cheap and comes with a TX. It's great for beginners, but maybe a little basic for you. For £25 though you can learn all the basic orientations and have fun, and it's pretty well unbreakable.

Blade nQX quad: While it's a quadcopter this is probably the best platform for learning CP imo. It's blade, so you can buy one TX which will last you all the way to 700 size if you like. The beginner mode is really easy to fly, while the advanced mode is very responsive and a good trainer for CP. It's small and safe enough for indoor flying, and it'll usually just bounce after a crash and keep flying.

Blade nCPX: This is a great 3D micro, probably the most durable one for indoor flight. It's very small and fidgety though, so needs good reflexes to learn and will have a steep learning curve.

Blade mCPX BL: This is not an indoor model at all, but is great for outdoor flight, and if you're quick to hit throttle hold will shrug off crashes. It's a little bigger than the nCPX which makes it a fraction more stable, but it's still primarily a powerful 3D capable micro.

And alongside any of those I would definitely recommend a simulator, there are loads of great choices and if you can spent 6 months practising with a sim and a micro you can have a lot of fun for relatively little cost, and learn all the skills you need to really enjoy a larger model. Again, tons of choices here:

Phoenix: Easy to use, relatively cheap. Fine for learning, but the flight engine isn't as accurate as the others. It'll teach you everything you need though, you don't really notice the issues until you're pushing it harder in 3D flight.

RealFlight: One of the best for quality, tons of learning modes, loads of people flying online. A really full featured simulator. Honestly I wish I'd spent the extra money and bought this instead of Phoenix when I first started.

neXt: Has a free download with a 2 minute demo, and is gaining momentum. A lot of people like how it flies and it's a pretty good sim.

AccuRC: In my opinion the most accurate in the way it flies, but honestly you need to be a crazy good pilot to really feel the difference between this and neXt or RealFlight. Doesn't have so many models or options, but it does model the helicopters in a more realistic way, which means you can learn how to setup a model too. I've learnt FBL tuning on this, and the difference that the right tail blades make. It's the only sim where I've had to tweak things like tail gain to get the helicopter flying the way I want it, and it's taught me tons. It's got a steep learning curve though, and a smaller user base.

[DaveJones]

Welcome aboard Steve,
regards the radio I don't know the model but if it's 15-20 years old then I think you would be better served with a new computerised 2.4G digital radio. The computerised bit allows you to tune the Heli to suit, so you get a game Heli instead of a racehorse, the 2.4g bit means no more messing around with peg boards and 12 foot long Aerials. Something like a Spectrum dx6 would be a good place to start, plenty of second hand ones around as well.

Next advise would be look at computer simulators, several good ones around Phoenix, RealFlight, Next. They use your radio and you fly on the PC without troubling your credit card.

20 year old Heli is best left as an ornament whilst learning, spares will be like hens teeth and you will probably need a few. Lots to choose from though, I started with a micro like the nano you mention or the MCPX, I learnt to hover above my bed! They tend to be small and twitchy but if you can fly one, you can fly the big ones. They also don't cost much, bounce well and won't remove limbs. They are fiddly to repair and can become a bit limiting eventually.

For a bigger Heli lookup Align Trex, skip the 250 but the 450 or better yet 500 are good "real" Heli's to start with. Relatively low cost, huge spares availability and lots of experience around.

Before buying anything spend time on here reading up on Lipos (batteries), radios and flybarless controllers, it's a confusing minefield for the new guy, but ask the dumb questions on here, or look through the forum as someone else will of already asked it.

Have fun.

[Steve_T]

Many thanks myxiplx for a very comprehensive reply.

I was going in the direction of trying first with a Blade nQX quad just to get used to flying again and have a bit of fun and I was looking at neXt as for £35 plus a few quid for a cable it looked a bargain, but I will now look at RealFlight.

Cheers

[Steve_T]

Welcome aboard Steve,
regards the radio I don't know the model but if it's 15-20 years old then I think you would be better served with a new computerised 2.4G digital radio. The computerised bit allows you to tune the Heli to suit, so you get a game Heli instead of a racehorse, the 2.4g bit means no more messing around with peg boards and 12 foot long Aerials. Something like a Spectrum dx6 would be a good place to start, plenty of second hand ones around as well.

Next advise would be look at computer simulators, several good ones around Phoenix, RealFlight, Next. They use your radio and you fly on the PC without troubling your credit card.

20 year old Heli is best left as an ornament whilst learning, spares will be like hens teeth and you will probably need a few. Lots to choose from though, I started with a micro like the nano you mention or the MCPX, I learnt to hover above my bed! They tend to be small and twitchy but if you can fly one, you can fly the big ones. They also don't cost much, bounce well and won't remove limbs. They are fiddly to repair and can become a bit limiting eventually.

For a bigger Heli lookup Align Trex, skip the 250 but the 450 or better yet 500 are good "real" Heli's to start with. Relatively low cost, huge spares availability and lots of experience around.

Before buying anything spend time on here reading up on Lipos (batteries), radios and flybarless controllers, it's a confusing minefield for the new guy, but ask the dumb questions on here, or look through the forum as someone else will of already asked it.

Have fun.

Many thanks.

The transmitter is computerized hence the huge cost so many years ago, however I still think you are right because who has a 15 year old computer in their house ? Oh hold on I do


But seriously, I think I need to see what is out there now rather than limp along with old technology.

Steve

[Nick_C]

Many thanks myxiplx for a very comprehensive reply.

I was going in the direction of trying first with a Blade nQX quad just to get used to flying again and have a bit of fun and I was looking at neXt as for £35 plus a few quid for a cable it looked a bargain, but I will now look at RealFlight.

Cheers

Welcome Steve,Next is a great flight sim,you can also download free demo to try it out,dont know where you have seen it for £35 though! normal price is £59. Real flight is also good but more expensive

[Steve_T]

Welcome Steve,Next is a great flight sim,you can also download free demo to try it out,dont know where you have seen it for £35 though! normal price is £59. Real flight is also good but more expensive

My appologies, I was searching for neXt and was directed to a site which I thought was the website for neXt and was selling a sim for 49 euros. After your post looked at the site again and it is actually "Heli-X".
Probably not the only mistake I will make.

Thanks for the prompt.

Steve

[Mike Sanders]

Welcome to the forum. The above advice is good.

I think it would be a good idea to learn to fly with modern equipment but to save the vintage stuff for a bit of fun when you are more experienced. It would attract attention at a club!

PS Join a club.

[Steve_T]

Welcome to the forum. The above advice is good.

I think it would be a good idea to learn to fly with modern equipment but to save the vintage stuff for a bit of fun when you are more experienced. It would attract attention at a club!

PS Join a club.

Cheers, Mike. This seems to be pretty much the consensus and I after looking about I would agree.

And the club sounds a good idea. Need to look for one in the area. I just hope they welcome beginners.
When I started it tended to be that the only model flying clubs were fixed wing that allowed helicopters but begrudgingly. I guess this has all changed and there are probably lots of heli only clubs now?

Steve

[Steve_T]

As a way to get started seriously looking at getting a Blade nQX quad.

But do I get the RTF version or BNF?

If the BNF then I would probably want to get a Tx that would last me for a while as I progress onto more advanced models, but which is best Tx to get?

Steve

[kenny d]

Hi Steve welcome back , I've found the transmitters that come with the rtf versions are pretty bad , I would go for a spektrum 7 channel & above , ie a dx8 , dx9 , the dx8 can be bought for around £100 secondhand , they are computerised & make the flying experience so much more controllable & enjoyable , you will find as you quickly progress you'll need at least 7 channels, All spektrum tx's will bind to all blade heli's / quads ,, in the last 3 years things have changed a lot for the small heli's , much easier to get started now than 4 years ago , you have a lot of choices now , look at what you think suits you & ask for a second opinion on here & you won't go wrong , Kenny d

[Grumpy]

You will always get a wide range of responses, everyone has their own opinions on what’s the best way to learn usually based on their own experience.

Personally I'd advise not to bother with micro collective pitch helis. My personal experience is that 'gentlemen of our age' rarely possess the 'ninja like' reflexed necessary to fly frenetic CP micros, especially so during learning when the thinking time is greater. Larger helis (500+) are MUCH easier to fly, the difference is like night and day to be honest. From personal experience my heli flying progressed in huge strides the day I switched to a large heli.

You can pick up some great helis at really good prices by scanning the for sale section here. There was a really nice Thunder Tiger X50e for sale a week or so ago for a steal of a price, it may still be available, take a look.

You could easily re-use your radio, it's still got a reasonable feature set, more than good enough to fly a modern heli. You can get 2.4GHz modules cheaply that plug into the back that would bring all the advantages 2.4GHz, so not really any absolute need to shell out on a new one if you didn’t want to.
Having said that a nice new radio is the least hassle option, something like the new Spektrum DX6 (not DX6i) would give you all the features you could want except maybe for rechargeable batteries (which are available as an upgrade). Models above the DX6 (DX7, DX9 etc) are even better and come with rechargeable batteries as standard.

[trillian]

As you mentioned, many things are indeed cheaper now and / or you get advanced technology for similar money you would have paid back in the day.

What engines do you already have? Nitro is good in some ways in that you can get longer flight times and perhaps also more flights in an afternoon, the initial investment is less than a comparable electric. The negative side is that you'll spend more on fuel if you fly a lot.

I started with a Raptor 30 and I still feel it was a very good way to go for me at the time all things considered. I ended up skipping the stage of flying the little micro helis as they just didn't exist yet (well not like the ones out now).

[Steve_T]

You can pick up some great helis at really good prices by scanning the for sale section here. There was a really nice Thunder Tiger X50e for sale a week or so ago for a steal of a price, it may still be available, take a look.

You could easily re-use your radio, it's still got a decent feature set even by today's standards. You can get 2.4GHz modules cheaply that plug into the back that would bring all the advantages 2.4GHz, so not really any absolute need to shell out on a new one if you didn’t want to.
Having said that a nice new radio is the least hassle option, something like the new Spektrum DX6 (not DX6i) would give you all the features you could want except maybe for rechargeable batteries (which are available as an upgrade). Models above the DX6 (DX7, DX9 etc) are even better and come with rechargeable batteries as standard.

Cheers Steve.
I cannot look on the classifieds yet as I am a new member and it will be a while before I meet the criteria to do so.
So I thought something cheap for now just to have a bit of fun and get my hand in again for now and then maybe look for 2nd hand and something bigger.

[Mark_T]

I wouldn't disagree with Grumpy on the micro CP heli point, but the Blade Nano QX quad is a great indoor tool for learning (re-learning?) orientations.

Re the radio, probably makes sense to go Spektrum and 2nd hand is never a bad thing but do take care to understand what is 'current' as Spektrum have made life difficult by reusing some model numbers so wise to check here before actually buying.

The current Spektrum radios are as follow DX6, DX7,DX9,DX18.

Recently dropped/replaced: DX6i, DX7s, DX8

Older models: DX6, DX7, DX7SE

Avoid the older models, but nothing wrong with the recently dropped/replaced versions, but personally I'd think about getting one of the current models like the DX7 with a BNF Nano QX to get you going. Talk to one of the better retailers and ask them for a price for both together and see what sort of deal you can get. Align-Trex, Fast Lad, Midland etc. are all good places to ask.